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 ignore my comment about windows in the 3rd bedroom - just double checked the floorplan and it doesn't have one. D'oh.

I've gone back & looked at the photos again since my first comment and noticed you do have lovely fireplaces in the two real bedrooms! They're just not coming across in the photos – I think if you paint all the walls, even the wallpapered ones, white, throw open the curtains, wait for a sunny day and get rid of some of the background clutter, you can maximise the original features to make it look desirable despite being a two-bed.

Paint the render and walls white too, paint the brown PVC window white (it can be done), tile paint the kitchen. Basically think bright and lovely, with flowers and rugs and smart fireplaces (fuck it, paint that brick one too), to trick the eye away from layout weirdness and lack of internal light.

(Rooms are oddly bare but there are lots of little "bits" that make them look incohesive, eg photo 4, the baskets in the corner, the clock, too-small paintings.)

Then put it on as a 2-bed with a dressing room and get the agent to rewrite the description – as well as potential for loft conversion there's potential for it to be a 3-bed if you swap the bathroom/dressing room.

Reading comments, I agree with a lot eg not much kerb appeal compared to the red brick houses.

Lots of people are mentioning natural light - but looking at the floor plan, your kitchen and central family room don't have any external Windows, just glazed doors and windows to other rooms. And the third bedroom has no window at all? That would be enough to totally put me off unless I only wanted a two bed.

Sorry as there is nothing you can do about any of those things. I do think you have done what you can, tho there are some good suggestions on here re tidying up garden, making it look warmer and adding a dining table.

Data breach, it doesn't have a window. It can't have a window; there is no window on the side of the house as you look at the images so it's not there and if you look at the up and down floor plans side by side you'll see that the 'exterior' wall of bedroom three lines up with the door downstairs, which is in a shared alleyway with the attached house next door. Bedroom three does not have a window, it isn't physically possible, unless you're looking in to next door's second bedroom.

You could give a friend a few hundred pounds and ask them to style it . I would love that plants pots colours rugs blinds etc would jazz up I think otherwise lovely size and space

It might be legally marketable as a 3rd bedroom, but unless people specific want a nursery (and kids grow up) anyone who wants 3 actual bedrooms won't buy. Whereas someone who wants 2 bedrooms will see it as a bonus extra - flexible space to use as dressing room or whatever. I think that might be a big problem in selling as a 3 bed.

The neighbours house that’s just sold is a considerably better layout with only minor differences.

OP, even if it can legally be marketed as a bedroom it honestly will put people off. I wouldn't look at this listing a second time if I figured out there was no window in bedroom three, think that the listing was probably full of lies and i'd honestly wonder what else you were trying to hide.

I don't think the outside front is so bad.

Outside back shows a space to be worked on- more could be made of it and fencing off /screening the bins would help. The yard but could be re-ordered to make it look less cluttered, more of a useable space.

The 2 areas inside the house that would put me off are the main lounge and the conservatory. The main lounge is a total contrast to the lovely other lounge, so I am unsure of its purpose- yet it has a beautiful bay window that could be a real feature. I'd think there was a problem with that room if you had spent more time and attention on the other space...(road noise? Damp? Dodgy area where people are loud at night?)

The conservatory is such an eyesore. The blinds, the odd furniture, the floor is just so unappealing and cold looking. Could you get some long curtains with nice tie backs to add some warmth- a big rug to put your table and chairs on and even consider putting some Lino down in there? You can get some lovely faux-floorboard type ones that would lift the room instantly and it's not too expensive. I'd set it up as a dining room area I think...

Good luck OP

For the sake of the photos, can you switch the 2 reception rooms round and put a table and the blue setee in the “family room”

Don’t let the agent post a photo of that conservatory, it is utterly grim. It photographs as though you hate it.

Draw the curtains. Make the bed properly.

The garden looks very unloved; mow the lawn, tidy up the hutches and paint the fence. Chuck some pots around.

The floor plan indicates the box room has a window. Is that true?

Positives:

Bathroom
Kitchen
Bedrooms

Negatives:

The outside with the pebble-dash/render looks awful and jars with the house next door. I know you can't do anything about it, but it will put people off as they will wonder what it is hiding.

Brown Windows against the pebble dash/render I'm guessing they are UPVC so you can't do anything about them either, but they do make the place look dull.

Could you get some colour at the front of the house? Plants in pots, some of those long planters along the front wall? Anything to make it not look so bleak.

Decide which of the two rooms is the living/TV watching area and stage accordingly.

Stage the other as an eating area/study area/play area.

Get a nice rug on the floor of the conservatory and stage it as something - place to sit in comfy chairs, listen to music, play, eat - make it look like an area you use not just a strange dumping ground. It looks cold and uninviting.

Outside - sort out the peeling paint on that white wooden wall. Re-arrange the rabbit hutches and outside furniture it looks a bit muddled and squashed and not a place someone would want to sit outside. Can you store whatever is under the tarpaulin somewhere else? It would free up some space.

The garden area is a mess, why oh why have you got photos like that? The cardboard abandoned by the bin, the bins all over the place? What is that at the end of the garden beside the gate? It looks odd. Try and clean the walls with green mould on them, cut the grass and get some pots with flowers in. Have new photos without the bins, wheelbarrow and rubbish on show.

I'll be honest it has no kerb appeal at all. It looks very narrow in layout and I didn't understand the lounge pics. At one point I thought you had three! Bathroom is lovely but suspiciously large and the stag wallpaper was offputting despite it being easily changed.

The conservatory looks like it was built to cover a mass grave or something. It's really rather bleak. Maybe a rug as others have suggested is a good place to start.

Sorry to be harsh. I hope you can sell soon.

Put a big Turkish style rug in the conservatory and banisters on the stairs (it would look safer for a toddler). And plants out the front. Good luck OP!

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

It’s not about whether it can be legally marketed as such. The fact is, anyone looking for a 3 bed will look at your house and go “oh it’s actually only a 2 bed” and not buy it because it doesn’t meet their needs. You should be marketing to people who actually want a 2 bed. Also if the gaps between the stairs are more than 10cm it’s actually illegal as well as dangerous.

Agree with all your plans so far. A few floor plants always look nice. When you get the pics done again make sure to spread your blinds out a bit so they frame the window instead of just being squashed to the side.
Clear the garden, paint the brunch fireplace and get rid of the coffee table Infront of the second fire place.

The two things that would put me off as a buyer are firstly the 3rd bedroom being very small and looking like it doesn't have a window. It seems to be more of a walk wardrobe or similar from the plan. There is no picture of it which adds to this impression. If I was looking for a 3 bedroom house this would be a complete non starter based on that. Perhaps it should be on as a two bedroom house as it would then be more likely to get people who would be ok with this.

The second problem would be the pebble dashing.

I agree with the comments that the photos could be better, especially if taken on a sunny day and maybe borrow some houseplants, especially for the conservatory.

I disagree with anyone saying to redecorate. There's nothing in the decor that would put me off and you'd nevertheless get it to the exact task of the buyer anyway.

Get them to remove the phrase “All in all, worth a look” - it sounds like they don’t believe in the house they’re selling.

Vehicular access at the back - does that involve driving onto the grass? Or is there a proper parking space beyond the gates? It’s not clear from the description.

Get a picture with the mature tree actually showing - the garden pics don’t manage to include it and give the impression that the garden is pretty tiny, they could do a full length shot?

Bathroom - it’s a long way from bath and shower to towel rail radiator. Could you put a rail on the wall by each of those? Otherwise i’d be expecting to drip all over the floor on the way to get a towel.

Is there any way to get more light into the family room? It looks like a lovely space but the main window goes into the utillity area, can the blind be lifted at least?

Is the missing bedroom 2 suitable to be in a photo? I had presumed your daughters room was the second largest bedroom so I think you are underselling the upstairs.
Would it be easier and more logical to borrow a dining room table and put in in the Conservatory? It may hide the flooring too.

@pisspawpatrol Yes, I realised that just after I posted (the Law of Sod) so posted again acknowledging my stupidity

I would imagine the original house layout was 3 beds, no bathroom upstairs. The bathroom was, presumably, previously a bedroom and the 2 smaller rooms were 1 bigger one.

I didn't rtft sorry but I think your house is lovely. It's spacious and cosy. The only room I don't like is the room with the stag wallpaper and blue sofa. It's fussy and plain and the same time. I would put cushions and a nice tassley throw on the couch and put in a couple of leafy plants. I would put a rug on the floor of the conservatory and again a few plants as it doesn't look very inviting. I like the bedrooms, kitchen and bathroom and the living room/hall area. Once the house is clean and clutter free (and it is) the decor wouldn't put me off buying. Good luck!

I think it needs 'dressing' a bit OP. Have you got a giant vase or simialr to fill either fake flowers/cones or something to stick on my the hearth.

Make your playroom a bit more 'playroomy' - put a couple of bigger toys out neatly. You're selling a lifestyle etc and 'the children will play in here so they don't mess up your lounge' is a strong selling point.

Your nursery is lovely.

Garden/patio needs some pot plants.

Is that bit of fence between you and bungalow yours? Paint white/grey/green.

Paint your kitchen tiles white. B&Q do tile paint. It's better than you might think.

Put your dining table in the middle of the conservatory and put some pot plants on the windowsills. Stick a rug down.

Your bathroom and master bedroom are great.

Mow the lawn and line the bins up neatly. Move one of the sets of table and chairs from the patio into the garden.

Then get the agent round to do more pics!

Hope that helps.

its a bit dated but id still be interested-has it really only been on for two weeks though?

if yes i wouldnt panic funny times at the moment in britain

The problem is although your price may be realistic for the area, you may need to reduce it to compensate for the very unattractive exterior of your house. The inside is not what is putting people off (you have a lovely home), and changing that is not going to help much.

In your situation I would probably put up some colourful window boxes, borrow a tree in a pot for beside the door, make the window dressings more attractive, then wait for a sunny day to get a better picture.

The room with the stairs in needs to be the dining room.
The tiles in the kitchen must be replaced with light ones.
The conservatory you've had advice on. Can you let a cheap laminate or vinyl floor? The floor in there is so bad!
And I have never seen EA photos with curtains drawn before. Why have you done that? Is there something to hide?

Jumpjockey is so right about the wording ‘all in all worth a look’.

Your agents need sacking. Get ones that can sell and want to sell yours. Photos and a better description will do wonders.

Especially if you’ve done a few stagey bits like pp’s hsve suggested
Good luck!