What is wrong?

TheRoders

And Nubbins - that is the same bathroom as we have. It's on the same estate. It's the same age, just a different colour.

fairy_lights

TheRoders wrote: »

It is descent artifical grass.. We paid a lot for it. Real grass doesn't grow well in the garden as it's North facing!

The garden is more than big enough for a entertaining and with a family.

It still looks strange though, the garden is a good size but such an odd mishmash of paving, gravel and the fake lawn I think a lot of people would want to do it over.
If the wood furniture in the bedroom has sentimental value for you then I suggest you take it with you when you move because sadly I can't see it not being ripped out if it stays.

TBagpuss

OP - you mentioned in an earlier comment 2 parking spaces - the listing says 'allocated parking' - doesn't specify how much. The photo looks as though you have a driveway or equivalent and for such a small house and looking at the photo I would assume parking for one car. If it is more than that, you need to make that clear in the listing.

in relation to decluttering - while it is a pain, even having a couple of big boxes / crates which you can put in the car and dive round the corner with when you know a viewing is going to take place can help. This may be particuarly useful for things such as your child's toys.

Given the bathroom and the lack of double glazing, I would also consider getting the description updates to explicitly state that the property is in need of some updating, and on no account leave out a photo of the bathroom.

I sold my house last year. It was in need of a new kitchen and bathroom. I had looked into getting the work done and decide that it was not worth it, financially (having discussed what effect it would have on the price, I might have broken even). When I was discussing it with the agent , he did say (after a bit of pushing, as he obviously didn;t want to say anything I might take offence at!) he advised that it was better to be upfront about it. If you say that the house needs work, and show the pictures of the rooms that relates to, there may be some people who chose not to view because they want a 'walk in ready' property, but those who do look will be less likely to be put off when the y view the house, because they already know that it needs some work, that the bathroom is old and so on, plus you have made it clear from the outset that the property is priced to take those factors into account. Having a more detailed description which reflects the fact that the house is single glazed etc also reduces the risk of people being put off when they see it .

TBagpuss

TheRoders wrote: »

GoldenShadow

That house in Evenlode is in the middle of a council estate. We went to look at a house there when we bought this one and there were kids riding round on mini motorbikes, cars dumped on the side of the road and stripped and graffiti everywhere.... I can categorically say that you wouldn't choose that location of where I am. It's not even a comparison.

Nubbins - That "Wood" in the bedroom was handmade by my dad. I'm more than happy to take it with me if the buyers didn't want it. It has a LOT of sentimental value but have been told to leave it as part of the fixtures and fittings.

It is descent artifical grass.. We paid a lot for it. Real grass doesn't grow well in the garden as it's North facing!

The garden is more than big enough for a entertaining and with a family.

I've had this house for 11 years and it is perfect for a couple or a family with 2 kids and I also have a boxer dog.

The wood in the bedroom makes it very dark - consider taking it down and repainting that room.

As you have a dog - are you 100% sure your house does not smell 'doggy'? I know people who live with dogs can very easily become 'nose-blind' to the smell of the dog (and all dogs, even young, clean, well looked after, short haired dogs, smell of dog).

For me, it';s a huge turn off when viewing a house - not as bad as the smell of stale smoke, but very definitely off putting. If you are not sure, ask an honest, non-per owning friend to tell you. Also - what does the conservatory smell like? If you are working with wood and acrylic, are there lingering scents from that? I don't dislike the smell of cut wood, but it is a she/garage scent, not a homely one, if that makes sense. Particularly in conjunction with the fact that you are using the conservatory as work space, not living space, I think that will leave people with a (perhaps subconscious) impression of the conservatory as not really being living space.

Most people, it seems, are not very good at seeing past these things - it's like decor - it can be very easy to fix, but if people don't like the decor, they often don't like the house. First impressions, especially bad ones, are very influential

TheRoders

The bedroom has been repainted. If I take it down then I have no room for clothes.

Yes, we have a dog, but he has moved in with my mum for a couple of weeks so he is not in the way but I am VERY careful not to have doggy smells in the house and have had a few non dog owners round lately and they have said that it doesn't smell of dog and I know they would be honest with me as they know I am trying to sell.

Certainly no smoke! None of us smoke and don;t allow it in the house.

Well if they cant look past the conservatory then I don;t know what I can do. I have to work there! I have no choice in that matter.

quidsy

You have no choice to work there but you do have the choice of making it look less cluttered & messy. There is literally stuff everywhere, why not paint that bench a nice pale shade, invest in some nice storage boxes, the pattered kind & put all the stuff away. at least when someone comes to look it looks ordered & neat & allows them to "see past" the office/workshop it currently is used as.

mrginge

Anyone who either has or is planning children will look at that and say 'too small, no thanks', so being close to a good school is irrelevant.

I don't think the inside is that bad other than being cluttered, but unfortunatly it's not got much chance against anything else in the area due to its size. It's minute. Saving ten or fifteen grand is total false economy for 90% of the prospective buyers. I think it's unsellable without a major price drop.

rosie383

quidsy wrote: »

You have no choice to work there but you do have the choice of making it look less cluttered & messy. There is literally stuff everywhere, why not paint that bench a nice pale shade, invest in some nice storage boxes, the pattered kind & put all the stuff away. at least when someone comes to look it looks ordered & neat & allows them to "see past" the office/workshop it currently is used as.

Great advice. ↑↑↑↑↑


Good luck. If it is priced right then there will be viewers who will see past any clutter or coloured bathroom suite. I'd definitely paint the kitchen cupboards and declutter the child's room.

firebird082

Agree with those who say it's not a family home. I would have been your target market when we bought last year, and I wouldn't have looked twice at your house. Waaay to small, and no room to expand. We would have been thinking we would have to move on as soon as we had our first child.

I'm not sure that the decor is so off-putting, but the photos are simply appalling - get the agent back and make them point the camera upwards! It's perfectly obvious that you could fit a dining table in the conservatory, so no particular worries there I would say. Single glazing is a major consideration though - I would be taking £5k off the asking price just for the cost of installing it! £265k sounds like an awful lot to me for a small 2 bed, no matter where it's located.

How far did youe previous buyers get, or did they pull out shortly after making the offer? If the latter, implies to me that they quickly found something better for a similar price...

Hoploz

I would add ... There's been a lot of talk about single glazing being a problem.

If you've only had four people view then I would think it is unlikely to be that putting people off. Unless the advert is stating single glazing nobody will know until they get there. And even when they get there they would probably not notice. I know when I've viewed and bought houses I have just assumed they were double glazed ... and found in my latest house that actually several of the windows aren't! I didn't realise until we moved in! So unless someone comes for a second viewing and actually shows an interest in living there, it probably wouldn't come up.

You need to make changes to the adverts (maybe kerb appeal?) to get people to come inside.