To ask for your opinions on my house?

[StylishMummy]

We're in the stressful and expensive process of moving house, next door have just sold for £170,000. We're on for less and have slightly less space and less than all agents suggested (165-170). But we're not selling!

Collective brain of the vipers nest is my next place for feedback - be as brutal as you like!

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-70481371.html

“3rd bedroom is our DDs nursery and is used as a bedroom, can legally be marketed as such.”

Is it the one pictured or not though? Because if not and it’s smaller than the one pictured, it’s pretty pointless as a bedroom and if the one pictured is the smallest ones, you want people to know that.

Definitely needs the outside repainting op

It just look so cold, grey and uninviting
I would definitely spend some money giving it kerb appeal
People will change the inside but compared to next door yours looks like the poor relation.

It's about £10k over-priced when you plug the brought price into the nationwide house price calculator (what my estate agent used). Next door looks like it's recently been renovated and has at least 2 double bedrooms, whereas it looks like you have one double and one single.

This is the 3rd bedroom/nursery.

The entire house needs a refit/ modernisation and the pebbledash is an unfortunate exterior. The stone floor (?!) in the conservatory looks like a heating-leech. It's v narrow.

Not a good climate for selling now, either.

Dont like the room with the blue sofa. You need to disguise the fireplace, maybe as using it as a dining room. It looks narrow and boring.

The bathroom is lovely. The kitchen tiles date it, I would paint them.

Move chest away from fireplace. Stage sunroom more appropriately - put some plants in there. Follow thru with your idea of making one of the lounges into a dining room.

I can't believe the EA let those photos out, OP, they do nothing for the place. Though, I must be frank though hopefully not hurtful, you could have done a better job of tidying up.

The virtual tour makes it look much nicer.

What you need is a big tidy up, a mega bucket of white paint and a sunny day for the photographer to come back.

@Justmuddlingalong

Oh no, sorry but that's horrible. No way can that be marketed as a bedroom. I'm getting claustrophobic just looking at the pictures.

I've just looked at next door's and the layout confirms what I thought. The hallway and stairs have been changed in yours. I think you need to remodel the downstairs, sorry. The layout just doesn't work and this is why you're not getting offers or viewings. Take a look at next door's in detail and you'll see why. They have clearly defined rooms that work with a separate living room, dining room that leads into kitchen and no rooms having lost a window. I think you'd need to spend too much money to put it right unless your DH is a builder. Otherwise you're going to have to cut the price drastically. I'd say to £130k as it'll take £40k to put right. Sorry, not what you wanted to hear.

Laughing at people still saying paint it, don't like the wallpaper, put in some plants - haven't they worked out there's no windows to the outside.

Not just in bedroom 3.

OP I actually don't think you have a 3 bedroom house looking at the update. I think you could easily dress it to look like a good two bedroom but a box room with no window isn't a useable bedroom for most people.

stylishmummy For all the grim feedback, it's a lovely home, with loads of great features. There's nothing in my area of that price, but other than a few niggly bits, nothing about your home screams "Don't touch ".

I'd buy big house plants, bright cushions for the conservatory and a nice big rug in front of the wicker. Open the blinds in there as well.

That;s not a bedroom, it's a large cupboard. Sorry OP looking at the listing of the house next door there is no way I would be paying anywhere near your asking price.

You need to upload a floor plan that actually has the measurements on there. It’s nearly useless without them.

The plaid curtains and Roman blinds need changing to something less dated.

I'd want to swap the bathroom and 'bedroom' 3 around, but that would probably cost a lot. The only upside of the boxroom is that's where you could put the stairs for a loft conversion.

The photos really don't help - the rooms look better on the virtual tour. I can't believe how bad some estate agents are at taking decent photos - I've seen houses that are on with 2 agents and one set of photos are taken from all the wrong angles and in the wrong lighting and make it look like a different (and much worse!) house.

If that’s the third bedroom - that’s the issue, it doesn’t matter whether it’s legal to market it as a bedroom or not... if it’s priced like a 3 bedroom, then that’s the issue, because that’s no good for anyone bigger than a toddler and if someone wants 3 actual bedrooms they’ll not want that house.

Honestly?

Next door appears worth the money, you are no where near that asking price- sorry.

• It’s a 2 bed. I have two teens so would look for a 3 bed- no way would I get a teen in there! It’s a dressing room. Anyone with young children will think ‘what do we do in 5 years time?’ And it will put them off. Market it for what it is- a dressing room.
• Bathroom is lovely- maybe too big, that would have been better as a bedroom!
• Lack of natural light is very off putting, nothing worse than all lights on and curtains/blinds closed
• Outside looks grotty and very outdated, which screams ‘lots of work and money’ to a potential buyer
• Conservatory- looks like it’s on a patio with moss on the floor, cold, and confused
• 2 sitting rooms and no dining room? Seems odd. Define your rooms
• Those stairs- ARE dangerous, I lived with them for 14 years in a rental. I fell down them several times, once whilst pregnant, and the children numerous times from rushing and their feet slipping. A&E we were on first named terms with at one point. Please put some carpet on each step at least!
• Kitchen is nice, just a little too brown to the eye
• Sitting room needs to get rid of that fire place or at least paint the bricks
• Get rid of some stag wallpaper, there’s too much of it
• Add some of your personality to it, it looks bland
• I know next door has the same wall as you, but with the brick of their house it doesn’t stand out so muc, it looks worse on yours.

Sorry you asked for brutal!!

I enjoyed this! Do you think MNHQ could make a thread for these, something like ‘Help me sell my home!’.......?🤔

From the pics your house is lovely OP, looks spacious and SO CHEAP. £170,000 where I am would get you a 1 bed flat or a run down tiny house. (Not London!)

Yeah that's definitely not a bedroom. I mean you can't even open the door properly and all the furniture is crammed in on top of each other. It's a two bed and a box room.

I agree with all of Lizzie1970's observations.

Anyone buying would do a lot of reworking of the window situation and layout. £130k might even be pushing it.

www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/detailMatching.html?prop=70220299&sale=36766605&country=england
Here is the floorplan of the house next door as described by Lizzie.. You can see the better placement of the stairs and better window situation. Their decor is godawful, or at least it was when the house was sold. Those dark floors ...

However, you need to generate interest, suggest what might be after a good deal of dust settles.

You may have decluttered but unfortunately your photos show a few jarring elements.

You need to take that blue sofa out of the front room and take out those officey vertical blinds too. Put in some bright curtains instead of what you have now. Stage the front room as a dining room and office area. Hide the toys for photo day.
Paint over all the beige wallpaper in the front room. You need a nice terracotta colour that might echo some of the more distinct colour from the kitchen..
Put some nice big candles or decorative items on the mantel, in groups of three. A dramatic plant wouldn't go amiss.

Take the small pink chest of drawers out of shot in the child's room.
You can put it in the corridor while photos are being taken.

Third bedroom/nursery is basically a walk in closet. Not really sure where to start there - get rid of the ladder from photos and paint that hatch white. Take out the chair.

Take all items out of the conservatory that are not seating and put the blue sofa out there. Or rearrange the storage units so the blue sofa will fit (if that is at all possible).
Take out or straighten up all the items that are bunged into the units - these are visible in your photos as the storage cabinets have glass doors. It looks untidy.
You should not be able to see stepstools under seating, or something big and pink stuffed behind seating in the conservatory. Or a mysterious white plastic bag(?) (under the wicker chair).
Get rid of the vertical blinds in the conservatory. Replace with voile floor length curtains. Paint the conservatory some warm colour - golden yellow (like the child's room) or a nice terracotta. It looks really bleak and cold. What are the white splotches on the floor?

Your sitting room is nice, but I agree you should take the coffee table out (put it in the conservatory if it fits, so that looks like a comfortable space). No need for anything on the mantel there. Put a couple of terracotta or brick coloured cushions or throw on your couch or armchair. If you opt for terracotta accents, get rid of the blue blinds. Replace with cream.

Get rid of the stack of cardboard/plywood(?) that is leaning against the wheelie bins. Line up the wheelie bins against the gate. Put a few big potted plants in the garden. Put down grass seed in the bare patches. Put some trailing potted plants in the wall alcove at the bottom of the garden (if that's what it is). A few big bright potted plants wouldn't go amiss in the patio area either.

Your kitchen is incredibly beige but your cabinets look good and there are plenty of them. Your oven looks nice. Could you paint the walls a good deep terracotta? The white looks cold and wrong against the cream/light wood/beige.

You need a few signs of life throughout. The front window could use some big potted plants, and the kitchen would look more lively with greenery too. Put some plants in the conservatory. Invest in a bright rug for the conservatory floor.

Your bathroom looks nice and spacious. Put in a big plant or three - it looks a bit sterile.

If you look at photos of your house the last time it was on the market (click on links on your page) you will see many more plants. It also had net curtains which looked far less sterile.

All of the photos are terrible and should be redone, but the outdoor views in particular are bad. Get the outside photos redone on a sunny day when the place is dry and the light is bright. The item that is under the tarp should be out of shot. So should the wheelbarrow. The garden looks incredibly dreary and not at all a place where children might play or anyone might relax.

If it were up to me I would dynamite that conservatory though.

It's interesting to read the comments saying that you shouldn't have to do xyz in order to sell your house. I agree that you 'shouldn't' have to, but unfortunately some viewers have absolutely no vision.

There was a TV series on back in the 90s about how to stage your house in order to sell it (can't remember the name, it had an American woman on it). I think some episodes are available on one of the Sky channels. She did have a real thing about clutter which you clearly don't have a problem with but personally I don't think your house looks very homely or welcoming.

I think the fireplace needs addressing. Put in some candles or a wicker basket with logs in and maybe some fairy lights. Dried flowers can look good in a jug, and fresh flowers for when the photos get re-taken. The mantelpiece needs some sort of ornament or point of interest on it.

When I 'dressed' my house for sale I got loads of bargains from shops like B&M, Argos, Dunelm and even Next. Check out their clearance or sales section on their websites, I was quite surprised how much some items were reduced to and I'm convinced it helped to sell my house. The inside needs to look more cosy but without adding clutter.

I agree with the other points about the garden, conservatory etc and I do think a coat of paint on the outside would make it much more likely that viewers might actually look at the advert rather than just click past it.

Oh, and you definitely need to get a better estate agent.

Good luck!