Mumsnet Talk

Not my house, btw. It has been on the market for almost 6 months, with just a handful of viewings in that time. No offers.

Feedback was more to do with the size of the house or its location than the house itself. (It's one of a handful of detached houses on the edge of an estate consisting mainly of sheltered housing for the elderly).

The agents are not being very helpful, so I'd like some honest feedback and suggestions from the experts on here, please. I've already suggested they tidy up the back garden a bit.

This is the house

Pictures are pants. 2 of the same room from slightly different angles? None of the conservatory, which should be a good 'feature'.

Sofa is a bit too large. Can they get rid of the corner bit and store it somewhere?

Get rid of some bits of furniture if people are feeling it's small. They obviously don't think it's small from the dimensions in writing, but feels small when in there.

I can't see anything obviously wrong with it. My only guess would be a dead property market in that part of the world; perhaps time to reduce the asking price?

Lovely house. The interior is gorgeous and I would love to own it. However the garden would be a massive downside. I would expect a family house to have a lawn for playing so having a lovely mature garden suited for older people is restricting the market somewhat.

Terrible photos - and too big sofa. Photographer seems to have been particularly impressed by the fancy toilet seat

Garden looks inviting but the house looks bland, bland, bland.

I know that neutral colours are advised and I can usually see past the decor but it looks like a very boring house.

Where do you eat? Entertain?

I think they need to cut down the amount of furniture in there - I think it looks very small because it's so stuffed.

The first thing I noticed was the mahoosive sofa in the lounge - it makes the room look really small, as if the sofa is really squashed in. It does look like a nice house though - I wish we could get a 4 bed detached for that price round here! .

You can't tell what it is. Is it a family home? A home for people with older children? Home for old people? It has no selling points. So 4 bedrooms, you should be marketing it as a family home. So the dining room needs to be set up as a usable family space. Not a cluttered room with a folded down table in it. And the garden is not usable at all. No family viewing it can see children playing in there.

If you've got the ingredients of a family house (several bedrooms, utility room, downstairs wc), then you need to sell it as such. The living room is like an obstacle course with the shape of the sofa. Just not family friendly. Needs a rejig.

No floorplan! I am househunting at the moment, and a floorplan persuaded me to view a house, even though the photos are rubbish. And we are now considering offering on it.

Front room looks cramped - consider removing the sofa/borrowing a smaller one maybe?

Clear clutter off the sides in the kitchen/bathroom, basically declutter EVERYWHERE.

Photos are OK, but could be improved with a wide angle lens

Sorry - I don't like the pink bedding in the main bedroom. Maybe go for cream/brown trim? with a matching throw/small pillow? Basically make it look a bit more 'designed'

Grout in the bathroom is grubby, consider bleaching it?

Otherwise - it looks nice and so cheap considering what we can afford down south.

Rooms look small because they are cluttered with excess furniture, esp the out of proportion sofa.

Garden needs tidying.

A very bland modern house like this needs to stand out in some way, either decor, space and features, location, or price, in order for someone to choose it over another similarly bland house, they are unlikely to fall in love with it. So work out what it can offer, is it next to a park, or in the catchment for a great school, or is it bigger than those around it, or does it need its price reduced?

Get the photos redone too, they are not good.

I think the sofa's too big too - in fact, too much 'stuff' in general in the living room. It makes the room look tiny, and at 18ft it's not a particularly small room.

Bathroom picture is appalling - I'd want to see the whole bathroom and not just the loo and the tiles with the slightly yellow looking grout around them. Not seeing the bathroom on the pics would stop me going to view a house.

Garden needs cutting back a bit - even though it's mainly patio what greenery is there in the photos looks a bit unkempt rather than the cottage feel that the owners might be going for.

I'd want to see photos of the other bedrooms - not having them on makes me feel there's something being hidden which again would put me off.

Kitchen photo isn't great. All that stuff on the side makes it look like there's just not enough storage which would put me off viewing as well.

There's nothing that is a show stopper. It's bland and needs good decorating spree and gardening. Is it priced correctly for the area? Is the structural stuff all ok? Roof good? Not fond of that garage. Does it go into back garden? That would make me go "umm" I'd want to knock it down and have one built on the side of the house which is obviously a cost to consider if buying it.

I'm not sure - if I could snap it up I would! I would agree about the sofa being too imposing on the room - could the corner bit go under the window? It's a large lounge, but possibly made to feel smaller by slightly imposing furniture.

I think if the dining room is a dining room it should be set up as such - at the moment it looks like 1/2 book room 1/2 dining room therefore giving the impression that space is too short. Also, is there anyway of decluttering the bookshelves so that there are fewer books on them? They would look tidier that way and more aspirational, less like you've run out of space anywhere else.

I'd also say that the style of the garden detracts from the amount of space that's actually in it.

Finally, is the asking price realistic - a search of other detached houses on that street since 2010 show sales figures of 130K and 145K. Is the house showing up in your potential buyers searches - if they are searching up to 170K then you might be missing out.

I agree that there is too much furniture, as the rooms are actually a decent size! The complaints about the size were mainly that it was too big! (I think people were expecting it to be smaller, given the area), but obviously better pictures would give potential buyers a clearer idea of what to expect.

It's my parents' home and they are both in their mid-60s and wanting to retire closer to me. I've tried to tell them to turf the back garden but it's falling on deaf ears so far, as it's my mum's little "projet". I've pointed out that if they sell, she won't have the garden any more anyway, but she doesn't want to uproot any of her precious plants!

I've also suggested selling the giant sofa (which I've never understood them buying, as you can barely squeeze round it when you walk in the room), but apparently mum had "always dreamed of owning a corner sofa" [eyeroll].

Oh well, thanks for the suggestions, I'll keep on trying to plug away at convincing them to change things a bit...

I live around the corner from here!! <completely outs self>

It's overpriced by about £20k, simples.

I can't get over how cheap it is.

See the sofa doesn't bother me possibly because my friend has a similar one but agree that although the house is lovely. I'll be honest I looked at the pictures but never even went to look at description. I know they say neutral colours but this one is just a bit beige really. Cream sofa, carpets, Walls. It doesn't say what it is family home etc. If it is so close to so much sheltered housing that might put people with children off as well that the area would be too quiet for them and not much to offer them.

Its a bit narrrow. The bedrooms are smaller than a lot of 4 beds but there isn't anything that can be done about that.

There seems to be a lot of furniture in there, sofa is enormous and probably makes the room look smaller. There is more clutter than I would have out if an estate agent was going to take photos of my house so people might not think there is enough storage. The stuff on the bedroom drawers suggests there isn't room for a dressing table. The shell bathroom suite is pretty much the cheapest you can buy, a plain white toilet seat would disguise that until people were through the door. The folding dining table really give the impression that there isn't room for a table and it doesn't look like you can get a table in the kitchen either. The absence of utility and conservatory photos makes me think that they are dire. Photos through the washing line is dire, agent should be shot ashamed.

I agree with lots of the other comments, needs a floor plan, garden not remotely child friendly, way too much furniture and general clutter and the bathroom tiling looks grubby behind the bath. Its a harmless house but in a flat housing market not very interesting. As a mum I just see clutter spilling which makes me wonder if my lot would fit, a bathroom that would need work and a nightmare garden.

Photos have 2x lounge, 2x dining room but miss 3 bedrooms, conservatory and utility.

Icantuck small world! They actually bought it in 2007 (I think) for over £200K

Thanks for all the comments. I plan to call my parents for a more in-depth chat about it this weekend...

Tell your Mum to put her plants in pots ready for replanting at a new house.

Nothing wrong with the house. Property market is dead.

i was going to say - garden looks messy (it may be very tidy, but it looks small and messy) needs a lawn area for such a big house. what's with leaving the washing line up. look messy - take it down!

bedrooms should have a bed in, even if not for current owners usage. buyers have no imagination, and a room without a bed in will be a 'boxroom' in their minds regardless of size.

too much furniture. repaint garage door?