Unable to sell house

youth_leader

Looks lovely Are you in a good catchment area for schools?

I changed EA after six months, when I found out she'd been giving my survey, which I gave her to help with questions, to every viewer!

What does your contract say?  As they originally valued your house at £195K, and are now proposing a £25K drop to sell, I'd get rid of them.  

Slinky

I have to say those carpets do look a bit grotty,

I'd seriously consider getting rid of them, and also getting some white paint out and painting the skirtings and architraves.

Bailey1980

youth_leader said:

Looks lovely Are you in a good catchment area for schools?

I changed EA after six months, when I found out she'd been giving my survey, which I gave her to help with questions, to every viewer!

What does your contract say?  As they originally valued your house at £195K, and are now proposing a £25K drop to sell, I'd get rid of them.  

There are a couple of schools nearby both primary and secondary schools but i'm not sure of their reputation. There are good transport links and two supermarkets nearby and a small co-op. 

They had sole selling rights for 10 weeks which is now up and it doesn't seem we'd be liable for any costs. 

housebuyer143

I see nothing that would put me off this house from the photos. Others must think the same as you are getting viewings.
The dodgy tiled bathroom is the only thing that jumps out, but even that isn't that bad. I would probably be inclined to replace the carpets cheaply because they do bring the look of the place down, but it's not really a deal breaker.
I would actually say not to paint the skirtings because it's a blank canvas for someone to do it themselves.

justwhat

Slinky said:

I have to say those carpets do look a bit grotty,

I'd seriously consider getting rid of them, and also getting some white paint out and painting the skirtings and architraves.

don't paint the skirting boards if natural wood. will no benefit you or the buyer. they may want natural wood 

RHemmings

Bailey1980 said:

ProDave said:

If it genuinely smells (and the pet owner will swear it does not because their nose is used to it) and the carpets are tatty (probably where the smell is coming from) then remove the carpets and leave bare floors.  Then scrub it again.  Get a fresh person, a friend perhaps, to go and look and ask them honestly, does it smell?

I would not fit new carpets, the new owners might not like them or might want something else. Ditto the shower etc, clean as best you can, any sign of mould, diluted bleach is your friend.

RHemmings said:

ProDave said:

If it genuinely smells (and the pet owner will swear it does not because their nose is used to it) and the carpets are tatty (probably where the smell is coming from) then remove the carpets and leave bare floors.  Then scrub it again.  Get a fresh person, a friend perhaps, to go and look and ask them honestly, does it smell?

I would not fit new carpets, the new owners might not like them or might want something else. Ditto the shower etc, clean as best you can, any sign of mould, diluted bleach is your friend.

This is precisely what I was thinking. Get someone fresh and whose opinion you can trust to get in and look at it with fresh eyes (and nose) and get feedback. Not just for the smell, but for the whole house. 

There was one house that we looked at that was very nice, except that it had a smell (and black mould). The smell of a house can easily be off-putting. 

And, personally I think that the feedback could be accurate in this case. It's not been to the personal taste of buyers so far, and it might be a matter of waiting for the right buyer to come along. 

I guess the issue is is that we paid to have the entire house  professionally deep cleaned, including the carpets after we and everything we owned was removed and in the previous five times we spoke to the estate agent, including, other members of the team who had done viewings we weren't told any of this so it's come as a shock that these are issues that haven't previously raised have now been raised. If we'd known earlier we might have been able to go back to the company who deep cleaned the house. 

The person at the estate agent I spoke to this week said we don't stand a chance of selling it unless we replace all the carpets, shower etc even though I raised that it still wouldn't be to buyers tastes. 

The improvements won't cost the estate agent anything, so from their point of view it's worth doing to see if it then sells. If it doesn't, they haven't lost much. 

I'm not suggesting not to make the improvements - but if I was in your position I would think and research carefully before spending the money. 

They could be bang on target - they should know the local market. But, I'd think carefully before acting.

The house looks fine in the photos to my eye. Inside, and the garden, are the kind of property I like (and in a similar region to what I'm buying.) I'm not sure about the yellow paint - but others may find that attractive. 

The picture of the garden above in this thread looks OK, but there is another picture in your Rightmove listing where the grass looks terrible. Is that just a bad photo. Also, looking at the ... paved bit of your garden up close looks strange. 

Finding your house on Google Maps - I could see it coming from quite some way away. The other houses in that street ... I'm sorry but I think they look better with that sort of creamy colour and the darker red edging. 

mark_cycling00

It's a band A council tax property which implies that at some point it was very cheap.

So either the area has become more popular and/or you've spent a lot of money on it. 

A lot of the photos look great so maybe it really is that people who view have high expectations and there's just one or two things (smell etc) that put them off. 

Alternatively (hope not the case) is that no matter how nice the house is, you'll never achieve that price in that estate. I don't know what prices other sellers achieve there 

lika_86

It's overpriced. The most recent comparator on the street sold last year for nearly £30k less. Forget what you've put into the house, consider it a cost of living with a style you liked. People will be able to overlook carpets and decor if it's priced keenly.

cymruchris

Photos look reasonable and the level of decor reasonable compared to many (but by that I don't mean it looks 'lovely'). I can see that you're close to a station, walking distance to a supermarket, not on a particularly busy road, so I can imagine it'll tick some people's boxes. Looking at other properties sold locally recently - it might be priced a bit on the high side? The house shouts 'liveable' in many respects - but not 'premium' - whoever takes it on will no doubt adapt it to their own tastes. I would likely pull up all the carpets, as they might be harbouring your pet smells anyway, and then plug in some nice glade or similar slow release air fresheners around the house.

I can see a 3 bed semi on a similar numbered avenue to yours was sold for £154k in June 2023. A similar sized house again on a similar numbered avenue sold for £126k but needing a lot more work.

Looking at what's for sale in the area on 3 bed - yours seems on the higher end of the market for similar sized and condition properties. (There feel to be a couple of properties at about the same price point that seem 'better' at first glance).

From a cursory glance around the property, recently sold, and currently for sale - I'd have thought with the carpets ripped out, and a few air freshenersl it might list for £175k and then take close offers if you're not in a rush to move, but if you want to get out quickly, probably £170k would get you a quicker sale.

justwhat

Don't spend large amounts of money on it. You will have trouble getting it back. Get some plug in air fresheners and you could wash the carpets as long as they are not too bad.

Price wise , you need to compare against other local properties. That will still only give a ball park figure