Trying to sell this country cottage, any advice?

johnnyredgate

Thanks Domino, it was previously described as a conservatory when my parents purchased it so will change this, it is tiled and is lovely sunny space, if we can get hold of some conservatory furniture then it should definately look more like a conservatory too!

johnnyredgate

It really sounds like the pictures have not helped at all, it is a lovely bright sunny (when the sun is shinning!) cottage and this is one of the things my parents loved about it,as well as the nice non pokey room dimensions. It is even brighter now the ivy has been removed as this was growing across some of the windows! Unfortunately when the EA's photographer came he wasn't able to get pictures inside due to an error so I had to take those.
I assume I just need to make sure I use a flash, a good wide angle lens and take them on a sunny day so that people can realise how bright it is? Currently looking for some good deals on a new camera!

cte1111

I think the photos are definitely letting the property down. The interiors look cold and half empty, the garden looks very tatty and the phone lines on the outside photo make it look less countryside, more roadside. In particular the photo of the room with the green carpet looks so tatty that it leaves the impression that the house would need work.

I don't know the area but the view is gorgeous, hope you manage to improve the particulars to get it sold soon.

DVardysShadow

Strapped wrote: »

I think it's gorgeous! I don't know the local market though so can't comment on price. Parking looks tricky - presumably you have to put the car in the garage. I would tidy up the garden - after all, you are selling the outdoors, rural lifestyle. Create space, take down the airer, put out a couple of chairs and a small table. Dress the conservatory so it says "imagine sitting in here looking at those views" - lose the dog bowls and do something with that plant that looks like it's grown through from outside. If you want brutal honesty, the internal photos are mostly dark and not inviting. Lose photos 3, 7 and 8. Photo 4 is OK, although the blue colour makes the room look cold and the living room furniture screams old people, not aspirational. Photo 5 is your main selling point - consider making it the 1st one.

If I were buying, then I would be factoring in the cost of installing oil or wood central heating. Also, no photos of the kitchen or bathroom make me think these probably need replacing.

Sorry to be brutal, but I hope that helps.

Although the comment about the photos is true, I am not sure that changing anything here will bring about much change in the number of viewers.

Like Strapped, I find the property very appealing and if I were in the market for similar I would probably be viewing unless there are loads of houses similar with which this one is competing, in which case you need to distinguish from them in terms of price, features or condition. Overall, if you are realistic about property, nothing about this one is off putting.

The market is probably some locals, some people like your in-laws looking to move in and people looking for a holiday cottage for themselves or to rent out. Many people would dream of having a property like this - but it is not realistic for most of them. For that reason, I think it is important to give this property good exposure. Probably the next 2 months with people travelling that way and able to divert of course for a look will be an important time for marketting that property.

rustyhead

Omg I recognise that house from a right move search:eek: its about 15 miles from me, I can remember it being on the market before.
I'm looking it that area but not ideal for me because of parking, I've a collection of cars to park.
Market is a bit of a standstill in the area, I've been tracking on property bee, also have my own house for sale but buyers just want a bargain.

Owain_Moneysaver

I think you need to look carefully at pricing - there are 2 bed semi-det bunglalow or terrace in Rockes Meadow, Knighton, at under £120k and a 3-bed semi-det in Castle Green, Knighton at under £100k.

If you want to get a premium price for a rural property you are going to have to emphasise the property character (look at photo 2 here for an appealing lounge) and the garden and outside, which should be the main selling features.

At the moment all I can see is a house right on the road in the middle of nowhere.

Catherine_Johnson_2

My view (I'm trying to be constructive so please don't take anything the wrong way!)....

Unfortunately, for me the house would be much too close to the road. The front room/dining room is almost next to the road. It might be a quiet road but that would certainly put me off. Nothing you can do about that, obviously, but it is probably something that is putting off potential buyers.

I don't like ivy myself, in fact I loathe it, but I think the front view of the house needs 'softening' somehow. Looking on Streetview, the house looked better to me with a climber up the front. Maybe it would have been better to simply cut back a bit rather than remove completely? Again, probably not much you can do now.

Two of the rooms need 'dressing' i.e. some furniture, not too much, put in them.

If I was a potential buyer I'd be thinking that I'd have to take down the conservatory as it does look like a lean-to greenhouse. I'm not sure the vine is doing much to be honest. Perhaps it would have been better on the outside as it would disguise the conservatory a bit.

Why are you taking photos yourself? Surely the EA should do this? If they couldn't do the interior, as you say, then they need to come back again and redo. And, yes, the rooms need to be made to look wider and brighter.

Even given the above, I'm somewhat surprised you haven't had any viewings and I'd possibly put this down to using the 'cheap' EA. Are they actually ringing people up and sending out the house details, i.e. being proactive, or are they simply placing it on Rightmove etc and hoping someone sees it? I'd guess it's probably the latter. Cheap isn't always best - and, no, I don't like EAs any more than anyone else but sometimes you just have to go with it. Is it worth trying a proper EA? They should have a database of people who are actively looking (if they are a halfway decent EA) and will ring them up and maybe get a few around to see the property. It'll cost more but perhaps you need to spend more in order to sell this property which, after all, is in a niche market.

Oh, and the garden needs a good tidy up!! If you can't do it yourself then pay someone to do it. On the Rightmove photos, the garden looks overgrown! Get rid of the washing line too, at least for the photos or when someone is viewing.

Is it possible, when photographing the rooms, probably the upstairs rooms, to get something of the view out of the windows from the rooms? I'm assuming there is a bit of a view from the windows? At the moment the windows are just burnt out white in the pictures and don't look very attractive. This should just be an exposure thing with the camera.

Sorry if it all sounds a bit negative, it's not meant to be.

johnnyredgate

Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »

I think you need to look carefully at pricing - there are 2 bed semi-det bunglalow or terrace in Rockes Meadow, Knighton, at under £120k and a 3-bed semi-det in Castle Green, Knighton at under £100k.

If you want to get a premium price for a rural property you are going to have to emphasise the property character (look at photo 2 here for an appealing lounge) and the garden and outside, which should be the main selling features.

At the moment all I can see is a house right on the road in the middle of nowhere.

Thanks for comments, yes the lounge does look appealing in the link although it is only half the size. As this is a stone cottage, removing the plaster to expose the stonework would be possible for a new owner to do if they wished, although if a better EPC was required this wouldn't be feasible as the walls would need to be insulated internally. I really think it would be for a new buyer to decide.

Yes it is on the roadside in a fairly remote but middle of village location, using street view should help give an idea of the situation. The road is in a 30mph zone and not particularly busy. Property in the rural villages outside Knighton tends to price higher than that in Knighton, this is also a detached property rather than a semi-det which makes a lot of difference to some people and also likely to be situated on a bigger plot than the Knighton houses.
I realise if we want it sold quickly the pricemay well need to come down, although fairly early days for this yet. The property in the link is with the same local agent/valuer that came out to see us from Knighton, they were adamant that we market the house at £165,000, even though we were happy to market it a bit lower to take into account some of the points people have raised here re garden, intalling woodburner, updating kitchen units etc. This same agent sold the house to the previous owners too.
If we bring the price down then we may well price it at an offers over amount, so that it can come down reasonably significantly

johnnyredgate

rustyhead wrote: »

Omg I recognise that house from a right move search:eek: its about 15 miles from me, I can remember it being on the market before.
I'm looking it that area but not ideal for me because of parking, I've a collection of cars to park.
Market is a bit of a standstill in the area, I've been tracking on property bee, also have my own house for sale but buyers just want a bargain.

Ooh another coincidence, it is definately being noticed!! How long have you been trying to sell for rustyhead? McCartney's EA rang me up yesterday to say that they had had a lot of sales over the last 6 weeks, does propertybee give you this information? We are certainly open to offers for buyers wanting a bargain within reason! How many cars do you have to park?? I think another access could be a possibility at the far end/corner of the garden, would probably need to move the large garden shed though. Just behind this part of the garden their is a field gate into a small ungrazed field which adjoins the back hedge of the garden so am not sure if there might be any possiblity of puchasing a part of this field and extending the garden to create car parking at the back.

johnnyredgate

Catherine_Johnson wrote: »

My view (I'm trying to be constructive so please don't take anything the wrong way!)....

Unfortunately, for me the house would be much too close to the road. The front room/dining room is almost next to the road. It might be a quiet road but that would certainly put me off. Nothing you can do about that, obviously, but it is probably something that is putting off potential buyers.

I don't like ivy myself, in fact I loathe it, but I think the front view of the house needs 'softening' somehow. Looking on Streetview, the house looked better to me with a climber up the front. Maybe it would have been better to simply cut back a bit rather than remove completely? Again, probably not much you can do now.

Two of the rooms need 'dressing' i.e. some furniture, not too much, put in them.

If I was a potential buyer I'd be thinking that I'd have to take down the conservatory as it does look like a lean-to greenhouse. I'm not sure the vine is doing much to be honest. Perhaps it would have been better on the outside as it would disguise the conservatory a bit.

Why are you taking photos yourself? Surely the EA should do this? If they couldn't do the interior, as you say, then they need to come back again and redo. And, yes, the rooms need to be made to look wider and brighter.

Even given the above, I'm somewhat surprised you haven't had any viewings and I'd possibly put this down to using the 'cheap' EA. Are they actually ringing people up and sending out the house details, i.e. being proactive, or are they simply placing it on Rightmove etc and hoping someone sees it? I'd guess it's probably the latter. Cheap isn't always best - and, no, I don't like EAs any more than anyone else but sometimes you just have to go with it. Is it worth trying a proper EA? They should have a database of people who are actively looking (if they are a halfway decent EA) and will ring them up and maybe get a few around to see the property. It'll cost more but perhaps you need to spend more in order to sell this property which, after all, is in a niche market.

Oh, and the garden needs a good tidy up!! If you can't do it yourself then pay someone to do it. On the Rightmove photos, the garden looks overgrown! Get rid of the washing line too, at least for the photos or when someone is viewing.

Is it possible, when photographing the rooms, probably the upstairs rooms, to get something of the view out of the windows from the rooms? I'm assuming there is a bit of a view from the windows? At the moment the windows are just burnt out white in the pictures and don't look very attractive. This should just be an exposure thing with the camera.

Sorry if it all sounds a bit negative, it's not meant to be.

Appreciate that you have taken the time to comment, yes some things there is not much that can be done like being on the roadside.

The ivy and shrubs were all removed so that the walls could be decorated properly, this was all done before parents decided it would no longer be practical to live there. Unfortunately rose bush at the front was hacked down but not much you can do after the builders have done this. We can put some more shrubs/flowers/clematis in around the front of the house but it isn't going to look established this year.

The vine is well established and was already there when the house was purchased so not really possible to move it outside only to remove it altogether, it was growing over the back door but was also heavily hacked for the painting to be done.

Re the pictures one of the reasons I chose the online agency that I did was that they had a photographer, unfortunately the tenant at the time at left the front door locked from the inside by mistake and we didn't have a spare back door key with us so couldn't get access, very annoying at the time and the pictures are clearly a big problem with the marketing. Getting the photographer back out would have delayed marketing the property but we probably should have done this even though and extra charge. I am buying a camera with a decent wide angle, so should hopefully get better pictures, even with the house looking a bit stark, the sun was shining into the windows at the front when the pictures were taken which caused the white glare. Will bear all this in mind when I get the chance to take new pictures. Will see if I can get the view, although Streetview gives a good idea of the views from the side and back of the house.
Yes I would relook at the conservatory if I was living there, it is very sunny and there is a lot of space to replace with a lovely big sun room, which would probably add significantly to the value/desirability of the house.
Will definately get that washing line out for the next pictures. The garden really needed the hedge along the back trimming right down during the winter, however it wasn't until well into spring that parents decided not to move there and many of the finishing touches/garden was being left until they were in the property. It actually doesn't look quite as bad when you are there, the area in the picture is not lawn but has a path and shrubs/fruit bushes and herbs growing in it, it would probably look tidier if it was all put to lawn though. It has had some tidying/cutting back since the picture so will see if it looks a bit better being greener now and without the line. It is a nice manageable project for new owners to tackle though.

Re using an online agency I realise that this saves us some money, however the local agents made it fairly clear that the selling would likely be though rightmove advertising so although they do have branches for people to browse we thought we would try using the online agency, who obviously being national rather than local won't have people on their books looking in this area. I am not sure how many buyers are found though being on an EA's books rather than finding the property themselves. We would also have to do the viewings ourself due to the property being out of town so have tried an online agency initially, the online EA has far more internet coverage than the local EA also.