why do you think my house hasn't sold?

getmore4less

Looking again at the layout there is no hall to the kitchen or back door just the door off the dining room

Have to go through the living room compromises any layout, access to the under stairs another door the bay and the fireplace leave no layout choices.
your choice of layout(only 2 seats) emphasises this.

People have to think where do we put the other seats and how can they see the TV.

Only on loo upstairs, one double 1 nearly double and a single, the master photo does not give a good feeling of the space.

People are turning up and looking round so it is something about the place/location that is putting them off.

Changing the marketing might get different people round to view that don't see those issues.

Dazedandconfused

getmore4less wrote: »

Looking again at the layout there is no hall to the kitchen or back door just the door off the dining room

Have to go through the living room compromises any layout, access to the under stairs another door the bay and the fireplace leave no layout choices.
your choice of layout(only 2 seats) emphasises this.

People have to think where do we put the other seats and how can they see the TV.

Only on loo upstairs, one double 1 nearly double and a single, the master photo does not give a good feeling of the space.

People are turning up and looking round so it is something about the place/location that is putting them off.

Changing the marketing might get different people round to view that don't see those issues.

Where does the door go to that there is a picture of in the garden?

pippin06

getmore4less wrote: »

Looking again at the layout there is no hall to the kitchen or back door just the door off the dining room

Have to go through the living room compromises any layout, access to the under stairs another door the bay and the fireplace leave no layout choices.
your choice of layout(only 2 seats) emphasises this.

People have to think where do we put the other seats and how can they see the TV.

Only on loo upstairs, one double 1 nearly double and a single, the master photo does not give a good feeling of the space.

People are turning up and looking round so it is something about the place/location that is putting them off.

Changing the marketing might get different people round to view that don't see those issues.

I'm failing to see your point. It's a fairly standard 3 bed semi. We bought this house in our early 20s when we had 1 baby. It was our second house together and a palace compared to the 2 bed victorian property we moved from. I don't know why you are mentioning the layout -it is what it is, I was asking what sort of interior design type things I could do as I'm aware our decor is quite plain. I can't change the access from the hall or the number of toilets.

pippin06

Dazedandconfused wrote: »

Where does the door go to that there is a picture of in the garden?

I think you mean the garage door??? the garage is detached and the side is shown in the garden picture

Dazedandconfused

pippin06 wrote: »

I think you mean the garage door??? the garage is detached and the side is shown in the garden picture

I wondered if it was except it looks like it's got a cat flap? Or is that just my bad eye sight

I think you can't do a lot about the layout as you said. I really do think it's just spending maybe a couple of hundreds on window dressing

pippin06

lessonlearned thank you for your detailed reply. I will try to do as much of that as I am able.


We have recently changed our agent as we were disappointed with the first. So hopefully that will make a difference - so far so good.


Your reply was the sort of practical advice I can take and do something with


I find it so interesting that you say £1k will do the job. It makes more sense to me for the new buyer to spend that money on doing those things to their taste and knocking that (or more) off the asking price to be able to do it. It's certainly my plan to do this with the house I move to as I'm sure I won't like their wall papered walls and fancy modern light fittings!! (oh dear I really do have no style or taste, we chose those light fittings when we were 22 LOL!)


you're right about the bedside lights they are cheap which is why we chose them. They provide enough light at night for our needs in fact the bulb is the same bulb others use in their more expensive lamps. Our tightness on home furnishings is also why we are 30 years old with 3 children, have one wage earner and enough savings and equity in our home to afford to move our family to a more affluent area and a bigger home with 4 beds and the much admired, supposedly ubiquitous 2nd wc!!


In all seriousness though THANKS for the tips I really appreciate your reply.

lessonlearned

pippin06 wrote: »

[

you're right about the bedside lights they are cheap which is why we chose them. They provide enough light at night for our needs in fact the bulb is the same bulb others use in their more expensive lamps. Our tightness on home furnishings is also why we are 30 years old with 3 children, have one wage earner and enough savings and equity in our home to afford to move our family to a more affluent area and a bigger home with 4 beds and the much admired, supposedly ubiquitous 2nd wc!!


In all seriousness though THANKS for the tips I really appreciate your reply.

No problem - just hope you weren't offended by my "cheap" comment. The lights just need to be a bit bigger - they look out of scale. Actually you might get away with keeping the bases and just changing to a bigger shade. Worth a try.

I get what you are saying about the bathroom and kitchen tiles - it was just a suggestion. They are not damaged or tatty just a bit old fashioned. However, you can distract the eye from them by just concentrating on some nice new accessories in bright colours.

Don't forget to move the microwave though - it will make a huge difference. You look as if you have plenty of space on your worktop. You will need to fill in the holes where the bracket was and then a lick of paint.. If you can't get a perfect finish then just put a nice picture on the wall.

Try shopping at Ikea, Dunhelm, Wilkinsons or even ASDA or Sainsbury's for a few accessories. Do you have a shop called "The Range" near you - bang on trend and very reasonably priced. TK Maxx also have some nice unusual bits and bobs.

You really don't have to spend a lot of money to bring your house up to date. You are almost there, just a few tweaks.

And yes our tastes do change over the years. I have gone through several style changes over time.

And feel proud of your achievements - you have done well to be able to afford your move.

Finally, there's nothing wrong with "economy decorating".

I do it all the time. I look at the posh shops and designer stuff and then work out how I can achieve the same look for a fraction of the price. :rotfl:

pippin06

lessonlearned No I'm not offended at all just being light-hearted! I don't think I can be offended since I am aware of how bad my d!cor is or lack of imagination but we've been happy with it. We're very practical people so the look of things, unfortunately, gets left behind. To be honest we've been busy with little kids for so long we don't even notice what the house looks like to other people.


I am going to do lots of the things you suggest.


I did go to the Range, I needed a vase to display flowers for the estate agent's photos! I got quite stressed out in there and managed to leave with a jug to put flowers in which you can see on the windowsill of my front room in the pictures - it is also white though!!! Everything else in there bought me out in the sweats!!! I wouldn't know where to start.... but your advice has given me an idea.

Yorkie1

pippin06 wrote: »

I find it so interesting that you say £1k will do the job. It makes more sense to me for the new buyer to spend that money on doing those things to their taste and knocking that (or more) off the asking price to be able to do it. It's certainly my plan to do this with the house I move to as I'm sure I won't like their wall papered walls and fancy modern light fittings!! (oh dear I really do have no style or taste, we chose those light fittings when we were 22 LOL!)

I'm just picking up on the highlighted part, which you've said (in so many words) a few times through this thread - and I know you've said you're going to implement what you can.

I haven't seen a link to your house but from everyone's descriptions it sounds like a FTB type house? In which case, not all FTBs want to spend time and effort doing up bits of a house which the seller doesn't appear to have bothered doing - i.e. where it seems clear that the seller isn't interested in presenting the house to its best (and therefore, by possible implication, hasn't maintained the house).

Now, I'm not saying any of that is true for you, but as others have said it's about selling an aspiration to a buyer, not just an unloved space that needs effort to visualise yourself in.

Good luck.

lessonlearned

pippin06 wrote: »

lessonlearned No I'm not offended at all just being light-hearted! I don't think I can be offended since I am aware of how bad my d!cor is or lack of imagination but we've been happy with it. We're very practical people so the look of things, unfortunately, gets left behind. To be honest we've been busy with little kids for so long we don't even notice what the house looks like to other people.


I am going to do lots of the things you suggest.


I did go to the Range, I needed a vase to display flowers for the estate agent's photos! I got quite stressed out in there and managed to leave with a jug to put flowers in which you can see on the windowsill of my front room in the pictures - it is also white though!!! Everything else in there bought me out in the sweats!!! I wouldn't know where to start.... but your advice has given me an idea.

Three small children take up a lot of time. And - let's face it realistically none of us lives in show house splendour all the time.

It's just that when we come to sell we have to make an effort and pretend that we are posher than we really are…...:rotfl:

When I buy a house I pay no attention to it's decorative state, in fact I like to buy wrecks and put my own stamp on them.

However, I'm not being rude here - just speaking as a professional. It seems that not many buyers are capable of looking through the surface layers to the real bones of a house. Very often you really do have to spell things out to them.

I know what you mean about the Range. It can be a bit overpowering - it's like navigating your way around Paddy's Market. However, they do pile it high and sell it cheap so well worth a look if you can fight the feeling of claustrophobia.