PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING: Hello Forumites! In order to help keep the Forum a useful, safe and friendly place for our users, discussions around non-MoneySaving matters are not permitted per the Forum rules. While we understand that mentioning house prices may sometimes be relevant to a user's specific MoneySaving situation, we ask that you please avoid veering into broad, general debates about the market, the economy and politics, as these can unfortunately lead to abusive or hateful behaviour. Threads that are found to have derailed into wider discussions may be removed. Users who repeatedly disregard this may have their Forum account banned. Please also avoid posting personally identifiable information, including links to your own online property listing which may reveal your address. Thank you for your understanding.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

Struggling to sell our house

12467

Comments

  • Ella235
    Ella235 Posts: 24 Forumite
    I can’t seem to use the quote button on my phone sorry.

    I have sent a PM to need an answer
  • sgun
    sgun Posts: 725 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper
    It generally looks a little uncared for. The back of the house is grimy, especially the gutters. It won't cost much to get someone up there to clean them (and the render too). The garden could do with a tidy, the decking looks really slippery. The bathroom looks like the grout is going black, this might be just the photo though. All of these would put me off, particularly the external issues.

    I think the exterior photos are putting people off because it makes it look like it needs a fair amount of work doing. Photos are supposed to get people through the door, not stop them from wanting to view! I don't think the photo of the rear of the property and the one of the falling down shed are attractive at all. You don't need them in there and I think it shows a lazy EA to not notice that their photos aren't that good.
  • RelievedSheff
    RelievedSheff Posts: 12,691 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Sixth Anniversary Name Dropper Photogenic
    If you are targeting first time buyers and young couples then you need to dress the house to target this market.

    Right now there is nothing outstanding about the interior that suggests it will make a great first home.

    The exterior of the property is not the most appealing at the front or the rear but a good tidy and clean up and planting some cheap winter plants should give it a cheap overhaul and make it more appealing.

    I would remove it from the market with the current agents. Spend a few weeks tarting the place up and then get a fresh agent on the case and make sure they take some better pictures. You don't need to spend lots of money just time fettling.
  • Vestra
    Vestra Posts: 856 Forumite
    Previous sold prices a few years ago suggest £150-170, what did you pay for it 4 years ago?
  • Vestra wrote: »
    Previous sold prices a few years ago suggest £150-170, what did you pay for it 4 years ago?

    What they paid for it 4 years ago is irrelevant to it's value today, especially if you're just going to ignore the recent sold prices.
  • System
    System Posts: 178,355 Community Admin
    10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Vestra wrote: »
    Previous sold prices a few years ago suggest £150-170, what did you pay for it 4 years ago?

    Are you exploring how much leeway the OP has to reduce the price?
    This is a system account and does not represent a real person. To contact the Forum Team email forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com
  • edgex
    edgex Posts: 4,212 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Ella235 wrote: »
    Thanks for the advice everyone.

    The house has already been marked down so we really don’t want to mark down any further as it is not over priced compared to others in the area.
    The steps may be an issue, but our target market would probably be young couples as it was when we purchased 4 years ago.

    EA told us to keep minimal for photos, but I will take on board the feedback.
    I don’t know what the parking isn’t mentioned in the advert but I know the estate agents have mentioned it to viewers along with the new boiler.


    too late by then, as there's all the potential viewers that won't know those things

    You need to have ALL of the positives on the advert
  • ethank
    ethank Posts: 2,197 Forumite
    Holiday Haggler I've been Money Tipped!
    I'm going through the pictures - which are not the greatest to be honest! Your EA has not done you the greatest service - they should be telling you that you need to "present" your house for sale.

    Rent a storage unit and take anything you don't need to it. You've filled a small two bed with too much stuff and it looks cluttered.

    Picture 1 - I see three houses - which one is it - the one in the middle? It needs a de-weed and tidy up. Put shingle down and make it look neat. A few plants like the neighbour.

    Picture 2 - Kitchen - take everything off the kitchen side - it looks cluttered and makes it look like you have no storage. Take whatever is on the boiler off it. Paint the wall to the side of the boiler.

    Picture 3 - Living Room - remove computer desk which makes it look small. Hang a picture on the wall in this location. Paint the chimney breast wall - a slightly darker shade to make it stand out against the other two feature walls either side of the chimney breast. Why is there no curtain or blind?

    Picture 4 - Remove small dressing table in front of radiator.

    Picture 5 - Possibly the worst picture. I would paint the render. It makes it look like your property has damp. Clean and treat the decking. Tidy up planters. Try to add some colour with lavender in nice pots.

    Picture 6 - Does the bookcase need to be there?

    Picture 7 - Bleach the bathroom grouting. Personally I would paint the cabinets and bath side in a gloss paint.

    Sorry to be brutal - this looks like your home, not a house you want to sell.
  • Just something to think about.... is your house too cheap?
    Sounds weird, but we've just bought from someone who is desperate to move.


    The house was keenly price and even then, dropped around 10% in the first 4 weeks to get buyers in which actually decreased the amount of interest. We came in and offered less than the latter asking price and were snapped up.



    I've seen similar with a house which I have a feeling is being done for probate or the owner has moved into end-of-life care - original pictures had stairlift, assisted toilets and so on as well as specialist furniture and beds. Later pictures now show and empty shell and the only reason you'd know is because it has a wet room rather than a bath/shower. At one stage, they had it on the market with 4 different agents.



    It's a fantastic house for the money and yet it's been on the market for months. Way cheaper than anything else in the area. Even stuff in the less salubrious estates has sold in the same time period for more. Even a month after supposedly having a BAFO, it's still up with an estate agent and not showing as SSTC (although I think it is).
    The smaller the monkey the more it looks like it would kill you at the first given opportunity.
  • Caitykinss
    Caitykinss Posts: 162 Forumite
    Third Anniversary 100 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 2 October 2019 at 2:54PM
    Sorry if this all sounds harsh, but I'm just thinking out loud as I go through the photos.At the moment it looks like photos of your house, not photos of a house for people to buy. I know nothing about the area, so no idea if it's priced right or not, but these are my thoughts on how you could make the advert look better.

    Picture 1: De-weed/tidy up the front garden. Maybe add a pot plant of two to brighten it up. Paint/remove the gate at the bottom of the path and paint the hand rail. Move the dustbin out of the way for the photo. Essentially, next door to the right looks more inviting, and highlights the negatives of yours more.

    Picture 2: The rug isn't straight. I'd consider painting the wood panelling white, both on the wall and above the window. The wooden chopping board/worktop saver under the kettle is bugging me. I like them in person, I have one myself, but the angle of the photo makes it look like half the worktop is wood and half not.

    Picture 3: Curtains or blinds on the patio doors. A bigger picture or mirror on the chimney breast and a picture above the computer table. Plumper/neater cushions. See comments below about dressing the deck outside.

    Picture 4: I just don't like this one - I'd get rid or put it after the other photo of the bedroom.

    Picture 5: Put this at the end. Decking and render need cleaning up. Greenery at the top needs sprucing up and cutting back. Maybe consider borrowing or buying a cheap patio table and chairs set - I'm sure there'll be good end of season deals. Consider a few pot plants too. It doesn't look like a place I'd want to sit out in as it is, so prove me wrong.

    Picture 6: Funny angle, can it be taken from further back?

    Picture 7: The grout and the end of the bath behind the taps need bleaching/cleaning somehow. I recently used a grey grout pen to spruce up my white tiles in a similar condition and it looks great. Only cost about £3 on Amazon and was really easy. I'm sure you can get white ones too. I think you need something on the windowsill/next to the sink - candles, towel bale, something a bit luxurious maybe. It looks bland as it is. I also agree with someone else about painting the wood panelling white.

    Picture 8: Dress the bed better - more cushions maybe. The chair and table look a little out of place. Make a feature of them or get rid.

    Picture 9: Move this so it is next to the other living room picture

    Picture 10: Same applies about dressing the bed better. Have a look at how new build developers present beds in their show homes. Plump cushions and pillows, maybe a throw. I'd close the door too.

    Picture 11: Put photos of the same room next to each other.

    Picture 12: I'd probably just get rid of this one. It's going to be hard to make the shed/garage look nice so win people over with the rest of the house.

    Overall it just needs sprucing up a bit to show people how THEY could live there, not how YOU live there.

    I'll also mention that we have just bought a house that had been sold to one of these 'relocation' companies before us. The company bought it for £71,000 and sold it to us for £116,000 which was about right for the market in our area.
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 351.3K Banking & Borrowing
  • 253.2K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 453.8K Spending & Discounts
  • 244.3K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 599.5K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 177.1K Life & Family
  • 257.8K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.2K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.6K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.