Why aren't people viewing my house?

wantstomove

The garden does drop away to a lower level, but the side garage door has in-built steps down to the garden. It's also the reason our decking seems so high. I wish I'd thought of terraced steps when we moved in! It would look way better I agree

I_have_spoken

Even if some seem a little harsh

Only saying what your potential buyers are thinking. Yes, you can't change there's only one upstairs bathroom, but that needs to be reflected in the price - this 4-bed semi along the ring-road from yours is STC at £175k - http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-28413291.html and for £30k more you get fully detached with en-suite, larger rooms and integral garage http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-39516112.html

DRP

wantstomove wrote: »

We are tied in for 12 weeks unfortunately. This is the only time I’ve sold a house and wish we hadn’t gone with these people. I’ll know better next time.

Bad pictures and a bit of a move around of furtniture etc when the new pics are taken will improve that a lot. But i think the house looks pretty modern and up together. Assuming the price is right for your area of course.

Given that you;ve already told them to modify the listing and they've ignored your instructions, I would be giving my notice to them - and telling them exactly why.

Even though it is still 12 weeks, it should focus their minds that they are living on borrowed time

wantstomove

I_have_spoken wrote: »

Only saying what your potential buyers are thinking. Yes, you can't change there's only one upstairs bathroom, but that needs to be reflected in the price

I think it is though. All our valuations were almost identical and we went with the lowest one we got. The last two 4 beds to sell near us only have only one bathroom and not even a separate toilet. One sold for 180k 5 years ago (that one was only a 4-bed because of loft conversion, so no extra downstairs space and no loft space) and prices have gone up in general since then.

The first one you linked to is really not in the best area, almost on the train line. Houses don't sell fast and there is little demand there whereas on our road they go very quickly usually.

The second is very nice, and lovely area but I think over 15% more expensive is quite a lot.

ash28

Some thoughts...

The house that sold fo£180k - do you know it sold for that price? It was up for sale for £180k but that means nothing. However the house is attractive inside and would appeal to a lot of buyers, access to the lower level of the garden is shown.

You seem to have no opening windows upstairs, so no escape in the case of a fire, that would be big put off for me - especially when the children were young.

You said you spent a lot of money on your house, but to me the layout downstairs isn't good, or rather the use of the space isn't good.....our last house had a similar layout at the back of the house (dining room and kitchen/diner) but much bigger...it had been extended by the previous owners in a similar way. The kitchen was in the same place as yours and the overall space was an L shape too. So the lack of a window in the kitchen wouldn't bother me if the garden was south facing and the back of the house got a lot of light. What we did was make the the kitchen/diner and dining room into an L shaped living/dining/kitchen that we lived in every day...it made a perfect family area. It sold the house in the end.

Dishwasher is in the utility room and not the kitchen....we did that in our last house because I decided I wanted the extra cupboard space, the utility room was in a different place to yours, and I ended up hating it. Though it looks as if the utility was the original kitchen, which would probably explain why it's in there.

Some other things I'm not keen on, the front garden - paved, the porch and extension brick don't match the original brickwork, the colour of the render, it's too dark for me.

No outside door in the utility.

I really like the storage in the utility room, the bathroom is nice, the kitchen is really nice and I love the floors. The bedrooms are a decent size.

I don't know how big the dining area of the kitchen is, but is it big enough for a small sofa and a tv....it looks as if there are no doors between the dining room and kitchen, so I would leave your table where it is. Some people have no imagination and an empty space to them probably shouts unusable....give the space a purpose. But put a sofa and tv in that dining area and it becomes somewhere your kids can sit and watch tv or do homework while you're cooking.

Also I would mention some of the things you might do if you didn't have to move...like the possibility of a shower in the utility room.....water and drainage are already there.

wantstomove

ash28 wrote: »

Some thoughts...

The house that sold for £180k - do you know it sold for that price? It was up for sale for £180k but that means nothing. However the house is attractive inside and would appeal to a lot of buyers, access to the lower level of the garden is shown.
We have been told it sold for pretty much asking price and we weren't even expecting to get exactly asking price ourselves. I agree that house looks lovely though and is better presented. For us buying somewhere like that would never have been an option though as it's just too small

You seem to have no opening windows upstairs, so no escape in the case of a fire, that would be big put off for me - especially when the children were young.
I'd never even thought about that until someone mentioned it on here so wouldn't have thought it was a consideration (though obviously it should be). I guess because most of the houses along this road are the same I just didn't think anything of it. Unfortunately I think replacing one of the windows is too expensive for us to consider doing.

You said you spent a lot of money on your house, but to me the layout downstairs isn't good, or rather the use of the space isn't good.....our last house had a similar layout at the back of the house (dining room and kitchen/diner) but much bigger...it had been extended by the previous owners in a similar way. The kitchen was in the same place as yours and the overall space was an L shape too. So the lack of a window in the kitchen wouldn't bother me if the garden was south facing and the back of the house got a lot of light. What we did was make the the kitchen/diner and dining room into an L shaped living/dining/kitchen that we lived in every day...it made a perfect family area. It sold the house in the end.

Dishwasher is in the utility room and not the kitchen....we did that in our last house because I decided I wanted the extra cupboard space, the utility room was in a different place to yours, and I ended up hating it. Though it looks as if the utility was the original kitchen, which would probably explain why it's in there.
I love it not being in the kitchen actually and find it much better than if it was in the kitchen. I appreciate not everyone would agree though

Some other things I'm not keen on, the front garden - paved, the porch and extension brick don't match the original brickwork, the colour of the render, it's too dark for me.

No outside door in the utility.

I really like the storage in the utility room, the bathroom is nice, the kitchen is really nice and I love the floors. The bedrooms are a decent size.

I don't know how big the dining area of the kitchen is, but is it big enough for a small sofa and a tv....it looks as if there are no doors between the dining room and kitchen, so I would leave your table where it is. Some people have no imagination and an empty space to them probably shouts unusable....give the space a purpose. But put a sofa and tv in that dining area and it becomes somewhere your kids can sit and watch tv or do homework while you're cooking.
That's a good idea that would be easy (and relatively cheap) to implement). It definitely is big enough for a small sofa, not sure where you'd put a tv because of the open plan aspect but maybe a small one would fit

Also I would mention some of the things you might do if you didn't have to move...like the possibility of a shower in the utility room.....water and drainage are already there.

Thank you! That's really helpful

hollydays

I remember two houses I sold many years ago-in one the photographer turned up and took photos of the outside with dustbin bags sitting there.
The other did lovely shots of the toilet brush.
My thoughts are-get a tallish tree , or narrow upright shrub in a fab pot at the front on the corner of that porch-that's the focal point that catches the eye. Then graduated colourful pots each side to soften the look. Evergreens with red berries?

The rest of the house should have been dressed for the photos. Bunches of flowers, single statement ornaments rather than bitty things. the decking may have been pressure cleaned but it looks mossy, could it be treated to freshen it? Definitely pretty up the outside to make it more fresh and useable, so people could imagine themselves using it in the summer, a plant in a pot on the garden table, straighten up the benches..the side of the garage looks mossy, could you stand a piece of trellis there to mask this, garage window looks rotten.plant up the pots on the decking with winter pansies etc.
The washing up liquid on the utility room window and the glimpse of dishes in the sink should not be there, nor the item of clothing on the bedroom laundry basket.

krmach

Hi! We've rented a three-bed semi for two years that the owner has been trying to sell for the same length of time and hasn't been successful up to now. we've never had a single viewing in the house in all of that two years and as some comments have said it, it could only have been the price. We've asked our neighbours also and they said the house couldn't be sold in that price. So could it be that buyers find yours a bit expensive given that the last sold price in your area was £165k? Abundant supply vs small demand usually applies to housing market nowadays. Do you think it is really priced to sell?

With regard to the physical appearance of the house, I'd say make the most out of what you've got. You've got a decent amount of space inside, why not show it off? Quite affordable to change the wall paint so it's neutral, don't bother to wall paper as people have different tastes you won't be able to please anybody whatever your choice is.

I don't see the point of adding more furniture, you actually have to reduce the furniture that you've got in the house so it's easy for buyers to imagine the space available for their own. The existing sofa is a bit chunky for the not so big space in the living room.

Get decent photographs. When we were looking for a house to buy, I really get annoyed with blurred photos supplied by EA in Rightmove and Zoopla and I symphatise with the house seller. Remember that the EA is taking a cut from your sales. If you're extremely unhappy with them isn't there a break clause so you don't have to finish the 12 week contract?

Again there are very basic things that you can do without spending a fortune. There were lovely suggestions here. BUT foremost of course is clean the house. I got a cleaning service to do the rented house before we left, have the place re-painted in some areas, got the oven and the carpets professionally cleaned. I genuinely want the house to be sold sadly the owner doesn't want to re-think about price so it remains unsold.

I hope you can post new photos once you've done the makeover and lots of luck selling the house!!

wantstomove

krmach wrote: »

So could it be that buyers find yours a bit expensive given that the last sold price in your area was £165k? Abundant supply vs small demand usually applies to housing market nowadays. Do you think it is really priced to sell?
The one that sold for 165k was a 3 bed though so a lot smaller than ours. Another 3-bed, in a lovely condition and well presented but not extended in anyway is now under offer that was on the market for 180k and sold for very very close to asking price within a week. Unfortunately I guess that there is not as much call for a 4-bed and therefore why would people pay any more for a lot extra space when they don't need it?

Get decent photographs. When we were looking for a house to buy, I really get annoyed with blurred photos supplied by EA in Rightmove and Zoopla and I symphatise with the house seller. Remember that the EA is taking a cut from your sales. If you're extremely unhappy with them isn't there a break clause so you don't have to finish the 12 week contract?

Again there are very basic things that you can do without spending a fortune. There were lovely suggestions here. BUT foremost of course is clean the house. I got a cleaning service to do the rented house before we left, have the place re-painted in some areas, got the oven and the carpets professionally cleaned. I genuinely want the house to be sold sadly the owner doesn't want to re-think about price so it remains unsold.

I hope you can post new photos once you've done the makeover and lots of luck selling the house!!

Thank you so much. I will definitely look into the break clause. I'll go through the contract in great detail this weekend. Even if I can't get out of it I'm going to take the great suggestion from another person here to tell them this weekend that we will be instructing a different agents as soon as possible so they better get on with selling it if they want our money.

maddermanblue1_2

The agents could stop putting capital letters on the property description, it's as though it is shouting at you and is also harder to read. A few grammatical errors and spelling could be improved, are the agents 12 years old?

Also will a 'young growing family' afford such a place?