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OH MY GOD! My lovely house has been on the market for a YEAR AND A HALF!!! Sales keep falling through for various stupid reasons. Nothing wrong with house, I've had structural survey done. Feel like I'm cursed!
Anyway if you or anyone you know are looking for a 3 bed semi with a large private south facing back garden with patio and barbecue area and a bloody conservatory for God's sake,lovely new kitchen , new luxury bathroom, On a good bus route, near excellent schools in Alwoodley, walking distance of Sainsburry's and David Lloyd gym PLEASE GET IN TOUCH WITH ME!!!
Grace 0777 3040 936

bump!

sounds awfully cheap for a 3-bed semi in LS17!

seriously though, I'm sorry you're struggling to sell it, I thought the market around here was very bouyant (hopeful)

what agents are you using?

It sounds gorgeous. We looked in Leeds last year and there was nothing that nice for that price (we're in Wakey now). You hang on in there. It sounds great. Sorry we've already bought and can't help you out!

that sounds crazily cheap for LS17 - are you sure people haven't been put off by it being under-priced??! ie people thinking "there must be something wrong with it..?"
used to live in leeds, would love to go back there and buy your place but can't really heave dh of his job here, sorry!

Manuka, you're not cursed BUT for God's sake don't tell people you've had it on the market for htat long. They will immediately try to take advatnage of you. Apart from that, have you thought of advertising privately, e.g. Ebay do occasionally have house sales and there are some private house sale websites. You can also put it on RightMove yourself, cut out the agent etc.

there is a buyer for every house....yours just hasn't found the person who is going to look after it yet.

Can you take it off for a bit and put it back on after Christmas?

and is your agent marketing it pro-actively? From what I've heard you have to keep on at some of them.

Have you got a link to the estate agency website - MNers quite happy to give opinions on layout and publicity photos which might be putting people off.

Hello! Thankyou all for your replies!
I am so desperate to sell this blithering house. It was on for more but reduced it for a quick sale ha ha haa.
its in an ex-council part of LS17 on the main road and its a nice area. Not really grotty and dodgy which is what the word ex-council often conjours up.
All the houses nearby which were for sale have sold really quickly and mine is the biggest plot and the most done up!!!
I'm begining to think someone's seriously bad vibed me!?!
Its with Alan Cooke who's a friend of my dad and all the staff seem good at what they're meant to do.
Will check out ebay and other websites though.
will find link for your opinions of photos.

my house

Looks lovely, much better than anything we were looking at in Leeds. Sorry we've bought now, otherwise we'd be on to you like a shot.

Why don't you put "Priced to Sell" on the advert. That worked for a friend of mine, she sold it within a week at the asking price.

Looks nice house but i think people might be put off by the fact that it is empty. Think people want to see how a room might work with sofa + chairs in for example

Its surprising that there is no picture of the front of the house - that will make people question what it's like. Are Alan Cooke the best people to sell through here? I know a friend was trying to sell her property through a new agent based up at Moorallerton - and she was on Stonegate Road, and this didn't work at all well - she would have been better with David Moor or Mannings.

I agree with other posters - this does seem a low price for this part of Leeds - and maybe this is also putting people off unless they know why its priced this low.

Alterntiavely, why not let it for a bit?

The top picture is the front of the house isn't it?

I used to live on Nursery Lane! I think your house looks very nice and it is in a good area, nothing sticks out as being wrong with it.

Is the problem a lack of viewings? after a year and a half maybe you should think about using another agents to get a wider selection of buyers? If sales have fallen through for stupid reasons then it may be just bad luck? Sorry not much help but I wish you luck.

Also agree dressing the house might help the ave unimaginative buyer

F*cking hell that looks lovely. That would be TONS more here in lovely hampshire!!!

manuka, a friend of mine lives on that estate and the houses are lovely. I'm a structural engineer though and we quite often get queries about structural surveys on those houses. The only thing I can think of is that the fact they are steel framed puts a lot of people off as any structural problems are likely to be serious and need a lot of disruption to pout right (specifically rusting of the bottom of the steel columns).

But, if you've had a survey that says yours is fine, then I can't see why it won't sell, especially as they do come up for sale regularly and seem to go quickly.

Maybe a little dressing (beg and borrow spare bits from friends if need be) just to give an idea of what it will be like furnished. Empty houses do tend to put people off. Maybe even drop a couple of thou off the price to price it more competitively? or change to "in the region of" which might get more people through the door?

If you've managed financially for 1.5yrs without it being sold, maybe rent it and keep as an investment?

my dad is an estate agent and he says that houses without any furniture/lived in stuff are always waaaay harder to sell. I have bought and sold a couple of houses now and know this to be true - also know from the other side that without thinking about it i have always preferred houses that are "lived in". Do you have any bits of furniture etc you could stick in it? Sorry know thats unlikely but may be the prob. all the best.

Also that living room shot makes it look quie small and narrow. Can you have it re-done to look bigger? Living room does matter, central room of the house etc.

I think your house is lovely, well maintained, and a good price. My advice would be to get rid of words like "fine" for the living room (and decribe it as a lounge/diner to indicate where you eat) "deluxe" before the bathroom and "superb" kitchen. It sounds like "fancy goods".

When houses are empty it is difficult to see how a room could be used, downstairs spaces are the hardest unless there is a lounge, a dining room and then a kitchen. If you could beg some furniture (maybe freecycle) then set up some rooms, it would be better. Where did you have your tv? Why is there a piano in the lounge?

I also think it helps when it says which direction the bedrooms face, ie "bedroom 3 to the rear elevation"

Maybe you could mention the schools that are nearby, if proximity to the shops etc

As a person househunting (wakefield not leeds) I feel the description is lacking, almost like you are wondering why certain information is missing.

The best of luck, maybe a new agent with different people on their books would help.

I see its in moortown..I lived there for a couple of years when I was a kid..its a really nice area..hope you sell it soon

Ooh, Egghead Hilary, if you move to Wakefield do you want to come and join us guys on the Wakefield/Huddersfield/Barnsley meet-up thread? We're terribly nice and friendly, honest....
Where are you hunting? (whispers) I'm in Wrenthorpe.

Wow thanks for all your advice! (been ill hence delayed responce)
The house has always had loads of viewings and has been 'sold' FIVE times!! And fallen through at last minute for weird stupid reasons!
Will discus 'dressing' the house with dh. Good idea. I'm the opposite though I have had 2 houses that were empty when I viewed and I loved the feeling of it being free of anyone else's life.
I will speak to estate agent about more description of local amenities too.
God its a CURSE!!! I loved living there it was a very healing house especially financially. I went from no spare money and single to my business booming and loads of money and a great relationship in that house. We now need the capital for this new house or I would rent it out.

The photos of the front and the kitchen are fine but the others do the place no favours. I think you need to dress this place for sale and then do an open weekend. Not much point though before christmas imo. That should do it provided your price is sensible - and go for a first time buyer even if that is not your best offer!

Manuka - What were the reasons they fell through? When you say silly little reasons?

Blimey, that looks nice enough. Amazed it has taken so long to sell. Here in Sheffield - not that far away - people backstab friends and sell their own grandmothers into the white slave trade for a semi in a decent school catchment. Especially at that price. And Alwoodley Primary looks good on paper. Baffled!!

it looks lovely and I am . My house is around 15 miles north of yours and a house like that would be £200 minimum...

I agree the photos are a bit shite! I've got better ones so will replace. To be honest I only looked at them recently!
The first buyer was an old woman down the road who really wanted it cos her house was too big. Her son talked her out of it just at the point of exchange cos he basically doesn't want her to spend his inheritance. Twat.
The 2nd couple were from Africa who turned out to be unable to get a mortgage and the Halifax estate agency let it drag on for nearly 3 months.
The 3rd couple were from Cyprus who ended up having family issues and had to go back to Cyprus so that fell through again so close to the end.
The 4th couple are a pair of selfish b**tards who are lucky I didn't go round to their house and pour weedkiller on their lawn and acid on their car¡ They wanted a buy to let and again right at the point of exchange they decided they didn't want it! I really HATE people like that just total selfish selfish selfish time wasters. God I get so angry when I think of them!!! Deep breath!
The 5th couple were told they could get a mortgage from the useless Halifax who then decided they couldn't give them the full mortgage! So I dropped the price by £10k cos they are really nice people and they live in Lincoln Green and they have a baby so they got a mortgage with another lender who accepted their initial survey and then changed their minds and demanded a stanchion survey ( the steel frame) which I have by the most respected surveyors in Leeds which cost a fortune and they said it wasn't good enough!!!!???!!! AAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!
So these people have dropped out cos they say they can't afford more surveys or more financial advisor fees. My financial advisor is free so I've written to them with her number but not heard from them. They really loved the house so I don't know why they'd give up so easily. When I want a house I don't give up I really have gone through huge stress for all 3 that I've lived in.
Anyway that's the story so far!
I've even had 2 spiritual healers to go and clear the place!! What more can I do?
If this is a lesson from the universe I'm afraid I'm too blind to see it! I wonder if I should use it as a therapy centre?? I do aromatherapy and dh is an osteopath.
Really would prefer to sell though. PLEASE BUY MY HOUSE AAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!

Joking aside, Manuka, this isn't about the universe sending you a lesson. Those are all completely understandable reasons, and there are plenty of rational reasons why the house didn't sell. But when things are 'right,' they do eventually come together, if that makes sense, that's different from believing you're cursed. Perhaps you will end up not wanting the house you're going for right now. I would definitely think about the BTL option if it doesn't sell, why not set a deadline of another three months and then just let it out and lose the other property?

But if you are thinking about a therapy centre, then that might be a way of making money out of the house. I'd do that only if you actually wanted to, though, otherwise it might just drain your capital further. Remember that right now the market is flatter than many people think, perhaps the house that you want isn't the only house you could get, and you could think laterally about your options?

I also like the idea of a heavily advertised Open Day.

What is an Open Day? What would I do for that??

We've already bought the new house. Thank God dh's flat sold otherwise we'd have 3 mortgages instead of 2!!

You can run an Open Day by advertising heavily in the paper, through your estate agency, and on national websites if you have the cash. You simply say it will be open house, and that you will accept the best offer. Someone with more experience than I can give you more advice. Gives you a chance to really dress the house up. In America they offer canopes!

The thought of 3 mortgages makes me feel squeamish. Can see why you're relieved.

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Justintime - I already live in Wakefield, well I have a wakefield postcode but live in Tingley but come under Leeds for phone number, council etc. We are just moving within Tingley area next year but I keep a keen eye on the market my eldest is in the local school so I want to still be able to walk there.

will take a look at your meet-up thread. I am the other side of the M1 to you just below the M62.

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manuka, there is a daytime TV programme on at the minute on the BBC which is following people having an Open Day.

I think it's called Open House. there might be some info on the beeb's website.

Thanks I'll check their website!
I was thinking of taking bread maker over there and filling the house with the scent of fresh bread and a big vat of homemade veg soup!