Why is this house not selling

ReadySteadyPop

moneysaver12 said:

ReadySteadyPop said:

moneysaver12 said:

Hi our house has been on the market for 2 years.  Lots of viewings but no offers,  reduced the price earlier this year. 

Can anyone suggest anything that we can do and also why it’s not selling please 

(Link removed by Forum Team)

Any updates?

Hi sorry only just seen more replies.  We had more viewings. Some of the pictures were changed.  I’ve been trying to make the house look better.  We have had an offer bellow the asking price,  it was offers over.  My husband is considering the offer. We did have an offer accepted on another house.  If we go ahead it means that my husband will have to get a higher mortgage amount than we thought he would have to and due to his age it increases the mortgage to 1500 a month from 970 as he can only have over 14 years due to his age.

That is a big jump in mortgage costs.

elsien

Have you been to an independent mortgage broker to discuss this? You do need to factor in any possible interest rises in the future, and that is a big jump. Is it a substantially lower offer that you have had?

ReadySteadyPop

BarelySentientAI said:

Bookworm105 said:

uralmaid said:

Obviously the link was removed but as I was an Estate Agent in Wakefield for a lot of years - I guessed where it could be and had a look. If I am right it is in C.......n?  Unfortunately that area was always priced slightly lower than some more desirable parts of the location.  The photos are terrible.  The house looks very cluttered and the garden doesn't look appealing either. The large pool is not really a positive selling feature.  I think you really need to have a concerted effort to de-clutter (hard I know when you have kids) but necessary. The room sizes are very small so clearing a lot of the stuff will at least make them seem a bit more useable.  The conservatory just looks like a dumping ground and not appealing at all.  I know it sound harsh but if you really want to sell then something has to be done. I think realistically the price should be no more than £275k and possibly less.  A hard pill to swallow but if you want to sell then you have to be realistic and comparable.  It is in the price bracket for a lot of first time buyers or young couples, but if they come to look around it as it looks on the pics, they will immediately be put off as most younger buyers would want it to look modern, fresh and clutter free. They don't necessarily have the vision to see what it could become. Just trying to give constructive help.

yes it is where you think it is
fascinating to see an EA's take on life, load of flannel followed by reduce the price 

if it is getting viewers then the photos are not the problem
if it is gettering viewers but not offers then the house is the problem
the house is size v price,
EA wants max commission and sees the other two 5 beds are £290, but that does not mean this one also must be £290 if they actually want to get a sale and some real money 

That's very simplistic.

I viewed several houses where I hadn't seen any photographs because I asked the EA what was suitable for me and they took me around 4 or 5 houses in an afternoon (I was travelling some distance to view).

The house I live in at the moment had terrible photographs, and I'd written it off as an option, but was viewing a different one nearby and asked them to add it just because there was free time.  Walked through the door, found that it was much better than the photographs, and knew within 5 minutes it was the one to buy.

Thinking about it - the smallest bedroom on the photographs of mine had a day bed and lots of other furniture (and I thought it would be a useless room).  When I got there, they'd removed all that and put in a double bed and one wardrobe - made it look much more useable.  Had it still had the old furniture, perhaps I wouldn't have been able to look past it.

A house is perceived size, usability, location and required works (plus other bits) vs price.  People in the UK don't buy on £/m2.

Good points.

MeteredOut

ReadySteadyPop said:

BarelySentientAI said:

Bookworm105 said:

uralmaid said:

Obviously the link was removed but as I was an Estate Agent in Wakefield for a lot of years - I guessed where it could be and had a look. If I am right it is in C.......n?  Unfortunately that area was always priced slightly lower than some more desirable parts of the location.  The photos are terrible.  The house looks very cluttered and the garden doesn't look appealing either. The large pool is not really a positive selling feature.  I think you really need to have a concerted effort to de-clutter (hard I know when you have kids) but necessary. The room sizes are very small so clearing a lot of the stuff will at least make them seem a bit more useable.  The conservatory just looks like a dumping ground and not appealing at all.  I know it sound harsh but if you really want to sell then something has to be done. I think realistically the price should be no more than £275k and possibly less.  A hard pill to swallow but if you want to sell then you have to be realistic and comparable.  It is in the price bracket for a lot of first time buyers or young couples, but if they come to look around it as it looks on the pics, they will immediately be put off as most younger buyers would want it to look modern, fresh and clutter free. They don't necessarily have the vision to see what it could become. Just trying to give constructive help.

yes it is where you think it is
fascinating to see an EA's take on life, load of flannel followed by reduce the price 

if it is getting viewers then the photos are not the problem
if it is gettering viewers but not offers then the house is the problem
the house is size v price,
EA wants max commission and sees the other two 5 beds are £290, but that does not mean this one also must be £290 if they actually want to get a sale and some real money 

That's very simplistic.

I viewed several houses where I hadn't seen any photographs because I asked the EA what was suitable for me and they took me around 4 or 5 houses in an afternoon (I was travelling some distance to view).

The house I live in at the moment had terrible photographs, and I'd written it off as an option, but was viewing a different one nearby and asked them to add it just because there was free time.  Walked through the door, found that it was much better than the photographs, and knew within 5 minutes it was the one to buy.

Thinking about it - the smallest bedroom on the photographs of mine had a day bed and lots of other furniture (and I thought it would be a useless room).  When I got there, they'd removed all that and put in a double bed and one wardrobe - made it look much more useable.  Had it still had the old furniture, perhaps I wouldn't have been able to look past it.

A house is perceived size, usability, location and required works (plus other bits) vs price.  People in the UK don't buy on £/m2.

Good points.

If only there was a Thanks button that stopped people needing to agree with someone without needing to add another post to a thread...

ReadySteadyPop

elsien said:

Have you been to an independent mortgage broker to discuss this? You do need to factor in any possible interest rises in the future, and that is a big jump. Is it a substantially lower offer that you have had?

Definitely do this.

ReadySteadyPop

Titus_Wadd said:

Bit of a radical idea: Unless you have to move for work or similar, take it off the market and then relist it with a different agent.  

A house that has been not selling for 2 years is low down the listings on Rightmove when sorted for newest listings, which was my usual default search order.  

Get ready to market it straight after Xmas but in the meantime get all your family involved in ruthlessly clearing out their stuff - think of it as a pre-removal clear out, it'll make packing easier.  Aim to have nothing on display when the photographer takes the new pictures (I know it's mental but no toothpaste tube on the sink, or toilet duck behind the loo).

It goes against all my instincts to suggest this because I've always been able to see past folks belongings or choice of paint colour when I'm house hunting.  These days with so much online content showing impossibly tidy sterile show-homes - that is what folk want (even if it's all stacked in the garage).

Taking a listing down if it hasn't sold within 6 months is a pattern round where I live which doesn't seem the trend up North (where I'm from).  It gives time to regroup and relist at a good time of year.  Folk who have been browsing Rightmove for months get tired of seeing the same old houses, so reintroducing it afresh will catch a new wave of potential buyers.

Get the kids involved in "packing" their stuff ahead of the move.  If they can put 50% in boxes they will not feel "deprived".  If they can remember which box the required item is in then they can retrieve something vital.  When we had a dedicated playroom full of toys our kids rarely playing in there, they'd take stuff out of it. 

Take a break from selling but use the time to prepare to market it ruthlessly after Christmas.  I'd plump for the 4 bed with office description too.  I'd be ruthless with the garden - lose the pool, the swing set (unless you'll be taking it with you), put away the BBQ etc.  I know it's a pain but it will all be worth it.

Last word, if you don't need to move, I probably wouldn't sell if I'm not going to move up the property ladder or freeing up a good chunk of equity from my sale...but then I've had to sell in the past with negative equity which probably influences my point of view.

Tough love needed for help to declutter!

Why did you have to sell with negative equity?