Early days but why is my house not selling? Any suggestions welcomed

rik111

moneysavinghero said:

cabbage said:

GDB2222 said:

I bought a house in 1992 that had dreadful photos on the blurb from the estate agents. It was not a pretty house, but it was a lot better than their photos. I was one of the very few people to view it, and mine was the only offer.  It turned out to be a fabulous family home, and a tremendous bargain. 

Yes its not a 'pretty' house from the front, looks nice inside but the beauty lies in the fabulous views at the back .  Its in a quiet area, not on an estate etc so like you (and us) we saw beyond the brick frontage but not everyone can and I appreciate that.

But you can also get the views with this property (and without having to look over the the tops of houses):

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-96128630.html

As an added benefit you also save £25k, get an extra bedroom, can enjoy the patio without being overlooked, get a balcony, can park several cars without having to go single file and get a bigger garden (admittedly terraced so not perfect but still an improvement).  

This is the problem, at 25k less anyone would be mad to even look at the OP house over this one.... You need to be on at 25k less than this one to get any interest, probably not what you want to hear but it’s the reality of your situation.

Crashy_Time

Just accept it folks, the price is bonkers. "Motivated agents", floor-plans, pictures of sunsets etc won`t help when the asking price is totally out of touch. Sorry.

Scotbot

You really, really need a floor plan. There is a photo of a seating area but no indication of how you access it. From a bedroom or a living area!

Crashy_Time

You need to get people interested, then they can have a floor plan, this ad and price will be making a floor plan the last thing people want to see IMO.

Hannimal

NameUnavailable said:

A floor plan would be better but that shouldn't put people off from viewing if the price/location/size and style of property is right.

Perhaps it's petty but with so many properties matching what I was interested in buying, I wouldn't have seen something without a floorplan as I wouldn't have been sure if it was worth my time. I can't figure out from the photos at all what the layout of the house actually is like.

Hannimal

NameUnavailable said:

A floor plan would be better but that shouldn't put people off from viewing if the price/location/size and style of property is right.

Perhaps it's petty but with so many properties matching what I was interested in buying, I wouldn't have seen something without a floorplan as I wouldn't have been sure if it was worth my time. I can't figure out from the photos at all what the layout of the house actually is like.

Hannimal

There are a lot of fairly unhelpful comments on here - few people who are looking to buy will go through all this effort before seeing a property. Anyone looking to buy in that price range will know the local market. I do not. But based on some of the links in this thread of properties near-by that have sold recently or are currently listed, your property is not as appealing I am afraid. 

The internal pictures are unfortunately not wholly appealing. I don't know if there is anything you can or are willing to do about this. This is a matter of taste and I know a lot of people think the way I would decorate is not very nice. However, the way you have decided to decorate your home with large and bulky furniture makes it look crammed. For example, you have a fairly small (I guess it's less than 3x4?) lounge with two large sofas in there. Whilst they are only 2-seaters, they are bulky and you wouldn't comfortably fit to walk into the room with less than a metre of space between the two sofas.

There is also a considerable amount of clutter in most rooms and so much going on with the questionable design choices that the space looks smaller than it is. For example, in the living room almost each wall has a statement wall lamp and there are many decorative items on each wall and each surface, including three cushions (none of which match) on one two-seater sofa - of course some like this so that's fine - but it doesn't do any favours in helping you create space.

There is also an entire room dedicated to a toy train set (or whatever that is). For most people imaging another use for the room will be difficult, and whilst I spend considerable amount of time thinking about interiors even I find it hard to grasp the dimensions of that room, or any of the rooms really. It is also not clear why there are several pictures of staircases but no floor plan.

And as many have said, a floorplan would do wonders.

I am afraid that the thing holding you back is the high asking price - though the listing hasn't been up for that long so I wouldn't be too worried. I hope you find the right buyer soon.

twopenny

I've just spent a lot of time viewing properties.

The first thing that stikes me is the entrance from the road. It's the first thing people see when they drift round to check out the property and it looks blank and unloved with no sign of an entrance. A couple of tubs of flowers and a hanging basket or two would work wonders as inviting. I'd paint those metal fence poles if they are yourst look like they are the barrier to something. Make it compliment the bricks so not orange or raspberry pink

The second is the fabulous views and the pretty garden. That would appeal to an older working couple maybe who want to relax.

Then reading and looking, what market is it aimed at? Stairs outside, spiral and a deeply stepped garden aren't conducive to children or older people. So that's probably families out and grandparents. If it's working couples would they need so many bedrooms?

Ask the agents though you and your friends are probably the better judge, who you are aiming to sell to and make small cheap amendments to appeal to them

tweet86

NinjaTune said:

moneysavinghero said:

cabbage said:

GDB2222 said:

I bought a house in 1992 that had dreadful photos on the blurb from the estate agents. It was not a pretty house, but it was a lot better than their photos. I was one of the very few people to view it, and mine was the only offer.  It turned out to be a fabulous family home, and a tremendous bargain. 

Yes its not a 'pretty' house from the front, looks nice inside but the beauty lies in the fabulous views at the back .  Its in a quiet area, not on an estate etc so like you (and us) we saw beyond the brick frontage but not everyone can and I appreciate that.

But you can also get the views with this property (and without having to look over the the tops of houses):

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-96128630.html

As an added benefit you also save £25k, get an extra bedroom, can enjoy the patio without being overlooked, get a balcony, can park several cars without having to go single file and get a bigger garden (admittedly terraced so not perfect but still an improvement).  

Now I would definitely book a viewing for that property as opposed to the OP's.  Again, not the prettiest frontage but lovely views from the back.  Good sized garden with a beautiful outlook. 5 'proper' bedrooms including a lovely master suite and one room with a roof terrace/patio and all at 25k less.  Floor plan clearly sets out what's what and where's where.  I like this a lot, very family friendly.

@tweet86 - the 'balcony' in OP's house is at the back of the car port; took me a while to work it out as I initially thought it was a roof terrace (hence needing a floor plan)

Ahhh my fault, I assumed it was a balcony. That’s why I find houses without floor plans hard to visualise. 

gwynlas

I think you should change agents as I cannot see floor plans on any listing. It is certainly not your average house and needs proper describing eg if the model railway is set up in a bedroom then it should be described as bedroom 3 currently used as hobby room. Someone built the house as it is, you bought the house as is so somebody else will buy it eventually but you need to take on board that you mght need to house Dr it to appeal to buyers.