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Original poster

In the depths of despair over house move

75 replies

HeIsNotTheSun · 12/10/2020 18:31

Our house has been on the market for two months now. Tonnes of viewers but no one seems to want it and I don’t get it.

It’s on at offers over home report value which is standard. It’s bright and clean and decorated to a high standard. It has a lovely garden. Sought after area, really good schools.

No urgent repairs etc needing done, we have looked after it.

Houses in surrounding streets are all selling fine but ours is just going nowhere and I don’t get it. The feedback is always “beautiful house, a bit smaller than we wanted” or “lovely house, lovely and bright but not quite what we are looking for”. Nothing concrete. I mean it’s not massive but you wouldn’t expect it to be for the price (and the schedule is quite clear).

I just can’t hack it any more. I want to take it down and just forget it but our kids are getting bigger and we want to move on. We need more space.

I just don’t know what to do. I don’t understand it.

OP posts:
Bluntness100 · 12/10/2020 19:25

Won't surveys bring up anything that's terribly wrong? People are far too swayed by the date a property was added on Rightmove

Yup. But if everything else is selling snd this doesn’t, then at some point people start to ask why doesn’t anyone want that house.

Rightly or wrongly they do. That’s why folks try to get it relisted as a new listing rather than make it look like it’s been on the market for months and no one wants it.

If other homes are selling then there is something different about this house. Either it’s not the same as the others, in terms of lay put, condition, or plot size, square footage, or the decor would not be to others tastes and they see a big job in replacing it.

Bluntness100 · 12/10/2020 19:29

I’d also say peoples opinions of their own homes can sometimes not be others opinions.

There was a poster on here awhile ago, she couldn’t understand why her house wasn’t selling, and she had priced it higher than her neighbours who had recently sold. Her opinion was hers was worth more because it was decorated better.

When the links were shown next door had been extensively renovated and was very modern and stylish, the ops house was very dated indeed, and needed a full renovation, but for her, she thought it was beautiful.

Feefifo9 · 12/10/2020 19:46

Post the link

Frownette · 12/10/2020 19:48

@Feefifo9 no, she doesn't want to.

Palavah · 12/10/2020 19:50

What do they estate agents say?

Bluntness100 · 12/10/2020 19:55

The agents will tell her they don’t know, to give it a time longer then tell her to drop the price...

mrsmummy1111 · 12/10/2020 19:56

At the end of the day, everything comes down to price. Even the shittiest of houses sells eventually at the right price. Other houses on the street may have sold for more money, but maybe the market was different then or they may seem "almost identical" to yours but guaranteed there's some differences. Otherwise yours would be selling too.

The only thing left, is price. If you're desperate to move you may just have to accept the fact you need to lower the price

Suzi888 · 12/10/2020 19:56

It’s hard without seeing any photos.
It sounds like it might be smaller in reality than the photos show? Have the other houses been bigger or have room to extend and yours doesn’t? What are your neighbours like? Parking? etc...
I’d ask the estate agent, ask for brutal feedback and see what they say.
Good luck, I hope you get a buyer soon Smile

Fiftysixthnamechange · 12/10/2020 20:05

It's impossible to say without seeing pictures, but fwiw these threads always the same. The poster thinks there is nothing wrong with their home, it's great, decorated really well etc etc..... can't understand why it's not selling, posts links, has thousands of replies stating EXACTLY what's wrong with it..... My point is it's your home, you live there, of course you can't see any issues but you're not getting any offers so it's either the price OR its not quite as up to scratch as you think......

Chickenitalia · 12/10/2020 20:07

Do your photos actually look like the property in person? I only mention it because a friend has recently gone up for sale and the photos are amazing, make the rooms look massive and so tidy, very bright and excellent condition. She has had a load of viewings as 3 bed family homes here go very quickly and there are no others on at present. But so far no offers, and my thinking is that when people then see the house, they don’t see the house they had in their mind from the photos. It’s a slightly dated, cluttered family home which has very little natural light in the autumn and needs full renovation throughout. The pictures and price just don’t reflect that.

Just something to consider if you’re getting viewings but nothing more.

MikeUniformMike · 12/10/2020 20:13

Are the rooms decorated and furnished according to what they are marketed as? e.g. is a bedroom laid out as a study or a reception room marketed as a bedroom.
Is the house cluttered, or full of children's stuff?
Does it smell of pets? If you have pets, anyone who views who doesn't have pets will think it does.
Is your taste in decor a bit different?
Is the garden tiny?
Were the photos taken with a wide angle lens making the rooms look bigger?

Kenworthington · 12/10/2020 20:16

Yes! @HeIsNotTheSun and MOST galling my friend put hers in the market , just up the road from me but an estate house rather than an ancient cottage, and it sold in one week! People were bloody fighting over it. 5 offers in one day. I was FURIOUS Grin she kept telling me how stressful it was. One sodding week

cabotstove · 12/10/2020 20:18

Regarding the houses that are selling do you actually know what prices they are going for?

Original poster
HeIsNotTheSun · 12/10/2020 20:20

Yes. Rooms are set out as marketed. Decor is pretty neutral throughout. We are not really into bright colour schemes etc. There are some kids toys but we have removed loads of clutter (and stuck it in the garage) so they aren’t cluttering up the place. We got the carpets all cleaned etc.

No pets.

We have quite a big garden. We do have a downstairs bathroom although so do most of the houses in the street (a lot of them have converted an upstairs cupboard into a small toilet but we haven’t done that so I could see that that could make a difference).

The third bedroom is small. It’s a box room but its not unusable by any stretch. But this is very clear from the schedule, I think the photos are pretty much representative.

OP posts:
IndecentFeminist · 12/10/2020 20:20

Overs over home buyers' value? So over the valuation?

I hate offers over, and it can out people off.

FamBae · 12/10/2020 20:21

I agree with PP's two months is not very long, also with the nights drawing in it's quite acceptable to restrict viewing times to school hours and Saturday mornings or afternoons only, if someone is really interested they will make the effort to view at your convenience, it weeds out the time wasters and gives you some breathing space. How many valuations did you get?, I got three and the difference in prices was ridiculous, I worked out the average and one EA was bang on that figure, they got my custom and it sold a little over, hang on in there. Smile Flowers

MovingFarFarAway · 12/10/2020 20:22

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Original poster
HeIsNotTheSun · 12/10/2020 20:23

Indecent is that not pretty standard?

OP posts:
Feefifo9 · 12/10/2020 20:24

I would the 'offers over' and see if it makes a difference. Could be lack of an upstairs loo if it's a young family kind of house. Wouldn't work or us with little children who need the loo in the night.

Kenworthington · 12/10/2020 20:36

@cabotstove all the ones near me are selling for full asking price. Some are even going over. It’s madness

frumpety · 12/10/2020 20:38

Who would you say is the property suited to ? how many and what age of children ? You seem to want to move because yours are bigger now and you need more space and someone mentioned it being smaller than they wanted. If you have a load of people viewing who have top primary children they are going to be thinking the same as you are , that there isn't enough space.
Is there potential to extend ? up or out ? if there is mention this during viewings, have other similar houses in the street done this , if so point this out to viewers.
How many toilets do you have ? if you only have one , is there the potential to add another, for instance under the stairs ? Again mention it to buyers in a 'if we were staying , we would have put a toilet in X place' , make them imagine the potential.
Kitchen and bathroom and boiler, how old are they ? will they need replacing or renovating soon ?

cabotstove · 12/10/2020 20:40

@Kenworthington I ask because there are 8 houses for sale on my road. The 2 STC are both 10% under asking (I know them really well).

IndecentFeminist · 12/10/2020 20:41

No, not in my experience. Don't most people take a valuation as per a couple of estate agents and list at that, and then accept a sensible offer? Offers over tends to be an unpopular approach, and how many people will offer over what it is valued at?

Do you know what nearby properties have actually sold for, as against listed at?

ballsdeep · 12/10/2020 20:44

@HeIsNotTheSun

Kenworthington do people keep saying to you “oh it’s such a good time to sell right now, everything is just so busy!” It is soul destroying.
Houses by us are at a standstill. After lockdown loads and loads came on, and now nothing!
Original poster
HeIsNotTheSun · 12/10/2020 20:44

We’re in Scotland if that makes any difference. Tend to instruct home report and take the valuation from there. As far as I know.

OP posts: