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

oh and on the floor plan it doesn't show how you get into the house or whether there is a hallway?

and it also doesn't show the garden measurements or aspect.

Looks a bit cold OP :( sorry, I like for a house to appear bright and warm before I'd go for a viewing. I agree with the rug in the conservatory.

needs a dining area/ table and chairs in a room. tidy the garden; some cheap punnets of flowers in pots and next to your front door as thats where the first impressions made. people (like me) will often look at right move and do a drive by of the house. so make it nice from the front. paint the white on the building in the garden in the back/ freshen it up. you`ve decluttered a bit too well! still needs to look a bit homely. gorgoues bathroom!!!

I agree the conservatory needs sorting you don't need to re floor it but could get a big area rug and some flowers? It looks a bit abandoned, agree with pp tidy garden and re take photos on a lovely bright day now the weather is picking up!

I'd say that the back sitting room with the stairs in and the bedrooms look nice (though I agree that the coffee table should be moved away).

But to my personal taste the kitchen and bathroom are dated re flooring and worktops, the garden looks a bit forlorn and the conservatory looks bleak. Sorry!

The outside of the house would put me off more than anything. Painting the pebbledash and/or the dark window frames would make a huge difference and would be worth the investment. Flowers too- window box, hanging baskets etc, anything to cheer it up a bit.

Painting the brick fireplace cream would be a cheap way to completely transform the blue sofa room. Also switch the photo order- I thought that was the main living room until I reached the actual living room photos.

Rug in conservatory would make a big difference, and definitely open the blinds!

Should be super easy to get nicer photos of the garden after a tidy up and on a sunny day.

I'm currently looking to buy so I can tell you what would put me off this house if t helps...

• the front of the house doesn't look very appealing or homely. Can it be stonewashed? Can you add potted flowers to add a bit of colour and brighten it up? It's the first impression you get of the house and it looks really dull and dingy

• the kitchen is very narrow. Probably not something you can do much about right now but to make it more appealing to buyers can you brighten it up? The dark tiles and surfaces make it look even smaller and darker. Get some lighter, more modern wall tiles and a lighter surface top. Add some colourful bits like flowers in a vase or pastel cups etc to make it look more cheerful.

The back garden. When looking at houses I am looking for a back garden that I can enjoy sitting out in the summer. I want to be able to imagine sitting there on a summers evening enjoying a nice cold drink and relaxing. Your garden in is current state doesn't make me think this is possible. It looks muddy and boggy and dark and dull. I suggest mowing the lawn, planting some pretty flower borders. Painting the fence. Power wash and tofu up the patio. Position the table and chairs in a way that looks as though it is often used and enjoyed. You have to sell a lifestyle not just a house!

Hope that helps!

in the garden "feed and weed" type of stuff to help the patches in your lawn. the bins in the garden rather than outside look unsightly. a rug (ikea are cheapest we found) for the conservatory. needs kerb appeal (hanging basket or something) at the front? in the conservatory theres a white patch on the floor near the wall. clean or cover up ? move the unit by the radiator across maybe ? shows clearly its heated in there (thats a plus point for conservatory). front room looks soulless, while the proper living room with the burner looks nice. ask then for a redo of photo`s . blinds open in conservatory to let in lots of light.

On a basic level, its a good house but it just needs some oomph in the downstairs and outside.

The conservatory is a lovely space but it looks sad and neglected. Lots of people who view have very little imagination and cannot see how areas can be used - you have to suggest it. It needs dressing either as a delightful place to sit or perhaps as a wonderful dining area. Borrow some furniture to dress as apppropriate.

Plants esp flowering ones in the front and back gardens! Pressure wash the slabs.

Vases of flowers everywhere. Daffs are a pound a bunch currently!!

Oh and put some glam mags on the coffee table! Vogue or somesuch.

I think the first interior room looks very dated.

It might have only been done last week but there is something about it that looks very old granny.
But then you have the back living room which looks more up to date.

The front of the house needs something to make it a little prettier. May be a window box or hanging basket.
(Maybe just taking the photo on a sunny day)

The conservatory doesn’t have a purpose.
Even if you just put in a big rug and make it a child’s play room or putting in a ping pong table and a shelf with board games on to make it a games room.

I think you have enough sitting rooms.

Agree with PP re the Conservatory - looks so unloved? How about the big rug, table lamps and flowers? Suggest that someone makes the bed properly and take another pic!

Can you get a bin store for the recycling bins to hide them? I wouldn't want to sit in the garden looking at and smelling them!!

Love the fact that the bedrooms have proper fireplaces - that's a dream of mine, to have a fireplace in my bedroom!

conservatory into a "dining room" would look nice and then the house flows as well. a lack of dining area would immedialty put me off. but id re imagine room use as a viewer. were currently tarting up/ decluttering our house ready to sell. freshening up paintwork, garden..... Ive been noticing on right move the houses i like and why. tends to be neat, tidy, clean, welcoming. even if the decors awful i look past to a well looked after home as it suggests well maintained everything working.

OP I know the area and I think you'd be better putting it on as a 2 bed with dressing room and aiming at first time buyers/childless people.

I wouldn't be interested in this place with kids because it's not actually a 3 bed, the stairs, the area (schools not great), parking is rubbish.

The superficial things are red herrings.

Ultimately you're trying to sell a 2 bed house with a walk in closet as a 3 bed and buyers can see right through that.

I wouldn't even bother going to see this because I don't appreciate being lied to, regardless of what you can "legally" call that third space upstairs.

Be honest with yourself OP. If you were buying a house would you honestly be willing to pay for that third "bedroom"? If not, why are you expecting others to?

Actually your home is very nice. It looks fine as it is. The right buyer will be along very soon I’m sure.

I would do the following:

1. Put a rug in the conservatory and give that room a purpose
2. Turn the fake 3rd bedroom into an office
3. Move the cages in the garden to the bottom of the garden
4. Turn the room with the blue sofa into a dining room
5. Buy some plants
6. Buy a few colourful cushions for the sofa
7. Couple of small plants in the kitchen
8. Lower the price

You need a defined dining area with a table and chairs. Also I would try to make the conservatory look like a nice place to sit. Try to get photos redone on a sunny day and ditch the office blinds.

The house has a lot of space for a family and is decluttered well but it's not beautiful, has little kerb appeal and is dated, in particular the kitchen, bathroom and fireplaces. The best room is the middle one so probably have that photo as the second photo.

Personally apart from the things above I don't think there are any quick fixes so if it's not getting viewings I would drop the price.

I'd make a room near the kitchen into the dining room, not the front room.

Have the stairs been moved when the hall was made into living space?

The superficial things are red herrings

I agree. What's the point of adding bright cushions and rugs if you are basically trying to market a 2 bed as 3 bed house? Buyers wanting a 3 bedroom house will look straight past this house because it is not truly a 3 bedroom house.

2nd issue is no window to the family room. The only window is to the utility room. That's why the curtain is drawn and lights are on. No natural daylight to such a big room is going to be a problem for alot of buyers.

Speaking as someone who has moved house 19 times in the last 30 years, I have a couple of suggestions:

1. The downstairs looks chilly - I'd consider getting some items (cushions, throws, other ornaments) with warm tones such as terracotta. Alternatively, install lightbulbs with warm white tones rather than white. A rug in front of the fireplace could warm up the room, but make sure you don't get one too big, as it could make the room look smaller. Or ensure that the photos are taken on a sunny day or time when the rooms are best lit to their advantage (not always possible, I know!).
2. The garden - get rid of any rubbish and hide the bins before photos are taken. Put something in front of the discoloured lower part of the far brick wall. The gates look like they might need replacing - see if they can be hung straight. Are those leaves on the lawn or just dirt? Try to reseed if possible. Again, photo to be taken when sunny - gardens in miserable weather are never particularly appealing. Some colour would help - bright plants in containers (so you can take them when you move) and some hanging baskets. The wheelbarrow makes it look like there is ongoing building work - get rid.
3. The wooden wall in the garden (beside the conservatory) needs painting
4. An additional photo of the kitchen, but from the other end would be useful to judge scale
5. The conservatory looks freezing - a colourful rug should remove the dread that your toes will freeze as soon as stepping onto those flagstones. I would also consider moving the unit away from the front of the radiator - it gives the impression that it's not a working radiator. Do you use this as a dining room? You could stage this so that it gives a clearly defined use.
6. Main bedroom looks lovely, but ensure the top cover is mill-pond smooth and that no sheet shows in the photo.
7. Bathroom - this looks icy cold. Get rid of the floral unit and the thing on the wall above the bath and add some warm-toned bath mats
8. Utility room - you have no pictures? That would say to me that there's something wrong with it and I would be immediately wary.
9. The front of the house looks a bit bleak. I would remove the weeds in front of your wall and add a bright hanging basket near the front door to draw the eye away from the dull colours of the facade.

10. In all rooms which have curtains - do not draw them completely back (living room, conservatory and main bedroom) - they should not expose any wall, but should hang straight and should dress the room. 11. There is no photo of the 3rd bedroom. Apologies for the length, but you did ask! I do think you have a lovely home and personally, I could see myself living there, but I have a good imagination and plenty of experience at visualising how new spaces could work for me! For some other people, you might have to help this along - once you've enticed them to view, they can then experience the space for themselves. Just remember to make sure that on viewing days, the house is warm and smells lovely! Best of luck x

Pot plants and pictures on walls; to bring it 'alive' a bit. Would also add light coloured throw to blue sofa.

I think any house will sell if the price is right. I think you've been badly advised about selling price.

I struggle with the price. I've just looked at next door that you say sold for £170k. It's a different league, far more homely and nicer kitchen/bathroom plus the outside is more appealing.

I can't put my finger on what's wrong really but I'd be redecorating yours throughout if I was buying it - paint, new flooring, new staircase, new windows and render.
I'm not saying you should do that but it needs reflecting in the price.

Ps your fireplace is gorgeous

Here's next door

www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/detailMatching.html?prop=70220299&sale=36766605&country=england