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.

The estate agents should be helping you with this. What do they think?

Can only be a price issue beyond what the prospective purchasers are saying.

If you want to live where I live, these are the prices you have to pay

And yet no one has wanted to for two years...

@StopSearching

I don't think it's overpriced, in fact I think it's good value.

OP, the house itself seems ok, nothing off putting but equally nothing too attractive either according to the pictures. However, their seems to be a few issues:

First, a quick check on Rightmove for the same postcode, for similar type property in your area, (I.e detach min 3 bed) suggests to me that your price is too high. Without being rude, some houses seems more attractive for design, presentation and location which are way cheaper. Asking prices are anything between £240-£325k, the latter being the most expensive, so yours at 350k is little ambitious I think in comparison.

First thing to check is what other similar houses in your area sell for. If you know any houses on your street that sold recently you need to ask the owner/agent what did they sell for, or you can search it up yourself, the sold prices are advertised on Rightmove or Zoopla although this information will only be available few weeks after the sale is complete.. so do your research!

Second point - the field to me looks more like a security issue rather than development. It may get developed in future but right now it's a bit too exposed at the back and will make me uncomfortable. Unfortunately nothing you can do about it but maybe ask the agent not to show it as such a feature in the pictures, tone it down a bit.

Third point - appearance wise, can you try and dress it up a bit more? It's not bad looking, just dull. For the photo shoot maybe get some nice colourful bed linens.. cushions.. flowers... maybe couple of big flower pots by the front door? make it look homely, inviting and standout from the competition. Some people are suckers for closeups pics of designers stuff (to me they look hideous, like close up of a tap or a cushion 😁) Again, go on Rightmove and constantly compare your house to similar to see what they are showing that you don't. It will give you some clues.

Bottom line I think it's down to price and marketing. Check with your agent for tips. If they are no good get a different agent quickly which is actually interested in selling your house.

Good luck!

"We could do that. Personally I like the living room to be separate so that someone can be watching tv and someone else can be reading in the other room, or chatting, or cooking or whatever." (@StopSearching)

Yes, BUT you won't be doing this for you personally. You will be doing the whole open concept thing to appeal to the people who are likely to be buying your home. They have young children they want to be able to see and be present for; they want to be chatting while they cook; they want a space that's ideal for their fantasy of "entertaining" in the evening.

You need to step away from what works for you, and start thinking like prospective buyers.

If it's been on the market for two years, why haven't you dropped the price?

There's a house in our village which has been for sale for over 2 years. It is completely overpriced but the owner doesn't seem to realise that. He took it off the market briefly last year and then put it back on with a new agent so on RM it doesn't show up as having been on the market for that long. It's like he's got it into his head that his house is worth £520k and he won't shift.

If you want to live where I live, these are the prices you have to pay

But for 2 years no one has wanted to live there enough to pay the price you’re asking. And it’s not just down to the damp on the ceiling.
Someone did however recently offer on a far nicer house near to you for less money, so obviously people do want to live in your area, just not your house.
I hope you get it sold OP.

I think it's a nice house and the field
Photos are obviously there to show its setting. However the fields surrounding are very flat indeed (is that normal for Dorset?) and that would make me think they'd just be built on.

50p.

Ill buy it.

So, its price, sadly.

If you think its worth more than the people out there buying you have to reduce or stay. There maybe some cosmetic improvements you can do to appeal to buyers too and get them through the door with better photos.

Looking at the pictures and floor plan I would want to do the following before I considered it an option;
Install downstairs WC and if space shower room
Confirm insulation of sun room
Open up kitchen to dining room
Therefore probably install a new kitchen
Repaint and carpet the throughout
Garden landscape/design to make the most of the smaller space
I’ve just mentally spent upwards of £50k, so maybe I’ll just buy the £400k one you linked earlier and save myself the hassle, after all it looks nicer from the outside...

The outdoor pictures confuse me, did you buy it because you love the view? There are so many of them that I felt something inside was being hid. The decor internally lacks any inspiration, furniture is too big and poorly placed. It has no soul. If I loved the house then I would be inspired to do these things but it’s lack of character wouldn’t inspire me to try.

Your decor is very bland- not a lot of personality. I know people shouldn’t judge decor but they do.
Kitchen seems so uninspired.
I would take some time to redecorate- even just adding some colour.

I personally wouldn’t touch a house next to that land- sorry. All these new houses being built are so tiny and on top of each other. If that land was redeveloped I wouldn’t want to be looking out in a new housing estate.

Also are schools and facilities good in your area?

It also looks like no one lives there - it looks like it’s been done up to rent.

Something I’d want to change if I lived there is the front door. Your house doesn’t look different from your neighbours.

The whole of Mumsnet
"It's overpriced"
Op "No it's not".
If you don't want to move it's not an issue.
If you do want to move, look at the house you want, find out from the estate agent what the "sell it now price is" and see if you can find the difference.
Or live there forever
Fwiw, the cover pic looks like a semi. A 3 bed with a room in the loft is never worth the same as a purpose built 4 bed.

A 3 bed with a room in the loft is never worth the same as a purpose built 4 bed

At the moment it is set out as a 2 bed and a room in the loft.

Such an odd thread.

That house simoly isn’t going to sell for that price.

It’s in a state of disrepair. It look like it has significant damp and structural issues, and I’m not quite sure I believe you’ve had surveyors and damp specialists in to check.

It’s also clearly not a 4 bedroom, it’s three bedroom due to the reduced size of the office area, below legal requirements for a bedroom. Unless you’ve got Harry Potter as your nephew, no matter how much you persist in calling it a four bedroom no one will perceive it as such and pay as if it is. Just saying it doesn’t make it true.

It’s also not been decorated since it was basically built in most parts, so 35 years, with the original carpets in, and looks it.

The fields are going to be turned into a housing estate. So the views will be lost.

And you’re charging a premium for it.

If someone did offer, which they won’t anywhere close to this price, then they will have a survey done op, and their solicitors will do searches, so they will firstly find out for sure if there is damp and structural issues and they will know the field is to be turned into housing. Before it completes.

Just saying there is no damp and structural issues and pretending the field isn’t going to be turned into housing, or pretending it’s four bedrooms, isn’t going to change the fact the house will be surveyed and the searches done, the office space seen, ans the truth revealed.

There is nothing that can be hidden here.

You’re clearly not going to drop the price. I’m not one hundred percent sure how well any repairs will be done, if any are done. It’s just a massive job to bring it back up to spec.

I think you really need to consider that this is it, it’s never selling. Not in this condition and for this price corridor. 🤷‍♀️

@StopSearching

This is your main problem, you have a three bedroom home for a four bedroom price. People looking for a four bedroom property are doing so because they want to use all the bedrooms. They can't use one of the bedrooms in your home. Try selling it as a three bedroom home, priced accordingly, and you will sell.

So, if you look for 3 bedroomed houses in my area this is what comes up:

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/85322441#/

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/101788520#/

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/72519765#/

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=POSTCODE%5E1065189&maxBedrooms=3&minBedrooms=3&radius=3.0&propertyTypes=&includeSSTC=false&mustHave=&dontShow=&furnishTypes=&keywords=

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/78303993#/

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/78368889#/

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/85432520#/

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/85432520#/

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/99890726#/

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/88838716#/

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/101286650#/

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/86115319#/

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/100082027#/

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/89577004#/

All of these are at least 100k more than we are asking.

Just to give a feel of the local property market.

I think that’s your problem. You’re in an area where people want aspirational, quirky cottages and former churches etc and you are selling an ordinary newish family house. You can’t compare yours with those, price wise or any other way.

It really is just price. So you either spend the money to do it up or lose the money by lowering the price.

Someone will buy it but you need to lower your expectations, and asking price.

I live nearby and know the area well. There are some stunning houses in villages nearby with bags of character so I do think these houses are a hard sell in comparison.

There's nothing wrong with it, just nothing amazing about it that would make it jump off the page at me.

I would either invest in some restyling and new decor, or take an equivalent chunk off the price.

Either way, you need to do something if you want to sell as nothing's going to change otherwise.

Yet another example of why the British property market is so fucked up. I wouldn’t pay half that - in fact you couldn’t pay me to live in a house like that. And if the OP isn’t an EA I would be very surprised; very few sellers would take it on the chin like she has, but an agent would be fine with it. Ammunition to tell the seller to adjust their expectations, if nothing else.

Oh i do love these threads where people get angry if the op doesn't immediately leap to take all their valuable advice

Op you said this:

"I loved the house from the moment we walked in. It's has lots of light and it felt like a holiday home with everything we wanted.

You need to make the photos give that impression. Id take out all the exterior overhead shots that show the farmland and just do one of the front of the house. Paint the ceilings as suggested and think hard about how you can work with what you've got to give the photos a light and airy feel. You don't need to spend £10k knocking walls out. There are still people out there who prefer separate rooms and if they don't they can do that major work themselves.

Captcha you seem really angry about this. You ok hun?

I'm fine hun.

@Handsoffstrikesagain

If I was staging it to sell I’d do a few basic things to ‘warm the house up’ but tbh it’s not bad enough to make me think that’s the issue. I strongly suspect that land puts people off as I said before. If I’m being honest, it’s all a bit leather and magnolia. I’d suggest the following -

1. A carpet clean
2. Paint the rooms in a neutral, modern shade. Crown Paints ‘Sail White’ is ideal.
3. If I was being very picky, get some neutral fabric chair covers for the living room furniture. Add some navy/mustard/blush pink cushions - not all together. The fabric covers are about £30.
4. Change the bedding to something more light and airy.
5. Remove the tablecloth from the dining table.
6. Add some faux greenery around the house, particularly areas like kitchen and bathroom windows.
7. add a rug in the living room
8. Remove the dated canvases and replace with photos and a nice mirror above the fireplace.
9. Jet wash the drive.

10. Put blinds in rooms where there aren’t any. 11. Avoid any use of bright colours as they’ll clash with the leather furnishings and Dan make everything look more dated.

The other two issues you have is the dorma window isn’t particularly pretty. It’s out of character with the house and the estate. The kitchen is also very small and you’d benefit from telling any prospective buyers about your plans to knock through to the dining room one day if you were staying.

Totally agree

Personally I like the living room to be separate so that someone can be watching tv and someone else can be reading in the other room, or chatting, or cooking or whatever

But you have the house up for sale which means you won’t be living there.
What you like when you come to sell isn’t the priority.

Either do the work or set the price to reflect that work needs doing.
At £350,000 with work needing doing is too much especially when ones that are done and have a full 4 bedrooms with bathrooms on the same floor as all the bedrooms are less money.
I think you should list it for nearer the £300,000 to get it moving.

@BitOfFun

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.

The twins? I love them!

Probably over priced and/ or in need of essential maintenance. Are you trying to charge extra for curtains/ carpets, the kitchen sink etc? That always makes me giggle as it's ridiculous.

If you want to live where I live, these are the prices you have to pay. It's all relative.

@StopSearching

Unfortunately though OP your house has been on the market for 2 years so it’s looking like people don’t want to live in your house/area. You will need to drop the price massively if you’re thinking of moving. Otherwise do it up and stay there yourself for a few years.