Borders House - 8 months on market and counting...

stephenbalmer

Hi Folks,

I wonder if you could possibly offer some advice and guidance on why there's been no luck selling.

The house has been on the market around 8 months, but has only had a handful of viewers initially, but none now for months.

http://www.bspc.co.uk/propertydetails.asp?pRef=14013&pPostCode=TD9%209PH

Pricing is as per Solicitor advice and appears comparable with other similar houses in the area. Also listed as 'offers around' as will be absolutely happy to discuss prices in the area of £180k.

Your views would be much appreciated.

Kind regards,

Steve.

[Deleted User]

the rooms are large, light and in good repair, but I am afraid all look a bit dated.., and u need to love dark blue lol. Not everyone does. Depending on how desperate you are to sell, I'd ask the estate agent if its worth replacing the carpets and flooring.

twirlypinky

Why isn't it on rightmove for a start!?

stephenbalmer

Great point twirlypinky!

Solicitor getting shouted at later!

Steve

abankerbutnotafatcat

My general impression was that it was a bit '70s chintzy. Who are the likely market for your property? If it's younger families then they may be put off by the decor. Personally, I'd have trouble imagining myself living there the way it is currently presented.

twirlypinky

nor is it on findaproperty or primelocation. How on earth does anyone expect to sell a property they don't actually market? Are buyers supposed to guess? Is it in the local paper?


To be fair, there doesn't really appear to be much wrong with the property, okay the decoration isn't all that, but most serious homebuyers can see past a spot of redecorating, most people like to put their own mark on the place anyway.

Advertise it and you might sell it to people other than clairvoyants.

Mazzawa

Hi Steve,

Thought I should jump on this as I know the borders very well, including the town your house is in. As I am sure you are aware, the property market in the borders just isn't moving, and what is being snapped up are the large houses situated along the new raliway route which will prove to be an investment if the railway appears, and in the meantime is a twisty, but altogether not too bad commute up to the city. Hawick, as you know, is a little beyond the realms of nice commute up to Edinburgh and so that could be your first problem (I'm sure you are aware of the dire job market in the area etc etc).

Your house is a good size, and I think I know roughly where it is which is a good location (providing you don't get too much road noise). The house decor, however, is a bit dated, and with so few buyers around and so many properties, buyers are going to go for, in most cases, the easy modern option. I don't recommend making the place a magnolia castle, but lightening up the rooms would not go a miss. It will make the place look more modern and bigger!

From the only photo on the website available of the outside, your garden looks well cared for but perhaps more pictures of the outside space would be appealing on the website instead of just in the schedule, being that your house is a family house. It is not clear from the pictures what bedroom is what - people like to know what room is the master bedroom etc just from a glance. When we sold our apartment, we tried to make it a welcoming show home that sold a lifestyle. It took a lot of work, litres of paint, and a good clear out, but the results were great and we got lots of people through the door. Gone are the days when a house will just sell, you now have to really put a lot of work in to get rid of it!

The price isn't too bad, although I know there is a lovely period house (ok not everyone's cup of tea) that needs a good bit of work up the road in Galashiels for sale for just 15k more. Galashiels has always commanded a higher price than Hawick, purely because of its proximity to Edinburgh and now the new railway, and I would have thought that the price gap between your property and the one in Galashiels would have been bigger.

If you are desperate to sell and get moving then drop your price and hope you can knock down your next purchase to compensate, if not then try and make the house more appealing to the general market and fingers crossed you get some more viewers

Mazzawa

twirlypinky wrote: »

nor is it on findaproperty or primelocation. How on earth does anyone expect to sell a property they don't actually market? Are buyers supposed to guess? Is it in the local paper?


To be fair, there doesn't really appear to be much wrong with the property, okay the decoration isn't all that, but most serious homebuyers can see past a spot of redecorating, most people like to put their own mark on the place anyway.

Advertise it and you might sell it to people other than clairvoyants.

I'll jump in and answer this - in the borders you tend to just advertise on the local collective solicitors website as there tends to be no need to advertise elsewhere. Everyone knows where to look! You get very few properties on the big websites from the borders (only the really premium ones, or those advertised through central belt solicitors), unlike the central belt where every advertising avenue is used! Just the way things are done I suppose.

Riq

Mazzawa wrote: »

I'll jump in and answer this - in the borders you tend to just advertise on the local collective solicitors website as there tends to be no need to advertise elsewhere. Everyone knows where to look! You get very few properties on the big websites from the borders (only the really premium ones, or those advertised through central belt solicitors), unlike the central belt where every advertising avenue is used! Just the way things are done I suppose.

There could be someone moving to the area who is looking at property?

When I was looking at a house, if it wasn't on Rightmove I didn't know it was for sale.

But then I'm in Manchester.

stephenbalmer

That's a good point Riq, and we'll get it posted to Rightmove.

Steve

Xiderpunk

Hi Steve, agree with other posters, house looks in good order but the decor is dated, particularly in the bathroom. Most potential buyers will look at your house and decide the bathroom and the kitchen needs replacing (when it might only really need re-tiling) which is a significant outlay.

A professional tiler could really do wonders for your bathroom and could be a worthwhile investment.

Best of luck and I hope the 'taste police' (me included) comments do not offend!