4 months, 2 agents, 0 viewings

Anatidaephobia

The first picture doesn't seem to be the best photo of the house. Is there another angle, perhaps from the garden, that you could get a good photo of the house?

The kitchen looks nice but I wouldn't call it a kitchen/diner. I agree with the poster who said remove the table. My eyes are drawn to that table and immediately I think how small the table looks. If it wasn't there, I'd probably be thinking the kitchen was spacious.

Some of the photo angles give the impression that we're only seeing half a room. When I can only see half a sofa, I think where's the rest of the living room? Where's the rest of the conservatory? Where's the other photo showing the other side of the room? That makes me speculate that perhaps the photo shows all there is to the room after all and the rooms are just very small.

The photos are in a mixed up order. Photos 4 and 10 show the bathroom. Photo 8 shows the master bedroom but I have to wait til photo 13 to see it again. This mismatched feeling doesn't help matters when the potential buyer is likely already confused about the layout of the house.

The bedrooms on the upper floor appear to be small, the ceilings appear to be very low, probably lower than they actually are in real life. Where is the fourth bedroom/office? It always annoys me when there are rooms with no photos (it makes you wonder what's wrong with that room). Agree with the poster who said it would probably be much better if it was shown dressed as a dining room with a proper table. That would redress the balance about the amount of living space available and would mean you don't need the table in the kitchen too.

Other than these minor points (and the missing floorplan issue), it seems modern, clean, tidy, and not too cluttered for the most part (aside from the kid's bedrooms), so it seems likely it's going to be a price issue.

amma2451

Anatidaephobia wrote: »

The first picture doesn't seem to be the best photo of the house. Is there another angle, perhaps from the garden, that you could get a good photo of the house?

The kitchen looks nice but I wouldn't call it a kitchen/diner. I agree with the poster who said remove the table. My eyes are drawn to that table and immediately I think how small the table looks. If it wasn't there, I'd probably be thinking the kitchen was spacious.

Some of the photo angles give the impression that we're only seeing half a room. When I can only see half a sofa, I think where's the rest of the living room? Where's the rest of the conservatory? Where's the other photo showing the other side of the room? That makes me speculate that perhaps the photo shows all there is to the room after all and the rooms are just very small.

The photos are in a mixed up order. Photos 4 and 10 show the bathroom. Photo 8 shows the master bedroom but I have to wait til photo 13 to see it again. This mismatched feeling doesn't help matters when the potential buyer is likely already confused about the layout of the house.

The bedrooms on the upper floor appear to be small, the ceilings appear to be very low, probably lower than they actually are in real life. Where is the fourth bedroom/office? It always annoys me when there are rooms with no photos (it makes you wonder what's wrong with that room). Agree with the poster who said it would probably be much better if it was shown dressed as a dining room with a proper table. That would redress the balance about the amount of living space available and would mean you don't need the table in the kitchen too.

Other than these minor points (and the missing floorplan issue), it seems modern, clean, tidy, and not too cluttered for the most part (aside from the kid's bedrooms), so it seems likely it's going to be a price issue.

Thank you, I agree with your comments.

I don't know why the photos of the living room are split other than they are the only EA in the country to possibly not have a wide angled lens camera? I am pretty sure there were photos taken of the study, another one for my list!

The only reason I think the first photo is this way is because they did not want to go on the grass, same reason there is no photo from the back of the house. I shall tell the EA to bring wellies.

00ec25

amma2451 wrote: »

Hello, I am looking for some advice. I have been reading through the forums about people who are concerned they are not getting any viewings after a few weeks, well for us its been 4 months and the only advice our agent can offer is "to drop the price before the market starts slowing down for the end of the year".

... and said "people do research so you might as well drop the price now to save doing it later".

anything will sell if the price is right - no viewers after 4 months says your price is wrong - end of story

amma2451 wrote: »

we have floor plans.

not on rightmove

amma2451 wrote: »

. When i asked them for feedback their response that left me gobsmacked was that only eldery and disabled people buy bungalows and that our drive and loft conversion woukd make the house unsuitable.

a bungalow will appeal to a limited market, by definition some (but obviously not all) of that market do not want (are no longer able) to cope with stairs (or a sloping drive)
yours is not a bungalow, round my way yours is what is called a "chalet house" ie it has bedrooms both downstairs and upstairs, but those upstairs have sloping ceilings because they are built into the roof and can (sometimes) therefore have limited space for adults

amma2451 wrote: »

and that the number of newbuilds in our city is stopping us moving so drop the price.

just look at your competition - it is newbuilds http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=POSTCODE%5E599810&minPrice=180000&maxPrice=210000&minBedrooms=4&radius=0.5&googleAnalyticsChannel=buying

it is also possible that Malpas simply does not have much attraction, for example look at this house which is on with joint agents and has a reduced price presumably because it too is not selling and is now "only" £15k more than yours for a "proper" house, not a conversion
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-43109056.html?premiumA=true

silvercar

That pink bedroom does not look like there is enough headroom for bunks.

Who are you appealing to?

Retiring folk looking for bungalows aren't interested in nursery dressed rooms.

Young couples get nervous about putting their babies/ toddlers in bedrooms on different floors to themselves.

I'd be inclined to neutrally paint the upstairs rooms, so they look like guest bedrooms. Then your natural market is older couples who have family to stay. Possibly more potential if you make one of the upstairs rooms into the study.

ognum

I think this is down to price and location. I do not think it's anything to do with being a chalet bungalow.

It have just sold (well sale agreed) on a chalet bungalow. It had 35 viewings in a week, 8 offers and the accepted price was 20% above asking price so there is no evidence to me that chalet bungalows are difficult to sell everywhere.

Mine needs a new kitchen and general love and attention but still had 8 offers so price and location are your problems.

jayss

Could you take the top bunk off for pictures, and maybe move furniture out. There just seems too little living space given the small kids rooms.

moneyistooshorttomention

The kitchen has to have a dining room near it as well (ie in view of the size), so it is a 3 bedroom house.

There is no getting round the fact that, if it continues to be advertised as 4 bedroom, people will be hunting the details for a 2nd bathroom and decide its obviously a 3 bedroom house anyway. You are dealing with the fact that many 3 bedroom new houses these days have an ensuite bathroom to the main bedroom and a 2nd loo downstairs. So, if that is what a 3 bedroom house has (if brand new), then many people who are after a 3 bedder will discount yours anyway for only having 1 bathroom. It is what it is and an attempt to cram in an en suite into a bedroom would result in people thinking "That's a small bedroom" and discounting the house for that reason.

Personally, I would discount it, regardless of price, because it looks as if rainwater could run down the front garden from the road and down the back garden because of the slope that has too.

Sorry....personally I would want a LOT off that price before I would go and have a look and, whilst there, I would be checking out the drainage situation in the garden.

Not good news for you I know, but I don't personally think there's a lot of point in saying "It'll be ok, with just a bit of decoration and decluttering".

You need to figure out how much money will want off the price to compensate for those sloping gardens/1 bathroom/3 bedrooms (whilst having reservations about a house where a dining room is being called a bedroom in the first place).

thequant

ognum wrote: »

I think this is down to price and location. I do not think it's anything to do with being a chalet bungalow.

It have just sold (well sale agreed) on a chalet bungalow. It had 35 viewings in a week, 8 offers and the accepted price was 20% above asking price so there is no evidence to me that chalet bungalows are difficult to sell everywhere.

Mine needs a new kitchen and general love and attention but still had 8 offers so price and location are your problems.

It can be, one came up near me when I was looking.


On my search criteria it ticked all my boxes in terms of bedrooms etc.


Then on top it was detached, for the no of bedrooms I was looking for I would have had to settle for a terraced house in my area for the same price.


Absolute steal I thought, until I seen the place.


The problem, like the OP was that it was an upstairs conversion with the 2 tiniest rooms I had ever seen.


The 3 bed place immediately became a one bed place in my mind and I walked away.


That was last summer, and it's still on the market in the hot London Market (although doesn't help that they keep raising the price!)


I think chalet bungalows done correctly do sell quite well, done badly they can become unsellable like the OP.


The OP is trying to sell a 4 bed house, but it does not function as a 4 bed house full stop, i.e. not enough bathrooms, kitchen/diner which can only accommodate dwarfs, living room which would kill the proverbial cat if you swung it.


The is definitely a case of a property project gone spectacularly wrong. The OP strategy of more bedrooms=££££'s has made them overlook the most important thing of selling a house. Would my target market want to live here ? the Answer is resounding NO.


0 viewings in 4 months is ample evidence of that.

moneyistooshorttomention

Mygawd...has agreed with thequant about something for the first time:p

Well...I wasn't going to be quite so blunt personally....

But...yep...it really seriously is not a 4-bedroom place and I think some viewers will hold it against OP for trying to say it is.

I know it's very far from uncommon to try and say a house has more bedrooms than it really has. You've only got to look at all the houses on the market that have 2 bedrooms and a boxroom, but are described as 3-bedroomed to see that. I was only viewing online a recently-marketed house that was being described as 4-bedroomed and thinking "Why?", when it has 3 bedrooms in actual fact and some space in the attic has been made into well-done loft storage space and a bed plonked in it (ie in order to try and make it look like a bedroom...though it isn't, because there is no way it would meet building regulations about correct staircase, etc).

Lots of people "try it on" to say a house has more bedrooms than it has...but that wont make it so.

thequant

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Mygawd...has agreed with thequant about something for the first time:p

Well...I wasn't going to be quite so blunt personally....

But...yep...it really seriously is not a 4-bedroom place and I think some viewers will hold it against OP for trying to say it is.

I know it's very far from uncommon to try and say a house has more bedrooms than it really has. You've only got to look at all the houses on the market that have 2 bedrooms and a boxroom, but are described as 3-bedroomed to see that. I was only viewing online a recently-marketed house that was being described as 4-bedroomed and thinking "Why?", when it has 3 bedrooms in actual fact and some space in the attic has been made into well-done loft storage space and a bed plonked in it (ie in order to try and make it look like a bedroom...though it isn't, because there is no way it would meet building regulations about correct staircase, etc).

Lots of people "try it on" to say a house has more bedrooms than it has...but that wont make it so.

The 2 beds + box room, or 2 beds + bed in loft is just about acceptable.


In fact when you look at 3 beds places, you almost expect it and most people go straight to the floor plan, to find out how big is the 3rd bedroom and where is it ?


I say it's just about acceptable, because if someone is on the tight budget and needs a 3 bedder this might be an option if suitable priced.


Although it is annoying to see those ones, which have not been discounted relative to the local market when they have created a 3rd bedroom out of nothing and expect the same price as a standard 3 bedder.


To attempt it for 2 extra bedrooms is just simply taking the pi$$