Genuine opinions wanted - need to sell house

danielley

Hi all,

I'm conscious this will warp the viewing stats, but I would like opinions please on how to make this house more saleable.

We have had a handful of viewings but no offers. It's been on the market since August 2014 but with the 2nd agent since Dec 2014.

I have suggested lowering the price to both agents and they said they don't think that is the issue?!? The lowest we can sell without making a loss is £82,000 but I am prepared to have to find the shortfall personally

Any advice much appreciated. I'm due to give birth in 10 week so would like this sold in advance of that.

Windsor Street, Warrington, Cheshsire, WA5
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-47466979.html

kinger101

danielley wrote: »

Hi all,

I'm conscious this will warp the viewing stats, but I would like opinions please on how to make this house more saleable.

We have had a handful of viewings but no offers. It's been on the market since August 2014 but with the 2nd agent since Dec 2014.

I have suggested lowering the price to both agents and they said they don't think that is the issue?!? The lowest we can sell without making a loss is £82,000 but I am prepared to have to find the shortfall personally

Any advice much appreciated. I'm due to give birth in 10 week so would like this sold in advance of that.

Windsor Street, Warrington, Cheshsire, WA5
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-47466979.html

A quick look on rightmove indicated £80K might be a more realistic price given what's sold recently within a quarter of a mile. It's not been on the market that long but if things don't pick up in Feb, I'd drop the price £5K.

I'd also get another photo for the front on house. The current one has what looks like a blue tarpaulin lying in the alleyway. Not a good impression. The wall in photo 4 wouldn't be difficult to sort out would it?

The fact it's a bit more tatty than similarly priced properties is probably the issue.

Loopy28

The kitchen looks fine, for me it is difficult to visualise it as a home. I think due to it being empty.

Maybe put some curtain poles up and some curtains/blinds to try and make it look more homely and to add some colour. People need to be able to walk in and imagine living there.

Do you have the heating on prior to viewings? One thing that has put me off when viewing empty houses in the winter is the cold, again it doesn't make you think of a warm homely house.

Some of the photos aren't great to be honest, down to the EA not you. Does it have a garden?

ognum

danielley wrote: »

Hi all,

I'm conscious this will warp the viewing stats, but I would like opinions please on how to make this house more saleable.

We have had a handful of viewings but no offers. It's been on the market since August 2014 but with the 2nd agent since Dec 2014.

I have suggested lowering the price to both agents and they said they don't think that is the issue?!? The lowest we can sell without making a loss is £82,000 but I am prepared to have to find the shortfall personally

Any advice much appreciated. I'm due to give birth in 10 week so would like this sold in advance of that.

Windsor Street, Warrington, Cheshsire, WA5
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-47466979.html

I can understand how frustrating this is for you because it looks like you have worked hard to make the house presentable.

My own opinion is it feels dark and depressing, the brown carpets and the dark wood are not to my taste, I feel that if it had been glossed white it would have lifted the place but that is just my opinion. I also would never buy a house for me or to let with a downstairs bathroom but I guess many houses in your area are similar.

Every house sells if it's the right price and with two houses on your street (I don't know the area at all) selling much lower then this is depressing your market.

My guess is that you may sell to an investor as a BTL but the price is too high and they can buy something cheaper and get a better return.

I note you want it sold in 10 weeks and it is frustrating but I would not set your heart on that.

My advice would be lower the price, have an open house event with a very competitive price, settle in for the long haul and paint the woodwork if you have the energy!

tom9980

Cheshsire ?? the agent cant get that right for a start.

Pic 1 - you want rid of that car out front if possible, the road down the side means noise and hassle in my mind and that blue sheeting makes it look like a potential dumping ground too. Zero curb appeal.

Pic 2 - Looks tidy enough then i can see these water type marks around the plug and near the window which suggests its been patch painted or its damp.

Pic 4-5 around that vent it looks untidy and again makes me think damp.

Kitchen and bathroom look fine overall its a decent property that may well from my reading of the pictures have some form of damp problem.

Then i start looking at comparables and i get this http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-45745639.html two streets away.

then This http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-46987795.html

10k cheaper.

adhara

The first thing I noticed was in the dining room, is that damp on the wall? Keen eyes would see that, and dismiss the house immediately. And there's a dark patch on the wall in the living room too.

People may be turned off by the property being on the corner, even if the road is just a pass through. And they may be put off by the bathroom being right at the back.

Apart from that, there's nothing wrong with it (the EA could have turned on the light while taking photos, but YMMV).

booksurr

I can understand the reluctance of the EA to drop the price given that no 17 sold at £90k in Aug 2014. Whilst you have obviously done work to yours theirs (no 17) is definitely a cut above yours and I certainly would not pay 90k for yours. Even if I bought it at 85K I would still feel a little hard done

you say you are getting viewings but no offers, therefore:
- people find it hard to visualise living there because the lack of furniture makes it difficult for them to see how the rooms function

- the lack of furniture means the eyes are drawn to the imperfections mentioned by others above, eg the painting oddities and the unevenness around the chimney vent

- your competitors in the immediate vicinity are cheaper and/or better value, as already linked.

- end of terrace is a positive for me but as that is the access road for the backs of your row it may put others off . Why is there no picture of your rear yard (is it that bad???)

- yes no 6 sold for 90k in 2004 but the peak your street reached before the crash in 2007/8 was 80k. I see no justification for a 10k higher asking price now and whilst I acknowledge that your break even is 82k, a more realistic marketing price of low 80k (ie in line with your competitors) could mean you end up selling for seventy something because that is what your competitors will sell for.

At the end of the day the old adage is perfectly true, get the price right and it will sell to your first viewer, but it won't be within 10 weeks at the rate you are asking. After all this one is on at 75k, has suspicious paint marks in the dining room and also suffers from lack of parking outside the property just like yours does, given you cannot park in the gap between your neighbours car and your street corner. If theirs sell for 71 - 73 do you think yours is really worth another 13% (ie £10k)?

GwylimT

I also thought damp when I saw the dark marks near the living room fire place and dining room fire place.

The kitchen and bathroom both look very nice and clean.

I think really we need a bit of personality, get some curtains up, fruit bowl in the kitchen, some nice towels in the bathroom and a nice soap holder on the sink. I know it is empty but you still need to market the property as a home. Before a viewing put the heating on, air the property and ensure it smells nice and inviting light a candle or similar. If you have a nice fairly pale rug it would really break up such a dark carpet in the living room.

martin1959

This is a difficult one, and there is no easy way to say it.....


Properties will sell if the price is right.....however, as others have said there are a few things you could do.


In my opinion, you have to sort out the damp issue. I can understand you not wanting to do so, as it is not so much down to cost sorting damp, but due to the time it takes for the wall to dry out etc.


You have to remember, that if your estate agent knows of any problems with your property, then he has a legal duty to disclose them. Whilst he may not have noticed the issues when he put the property on the market, if a subsequent viewer mentions the issue to him, he has to disclose this if it is correct.


Some one has mentioned putting some furnishings in the property. How about getting a Welsh dresser and standing it against the wall hiding the damp patch...lol


One major mistake people make, in my opinion, is following the market down.


An example of this would be a friend of mine 'up North' who put his house on the market in 2012 for £380k....when the market suggested a price of about £360k......after a year with no sale, he reduced it to £360k......but the market had fallen to £330-340k...so after another 12 months he reduced to £340k, but again, the market had fallen. In the end, mid 2014, he accepted an offer of £320k. Had he not been 'greedy' and put it up for £350k, slightly BELOW MARKET in the first place, he would have probably got about £340k in 2012.


What is really laughable is that he wanted to move 'down South' and he ended buying in Dec 2014, paying £400k for a property, that had he sold back in 2012, would have cost him about £330k.


I told him this in 2012....did he listen? of course not, he knew better. Being a true friend, it is my duty to remind of this fact regularly.....


My advice is get 3 other estate agents round, tell them to be honest with you, not blow hot air up your a*se, and tell you what it is worth for a very quick sale. Take the average of the 3 and you have the price it should be on the market for.


One bit of good news for you, we are coming up to the best time to sell a house.....as a 20 year plus mortgage adviser, I can tell you, without a doubt, the best time to put your property on the market is a week before Easter....why?


1.Generally the days are warmer and the grass can be cut and gardens made to look nice
2. Most people will take some time off over Easter and spend it viewing houses
3.Families with children like to move during the summer school holiday, and using the '3 month from viewing to completion' rule, buying in April/May allows this to happen
4.With warmer weather and longer days, people have the opportunity to do those little touch ups to give the property more kerb appeal.

Mickygg

I think a lick of paint to the downstairs dark wood skirting boards and doors would match the rest of the house.
Picture of front of house, why advertise there is a road or alleyway right there? I'd chop that bit out of the photo.
Damp as mentioned must get fixed.
I think the house next door looking all white puts yours in the shade.

I like the inside though.

carefullycautious

Yes damp stains on chimney wall put me off too.