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Can anyone give us ideas about why our house isn’t selling?

122 replies

Hisisteritsmeeee · 30/10/2020 14:53

Would anyone be willing to have a look at our house and tell us why it isn’t selling. @Iamthesister and I need help pretty please?

www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/55938744

OP posts:
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cherrybakewelllll · 30/10/2020 14:57

First impressions count and the front garden just screams shabby!

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midgebabe · 30/10/2020 15:00

First photo looks rubbish, very unkempt, perhaps people are not looking at the rest?
Have you had viewings?

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FAQs · 30/10/2020 15:01

Sorry Op it is very dated, kitchen and bathroom are dated, front and back gardens, esp front lacks real kerb appeal.

What’s going on with the kitchen light?

Everything else is just decor. It just looks tired and price doesn’t seem to reflect that.

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Tigger03 · 30/10/2020 15:02

Being very picky / blunt:

The front garden looks shabby
The second photo of the living room makes the sofa look very small - I’d worry about getting a proper cosy one in.
Remove the tea towels from the oven and the clutter from the work surface.
The bedroom red carpet isn’t laid properly - maybe get a rug?
Remove the dog bed

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Zzz1234 · 30/10/2020 15:03

Hi it looks like it needs a bit of work. The rooms look mismatched/like they need decorating. Front picture garden looks like it needs work, I can't tell if it's half graveled/grass growing through or just really bad grass. The rubbish at the side of the house doesn't help. Dark red in bathroom looks a bit depressing. But I would love it, it's what I'd look for as I like to redo everything, back garden looks nice, could you put a few flowers in the flower bed? The yellow walls/red carpet isn't great could it be changed? I like the kitchen, maybe move pet bowls and bed for next pictures? Maybe get a rug in the living room?

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FAQs · 30/10/2020 15:04

Is it on Rightmove?

I can’t see it, that’ll make a huge difference to who sees it if it not on there.

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lastqueenofscotland · 30/10/2020 15:05

You’re competing with cheaper properties in a similar condition/ better nick.
It all looks very dated.
Artex ceilings would have me worried about potential asbestos

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stackhead · 30/10/2020 15:05

The first picture makes the house look awful because of the frontage - maybe take a better picture up close to the house.

I wouldn't view due to
a) living room stairs - I hate them and it makes it too hard to keep warm (plus noise carrying)
b) no downstairs loo
c) looks like artex ceiling in the living room

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Persipan · 30/10/2020 15:06

First thought from the first photo is that the gravel out the front needs a good sort out - it just looks overgrown and scattered with stuff. It's not a really exciting first impression.

With the rest of the photos, I started to get a bit muddled about what was what. The playroom/study, in particular, took some thinking about to figure out where in the house I was. In the current climate I wonder if you'd do better to stage that as a study?

The textured ceiling is really quite evident in that one photo. People don't like them, so trying to tone it down in terms of the lighting would probably be helpful.

Overall, I found it a bit... beige. The amount of space is great and there's nothing massively putting me off, but also nothing making me excited about it. (Sorry! I will acknowledge that it's not really my kind of house anyway, so take my thoughts with a pinch of salt.) I think it would be possible to take much more inviting photos of it than the current ones, tbh.

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clary · 30/10/2020 15:06

Is it no viewings or no offers?

I don't know about price but I like a floor plan and a bigger kitchen, no sep dining room

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ComtesseDeSpair · 30/10/2020 15:09

It’s very dated and that isn’t reflected in the price when compared to other properties the same size which don’t need any or as much work. So basically: price. Anybody who sees the listing is going to be mentally budgeting for the cost of replacing the bathrooms, kitchen, flooring and sorting out those (awful, sorry) textured ceilings.

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MrsR87 · 30/10/2020 15:11

It won’t let me view the upstairs floor plan which is annoying. Don’t know if that’s the same for everyone else.

For me, the first photo doesn’t do it any favours and the bathroom is very dated and something I would want to change straight away and of course bathrooms serment cheap.

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MrsR87 · 30/10/2020 15:11

*aren’t cheap!

Damn autocorrect.

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Floralnomad · 30/10/2020 15:11

Sorry Op but not actually much to like , the photos are also terrible . Bathroom needs replacing , front garden is unappealing , the red carpet in the first bedroom picture has a massive ridge down the middle , artexed ceilings are definitely out of fashion .

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QuentinQuarantino · 30/10/2020 15:12

Front garden is grim.

Decor is dated and house just feels cold/bleak (the room with red carpet + yellow walls is particularly bad) and not homely.

Tea towels over oven handle and pet bowls/bed make kitchen look scruffy.

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Floralnomad · 30/10/2020 15:13

I also can’t work out how to see the upstairs floor plan and I prefer a flat floor plan rather than the 3D effect ones but that’s not your house that’s a website thing but it does make your kitchen seem very small .

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timehealsmost · 30/10/2020 15:13

I don't mean this rudely but you have dogs. .does it smell.?,because dog smell would put me off. its also dated and a bit shabby.

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Sitdowncupoftea · 30/10/2020 15:14

What are the prices of similar properties in your area selling for?
To be honest I don't look at decor as everything in a property i buy goes on a skip. Try to keep colours neutral, declutter and put a few plants in garden. Also check local prices.

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Iamthesister · 30/10/2020 15:15

Hi, I'm OPs sister. We're selling our late mums house, which @Hisisteritsmeeee is currently living in.

We have decorated quite a lot- the whole of downstairs and the bathroom upstairs, and have done what we can afford to do decor wise, as well as it recently having a new boiler.

@clary We have had a few viewings, and 2 offers, one was ridiculously low as they were really looking for a bungalow so were planning to convert the whole lower floor to include a bedroom and full bathroom.
The other we accepted, but then it turned out the buyer had lied about a lot of things and when the estate agent questioned them they hung up on the agent and then withdrew their offer.

We're currently in a firebreak in Wales, which has thrown a spanner in the works, but we were getting viewings before that. It's been on the market since mid September.

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TheCountessofFitzdotterel · 30/10/2020 15:15

I don’t think the photos are doing you any favours. The first one with the area of overgrown gravel is off putting and that really matters when it’s the first picture people will see. And there seem to be several where the furniture seems to only just fit which makes it feel poky. The dining room with no pictures on the walls looks a bit odd. I think a bit of rearrangement and dressing indoors some tlc in the front and back garden could make it a lot more appealing.

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TokyoSushi · 30/10/2020 15:16

It doesn't look very clean 😬 The front garden needs massively sorting out. Remove all evidence of pets. The room with the red carpet isn't great, the carpet is wrinkled. The bathroom looks dark and there's a squeege(?) in the shower. Have you any budget to give it a massive deep clean and a lick of paint? I'm not sure what the solution is to the garden, ideally dig it up and turf it.but appreciate that's ££££

It really needs a makeover though, or pricing very cheaply.

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clary · 30/10/2020 15:16

Sorry didn't see floor plan. Layout is an issue, no hall and I'd want to merge kitchen and dining room. Also agree re bathroom and driveway

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DownThePlath · 30/10/2020 15:16

Very dated. Not keen on any of the decor. The front garden looks very messy and forgotten too.

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ivfbeenbusy · 30/10/2020 15:16

Sorry OP it screams money pit

  • front garden - very shabby, no curb appeal, at least refresh the pebbles


  • rear garden - unloved. Again pebbles need refreshing


  • assume it's priced to reflect the fact that the kitchen and bathroom need gutting? If not then don't be surprised when you get low offers


  • doors to the wardrobe??? Looks like a shower curtain


Is this a probate sale? The fittings and fixtures feel like a random collection of stuff you've dug out of the loft/garage - Moses basket in the small room?? - doesn't feel lived in? You'd be better off it being empty?
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Murmurur · 30/10/2020 15:17

Good luck!

Being picky, the living room looks a bit "thoroughfarey" and the main bedroom's narrowness would make it difficult with a cot. Would the second bedroom do better as a main bedroom?

Also cheaper competition. this came up when I clicked 'back' - might be a glitch - but it's 35k cheaper and without knowing the area, looks much better value. The detachedness can't be worth more than 20k (?), probably less.

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