Well Located House Not Selling. Wait, or What?

badger09

Agree with others that it seems overpriced compared to others around and it doesn't really have a target market.

No idea what has happened  to prices in the area over the last couple of years, but in November 2018 I sold a Probate property only half a mile away in a cul de sac off the other side of Exeter Rd. It was a 3 bed semi, with great views over the estuary from 2 of the bedrooms. It had however been completely updated in the previous 4 years  - new windows & doors both external & internal, new kitchen bathroom & downstairs WC, new CH system, new conservatory etc etc. Marketed at £319950, first offer £300k declined, increased to £310k which I accepted. 

A much easier proposition for most buyers than your friend's house I'm afraid.

pinkteapot

Also agree it's going to have a pretty limited market, which will always means it takes a while to sell. Looks like it's just cosmetic work needed... But the whole house needs doing. So you've got a moderate renovation project combined with a tricky layout and plot. Also not local so can't comment on price, but I personally wouldn't be interested regardless of price because of the issues at the rear. 

pinkteapot

AdrianC said:

Davesnave said:

To answer a few questions, I'd say the outlook is preserved and my friend thinks there is enough leeway in the price to allow for the CH and updating of kitchen, bathroom etc, as similar properties have gone for around £375k this year. However, they may not have come with the landscaping challenges of this one.

Hmm... Immediate locality sales of similar...
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/detailMatching.html?prop=84473813&sale=90820884&country=england
January, £350k - "done".

That's a great example. And it's going to cost more than £25k to do up the house in the OP to the same standard. 

OldMusicGuy

It's clearly overpriced. Your friend is placing an unrealistic valuation on the position/view and overlooking how bad the rest of the house is. We did the same when we sold, I'm sure many sellers do that because they are blind to the faults that others see. We had lots of viewings, lots of nice comments, no offers. Dropped the price, sold.

If they want to sell they will need to drop the price, that offer is telling them something. If they are happy to wait and see if someone is prepared to pay for the position/view then it could take some time. But they might get lucky. However, there are indications that the spike in demand is tailing off so they might be waiting some time.   

MFWannabe

No central heating
Very dated, looks like it needs a lot of money spending on it 
Those steps down to the garden 😱
Photos imo are terrible 

Think your friend should have accepted the 300k offer 

NameUnavailable

It may be detatched but the garden isn't very useable for kids or pets with all those steps, although personally the long drive and garage would appeal to me.

Too much work required inside, it's a full on project albeit one that you could live in and do a room at a time. But it still all needs doing, and the lack of GCH is a big negative. Can't tell from the photos but if it has artex ceilings they will be the asbestos type and that is an expensive job (assuming the new buyers would want to get rid of them).

If the only offer they've had was £300K that would suggest that's the real market value for it.

Davesnave

pinkteapot said:

AdrianC said:

Davesnave said:

To answer a few questions, I'd say the outlook is preserved and my friend thinks there is enough leeway in the price to allow for the CH and updating of kitchen, bathroom etc, as similar properties have gone for around £375k this year. However, they may not have come with the landscaping challenges of this one.

Hmm... Immediate locality sales of similar...
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/detailMatching.html?prop=84473813&sale=90820884&country=england
January, £350k - "done".

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/detailMatching.html?prop=84473813&sale=90820884&country=england
That's a great example. And it's going to cost more than £25k to do up the house in the OP to the same standard. 

I agree, that one's a winner. I believe my friend is reasoning that prices have risen this year and they're allowing about £50k for the kitchen, bathroom refit, the rewire and CH, given that a similar style of house has sold at around £375k in the past. How similar I can't say as I've not done the research some of you have. Thank you! 

There's room to put in a bath and the roof could be altered to give more space upstairs, as in another example of Adrian's, but I guess it depends on priorities and also whether the protected parkland space behind is a strong enough draw.

Anyway, thanks for all the comments. I think I'll give my friend a link to the thread as there is very little I could add to what's here. Knowing their situation, I doubt if there is much chance of them adding CH or painting the interior now: mentally and physically they've moved on

davidmcn

MFWannabe said:

Photos imo are terrible

Especially when they use one of them for this:

NinjaTune

Back garden is not to my taste and would put me off.  It would take a lot of work to landscape it and make it an enjoyable place to sit out in.  What's with the odd brick 'cave' under the conservatory?  All the steps down into the garden are off-putting - not good for young children, older people or less mobile of any age.

Ground floor bathroom is another nope for me, though it's good that at least there's a wc upstairs.  The lack of a bathtub won't appeal to families with small children.

Large living room is nice, bedrooms are an okay size but nothing special and the ones upstairs have restricted ceiling height due to the eaves.  Downstairs bedroom looking into the conservatory is a bit odd.  Kitchen is a decent enough size but no real room for a proper dining table and chairs.  Heating needs upgrading.

Overall there are more negatives than positives and there's not much opportunity to improve the overall layout from what I can see.  Limited appeal to a limited market.

Davesnave

davidmcn said:

MFWannabe said:

Photos imo are terrible

Especially when they use one of them for this:

Well, they look friendly, approachable and non threatening, which I suppose is the idea.

And Exmouth is a great place. Must be, because I couldn't afford to buy what I'm accustomed to in that area.