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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

House NOT selling... AIBU?

342 replies

AllTheGin84 · 20/06/2019 10:43

HELP.

Our house has been on the market for 15 weeks... had an offer 4 weeks in at full asking price (woah!), then their chain collapsed and they are no longer selling.

Then we changed agent, went back on the market and dropped price by £30,000 (575,000 - £545,000).

5 viewings in a week, no offers, no interest in buying... WHY? WHY DOES NO ONE WANT MY HOUSE?

Its clean, ridiculously tidy, plain and neutral, lovely comments... but no on wants to even put an offer in!!!!! We have a viewing today, tomorrow and Saturday. What can I do?????

HELP ME MN, I AM DESPERATE TO SELL. This is seriously affecting my mental health.

OP posts:
DrDentyst · 20/06/2019 10:44

You need to post a link so that we can do our worst

MyOpinionIsValid · 20/06/2019 10:44

Brexit. Thts the excuse for everything.

utterlybutterly8 · 20/06/2019 10:45

Link please OP Grin

TheTrollFairy · 20/06/2019 10:45

What’s the garden like? Is the kitchen and bathroom modern? Will the house need more than paint job if someone takes it?

You could always bake cookies to make it smell homely, put fresh flowers out on dining room table etc

thecatsthecats · 20/06/2019 10:45

Unless you are brave enough to post a link and take the resultant battering of self esteem and calls to drop the price, I'm not sure anyone can help you!

But someone did so a few weeks ago and their house was TRANSFORMED by the resulting comments, and is under offer.

steff13 · 20/06/2019 10:47

If you want real answers, you'll have to post the link.

Has your realtor asked the buyers' realtors why they're not offering?

NorthEndGal · 20/06/2019 10:47

We need to have a quick look

DoneLikeAKipper · 20/06/2019 10:48

With the greatest of respect, is it obvious you’re desperate? Are you in during viewings? Why are you so keen to sell - bad area, neighbours, need the money?

If you need a quick sale, reducing the price is obviously the biggest step, but it’s obvious some are willing to pay that price. Just depends if buyers can get more for their money if they’re willing to compromise (e.g. five miles down the road they can get a 4 bed detached over a 3 bed semi).

CoastalWave · 20/06/2019 10:49

Link. Let us help.

LittleLongDog · 20/06/2019 10:49

What’s the feedback from the veiwings?

Post the link and we’ll share our thoughts.

FakeEmpire · 20/06/2019 10:50

You could always bake cookies to make it smell homely

Don't do this, any sensible potential buyer would think the seller's trying to cover bad smells like mould etc

Idontwanttotalk · 20/06/2019 10:51

I think it depends on what area of the country you live in and the type of house (e.g. first time buyer's house or further up the ladder). In the South East it is harder to sell by all accounts. In the Midlands first time buyers' houses are selling quickly.

Ask the EA for an honest appraisal of your home and whether any improvements could be done cheaply to make it sell more quickly. If people are making nice comments but not making offers then it could be over-priced.

rattusrattus20 · 20/06/2019 10:52

there are usually only two reasons for a house not selling:

(1) it's somehow really unusual [e.g. in a very isolated area/far bigger or smaller than the houses around it etc];

(2) the asking price is too high.

hard to say, based on the information provided, which of the two is to blame here.

utterlybutterly8 · 20/06/2019 10:52

But someone did so a few weeks ago and their house was TRANSFORMED by the resulting comments, and is under offer.

I remember that thread (or threads!) but didn’t know the house had subsequently gone under offer. Great update!

PeePooAndPaperOnly · 20/06/2019 10:53

What's the feedback like from viewings?
Ask your EA what you can do, that's what you pay them for
or you could just post a link

justmyview · 20/06/2019 10:54

I think any house will sell if the price is right

15 weeks isn't long

Yes a PP got brutal advice when she posted a link to her sale particulars, but a lot of the advice was accurate / fair

hellsbellsmelons · 20/06/2019 10:56

My DSis house has been on the market for a year.
Still not sold.
Be patient.
It will happen when it's meant to happen.

adaline · 20/06/2019 10:58

Houses are worth what people are willing to spend on them.

Sounds like it's priced too high.

NiteFlights · 20/06/2019 10:58
  1. Post a link. You might get some genuinely helpful advice.
  1. Houses where I live are not selling. Nothing wrong with them, sensibly priced, etc. There might be nothing wrong with your house at all. It’s a horrible time to be selling (and buying) because there is so much economic and political uncertainty. We don’t even have a Prime Minister!
  1. Talk to your agent and get as much honest feedback as you can. That way you will know if there are things you could be doing differently. Eg when I sold my last house, some viewers didn’t like the fact that there were some garages opposite. Nothing I could do, so no point stressing over it.
  1. Please don’t take it personally - it’s not personal. Don’t let it affect your health. If it’s really getting you down, take action to look after your mental health. Nobody can wave a magic wand over your house but you can definitely feel better, no matter what the external circumstances.
Daygals · 20/06/2019 11:00

What is the feedback from the viewers?

If people are saying it's too small or something they'd hoped for is missing, what they actually mean is they expected more for their money, i.e. the price is too high.

Sometimes an "imaculate" house can he tricky to sell because unless everything is brand new and to the buyers taste they might want to change it anyway. i.e a house that's priced appropriately because it needs a new kitchen/bathroom is better than an house that has a perfectly decent kitchen but one that you want to replace.

I'm not sure there's anything to be gained from posting the link. Unless a MNetter is familiar with the road, there's no way to know if it's over priced and that's the only thong that really matters. It could be an awful looking house but it will still sell at the right price.

HomeTheatreSystem · 20/06/2019 11:00

What has your agent said? Is the market in your area sluggish in general? Or just houses in that price bracket aren't selling so well?

NiteFlights · 20/06/2019 11:01

*Houses are worth what people are willing to spend on them.

Sounds like it's priced too high.*

Normally I’d agree 100% but I think this is a particularly difficult time thanks to Brexit etc. If OP is desperate to sell then yes, a price drop might succeed, but I think the whole situation is really tricky. Might depend on area of the country, though.

wink1970 · 20/06/2019 11:03

4 houses on our road have sold recently, all within a month of being put up. There's 1 that's lingering, however, and the only thing I can see is they have decked the entire garden, and these are 5-bed family houses, so there' nowhere for kids to play.

Could it be something so simple?

thecatsthecats · 20/06/2019 11:04

I remember that thread (or threads!) but didn’t know the house had subsequently gone under offer. Great update!

I may have... ahem... checked on Rightmove!

Daygals · 20/06/2019 11:04

It still applies though Niteflights. It will sell if it's priced correctly for the current market.

Same with your garages. They will put some people off, but equally if they're getting more house for the money than they would without the garages there will be people who find it an attractive proposition.