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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To ask for your opinions on my house?

989 replies

StylishMummy · 26/03/2019 21:00

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

OP posts:
Thread gallery
18
Goodadvice1980 · 27/03/2019 11:20

Hi OP,

Think I'm pretty much echoing the other comments on here, but for me it sadly looks like an ex-rental property; bare and devoid on any recent modernisation. It looks a bit unloved and I am surprised the agent felt those photos were ok to use! There is a lack of natural light and the blinds look dated too.

The "3rd bedroom" isn't really a separate useable bedroom but would make a good dressing area instead. The conservatory could put some buyers off as inside it looks like a glorified lean-to and the flooring is awful. The garden photos look grim and the agent should have at least moved the bloody wheelie bins before taking the photo! Sadly, kerb appeal is lacking too.

I would suggest marketing it as a 2 bed "plus" instead of a 3 bed.

Just unlucky you have a better more modern home for sale next door which has been prepared for the market. Did your agent offer you any advice about presenting the property for sale?

Just remember, if a property languishes on the market too long I think agents can go stale on it and you will lose viewers/potential buyers to other new shiny properties they take onto their books.

Good Luck

TheViceOfReason · 27/03/2019 11:22

Ok, so picture by picture:

Outside the front - clean the moss up growing along the wall, take a picture facing straight on and put a pot with a nice plant in it by the front door.

Room with blue sofa - vase of flowers on the hearth?

Room with stove - move the coffee table from in front of the fire - it looks daft - you wouldn't have it there with the fire lit, so it makes the viewer assume that the room is too narrow to easily walk past the coffee table if it is where it should be. Move it away completely if needs be, and remove the cardboard boxes from the side of the sofa - draws attention to a lack of storage. Raise the blind and take photos on a sunny day.

Kitchen looks fine.

Conservatory. Move the cupboard from in front of the radiator. Clean up the white marks (paint?) on the floor in the centre and to the left. Open the blinds and retake photos on a sunny day. Move furniture around to make the room look like it is used rather than a dumping ground. Sand down the uneven patches on the walls and give it a coat of paint.

Main bedroom - open curtains and retake photos. Do you have a plain white duvet cover? Would make the room look a bit less "busy".

Childs bedroom - open curtain and retake photos.

Bathroom - fab big room! Have you got some nice bright coloured towels to set off the grey / white?

Back yard - sand and paint the white woodwork on the right of the photo, add a couple of nice bright pots with plants in. Retake on a sunny day.

Grassed area - cut the grass, retake picture on a sunny day, get rid of the rubbish leaning by the bins, line the bins up neatly, get the gates hanging properly, clean the moss off the brickwork on the end wall. I'd also give thought to painting the brickwork to brighten it up.

TheViceOfReason · 27/03/2019 11:23

To add - i'd also advertise as a 2 bed with a walk in wardrobe for the master room.

JessieMcJessie · 27/03/2019 11:24

BlacKSatinDancer

3rd bedroom - Move ladders out. Definitely re-paint the loft opening (and why does it look rough around edges - can you sort that out?).

I’m not seeing any ladders or loft hatches in any pics, or any pic at all of the “3rd bedroom”?

joeytribbianihasvd · 27/03/2019 11:36

Here it is. From the virtual tour. It's very obviously a walk in.

To ask for your opinions on my house?
To ask for your opinions on my house?
To ask for your opinions on my house?
JessieMcJessie · 27/03/2019 11:43

Oh wow. OP you’ll really piss people off by marketing that as a bedroom, sorry.

JessieMcJessie · 27/03/2019 11:44

But so many people would LOVE a walk-in wardrobe! I’d get some IKEA PAX and fit it out.

longearedbat · 27/03/2019 11:45

OP, I don't think your agent (or you) are correct in saying that the windowless room can be described as a bedroom. Building regs (AFAIK) state that a bedroom must have 2 means of escape, so in other words, a door and a window.

Findingthingstough18 · 27/03/2019 11:47

Ooh, that is not a bedroom.

I actually think the EA is to blame here, as presumably they advised advertising it as a three bed. Out of interest, was it marketed as one when you bought it, and were you looking at both it and other three beds - or, as I suspect, was it between this and other two beds?

diddl · 27/03/2019 11:53

" It's very obviously a walk in."

Isn't it where the stairs used to be?

TrixieFranklin · 27/03/2019 11:54

It was definitely marketed as a 2 bed when OP bought it. This is from the marketing then.

To ask for your opinions on my house?
Findingthingstough18 · 27/03/2019 11:59

Yeah, thought it would have been. It looks REALLY greedy to market a house you bought as a two bed as a three bed without actually extending it - I mean, why not just designate the conservatory as a bedroom too and then call it a four bed?!

joeytribbianihasvd · 27/03/2019 12:01

@TrixieFranklin that makes sense. It would be very odd to build a bedroom with a door to the master bedroom and no window.

TrixieFranklin · 27/03/2019 12:11

That's the trouble with trying to be cheeky these days - potential buyers have access to SO much info online you can't pull the wool over their eyes as easily!

Doubletrouble99 · 27/03/2019 12:13

Actually, I think the bathroom should have been put in the '3rd bedroom' and the bathroom which is much bigger be a bedroom.

kaytee87 · 27/03/2019 12:20

Ooh yeah it's not a 3 bedroom so people are coming to view expecting a 3 bedroom and not getting one.
You need to price it in accordance with a 2 bedroom and re advertise

Findingthingstough18 · 27/03/2019 12:22

To be fair, I've just checked and the OP isn't asking a crazy price for a two-bed in her area, but I think the 'oh my goodness, what a bargain three bed, oh no wait it's a two bed' bait and switch will be putting off people who might actually be interested in it as a two bed.

Hollycatberry · 27/03/2019 12:26

Actually, I think the bathroom should have been put in the '3rd bedroom' and the bathroom which is much bigger be a bedroom

Agree this would be better layout. But as it's a terrace house there wouldnt be access to the soil pipe in that location. Water and waste pipes would have be run into that area too. All extra £££.

Interestingly, the average price for the postcode is around £142k (for a 3 bed according to Zoopla). I'm not seeing why this house is worth £30k more than the average. The neighbours house is a good layout and in good state so explains why it sold quickly and for the price of £170k. Plus it is a proper 3 bedroom house.

PurpleFlower1983 · 27/03/2019 12:28

The stairs - my PIL have stairs like this and they terrify me.

Is the house that is sold the one to the left? Purely from looking at outside, it looks like a much bigger house with more character.

IvanaPee · 27/03/2019 12:28

@diddl there’s a door from the master bedroom leading into it so it’s definitely a closet!

A PP posted about the living room and kitchen looking into the utility room. That would be off-putting too.

It’s like someone just started throwing walls up everywhere, leaving the patio (conservatory) and making pretend rooms! Most odd.

Ginnymweasley · 27/03/2019 12:39

What have you done to the property since your bought it? Cause looking at old photos it doesn't look much different. I think the problem is the price. It's a 2 bed not a 3 bed, you can't compare it to next door. For example we have just bought a 3 bed house, next door sold last year for 15k more than we bought ours for I didn't get a bargain it's just next door has been extended so has more space and had a new kitchen and bathroom. Same postcode but completely different houses so can't compare.
Try a different estate agent and see what they say? Definitely get some new pictures, ones showing some sort of light might help.

Inliverpool1 · 27/03/2019 12:48

What price difference do you all reckon and extra bedroom adds ? Around here you’d pay £50,000 more to jump from a 2 to a 3 bed

Lolwhat · 27/03/2019 12:50

It’s just a bit plain and boring, looks more functional than homey

whohaa · 27/03/2019 12:52

The conservatory floor puts me off, maybe put a rug down? And picture 2 is so bland. The othe r living room looks great. Garden needs some work.

peachgreen · 27/03/2019 12:59

That "third bedroom" cheekiness would put me off even going to see it because I'd assume you weren't trustworthy sellers (sorry OP, I'm sure it was your agent's advice!). Also you're not capturing the right market. Anyone who wants a 3 bedroom won't buy your house. Anyone who wants a 2 bedroom won't see the listing.

That's the major issue, but also don't show the room with the brick fireplace first and make it look like a dining room instead, it's not nice as a lounge. And do something with the conservatory, it looks a bit ramshackle but that could just be the floor.

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