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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

House not selling (with listing)

319 replies

Housesale2 · 13/04/2026 16:33

Any thoughts welcome - awkward lay out? Decor? Anything else?

To pre-empt a couple of questions; it was originally listed at £400,000, and there is parking for two cars (one on the gravel, one on the right)

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/171873854#/?channel=RES_BUY

OP posts:
letmebetheone · 13/04/2026 18:38

If you look at the competition in your area and at your price there are much better options (sorry).

Alwaysontherun · 13/04/2026 18:36

As others have mentioned the market isn’t great at the moment which can’t be helping but this is what jumps out at me.

• Lacks kerb appeal. I’d give the front a good tidy up, trim any bushes, remove any weeds and add a few pots
• Kitchen is lovely but I would pull the table out from the wall and add a vase of flowers. I’d remove a few jars from the shelves and replace with a bit of greenery
• The fireplace in the living room is very dated and off putting. Not just for the work to remove it but that once removed the floor will most likely need replacing too so that’s another expense
• Remove pets and kids craft corner from conservatory and declutter this room to give it more purpose. Make it look like a more appealing place to relax rather than just a dumping ground
• Utility room, remove fridge magnets from fridge. Maybe add a plant or something to make the room look more welcoming
• Bedrooms all come across as being on the smaller sides in the photos. One of the beds is far too big for the room. If it’s possible I would swap that out for something more in proportion. The kids rooms I would have a big declutter to give the impression of more space.
• The study needs to be made more welcoming and presented as a study. I would move the exercise equipment out of it too.
•.The back garden, like the front needs a really good tidy up and presented as a more usable space.
• Parking needs to be made clear

On a positive though you have lovely bathrooms, a lovely kitchen which are great selling points and most other things are easily remedied

2026baby · 13/04/2026 18:35

Housesale2 · 13/04/2026 18:18

Yes, there’s no garage - was converted historically.

Whose garage is in the first picture then? If not yours, its attached to your house so I think saying its a detached home may be a stretch as at best it's actually link-detached? Imo its functionally semi-detached as your living soace os attached to their garage and especially so if their garage is also in use as living space.

LadyVioletBridgerton · 13/04/2026 18:34

You need to grab people on the first picture or they’ll just scroll on by without even looking. The front of the house is a bit uninspiring if I’m honest. You need to tidy up the front and get it looking fab, maybe put out some pot plants in some gorgeous pots before getting the estate agent round to take some new pics.

Once you’ve got people’s attention, hopefully they’ll be more interested with what’s inside.

Gemstonebeach · 13/04/2026 18:28

Probably not helpful but the three small bedrooms are all tiny. I’d be happy with one single but would want the other two to be proper doubles if I was buying a four bedroom house. Otherwise I think it’s really nice, the bathrooms are lovely.

OlderGlaswegianLivingInDevon · 13/04/2026 18:28
  1. The driveway - was it raining just before the photo was taken and had a car just been removed ? as the driveway is two different colours i.e. black and grey Or does it need a good clean
  2. No wall cupboards in the kitchen, just shelves with jars on
  3. The fireplace is hideous and sooooooo big !
  4. that double bed - is it an extra large king or something as a bed is usually 6'3" long and the room size says it's bigger than 6'3" it actually says 8'6" so where is the missing 2' ? One should be able to at least walk past the bottom of the bed
  5. the ' office ' is awful
  6. the small animal/s in the ' snug ' ? need to be popped outside for photos and viewings
Loadsalies · 13/04/2026 18:27

I really like it. Some people have no imagination. There's slight things to do. But it's a good price imo. I hope you don't have to drop it more?

Are you down or upsizing?

SoulFood · 13/04/2026 18:25

Zhuzh the fron garden up a bit. So it has some kerbside appeal. The rest is fine.

Bobcurlygirl · 13/04/2026 18:25

You are let down as picture 1 of the outside has no kerb appeal. The red door clashes with the brown windows (I personally don't like brown). The drive is part tarmac and part gravel with some haphazard rocks around. Can you do anything like remove rocks, paint front door a few large potted plants? It's a Shane as your kitchen is gorgeous.
When we sold our house the estate agent taking photos insisted we move the cat outside as they didn't want animals in shots. Can you move the hutch?
It's also an awful market tho so you may need to wait for the iran situation to settle. Good luck!

hallomynameisinigomontoya · 13/04/2026 18:22

The photos would put me right off, they're clearly taken with a super wide angle lens which makes it look all stretched. It would make me assume the rooms were very small (and from the floor plan they're no smaller than I would expect in that style house).

Catza · 13/04/2026 18:21

ThatWaryLimePeer · 13/04/2026 18:15

Why isn’t it four bedrooms?

Because bedroom nr 4 is L-shaped and is already too small without an awkward layout. I estimate, the actual usable space there is no more than 2mx1.5m. They would have been better off building one bedroom on top of that extension and making it ensuite with the bathroom to the side.

Shellstar2 · 13/04/2026 18:21

Honestly, I'm not that far from you. Your house is lovely and I would view it at least. I don't think a few boxes and kid stuff would put many people off.

My house is also on the market. A trickle of viewings. One offer but fell through near exchange. I see a lot of houses reducing, coming back on after sale agreed etc. I think it was already a bad market before Trump attacked Iran and sent mortgage rates up, but my EA says people are now being very cautious since then.

We're just entering the busy time now. Perhaps just honestly assess your house against similar ones on the market and adjust price again if needed. Otherwise, I think you can only wait, or try again in a year or two and hope things have improved. Good luck.

Carlie97 · 13/04/2026 18:21

The fireplace isn't nice, the grey walls in the kids rooms would put me off. Can you take the planet stickers off the wall in one of the kids rooms and repaint a neutral colour? The office is really bland and uninspiring. Can you hide the boxes and stick a colourful rug in there with some bright curtains?

Outside, put some colourful plants on the gravel and some hanging baskets.

I love your kitchen and the colour of the walls in there and the living room.

ERthree · 13/04/2026 18:21

Other than it needs a good de-clutter and a few hours of gardening it looks fine. No reason why it shouldn't sell. if i was buying it i would want 10k off because those windows and the fire place would have to go.

Glowingup · 13/04/2026 18:19

I think it’s really nice and I don’t think the price is too high either. It seems pretty reasonable to me. Maybe because the market is shit with terrible mortgage rates at the moment.

TheWytch · 13/04/2026 18:19

What is putting me off would be the expense of changing the things I couldn't live with (open shelves in the kitchen) and metro tiles in the bathrooms.

The rest of the decor is easily changed to my taste but I'd be adding on the cost of a complete kitchen and two bathroom refits which makes it much too expensive.

Housesale2 · 13/04/2026 18:18

Yes, there’s no garage - was converted historically.

OP posts:
GenieGenealogy · 13/04/2026 18:15

Htcunya · 13/04/2026 18:10

I think the white garage belongs to the house next door and OP's only parking is on the area in front of the window. If that's the case, it will put many people off.

Ah right. If I was confused, others may be too.

ThatWaryLimePeer · 13/04/2026 18:15

Dawnintheageofaquariams · 13/04/2026 16:57

Love the kitchen!
Love the shower room.
Not fond of the Lego fireplace, and it is a three bedroom, not four.
A lot of the photos are too cluttered and don't do the home justice.

Why isn’t it four bedrooms?

donotmissyourchancetoblow · 13/04/2026 18:14

The house looks sound enough but the things that would put me off,
External: the large green climber at the front door, the front and back garden areas in general looks tired and needs TLC
the picture of the front doesn’t show the whole property
fascia boards look like they need attention, possibly just painted.
the windows look quite dated and I think most people would want to change them

internal: the fireplace; it doesn’t seem in keeping with the rest of the house, animals in the snug, the bright colours are a bit jarring, the bedroom that looks like it just has a double bed in it. the office/gym room looks small and a bit of a dumping ground.

overall I don’t think the pictures are that great, they don’t show the rooms from different angles nor are they very good.

if you’re getting viewings but no offers I’d imagine it’s the price. If you’re not getting any interest go back to the estate agent and ask what they recommend to get interest.

BillieWiper · 13/04/2026 18:14

None of the bedrooms look big enough, ceilings look quite low. The pic of the kitchen, pic 4 with a long table and only two chairs looks odd and pointless.

Modern bathrooms are good, kitchen nice but maybe not enough light? Is it just having that small window?

Garden could be better, made a bit more pleasant with some pots or bedding of summer flowers.

Idk about the area but as others say the price has to be a big factor.

It's not my type of thing in regards to the exterior design but there's plenty of people who like this type house.

RawBloomers · 13/04/2026 18:13

It seems expensive given the size. Wouldn't want teenagers in those bedrooms if I could avoid it and the master is too narrow for a decent bed. Upstairs it's like a starter home with extra beds. So I think it's the price. People who need a four bed may be finding others (or a cheaper 3 bed with the potential to expand) with larger rooms.

Otherwise I think it's pretty well presented. I agree sprucing the garden a bit and not showing the pets wouldn't hurt but if you're getting no interest, that's not going to be the crux of the issue.

InsaneRise · 13/04/2026 18:13

For me there's no one picture that captures the wow factor. Knowing the kitchen opened into the snug would clinch it for me, but the photos don't show it. I think it helps of the photos themselves give a sense of the layout as I might have clicked off before looking at the actual layout.

If you could somehow get a picture that shows from the kitchen to the snug so I could imagine my friends congregating and chatting in all that space, it would sell it to me.

hellotomrw · 13/04/2026 18:12

The garden looks tiny, is that the case or just a bad photo?

OccasionalHope · 13/04/2026 18:11

Th weird angle of the French windows would put me off. Some of the other angles look off too but I think those are jost because the photographer was trying to make rooms look bigger.

But really your problem is the market. Nothing you can do about that apart from dropping price so yours is the most attractively priced for the few potential buyers.