why do you think my house hasn't sold?

pippin06

I have a lovely three bed semi-detached house in a small ruralish town in dorset.Close links to bigger towns and beautiful countryside on the doorstep.
It's 14 years old so is what it is. We've replaced all the windows and doors with UPVC and there's nothing wrong with the roof/soffits etc. It's a great solid house with lots of light and space.

We're on one of the nicest roads in town all detached 3/4 beds other than ours and 7 others. We back on to a recreation ground so open views to the back and not overlooked or looking at other houses. We've been here 8.5 years very happily and had 3 kids hence our need to move to a 4 bed.

We've had loads of viewings and no negative feedback but haven't sold. I will admit we're not interior designers and our decoration is very plain, no feature walls or "character" to the rooms, old furniture, but is that really enough to put people off a good house in a great location? Afterall when its theirs they can add colour and trinkets wherever they like. Even if they paid a professional to come in and decorate top to bottom they could factor that in to an offer.

Please what top tips do you have to share with me to make my house look more like the house of their dreams? Or do I just keep going with the viewings in the hope that someone sees past my clean off-white walls?

Old_Git

how long has it been on the market ? What are local houses selling for ? Have you got a link so we can judge .

googler

Have any of your viewers indicated to your agent why they didn't offer? Who's doing the viewings? You or the agent?

If they don't view, having seen an advert with a price, that tends to indicate overpricing. If they come and view, but don't buy, that tends to indicate there's something about the house that they don't like when they get there.

Jenniefour

Maybe it's simply because the market in Dorset is fairly slow at the moment. Plenty of properties down there that have been on the market for a while so plenty for potential buyers to choose from.

Take a look at other properties on Rightmove to get some ideas on improving the desirability of your house. If you think you can bear it you could put up a link and let others comment! There's nothing like a massive de-clutter and a coat of paint where needed to freshen the house up, for a modest cost. Some buyers really do not have the imagination to see past the owners taste in decoration etc. As evidenced by the number of property programmes on how to make properties more desirable. And some people would not give negative feedback anyway, more likely to say something along the lines "it's not for us".

BitterAndTwisted

If the house is in good order, is clean and tidy then plain paintwork and unadvenurous decor or old furniture is not going to put people off.

The usual reasons why properties linger without an offer is that the property is over-priced according to the local market or it's not being marketing properly.

pippin06

It does take a while to sell round here but because we've had quite a number of viewings I was beginning to wonder! The agent does the viewings. The feedback is good, its bigger than they thought, location's great/quiet but they want to keep looking or it's "just not for them".

It's a fairly new build so not much to suprise anyone. There's no plaster falling off the walls or holes in floor boards. Thing is I don't know if people see it online but don't view but do people not make offers anymore? Price shouldn't be a complete turn off and if you can't make it within £10k of the asking then I can't afford to sell it to you.

Where we live there aren't many options so I wonder if people are just waiting to see what comes on for sale next and just have no pressure to find.

a few people have seen ours and gone on to buy more expensive properties with more to offer or just in completely different areas.

Billie-S

Have you got a link to it?

pippin06

Jenniefour wrote: »

Maybe it's simply because the market in Dorset is fairly slow at the moment. Plenty of properties down there that have been on the market for a while so plenty for potential buyers to choose from.

Take a look at other properties on Rightmove to get some ideas on improving the desirability of your house. If you think you can bear it you could put up a link and let others comment! There's nothing like a massive de-clutter and a coat of paint where needed to freshen the house up, for a modest cost. Some buyers really do not have the imagination to see past the owners taste in decoration etc. As evidenced by the number of property programmes on how to make properties more desirable. And some people would not give negative feedback anyway, more likely to say something along the lines "it's not for us".

Thanks, I suspect you're right it is slow. We've done the declutter and that worries me that the house now looks so plain and empty! Looks good to me though.

CH27

Do you only have a two seater sofa in the main sitting area?

phoebe1989seb

Posting up a link to your house will give everyone a better chance to advise

Perhaps viewers would prefer either a *fixer-upper* or something presented in show home condition that offers them a lifestyle they aspire to - a bland, characterless box offers neither of these......don't mean to offend - just my 2p

Cross-posted and see link is now added, will go and take a look!

pippin06

CH27 wrote: »

Do you only have a two seater sofa in the main sitting area?

Yes but only since about 3 weeks ago. Before then we had that sofa infront of the bay window and a matching 3 seater where that one is now. We were going to have another 2 seater to replace the one that's gone but the bay looks nice and it's clear you can get a 3 seater or corner sofa where our sofa is. We did ask for advice on this and didnt get the other sofa so yes just the one in there now. We've been for sale for 6 months in all.