House for Sale for a year - No offers.

ScorpioLady_2

As the title says my house has been up for sale for a year, and to date no offers have arisen.

It is a 3 bedroom, detached, 1850 large cottage, beamed ceiling, spiral staircase, lots of character etc. Large garden but on two tiers (on a mountain) has a garage but no driveway to speak of.

The agents are a very busy, popular one, I have done a mystery shopper test on them and they flagged my house up straight away. Had about 13/14 viewers, not much feedback although the agent says they do try. I have already dropped the price by 8K and it is now less than a similar semi detached one on the next road.

So what now? Do I just persevere (quite depressing), do I reduce again(to under market value?), do I change agent(aren't they all the same, really?), or do I just trust to fate that its just not 'meant to be'.

Is it just down to reducing the price again and again? Any opinions would be appreciated.

custardy

hmm is there any issues,such as a busy road,no local shops etc?

sometimes you struggle if your halfway.eg a rural location with no shops but a busy road outside

m00m00

do you have a right move link

sad to say that if you've had 13-14 viewers, and no offers in 12 months, then it's not priced at 'the market price', rather at what you feel it's worth.

benb76

ScorpioLady wrote: »

I have already dropped the price by 8K and it is now less than a similar semi detached one on the next road.

So what now? Do I just persevere (quite depressing), do I reduce again(to under market value?),

has the semi sold at that price? if not then maybe that house is overvalued. market value is what people are prepared to pay for your house, not what an EA says it's worth.

se999

I know I wonder when people say they have spiral staircases. They aren't good for moving things up and down, some don't appear child friendly for fitting stair gates etc. Also for people thinking long term, there might be mobility problems, and don't think you can fit a stairlift on a spiral (well might well be wrong on this, it just seems like it wouldn't work or be very expensive).

2 tier gardens also might be a problem, drainage of water towards the house, also if the difference in the tiers is great, not exactly child friendly. Also not elderly retirement friendly either.

People rarely park cars in garages. So is there actually room to put one or two cars otherwise?

We've found things are normally a bit slow in July/August. It tends to pick up for September/early October, then slows down again, but that's out experience.

Sorry if I'm not exactly helpful, it's just we're house hunting at the moment, so these are the things I'm thinking when I look at rightmove etc. Character cottages do have an appeal, but it's to a specific part of the market normally.

ScorpioLady_2

Hope this link works.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-13081829.rsp?pa_n=1&tr_t=buy

(There is a fire door/window upstairs that allows furniture to be moved in and out easily.)

We are in a village with good shops (for a village) and 5 minutes from major supermarkets, and 5 mins from the A road links to motorways.

I appreciate what you're saying about the garden and parking. Not sure what I can do to solve these though?

Thanks for your replies to date, by the way.

Fen1

Ask your agent to be absolutely straight with as to why it's not selling. They will have feed back from buyers and should know themselves why it's not shifting. Get them to talk - you are employing them, remember - and then listen. What they tell you might not be what you want to hear. However, if they are fuzzy, and all flannel, simply say that you are not satisfied with their service, give them one month to come up with the answers you want, and then threaten to change agents.

PasturesNew

As a casual observer/buyer looking through, I consider these two to be your competition:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-7902983.rsp?pa_n=4&tr_t=buy
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-12540704.rsp?pa_n=4&tr_t=buy

Both £10k cheaper than yours.

Your photo doesn't really make the house appeal to me. And I'd see the cheaper ones first.

When I look at the picture I see:
- right on the road
- flat roof extension, which isn't attractive.

Hope this helps.

Debt_Free_Chick

I know you've got the virtual tour, but more photos on that front page on Rightmove would help. Busy, choosy buyers will click through the search results pretty quickly and you want to grab their attention straight away - don't rely on them waiting for the virtual tour and/or brochure to load.

The virtual tour gives the impression that there is only a courtyard garden - I think it needs two tours of the garden, one "Courtyard" another "Garden" and a photo of the garden in the brochure.

No photos of bedrooms anywhere

Floor plan is always helpful

Finally, whilst the decor/furniture suits the style of the property, sadly, most buyers want a "Sarah Beeney style" contemporary interior - even in a period property! I'm not suggesting you makeover the whole house, but you are probably limiting the list of those who would be attacted to buying as they want a "loft-style" interior

After 12 months, perhaps the EA could be persuaded to revamp Rightmove - and even the brochure?

HTH

cells

In that one year, interest rates have gone up 6 times, that is part of the reason you are not selling.

Although to you the price is the same, to a buyer when you first put it up your property might have been 600pcm but now is 750pcm.



Lower your price if you want to sell, or your other option is to live there for a long long time

BettiePage

What's the average wage in your area?