Someone please help me sell my house

krlyr

No expert, but as someone who was househunting last year..
Working through the photos I would say:

Kitchen
- can you box in the pipes for a more 'finished' look?
- remove kids' artwork from fridge (even if its just for the photo and viewings)
- declutter the sides (I'd get rid of the bottles etc. on the right, and the toastie machine at the back, at minimum)
- chuck the bin outside for the photo, placed in an awkward place such as infront of the washing machine door suggests the kitchen is too small for practical use. I'd rather not see (and therefore not think about) the bin, than note that it's in the way
- would it be possible to freshen up the unit doors? Even sanding down and restaining would look miles better, or if you can get some primer and eggshell or satin paint, they'd look a whole ton better even if you didn't get a professional finish on them, IMO. Look at the different it came make! http://traditionalpainter.com/hand-painted-kitchen-in-nantwich-with-tikkurila
You can even buy primers nowadays that mean you don't have to sand down the units, if you're short of time (or can't be bothered!). You don't have to do the best job or the use the most long-lasting products, your aim is to give a good first impression (though a total bodge job might have them asking what else you've skimped on - but I think a half-decent job would look better than how they look now)
- was the photo taken with the flash on the camera? The wall surfaces don't look in best condition and I think it might be the flash making it look worse than it is, new photos taken with strong daylight rather than an artificial flash might be more forgiving

Dining area
- move the kids' stuff for the photo
- possibly pull the table out a little bit - pushed up against the wall, again, sends the message that the kitchen is too small and you have to do all these things to make it usable, e.g. moving bins out of the way, pulling the table out to eat, etc. Perhaps spun around 90 degrees it would stay clear of the doors a bit better and with that corner empty of toys, still look spacey enough

Bathroom
- declutter! At the most, all I'd want to see in bathroom photos is maybe a posh soap dispenser
- clean the grout, it can be an easy, cheap job but makes such a better first impression (bicarb and bleach is a good combo I think - head to the Old Style section for help though if needed)

Living room
- looks a bit bare. Even if it's just to stage for the photo, I'd perhaps move the TV into that far corner instead of where it is now, so the room feels a bit more balanced
- declutter the personal photos
- brighten it up a bit! With all the greys, and those vertical blinds, it's giving me an office feel to it rather than a living room. Our living room is the place we spend most of our time in so I want it to look cosy and inviting - not like I'm going home from one office and into another! Maybe replace the photos with a couple of brighter ornaments, don't go OTT but adding a splash of colour here and there would help I think
- would curtains be an option? I think they'd help to add some colour and dilute the office look

Bedroom 1
- looks very small, can you take a more flattering photo? Ditch the stuff like the coat/dressing gown? draped over the bed frame
- ditch the TV for the photo, it looks like an old, bulky CRT type, show that you can have available storage space
- neutral bedding on the bed for the photo, take the photo down, sell it as a spare bedroom rather than just a kid's room
- I think you could maybe even sell it as a more practical room by dressing the bed 'day bed' style, i.e. cushions along the back wall to sell it as being big enough to chill out in (not quite so many pillows maybe, but like this - http://www.obc-uk.net/setimages/iron-daybed-edwardian.gif)
- a valance would help hide the stuff stored under the bed, that I can just about get a peek of!

Bedroom 2
- again, try to sell it as a general bedroom rather than a kid's room, so neutral bedding and hide the rug for the photo
- ditch, or at least majorly downsize, the pile of toys for the photo
- can you stick some other furniture in there, just for the photo? Right now it looks more like a playroom than anything else as it has no bedroom kind of furniture on show. Maybe you could swap the toy shelves for a canvas wardrobe - it'll hide all the toys as well as giving it a bedroom feel, and they often crop up on Freecycle so no need to splurge out

Bedroom 3
- I'd lose the TV again. It's not a selling feature to fit a TV (especially not one that huge!) into a bedroom, and being so bulky it just detracts from the available space rather than adding anything to it. I'd lose the speakers/radio from behind the bed too, the wire just looks messy and the way they're stacked hints at a lack of space for things. Ditch the bottle of water(?) too!
- maybe dress the bed up a bit with a few nice pillows and maybe a throw at the bottom, seems silly but a neat, luxurious bed will look more appealing and help people picture themselves being relaxed and happy in the house
- lose the ironing board for the photo!

Loft
- major declutter! Even if you shoved the stuff under the bed (preferably neatly, in boxes) and used a throw over the top to hide it, it's better than completely on display at the forefront of the photo!
- perhaps a lick of white paint, if you have any spare? I'd also whack a lightshade up to take away the unfinished look
- give the room a purpose. Right now it looks like it's a bit of a dumping ground. You're advertising the house as a 3 bedroom house, so I'd lose the spare bedroom look and aim to sell it perhaps as a bit of a home office space - so centre the photo on the desk, take the posters down, make the sofa bed a bit less prominent a feature and aim for a sleek, fairly bare space that people can imagine setting up to suit their own needs (perhaps repurpose that toy shelf as office storage space if you do get a canvas wardrobe or other alternative). E.g. http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/071/8/6/Attic_Office_by_h8tredsoul.jpg
http://www.honeysucklelife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Attic-Office.jpg
http://stagetecture.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/attic_office.jpeg

phoebe1989seb

pimento wrote: »

Quite. The only place I've ever seen a boiler installed with no visible pipework is in the brochure.

Quite - but surely if the boiler has to be on view (ie, in the kitchen as opposed to a utility room), the least the home-owner (or their chosen trades-person) could do is create some boxing to make the whole thing less of an *eye sore*?

I had an ageing uncle who was a property owner but was entitled to have central heating fitted under a council grant scheme. Not only did the gas engineer fit the boiler in a bedroom (???), but all the pipes for the boiler and rads were surface-mounted - giving an overall cheap and nasty impression.......

A little boxing would improve OP's boiler no end

Better_Days

jc808 wrote: »

Jesus - 5k

Yes, and it is a minumum of £5k plus VAT! (Is VAT actually chargable in these circs?)

Never seen anything like it. OP as others have said you need to ditch your EA, even if you have to pay to get out of the contract (check what you signed), as it is very unlikely indeed that you will sell with the 'buyers premium' in place. As a matter of interest who gets the buyers premium, you or the EA?

Get some local EA's round (include independents as well as chains) and see who you like most and offers the best deal (won't necessarily be the same). Make sure they use RM! There is some good advice on here on choosing an EA. This is likely to be one of the largest financial transactions of your life - present the house to its best and spend some time choosing a good EA. Good EA's are out there, but it can take some work to find one, and you will have to listen to a lot of 'sales patter' in the process.

GL with your sale.

WestonDave

You simply won't shift it with that agent and that system. What they have done is put a 10% commission on sale and craftily shifted it onto the buyer - it might look like a good deal to you as you don't have to pay the 2% (max normal commission) out of the £50k but I can tell you now - the number of people who are stupid enough to pay £5k to buy a £50k house wouldn't even fill the houses of parliament.

Get rid of the agent, get it marketed on a decent site like Rightmove for a good price and see what happens. There's nothing particularly frightening in the photos, its the bold typeface invitation to be called a mug that is putting people off!

star9

Change the agent! You need to be on rightmove. That's the main site that everyone uses to find a new house.

We're in the process of finding a new home and personally I'm not bothered by the kids toys/pictures, personal photos etc as I'm realistic and expect a house to be lived in - in fact I'm more suspicious of houses that look like show homes as I wonder how it actually works on a day to day basis. Any serious buyer surely appreciates that you'll be taking your stuff with you. Having said that, the attic could do with a good declutter/tidy - I expect to see books on shelves, I have lots of books on shelves, I don't expect to see them in piles on the floor.

I can see past the evidence of family life, but I can't see past that extra charge for nothing.

Also, you mention that you want £70k, so why is it listed at £50K. I won't look at any properties listed by certain agents that list low but expect more. If you want £70K don't list at £50k - any viewers you do get will be expecting to pay £50k and it's a waste of everyones time if you won't accept that.

From what I've seen on here today your agent is a complete waste of space and you need to ditch them immediately.