Advice needed on Selling Bungalow

RAS

tarsh, I note that neither estate agent has even mentioned that the property is adapted for a wheel-chair user? We know from previous threads that people who need them really struggle to find them.

But the sellers are happy to convert it back into a 3 bedroom property if that is preferred.

It makes a huge amount more sense as I was wondering why the layout of the furniture left so much unused space. 

Reference the kitchen, don't bother as people will change it if they want. You might explore painting the very large pine beam between the kitchen and breakfast room.

And consider de-listing now. Take photos with the furniture slightly more traditionally laid out (table on the middle of the room). Also look for a few brighter coloured cushion covers and a set of towels for the shower room?

tarsh

Where we want to move to there are at least 6 places we could seriously consider, so if we get a buyer we can get going quickly I think.

When we first started looking, they were selling really quickly there, so it was quite worrying with the lack of choice, But it has slowed right down there too & a few of the properties we like which had sold are now back on the market with a reduced price.

Thanks for the the replies, really appreciated.

EndlessStruggle

I'm a recent house buyer so I scour RM a lot. 

Lovely property but I think they should have either marketed it as 450 or 475.

You're currently in the middle of a price bracket on Rightmove, you'd be better off being at the bottom of one of those. 

When I searched over 450k in SS15, you were in 9th place. 

The H&C listing is better in my opinion, the photos are nicer and it is simpler with the vital stats included.

The T&E listing reads like it has been written by an excitable child who just has to get every last detail in.

It is a bit OTT in my opinion and some of the photos are just weird angles of the same things over and over. 

gwynlas

Is there a local agent who offers more bungalows as neither of yours seem to have many. The disability marker on listing might put some people off looking further as most people would not think of taking a diabled marked parking space. Could empashise spaciousness instead, Room for second bathroom Bedrooms need to be divided before relisting. You could mention that large frontage makes good boat, caravan, motorhome storage.
Problems might be number of properties adjoining, front garden does not have kerb appeal.

EndlessStruggle

gwynlas said:

Is there a local agent who offers more bungalows as neither of yours seem to have many. The disability marker on listing might put some people off looking further as most people would not think of taking a diabled marked parking space. Could empashise spaciousness instead, Room for second bathroom Bedrooms need to be divided before relisting. You could mention that large frontage makes good boat, caravan, motorhome storage.
Problems might be number of properties adjoining, front garden does not have kerb appeal.

Estate agents might be weary of including that as often there are covenants preventing the storage of boats, caravans etc.

All the three properties I have ever bought or have tried to buy have had these covenants in. 

lincroft1710

One aspect of this bungalow which puts me off straightaway and unfortunately cannot be changed is the garden balance, the front garden is far, far too long. I also wouldn't like having so many neighbours at the side. For a prospective non disabled buyer, a new bathroom is needed. The lack of a basin in the separate WC would be an annoyance and of course bedrooms 2 and 3 need to be properly separated.


So I think this is failing to appeal to prospective purchasers both because of its uniqueness and work required rather than simply price. You are probably just going to have to wait for a buyer for whom your home ticks all the boxes


Whether it is viable for a developer to take on, extend, reconfigure and sell on at a profit, I don't know. Maybe even demolish and put 2 smaller bungalows on the plot.

tarsh

Thanks everyone, lots to think about.

I guess the things we have got used to & actually like don't always translate when people are looking on-line.

What's odd for us is we have looked at lots of places & basically look at the shape & layout of the place & see how it works for us. Everywhere we have looked at will need some kind of work to make it into what we need, so we assumed people looking here would feel the same. Maybe not everyone wants to get work done or do DIY.

youth_leader

You can't please all of the people all of the time, and there is so much discussion about the economy I think people are exercising caution.  My investments have plummeted and I'm having to budget a lot more carefully now.

As for doing work, personally, at 63 and alone I didn't want to do any work at all.  When I was house hunting I felt very sad that some older people had been living in such depressing conditions, one of them still had the hospital bed in the lounge, and it smelled.  Your bungalow looks well maintained and lived in.  I just wanted a bungalow I could move into and lock and leave and go travelling.  This place looked great on the surface and the L3 survey only threw up rusted cavity ties.  Six months after moving in the big flat roof blew off, about the same time I found out every floor was rotten and needed replacing.  Caveat emptor, truly  

It would be good to look at your deeds and see if there are covenants regarding the storage of large vehicles on the front driveway, best for a buyer to know sooner than later.  

You just need to wait for the right person to come along, wishing you the best of luck.    And do keep looking very actively for your future move.  My friend has vowed not to buy from an older person again because of the way the sellers treated her, I'm sure she's not alone.  

mi-key

Bungalows tend to have a fairly unique buying pool ( I know as I have one, and live on a small estate of 4 streets, 90% of which are bungalows, so see who moves into them when they sell ).

They generally sell to older people downsizing and either retired or getting ready for retirement, and thinking about their mobility  in the coming years if they don't already have problems. ( One reason true bungalows here sell for quite a bit more than dorma conversions as having the bedrooms upstairs sort of defeats the object ! ) 

Because of this I wouldn't consider the disabled features to be a downside at all. Bungalows also tend to have a larger plot and larger gardens, which appeal to retirees, plus parking for their caravan or camper van. 

The kitchen and bathrooms are fine as is and perfectly usable, you could spend loads on ultra modern units and granite worktops and do it all in white and dark grey with fancy lighting, but is that really going to appeal more to a 70 year old couple? 

I think it was probably just the price, as you say it was on at the top end of the estimates, so anyone looking would have seen yours as being a lot more expensive than other similar properties, with no real extra benefits over them. Now it is more in line with the competition, it should get some more interest with the spring coming as it always gets busier then. 

MikeJXE

Very nice so it's either price or location 

Pricing too high and continual reducing is never a good idea 

We are coming up to the start of the peak season so in theory it should move