Why won't my house sell

[StopSearching]

My house has been on the market for nearly two years. Recently we took it off and remarketed with new agents. No viewings. We've been so patient for two years but it's getting me down now.

I just want to move on. Nothing wrong with where we live, it's a lovely little town but we have plans and this is all that stopping us. I've stopped looking for houses to buy as they are sold before we even get viewings.

Anyone else having similar problems? It's so frustrating.

I think we will do all the repairs as even though they are minor they obviously come off as more serious in photos/video.

I really don't think many of the repairs are minor. Doing all the repairs properly is going to cost an absolute fortune, and take quite a lot of time. Why not just lower the price?

@StopSearching

Did you agent make you take the curtains down to further emphasise the view. No, we've never had curtains there.

It's becoming clear I'm not the homey types. I don't like cushions and throws and all that other stuff that people collect. I'm going to have to grit my teeth and girly up my house aren't I.

See this is why I disagree with a lot of the previous posters saying just buy some 'homey' crap from dunhelm/wherever and chuck it in. Without casting any value on your personal style, it's clearly not the 'in' house-selling style popular at the moment - i.e. very neutral and high gloss. It's easy to just say 'look at and copy pinterest' but unless that's your skillset you will just end up with more random mismatched clutter that doesn't go with the mismatched stuff you already have, and will just end up in the bin because you won't want to take it with you when you move. Even people who do like the more homely/comfy/vintage look want to be able to imagine their own personal touches and fixtures and fittings rather than yours.

Unless you have a friend or some who does have an eye for interior design, I would go completely the other way and remove most of the decorative items you already have (the picture frames up the stairs which are each a different colour, the different armchair in the living room, the weird light/decor chain thing that is half on and half off the radiator in the main room....) so at least it's a bare plan for people to project off. Then spend the extra you would have spent on 'twigs and pebbly shit' (or big letters saying BATH, HOME, LIVE, etc) on cleaning and possibly replacing the stained carpets and plastering and painting over the ceiling stain, etc.

Also as pp's have said DEF get a picture of the bathroom up there - it is the nicest room in the house and would be a selling point rather than a worry 'if there isn't even a picture it must be awful!'

And use some of your own lovely photos of the back rather than the agent's terrible drone ones!

We put in new kitchen, new bathroom, new driveway (was just tarmac) and the garden room. Plus the general house price increase in the area. I think we will do all the repairs as even though they are minor they obviously come off as more serious in photos/video.

But why does that = 110k. That's a lot of money for a house that looks like it has some serious structural issues and a damp
problem.

OP, is this damp, mould or a crack?

The windows and doors will need replacing sometime but I would expect this on a 20 year old house especially as it would be the glazing that the builders put in

@Ontheboardwalk

Get a priest in to bless and release the troubled, trapped, soul in the door frame? The walkthrough/video really doesn’t do you any favours

That made me laugh

If they’re all minor OP why have you lived with them for the past 2 years? Surely you can see that those things make for an undesirable house?
I don’t actually agree that they’re minor. I think you’re looking at spending a significant amount to commandeer even close to your asking price.
Did you put the green carpet in?

@Doris86

The obvious question is why is it priced at the level it is? Is this the price the estate agents have recommended? Or did the estate agent recommend a lower price and the OP has gone against their advice.

Estate agents said the price was good, they think it's good value. So did previous agents. But here we are.

OP I don’t live far from you.. not in the same town but not far. It’s the price; sorry

Agree with many- fields to me mean new development, noise and shit roads will be built for years- I probably wouldn't include those shots- let someone see the house. The aerial photos are annoying- had to flick through to see your house- and again- why- fields aren't what I'm buying. I'd dump all those shots. Lose the black chair, maybe even the red one and just have the black couch in the living photo, and the microwave in the laundry.

I live in Dorset so know that's a good value house and it's also a decent property. Being a fellow Dorset resident I'd worry about them developing the land behind (they're building everywhere here right now) and / or it being a flood plain. We're always flooding..Are either of those things a potential issue?

There is a lot of work to be done which people will be pricing up:

Extension/kitchen knock through
New kitchen
New carpets
Skim ceilings
Fix damp
Remove fitted cupboards inevitably means replastering
Fix damp issues
New banisters
New doors internal and external

Was the loft conversion done to building regs? It doesn’t look like it with the open stairs and non fire doors. This will cause issues when you sell as you won’t be able to call it a bedroom. Regardless, the work looks very poor quality.

You say you want to sell so invest in a few weekends of maintenance. Decorate, clean damp, improve the garden. I would seriously get the damp ceiling fixed too, it’s off putting.

Saying that, land at the back earmarked for development would be enough to put me off. If you really want to move, part exchange is a good option.

OP I agree that your pictures of your garden are so much better than the agents! Their pictures are awful, I'd get rid of the drone ones because it makes your house look small and cramped.

Give it a bit of TLC like the others have said - especially the ceiling which had a leak, that would put me off immediately.

Estate agents said the price was good, they think it's good value. So did previous agents. But here we are.

After 2 years I think it's pretty clear that the price isn't good value. Houses in your area are selling, but your house is still unsold after 2 years.

The issue is the price doesn't reflect the work that the property needs. In short it's overpriced. If it was good value then it would have sold.

To add I don’t think the ‘decorative’ items are an issue here, plenty of empty houses sell. Damp, structural problems and lack of building regs/dodgy conversions are a problem.

@Corcory

To make it more appealing I'd get a load of planters in groups at the front of the house and I'd market it as a 3 bed house with a study/nursery. The kitchen really is too small for current tastes, I'd be inclined to knock through to the dinning room, but that would cost. Also, pity you didn't go the whole hog and do a proper en suite in the attic, I wouldn't market as an en suite, just makes people disappointed.Take out the references to open views too as they probably won't last. What about a feature wall in the lounge? Add some style and colour to make it stand out from the crowd.

We didn't do the attic conversion, it was like that when we bought it. There isn't room to make a full ensuite. Would you recommend removing it and making built in wardrobes instead?

Impressions from looking at Rightmove ad - characterless house with unflattering photos taken at the wrong angles, focusing on ugly, shiny ceiling paint and a drive that would look far nicer if it had a car covering some of it. Bland, box-like rooms with no interesting features whatsoever, just plain wall right up to ugly ceiling with no coving. Hideous utility room. Miles of not hugely attractive field that looks like farm equipment and chemicals work their way practically into the garden. Where the hell is the bathroom? Have I missed the photos, or are there none?? Kitchen would look nicer if it looked lived in - bare surfaces look unwelcoming (eg where’s the kettle?). Change the way you photograph it, make it look more loved and like human beings live in it, and remove the excess exclamation marks in the text, and the house could be made to seem massively more appealing than it currently does from the photos.

Did it have building regs when you bought it? Our conveyancer was very hot on this when we tried to buy a house with a loft room and no regs. It had to be revalued as a 3 not 4 bed and Barclays said no anyway due to the fire risk so we pulled out.

Ok I don't want to be harsh but there are quite a few things wrong with this but first thing I would do is get new photos done. I would say this is a 3 bed with a study, it looks like you would struggle to get a single bed in there looking at where the heater is. There are no bathroom photos which suggests it is not good and kitchen photos are poor living room looks tiny too but probably down to the photos.

The garden I would clear back the bushes and fix whatever is in the middle of it? Looks like a covered up pond which would put off lots of families.

The main thing that would put me off is that although these are detached houses they are ridiculously close to each other, can't comment on price as I don't know the area but I wouldn't compare it to the one further up the thread.

Why are you moving OP?

@Ontheboardwalk

Get a priest in to bless and release the troubled, trapped, soul in the door frame? The walkthrough/video really doesn’t do you any favours

@oobedobe

Two years waiting to sell!! Why not just google Home Stagers Dorset and hire somebody?!

They can rent you modern furniture, accessories everything you need to stage it properly.

They will also give you a consultation report of other things you can do to improve it; paint colours, updating backsplash etc

It will be better than a price reduction and you should sell ASAP. Home just needs to look more modern and aspirational.

Your current photos are so bland that it is turning everyone off.

I did not know such a service existed, thanks

It looks lovely to me, and OMG those fantastic views. But alas I’d be put off by the prospective development — all that lovely green space turned into a building site.

I think you have to drop the price.

Have you ever watched that show with the ridiculously handsome and charming Property Brothers? The one I'm thinking of is called Buying and Selling, and is on the W channel. It would really talk you through the process of improving your house with staging etc.