Opinions on my house

If a house has not sold after a year then the price must be looked at, what makes it worse for you is that potential buyers will see it has been for sale for over a year and will assume there is something wrong with it. I would.

A few years back I tried to buy a house from a single parent in similar circumstances, failed relationship and selling of the family home which had been listed for sale for 6 months. The selling price had not been set on what the house was worth but how much each of them needed to start again. Needless to say my offer was rejected and despite some effort on my part they would not budge. It was over 12 months before it did actually sell - for £500 more then my original offer (but less then my final). I expect they paid out more then £500 in mortgage interest over those 12 months.

n217970 wrote: »

If a house has not sold after a year then the price must be looked at, what makes it worse for you is that potential buyers will see it has been for sale for over a year and will assume there is something wrong with it. I would.

I agree with the proviso that I think it's all relative to the velocity of the local market for similar property. If it's just really slow all round, then such is life, and I wouldn't pay much heed to time on the market.. But if there's one house that's sticking around whilst others are shifting? Warning sign.

The other house have nice wall paper, fully tiled kitchen which is very practical as it leads to garden, and prettier kitchen worktop so it's certainly more desirable for me personally, I'd be willing to pay £3k-£5K extra for the other one.

There is a possibility the other house is priced according to yours so it may be a case of who is more willing to accept a lower price. It's always a good idea to change the dressing but you need to weight out if you can afford to wait for the asking price for X month or bite the bullet and take a small loss.

I'd personally get rid of the photo showing the rock climbing (i think) and wooden benches area (possible its a public kids play area), that would put me off even coming to see it, as it could ( potentially) attract teenagers/ gangs and druggies ect. If not now but maybe further down the line.
Get rid of that and then hope footfall increases and someone loves it enough to overlook the area that could be a negative selling point.

Just had a look at both houses. I think they are both good, nice internal layouts and they seem a decent size. That additional reception room/playroom is a nice touch and a good sized kitchen diner.

Given a choice I would buy your house, over your competitors, because, apart from the price differential, yours is also a nice blank canvas for people to put their own stamp in.

I wouldn't worry about the competition, you might find that when people compare the two they will realise that yours is a bargain. Most people won't want to pay extra for a decorated house, they will have their own ideas. And they certainly won't want to pay an extra £10k.

Having said all that, whilst your house looks spotless, it does need a bit of life and colour. I appreciate you probably have very little money to throw at it, so suggest you start with friends and family to see what you can borrow then hit the chazzas, and the cheaper shops like Wilkinson's, B&M, Primark, Aldi, Asda and the Range. And if you have access good old IKEA.

Plants, flowers, throws, cushions, posters or cheap prints, rugs and don't forget the garden, get some cheap "colour" in there with easy fast growing annuals and a couple of cheap shrubs. The shops are full of them, you don't need to spend much but dressing the garden will help take off "the newness" off the outside.

At the moment your house looks a bit impermanent, a house rather than a home. You just need to add a few cosy touches to make it homely and inviting.

As for the price I don't know the area so can't comment but your house certainly stands up to your neighbours. I would definitely definitely go for yours.

Once you've dressed the house Get some new photos done. Not so many, and definitely ditch the one of the play park.