Would *you* view this house? And if not, why not?

[NameChangePropertyAdvice]

Name changed as this is outing, but I'd really like to know what you think about this property and the way it's being marketed please.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-92534111.html

It seems very expensive for a chalet style house. I would want to spend a lot of money on it. Possibly rebuild (sorry). As others have said I’d want to knock the kitchen through to make a lovely big kitchen - but it looks like there’s a chimney breast in the way. The bedrooms look small and unless you start taking the roof off it’s always going to be a bungalow with bedrooms in the roof so I imagine that puts a ceiling (‘scuse the pun) on the price. It is a house with potential rather than ready to go. I agree with the pp who said the layout is more like a holiday house. Could you paint the kitchen tiles white? Also remove the cupboards in the dining room they make the room look really unbalanced, small and who needs loads of cupboards in the dinning room. Definitely add pics of the paddock and garage. Hide the plastic stuff and bright cupboards!

Absolutely. It's quite dated inside but that wouldn't put me off at all.

Not my taste but seeing reasonable value for the accommodation in that location

@TARSCOUT

I like it but in Scotland you'd get way more for the £ (example www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-63322959.html - ignore the red worktop - major fail). As such, I can't comment on the price. If the price is standard I would definately go and see it purely on the outside space.

If you're struggling for viewers there are a few things you could do to make it a bit more appealing. Like PP I would increase the bedroom quantity - you have currently 3 bedrooms, a sitting room and 3 reception rooms - I would say 5 bedrooms a sitting room and a further reception room.

Externally - Get rid of the stick tree front right- looks like a crucifix.
Internally - Kitchen - Remove things from shelves on right hand side and put t/c/s canisters there. Tidy up that far right corner. Retake picture and exclude the strip light.
Living room - change mirror and get rid of the purple thing. Change curtains and rearrange furniture.
Dining room - get rid of the coloured things on top of the cupboards. Remove seat pads.
Next room - put the mirror from the living room where the clock is.

Remove the rug. Put another chair at the table. Remove seat pads.
Bathroom - remove the green thing at side of toilet, and everything from the ledges. Remove the net curtain.
Kids room - remove the ironing board, the sock hanger. Sort the furniture- half the shelves are empty. Pull the curtain in a bit towards the door.
Double Room - put pillows on the bed and nicer bedding. Plain if you've got patterned curtains.
Family bathroom. Remove curtains, ghost chair and bath mat from side of bath. Also green things from the ledge. Put a full toilet roll on the holder and a towel on the towel rail.
Cloakroom - remove curtains and bath mat.
Double room - put extra pillows on the bed and remove the desk/chair and the mirror
Single room - move the side table along to sit in line with the mirror. Remove shoes from under bed.
If you do have some spare £ I would change the ceiling lightshades in all the rooms and the red curtains in the living room.
Sorry :)

Please don't apologise! All very helpful, thank you

@PickAChew

The curtains in the bathrooms put me off

On a 700k house, I find muttering at curtains, or a bit of clutter on the worktops odd.

Am I the only one who looks at the floor plan and measurements before anything else?

No, I'm with you PickAChew!

@NameChangePropertyAdvice

I have been through the pictures again.

Walk in shower not pictured
Ironing board pictured!
There are no fluffy towels out in any of the bathrooms, curtains in a bathroom is a big no no for me.
I would take some of the sofa's out of the lounge.
Clear all the kitchen surfaces and nik naks out of the kitchen, put some cookery books on the shelves.
Lastly I would paint rooms in the house, it seems very functional at the moment like a holiday let or rental property.
Get the agents to come back and include photos of the paddock you are selling a lifestyle not just a house.
I do not mean to be harsh.

What an odd layout. My first thought would be - I’d want to knock through and change bathrooms etc. If I was into building works then that might excite me but I’m not so I would walk on by.

@PickAChew

Always look at the floor plan first discount houses without one!

Lovely house but my husband is very tall and would be annoyed everyday by the ceilings. We’ve had to say no to lots of property’s because he can’t get up the stairs without breaking his head.

To be honest the pictures aren't really selling it. I have no idea of price, whether that is realistic or not but

The kitchen looks small and dated.

The first bathroom pic looks miserable.

Your living room furniture looks like it should be in a conservatory, it doesn't really appear to be a warm and inviting space to relax in. It doesn't scream homey.

You need to get in the mindset of having stunt pineapples in the kitchen, vases with flowers, soft throws, fluffy towels, etc. Look at how sold houses have been styled and aim for that.

More photos of the outside space - it's gorgeous but not enough is being shown.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-67841607.html this is what you're competing with. Nearby location, similar price, 4 bedroom, so should be attracting the same buyers. Why do you think this one has sold? Look how beautiful and inviting the living room is, compare a photo of their bedroom with yours, have a look at their bathroom photos and then put yours next to it, etc. These are the differences that will get buyers in .

The pictures need doing again with some serious ‘dressing’ and styling.
Also
The selling point may be the land, but there are no photos of the paddock. 1.7 acres may be enough for a couple of small ponies or one horse. I’d want to see the state of the land and if stables / shelter was viable etc. The land allows the seller to ask for more money so the buyer needs to see it on an advert I think, otherwise it’s a 3 bedroom house with a big garden.

No, the only thing I like is the outside. I guess if you were looking for a fixer upper in that area and it was priced accordingly it might appeal.

definitely a fixer upper. the bathrooms the kitchen etc.
lovely property and certainly potential BUT it's a fair chunk of change on something that needs work in every area.
if it's not been mentioned paint or treat the cover on the front bay window please.

@Cupidity

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-67841607.html this is what you're competing with. Nearby location, similar price, 4 bedroom, so should be attracting the same buyers. Why do you think this one has sold? Look how beautiful and inviting the living room is, compare a photo of their bedroom with yours, have a look at their bathroom photos and then put yours next to it, etc. These are the differences that will get buyers in .

I actually think that comparison supports OP that her agent isn't doing her any favours. That house actually has some pretty unappealing aspects of its own - the outside is really ugly - and the layout is also a bit weird, but the photos are much better quality than OP's and there's obviously been some staging and that makes a massive difference which you can really see when you compare them.

No. Its very dated (kitchen / bathrooms /decor) and the layout is awful. Completely disproportionate upstairs : downstairs ratio. Bizarre to have a bedroom on the ground floor with a kind of back door.

If i wanted a project to completely reconfigure the space and that was reflected in the price then i might be persuaded but you'd have to spend £50-100k on it, easily.

It is a bit cold and uninviting I'm afraid. It looks unloved and the kitchen looks small and dated with the brown chequered tiles, brown door and dreary floor. Look at the link Cupidity has posted to a nearby house - it's much warmer and more modern looking. Could you make those sorts of changes?

Add in more pictures of the land and garage also.

I have a friend who runs a home staging company, she loans furniture and helps to 'dress' the house, she also takes the brochure photos or works with the agent, to get the best views. I was sceptical but the difference she makes to house pricing and speed of sale is amazing. The results more than pays for her services. I think you'd benefit from someone like this.

I live not too far from that property, in a nice village near a ‘desirable’ town, a better train link to London too. There’s not much comes on the market and houses are sought after. We bought 3 years ago and got a lot more for our money at a considerably lower price and prices haven’t gone up significantly since. It’s a nice area but even so, I think that’s way over priced for what it is.

I would view it knowing that I would need to redecorate entirely, and replace the bathrooms and kitchen at some point, if my budget allowed for those improvements.

It’s certainly clean, tidy and well maintained, it’s all just very meh, looks like someone wasn’t planning to stop there. But I am very into interiors and redecoration and styling would be a hobby in itself.

I'm looking to move so seen a lot of pictures and houses recently!
I'd ask the agent to retake the photos with proper consideration given to lighting. As these look like they have been taken by the saturday kid rather than the alleged photographer.

You also need a photo of almost every room but not so many the viewer doesn't feel they need to bother doing a physical viewing.
If the agent doesn't know what you are on about I would change agent as soon as you can.

Best of luck with your sale.

Taking another look id also be a bit marked with the "annex potential"
Makes it sound like no one knows what to do with that part of the house and so it's not a coherent whole.

Why not call the rooms play room / games room / home office. Like other people do!!
Then if the viewer wants to do something else that's up to them.

Clearly the location is driving the price here IMO. The kitchen seems very small and the decor as a whole is dated. However taste is so so personal. The thought of keeping on top of that garden too is huge but then if I could afford this maybe I could afford a gardener

Could you try to get planning permission for the annex?

I wouldn’t because the kitchen is too small and it looks like there’s a wall of wardrobes in the dining room, which is weird.

Bedrooms don’t look a great size and the bathroom isn’t very nice.

The living rooms are a bit all over the place and the decor is quite outdated.

I just don’t think it’s worth the money.