why do you think my house hasn't sold?

pippin06

Grumpelstiltskin wrote: »

A rug in front of the hearth, ( you don't need an expensive one ) would make it look more lived in.


A couple of planters in the front garden with pansies or primulas would help with first impressions.


Both of these you could take with you when you move.

Thank you, both good ideas I'll probably do.

it is a funny thing how we're told to declutter but still make it looked lived in!! There's 5 in my family and we're always having visitors and family we definitely live in this house! And if it shows wear and tear that wouldn't be good.

pippin06

Jenniefour wrote: »

OP, I can't see any majorly wrong with your house at all, it's a very nice tidy house for a young family. I think you've done a great job on the de-cluttering and there is nothing about the house that stands out in a negative way. Tidy outside as well. Maybe a few finishing touches, as others have suggested. Even a vase of flowers can help. Like on the kitchen table. Something decorative on bathroom window? And something in the bay window space - spare armchair? That space looks a little too bare. Otherwise, nice house!

Ah thanks, in our defense the photos were taken in a very wet February, the garden looks much nicer now the lawn has been cut. It also looked much nicer when we went on the market back in August.

thanks, I will do as you've suggested. Like I said I put my hands up on the lack of interior design and this was exactly the kind of advice I was looking for. Must seem so obvious to others to do these things but we've always lived with lego and kids' junk models and drawings decorating our house (which have obviously been hiden away at nana's for the time being!)

thanks for all your comments everyone, hopefully I'll get the news I want soon.

Fraise

Sorry, but I can't find the link to it. Could you post it up please?

phoebe1989seb

Have had a look now and tbh it's not as bad as you'd made it sound OP

My thoughts are -

The second and third bedroom definitely look cramped and therefore quite tiny;

The kitchen and bathroom look dated and in need of money spending;

The front elevation lacks kerb appeal, but some tubs of Spring flowers would rectify that;

The living room does look as though it can't accommodate a family as a result of the one small sofa - although the room size disproves that point;

The rear garden looks unloved and isn't selling a *lifestyle* - why do so many new build owners never bother to lay out a garden with shrubs etc, instead leaving it as a patch of lawn?

The layout with access to kitchen via dining room plus the lack of a second bathroom would put me off were I a FTB looking for a newer home (which I'm not and wouldn't be as I prefer character properties ), but there is obviously a market for that type of home......if I were looking for a newer home and could put up with those compromises I'd prefer to buy the one below for less money

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-45169070.html

Obviously I'm not au fait with sold prices or the area in general - we only go to Blandford occasionally - and that other house may be in a terrible area....Blandord does always seem to be overrun with Chavvy types when we visit

vivatifosi

One other thing if you're having new pics taken... Move the bins out of the side driveway and put them back after the pic is taken, or keep them out of way until viewings over. It makes it look as though you have to move the bins to get your car in. It probably isn't the case, but because of the perspective of the photo, they are in the foreground to your garage so look bigger.

pippin06

Dazedandconfused wrote: »

People offer but they usually use the asking price as a base. What you find online isn't the whole story but it's unfortunately what prospective buyers would be basing their property search on.

What is the feedback from your viewers / estate agent?

Personally I like the fireplace but I would de clutter the kids rooms a bit but maybe you have done that already?

If you looked at next door online and saw the pictures and see what it looks like now just from outside you can see considerable money has been spent, house prices here have gone up too. We had 4 agents independantly value our house and they all told us to put it on for the same price and to expect to get at least xx and they all said the same thing.

I have no doubts that if we lowered our price we'd sell fast but we wouldn't have as much to move on with.

All feedback has been positive - bigger than expected, light, great area etc but people have either bought somewhere for more which offers more or not found anything else yet (and maybe could come back) or said "it's not for them"

pippin06

vivatifosi wrote: »

One other thing if you're having new pics taken... Move the bins out of the side driveway and put them back after the pic is taken, or keep them out of way until viewings over. It makes it look as though you have to move the bins to get your car in. It probably isn't the case, but because of the perspective of the photo, they are in the foreground to your garage so look bigger.

That's an interesting comment. I park my people carrier comfortably in front of the bins, in fact I just drove it off the drive for that photo so the bins were in the same place. The drive goes beyond the length of the house so 1 behind the other fits 2-3 cars. That's where we keep the bins can't think of anywhere else to put them during viewings.

Would that stop someone viewing/buying the house?

pleasedelete

Did you replace 14 year old wooden windows with UPVC? that probably knocked £000s off and mad eit much less saleable.

whodathunkit

Backing onto a recreation ground would worry me as they're often places where the yobs congregate in the evenings.

I'm afraid I think all the rooms, apart from the living room, are really small and that's out of proportion.

Fraise

I don't know the area, but it looks nice and green which is always a selling point. I can't see pictures of the dining room? Maybe I missed them.

I'm wondering if the viewers you've had have only looked at the pictures? It's just that looking at the measurements of the bedrooms they are very small. Two of them are singles, and the main bedroom just scrapes into a double.

The trouble with most new builds is that space is compromised, and whilst the house itself is fine, I personally think it looks very small for a family home. You can't change the size of it, I understand that, but I'd be inclined to declutter even more to give it a sense of more space.