Ideas needed please to help us sell our house

gwynlas

Whilst only you know what you are prepared to sell for I'm sure that you have a figure you are looking for and as suggested no-one is going to make you an offer over 250K if that is what you have in mind.
I believe you should take the property off the market for a while and start letting cottage asap in order to prove rental ability. Surely there is someone around to check clean and tidy for next guests? Pin money income? Put up signpost saying short breaks available if you don't have bookings. Even 2 nights for$80 is better than nothing and worth the hassle of a quick clean. Look at both Sarah Beeney and Phil Spencer on catch up for ideas on presentation.
Plan to re-market from start of July with prominent For Sale board and picture in EA window, state potential letting income(look at brochures for 2013 prices and occupancy rates)

Bella73

Like everyone has said the photos need updating and you need to clear away the clutter in the bathroom etc as that tells me there is no storage.

Plus people will be searching for key words on things like rightmove and it is clearly not a 5 bedroom detached it is two properties which are different markets in my mind. If I want five bedrooms I've probably got children so don't want them sleeping in a separate house.

phoebe1989seb

I would definitely expect a floorplan with any house I was serious about purchasing. We have moved long-distance twice and had very specific requirements/needed to know how the space could be utilised to suit our furniture and lifestyle. I would not have driven hundreds of miles to view something - unless it appeared especially interesting from the blurb - with no floorplans shown.

Ditto the garden - last time we moved we wanted a good sized garden (1/4 acre minimum) and got fed up with the many EAs that omitted to give more than a vague indication of the size of outside space. A 'large' garden can mean different things to different people and I'd expect my EA to have measured - even roughly - the garden of any house I was attempting to sell.

Thirdly, the price has to be the most important consideration here - the increase in the SDLT threshold at anything over £250k is bound to have a huge bearing. We found that when we sold my parents' house last year, whilst we did get offers (£235k and £250k - the latter was withdrawn) when the house was priced at £269,995, once we'd dropped it to £250,000 we very quickly received two asking price offers - buyers just weren't going to pay over £250k

Unless you are in an area where properties are still moving fast - which you've admitted you are not - dropping the price to £250k has to be a huge step in the right direction........especially if you've been trying to sell for five years!

Not my thing - not enough period character for me personally - but seems like a nice house overall though and I'm sure with a few tweaks to price, photos etc you will eventually find someone that falls in love with it

pinkladyof66

the pictures dont do it any justice and also a little de cluttering i think like the cat things and also the slippers in the bathroom move anything out that you can make it look more tidy. nice place though

ordinaryangel

Thanks for the replies, the pictures are bad because I took them as an interim measure, agent hasn't actually been to take photos! I can't quite remember which excuse they used last time we asked. We have had this problem with all the agents we have used because of the area the agents make their money selling cattle and sheep and there are some really expensive farms and properties so the commison from these pay the wages.
A lot of the suggestions are really helpful and I'm glad it's not just me who thinks that the agent could do more.
Finally as regards taking it off the market we have actually tried this twice. In reality we actually put the house on the market in June 2006 7 years ago!!!!!!! but took it off for 18 months during this time.

pinkladyof66

Op I am sure that if you spent a day or so decluttering and taking new photos one that includes the front aspect it would look to be a lot more desirable.

The house though is lovely.

iaps

http://www.businessinsider.com/marketing-tips-could-help-sell-your-house-2012-11

3 Creative Marketing Ideas Most Real Estate Agents Wouldn't Try

This is for the American market, but a dedicated website and Facebook advertising might be good marketing tools.

Good luck to you!

Thrugelmir

Within a 3 mile radius appears to be plenty of property to choose from.

Within the economic downturn perhaps the demand for 2nd homes has dried up. As the prices being asked are exceptionally high compared to the wages available in the local economy.

The bubble has most definately burst.

lessonlearned

It looks like a lovely house with bags of potential in what appears to be a lovely part of the country.

That SDT is a real stumbling block. I'm afraid you are stuck with £250K, unless you offer some help with paying for the stamp duty.

Definitely take it off the market for now and address some of the issues that have been raised.

Take a good look at the presentation. I'm sorry but it does look a little tired. De-clutter, refresh and dress it nicely. Zshush it up and add a bit of country charm and style.

The garden looks a little wintry at the moment. Take some pictures when it is in full bloom, add more colour if necessary - lots of flowers. Go for the full on cute cottage look, herbacious borders full of hollyhocks, delphiniums, old fashioned roses, lavender borders, geraniums. Scatter lots of annual seeds around to fill in the gaps. £50 should cover it. I noticed there is a large shrub smack bang in front of the conservatory - I would remove that.

Smarten up that conservatory. I agree it really does like an old people's home.

Your EA's blurb is atrocious, barely a mention of the business side of things. Definitely push that, give some guidelines about potential income.

Definitely get some bookings for this year. You will need to show potential purchasers that you have a thriving business.

Apart from which the money will probably come in handy anyway and who knows maybe one of your holiday makers might be interested in buying .

If you cannot be around for hand-overs and between let cleans then employ someone to do this for you. There must be plenty of people who would snatch your hand off at the chance of earning some "pin money" for a few hours work.

If your EA's are more interested in the farming and livestock side of things then you need to find another agent.

Your biggest problem is that your property has languished for such a long time. People will be aware of this and will be wary. They will be wondering what's wrong with your house. Probably nothing at all - but that will be the perception.

Re the price reductions. You have made the classic mistake of "chasing the market down", making reductions as a knee-jerk response to falling prices.

If you really want to sell in a falling market you have to pre-empt falling prices - ie make your reductions big enough and fast enough to stay ahead of the game.

If you absolutely have to sell then follow the good advice that all the peeps on here have given you. Sack your EA, sharpen up the marketing, plenty of good quality pictures, push the business side, pretty up that lovely garden, declutter and dress the house and reduce your price.

In the meantime get some help and make your business really work to get some money in.

Your house is very appealing. It could be irresistible. You just need to go the extra mile.

lessonlearned

Just had another look at your listing.

Energy rating is G. That is bad. Is there anything you can do to improve that......

The bedrooms look gloomy, old fashioned and un-inviting - sorry.

Why are there no pictures of a nice roaring fire - it's a country cottage - you need to sell "cosiness" and comfort.

If you haven't got a real fireplace then put in a gas fire and nice surround.

A summer cottage should be all dappled sunlight and flowers everywhere. In the winter it should be roaring fires, thick rugs, snuggle throws, warmth and comfort.

You need to sell the dream.....