Honest Assesment on our property please...

Better_Days

You are very brave to post OP!

The most important points have already been made and the house looks clean and tidy. One thing that did occur to me is that the dark rugs in the main room and family room may be making the spaces look smaller. You could roll them up and compare as for me they tend to draw the eye to the middle of the room rather than looking around the room IYSWIM!

Also if there is no floorplan (and there should be!) then at the very least the description should state where each room is and if it faces to the front or the back. The description should confirm that there are radiators in each room (if there are) plus which rooms have TV and telephone points. When I look at a house on RM I want enough info to decide whether to view or not, the current description doesn't provide that. Also I don't want to fanny around clicking through to a brochure (which may well not add anything), I just want the info on RM.

Some agents I have spoken to like to give minimal info on RM to encourage buyers to ring them up so they can suggest other properties too. Personally I don't like this approach - I don't want to waste either my time or the vendors looking at a property that I would have known wasn't suitable had more info been given on RM.

Good luck with your sale, and don't forget to put some colour out the front - daffs would be great this time of year.:)

nikki1520

The only thing I'd add is it might be a good idea to borrow a dining table and chairs and pop those in the conservatory bit - in front of the sideboard - unless I've missed a dining area in the photos?

hazyjo

Pretty much all that's been said above - lack of kerb appeal (I too thought it was ex-local authority until I looked at streetview). No idea if that's a dining space at the end or a large bay window. Is that a wooden section on the floor separating the two areas? Again, where/what is the family room? Could it say family room/dining room? Or could you fit a table in that area that looks like a bay window (although it has a door to garden so obviously isn't)? Garden pics essential.

Also, the EA details are very lazy. No description on any rooms, only the brief intro paragraph. Floorplan would definitely help. There's something about it that's making it feel like a flat. Not sure if it's the lack of garden pic, or the fact we can't see out of the windows for our brains to work out what's where. It all feels a bit first floor in my mind. It does remind me of my hubby's old flat so maybe that's why.

Are they carpet tiles in the kitchen, lino or tiles? Looks like carpet tiles to me. Not really a selling point.

Would definitely lift blinds! All a bit gloomy. Almost dark outside in the lounge photo so all really need replacing with daytime (and sunny) pics.

How busy is that A421? You look extremely close to it. As a cat owner, that alone would put me off.

Furthermore, it may be the case that you need £X out of the sale or it's not worth you moving - but that means naff all to whoever's buying it. You will only get offers for what they believe it's worth. Nobody wants to fund your move, or effectively hand you over extra money to keep you out of debt. They're effectively taking out a loan for you by putting more on their own mortgage to clear your debt. I'd be saving like mad in your shoes so you can either afford to accept a lower offer, or pay down your mortgage a bit while you're trying to sell.

Keep us informed,

Jx

Brallaqueen

I don't know whether googlemaps little house is exact, but where it sits in Emerson Valley, the last three selling prices were as follows

12th Nov 2010 Semi-detached, Freehold, 2 Beds, 1 Baths, 1 Receps
£160,000

24th Apr 2009 Semi-detached, Leasehold, 3 Beds, 1 Baths, 2 Receps
£80,000

13th Mar 2009 Semi-detached, Freehold, 3 Beds, 1 Baths,1 Receps
£87,500

If it is the same area, or close to, how does that affect you?

bluedrop

very dull pics. Its a nice house. A couple of plants and some bright pictures can help.

A few potted plants and a hanging flowers plant near the main door can brighten up the dull outside. Or may be just click some pics on a sunny day...

GDB2222

I cannot believe how much nicer your house is on the inside than it is on the outside! As other people have said, there is no kerb appeal at all. It looks like an incredibly dull council house built in the 1960s, although it is not. There is not much you can do about the architecture, but you absolutely have to put in a flower bed and lots of planters. Buy some decent plants already in bloom, and do not stint at the garden centre. Spend £100 to £200 now, and you will improve the value of your house by 10 times as much. More importantly, you will actually get buyers in through the door (once you have photographed the end result and put it on your advert).

I would not wait for the trees to come into blossom before putting a photograph of the back garden up.

Finally, I very much doubt that the end price you get will depend on the precise asking price. If you reduce the asking price, you will get more interest in the property, and that might increase what you get for it, paradoxically.

m0t

My comments as a FTB who has looked at a lot of houses now:

Exterior photo - The closed blind makes it look a bit like the house has bars on the windows.

The photo is very grey and unappealing, you need to retake these on a sunny day or at least fake the effect like an estate agent.

Kitchen photo - Picture is low quality, the compression artifacts make the ceiling look damp above the fridge. This photo really needs a better camera and to be taken in daylight.

Living room photo 1 - I really like this room, although it would benefit from a better camera and daylight. I would suggest hiding the brown bin(?) that is next to the tv.

Living room photo 2 - again I really like this room but you should straighten up the lampshade and present the cushions properly.

Conservatory - Looks very good but would benefit from a daylight shot

Green bedroom - looks nice but again the low quality of the photo detracts from the effect.

Blue room - looks nice but again the low quality of the photo detracts from the effect.

Bathroom - looks nice but the way the photo is taken makes it look cramped.

You need to get a proper floorplan up so people can understand layout, there should be photos of the garden on there (which is important for families).

Horizon81

Agree with the wide angle photo comments. It really bugs me to see photos stretched to give the illusion of space. There's an agent round my way that does that and in many shots the unassuming buyer wouldn't be able to tell but the loo catches them out every time, with a ludicrously wide toilet seat and a tiny cistern.

RenStar

You actually live around the corner from me and we have a house not that dissimilar to yours, although we have a garage and separate dinning room but no conservatory. We are thinking of putting ours on the market next month (so possibly some competition for you..:D)

Your house looks lovely on the inside but I do agree the curb appeal makes the house look very unappealing. Emerson Valley as we both know is a good 'estate' (in MK, an estate does not necessarily mean of the Council kind, just an area) with good schools and lots of green spaces but this won't be apparent to anyone who doesn't know MK. However, the time of year the photo was taken probably doesn't help. Our cul-de-sac looks lovely in Spring & Summer with trees in blossom but a bit hideous in Winter!

Ikea (or even Aldi) are doing loads of potted plants fairly cheaply at the minute so you might be able to spruce up the front for not much and will be a quick win. Definitely lose the green bin too! Also I don't know about you but one of the benefits of being that side of Emerson Valley is a relatively large garden so if yours is like this, get the agents to do some pics. I will echo what everyone else has said about the lack of floor plan - I know the likely layout of your house because I live in one like it but buyers most certainly won't and it's hard to visualise with just a description. It really does matter so I would push Carters for one asap.

Finally (an this is just my personal experience), everyone I know locally who has sold recently don't have a good word to say about Carters (including the lady opposite us who sold in November last year) so do make sure you're pushing them to get the best out of them. All the best of luck and I hope you get a sale soon.

dodger1

RedfordML wrote: »

We have a lot of trees to the rear of the property and around April time they start to bloom so will wait until this happens then add the rear garden photo's...

First impressions are everything so the front garden is hugely important. As others have said give it some colour.