House still on market over 2 years later

It's not a bad house; I expected worse.

Couple of thoughts:

Photos could be improved and more logically organized.

Market bedroom 6 as a home office.

Blue, purple bedrooms likely will have to be painted. Make them more neutral.

Put a large mirror on the wall behind the kitchen table to reflect light and give some depth to the room.

As others have said, the clutter is overwhelming. Even though the buyers won't have to sort it, it burdens the mind and distracts one from looking at the bones of the house. Bathroom, utility, etc., should all be as impersonal as the photo of the kitchen is.

The conservatory, garden and utility are all just overwhelmed with stuff. Is there storage in the garage?

It is worrisome that your husband is not including you in this process.

The problem is though if they are coming to view and seeing small rooms and lots of clutter and storage boxes everywhere it just screams 'this house is too small to accommodate 5 or 6 people', which if you are looking for a 5 bed then that's what you want. If that was the presentation photos, then what does the clutter look like on viewing when its not showhome ready for photos.
Market as a 4 bed plus nursery/study/home office.

This. In spite of the photos, people are coming round. They're just not wanting to buy. A neat duvet cover and some pot plants won't help that.
I think, for a 5 bed detached, it's a bit small.

I think I also read recently that these days conservatives can actually devalue a property? People don’t like them, think they will be cold, etc and that it will cost money to knock them down.

i do agree that reducing the price will increase the chance of it selling as someone will overlook the clutter, dated decor, etc at some point. But tackling these issues yourself would also make a difference. When I last sold a house I replaced the kitchen unit doors with new doors. Cost quite a bit, but less than a new kitchen. Really updated the look and the first viewer said it was the kitchen which sold it to them. And it looked awful before.

Think about what would impress you viewing the house. What would you like to see?
someone said get a house setter, that’s a good idea. Nice rugs, blinds, cushions and flowers inside and out. I would like the garden to look relaxing so everything gone except a nice outdoor set, same with the conservatory.Yep and clutter gone too.
You are trying to sell an idea and the lifestyle that goes with what is a lovely place.

Your floor plan needs room dimensions and overall square footage. The bedrooms all seem very small. I don’t know why house builders add all these extra bathrooms and then leave such small bedrooms.

The photos need redoing and you need a major declutter, the conservatory should be your big selling point but instead it just looks like a junk room.

We had lots of viewings, no offers
The listing is working, but people are being disappointed when they view. What is it about the property that doesn't live up to the promise of the listing? What is it that's turning them off the property?

You either need to adjust the listing to lower viewers expectations, or improve the property to match the promise of the listing. But if you don't know what it is that people are being disappointed by at the viewing, you don't know what target.

You should be pushing the EA for follow-up calls to viewers and feedback on why they're not making offers.

OP please ignore everyone telling you the photos are not good enough. All they are for is to get people to view and people are viewing. Much of the advice here is ridiculous, as if putting some pictures on walls will make any difference, or removing some bottles 🙄

Your house is priced higher than people will pay for a house like that, in that location. That is your only problem.

I’d take the house off the market until the New Year and pop it back on as a new listing, this will refresh it and put it at the top of the list.

The rooms are cluttered - a mix of colours and don't sell a 'lifestyle'..

It is therefore overpriced.

You can do your own viewings but you have to be good at talking about how great the area is (some estate agents are rubbish)

BUT people like to feel like they are getting a bargain (either an 'all done move in - perfect house' or a 'cheap bargainous I can do this myself house'. your house is neither of those things. )

Way too much clutter esp by the washing machine/toilet and that conservatory
perhaps a picture or two to break up the walls esp the lounge
garden looks a total disaster you could never imagine it as a relaxing place to spend sunny days nice table and chairs bit of colour

I would take it off the market completely for a few weeks, have a huge declutter and organise, a fresh coat of paint and stage the rooms to look homelier (cushions, fresh flowers), find a new EA and re market it wit new better photos, listed as a four bed with a slight price reduction.

It’s not really a 5 bed house. The rooms are too small. And usually a proper 5 bed house has two reception rooms. The price is too high for what it is.
Decluttering will only bring more viewings, it won’t get you an offer.

on a side note,
My name isn’t on the mortgage and deeds due to my bad credit rating.

Your name should still be on the deeds as a joint owner, seeing as how you are his wife and were when the house was bought,

You don’t need good credit to be on the deeds. You don’t need the name on the mortgage to match the deeds either.

Many women are not on the mortgage because they are SAHMs, but they damn well are on the deeds.

why it matters- he can literally disinherit you from the house if he has a Will saying so. If you joint owner, you automatically inherit his share of the house if he dies. You’re protected.

I think it's nice. But the fifth bedroom is way too small to bother with. It'd be better to knock it through to the other one next to it, making a walk in closet or ensuite? I'm not saying you should definitely do that but you could knock those two rooms through?

It looks Very good to me fir the price (but I don't know your area).

I would declutter.

I would ask the estate agent to take new and better photos.

I personally think the photographer was pretty rubbish tbh and doesn't make the most of it at all. Terrible angles and non-photos really.

It needs a complete refresh, as there's nothing wrong with your house at all!

The photos are not the problem. Your house looks nice in them. You have had lots of viewings so the photos are very clearly not the problem.

The problem will be the price. If your husband won’t budge on that then the house won’t sell.

I think its over priced to be honest. I'm not from the area but just from research of what looks like your house:

Zoopla has the value at £296k (usually overvalued estimate as they just track markets not condition) and you are asking £290k after 2 YEARS on the market.

How much did you reduce it by that its STILL only 6k (2%) under the high estimation valuation of asking?

If you only bought it 8 years ago for £190k, why do you think it has gone up £100,000 (52%), what is the justification for nearly doubling in price?

I appreciate the EA advised you to remove family photos, but you have a lot of blank space on the walls. This is particularly jarring in pictures 2 and 4. Can you do a charity shop haul and see if you can find some pictures to fill these spaces and brighten the place up a bit?

i think it’s a bit over priced if I’m honest id want to do a lot to that. There’s no coving up the fire is original the kitchen is dark the utility looks like there’s no storage same in the downstairs loo it just looks really like it hasn’t been looked after the access for the neighbours would put me off too as would the tree - the conservatory is nice but you can’t see the space for stuff and it’s not 5 beds.

The things that stand out to me:

1. You need to declutter, massively. Even just chuck everything in loft/back of car/in bin if it is just clutter. Then get new photos taken.

2. It does look a bit dated, maybe some surface level re decorating would help, fresh paint/curtains.

3. It’s the price. Looking in the area for a very similar price there are multiple 4 beds with beautiful gardens, brand new kitchens & bathrooms etc which make 290 for yours look overpriced. If I was looking I’d choose to pay an extra £10k on my mortgage for one of the homes that’s all done and just ready to go vs 290k for one that (for me) is a bit dated and would need new kitchen bathroom. I think reducing the price again, quite a bit, would see more interest as for a lower price I wouldn’t mind doing the updating myself.

It doesn’t seem overly priced for the area, if you search for 4bed plus houses, detached, in the locality yours is the cheapest. Interestingly the others have been reduced as well so don’t seem to be selling. Is the area not popular? Poor local school, etc? The others are less cluttered than yours so I’d focus on that.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=POSTCODE%5E944712&minBedrooms=4&maxPrice=325000&minPrice=240000&radius=1.0&propertyTypes=&includeSSTC=true&mustHave=&dontShow=&furnishTypes=&keywords=]]

People suggesting nice towels & nice toiletries to stage the property are talking nonsense.

All property selling is based on
Price
Location
Plus each person has their own wish list of their ideal purchase.

I would look at what similar properties are selling for in the local area.

If you want to sell, drop the price

She’s still have to deal with her DH putting buyers off! I’d be even less likely to buy a house from a feuding divorcing couple.

Frankly it’s the price. People evidently don’t feel the house is worth the cost. I don’t see it either. Also every single photo has junk, I’m not sure how you can’t see that. It looks like the starting point of hoarding! It’s quite chaotic. Even if you cleared the clutter, it’s still not worth the asking price though. As you asked for examples:

#2 - full to the brim bookcase with lots of junk on top, lots of stuff in/around the tv stand. Makes me think there’s not enough space inside.

#3 - every single shelf including the windowsill is full of junk. Even the crawl space between the counter and the wall, and the side of the toilet! It looks trashy

#4 - why are there random things on top of the wall counters? All the counter space is occupied too.

#5 - this photo actually is difficult to look at. It’s visually chaotic and hurts my eyes. This goes beyond “clutter”, I’m looking at this thinking it needs a skip. That huge sack in the corner is concerning.

#6 & 7- every surface covered in clutter in both bedroom & bathroom

#8 - why is there junk on the windowsill?

#9 & 10 - filled to the ceiling with junk, every surface is covered

#11 & 12 - more junk everywhere. Is that a bunch of stuff hanging off the door in the left of #12? Why is the radiator placed so high? Why is there stacks upon stacks of stuff?

#13 - what is this photo’s purpose? It comes at a random point in the listing and isn’t particularly attractive

#14 - again, junk everywhere in the garden, but you can also see into the horror that is the conservatory and all the junk inside too.

It's Crofton. Sorry...