Trying to sell this country cottage, any advice?

johnnyredgate

Thank you pinkzebra, I think the utility area is show as a cloakroom below the bathroom, it has a basin, toilet and plumbing for a washing machine, the wm could easily fit in the kitchen, so plenty of room for a shower there, it is underneath the upstairs bathroom and nearly the same size.
Will make sure the curtains are open, unfortunately most of the curtains where the tenants so will have to see if we can get enough to have some up in the replacement pictures.
Thank you also for comments on the blurb, this we need to alter and will do, anything else about, difficult not to put too much info, the online EA has left a lot of this to us as we know the area better! However the local EA did do a draft of details and had no info at all about the local area etc.

re Devon, yes Devon is definately more expensive however what I like about this area compared to Devon (I used to live on the edge of Dartmoor) is just how much less busy it is, if you go up on the hill you have access to 1000s of acres of open common land and may not see another person up there. Seem to remember being stuck on lanes in long queues in the summer in Dartmoor when we wanted to go and visit other parts of the moor, would find Devon far too busy to live in now!!! The only traffic jams you might get stuck in here would be behind a farmer moving his sheep down the road!

terrierlady

no appeal from kerbside and no dressing inside looks stark and unloved get cheap baskets for outside needs country cottage look,dress inside to impress im sure you have spare furniture in the family it will look like its lived in rather than an empty shell and check price, looks like a wanted price rather than achievable price to me

johnnyredgate

GDB2222 wrote: »

Personally, I'd take out the landscape view if it's not from your cottage. I would feel very short-changed if I had travelled to view the place on the basis of that photo. Just take photos of/from the cottage itself. Either hone your photography skills or find someone better at it.

hmm yes don't want to mislead anyone, a shame a caption can't go under the picture, but would like people to be aware of the countryside that the footpath behind the property leads them up to, a dilema.

A new camera with wideangle is on order, to be honest the professional photographer's photos of the outside were not to great, we had to substitute the main one with our own due to the poor angle picture taken at. Will see how we get on with the new camera, as the pictures shouldn't be too difficult if you can get the whole room in, good not get enough of each room in the picture with the old camera.

johnnyredgate

Bogof_Babe wrote: »

Nearest village two miles away, nearest railway station seven miles away - is there a local bus service? Lack of accessible public transport would be a deal breaker for some people, having to rely on a car even in the depths of winter. If there is a bus stop not too far from the cottage this should be mentioned as it would be a definite selling point (well it would for me anyway).

Yes there is an infrequent bus service so will add this to the details though not sure that it would be any better than using a car in the snow? The road is kept clear in the snow and gritted, as it follows the valley just in from the river, it is fairly level all the way into Knighton, the nearest town so not as inaccessible as it could be due to its location. Not sure how to add all this to the description. We are up in the nearby hills and this bit of height makes all the difference to snowfall and to whether you get post delivered. We have to go down to the postoffice in the next village to collect our post during the worst of winter.

GDB2222

johnnyredgate wrote: »

hmm yes don't want to mislead anyone, a shame a caption can't go under the picture, but would like people to be aware of the countryside that the footpath behind the property leads them up to, a dilema.

Unless you can write a very clear caption on the photo itself (eg "View from nearby"), you are likely to mislead people. A couple of the posters here commented on the view so were obviously misled.

People will know what the general area is like. They will know there are some brilliant views.

rustyhead

I'm not an estate agent but knowing the area I wouldn't compare a town house in Knighton with this. It would have to be a raffle prize for me to acquire a house in the town:rotfl:
If you get outsiders viewing especially from down south they seem to think you can buy a mansion for this price in this neck of the woods.
If you get viewers I hope they are more local and they will understand how much you do get for the £.
The local estate agent should do viewings for you, I can't recommend any of them in knighton town personally. I know the other mc offices do viewings.
I don't think its thats far from Newtown is it? try the agents there for a valuation.
I need off road parking for at least 4 cars/vans, but really only 2 beds now.

kaya64

HB58 wrote: »

I don't know the area, but it does strike me as rather expensive for what it is. Stunning views but the cottage looks, from the photos, as if it is rather stark and spartan, rather than warm and welcoming.

I don't think its expensive infact its very reasonable for a detached cottage .

Bogof_Babe

johnnyredgate wrote: »

Yes there is an infrequent bus service so will add this to the details though not sure that it would be any better than using a car in the snow? The road is kept clear in the snow and gritted, as it follows the valley just in from the river, it is fairly level all the way into Knighton, the nearest town so not as inaccessible as it could be due to its location. Not sure how to add all this to the description. We are up in the nearby hills and this bit of height makes all the difference to snowfall and to whether you get post delivered. We have to go down to the postoffice in the next village to collect our post during the worst of winter.

It's just that older people like to travel free with their bus passes. If there's no local service, they might rule out your cottage in favour of one that is on a bus route. The cottage might appeal to retirees who want to get away from the stressful town life they had.

I'd love it as a weekend retreat, but sadly the distance from the station rules it out. Well that and not having the readies at this moment lol .

What Council Tax band is it in?

StumpyPumpy

I always rant a bit to myself about listings on Rightmove because so many of them seem to omit what I would consider the basics I would need before going to view a house. I'm sure other people have different ideas, and yes I know I am fussy, but if I were to travel any distance to look at a property the details would have to be comprehensive enough to satisfy me. I know these will mostly have been covered by other posters but for completeness:

• A photo of every room in the property plus gardens and house itself. To be honest, I don't care about furnishings unless they are included in the price, but I do want to know whether my furniture would fit or not. Oh, and a photo in focus, straight and giving a true representation of the room is always welcome.
• Dimensions for every room included on the floor plan. I don't want to scrabble around matching rooms and descriptions to the plan or picture
• Correctly labelled photos, (Kitchen, bedroom 1, bedroom 2,etc not photo 1, photo 2) that are consistent with the description and floor plan, so I don't have to work out what goes where
• I'm not interested in flowery descriptions: I want an easy to scan summary - room 1, dimensions; room 2, dimensions; etc. A quick summary of the shops/schools in the village is fine and maybe expand to how far away the nearest "shopping" town is (eg village has PO/pub, nearest town for shopping is X, y miles away) Full details aren't necessary. I have the address, I can find out what it is like there (or am actively searching in the area because that is where I want to live already) I don't need to be told it is "lovely" several times or to here that the locals are friendly to outsiders.
• Charges summary ie Council tax etc.
• Type of heating, services, connectivity etc.

Not too hard in my view, but seldom met. It is a buyers market, I spend probably less than a minute on a property page before deciding whether I like it, hate it or want to post it on The "Have a look at this" thread and that is assuming the first photo in the search page grabs my attention enough to click through to its page in the first place.

For what it is worth, I wouldn't do much with the garden - maybe a shot from the house showing it is "well stocked" (and take down the clothes line that dominates the current picture if you want one from that angle too) If you are going to redo the interior photos, try taking a tripod with you, not using a flash but instead a longer exposure time. Gives warmer more natural pictures. And take lots, literally hundreds if you have the time. Not to post, but to give you a good choice.

The thing that would bother me the most about your house though is the price. I agree with GDB2222. I don't care how it was bought a year ago, I don't see £35k of improvements to the house. Add to that an - at best - stagnant market, I wouldn't pay more than the price paid for it a year ago even if I were really interested in it. If you really want to sell it at the price it is listed for you need to work out a way of describing it in such a way to overcome this, and to be honest, I can't think of one.


SP

robatwork

What Stumpy said ^^^^^

I would find it a big issue to buy a place without a shower