Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
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:
HollowTalk · 20/06/2019 12:20

Are there other houses on sale in your street/neighbourhood? Is your house priced well in comparison to them? Have you seen what the other houses that have recently sold have got that yours hasn't got?

JemSynergy · 20/06/2019 12:21

There are two houses opposite me which have been on the market for nearly a year, usually any house on my road which comes up for sale gets snapped up really quickly. I just don't think people are buying at the moment, there are also loads of people on my road doing extensions and loft conversions which makes me think people are using what they would spend on stamp duty to extend instead.

Xmr1986 · 20/06/2019 12:22

15 weeks is nothing. A house can take years to sell. Give your head a wobble.

Mintypea5 · 20/06/2019 12:22

@AllTheGin84 do you need to sell before you move? If not maybe look at renting it out or doing the sale from Switzerland. Not ideal but if there is an issue (say parking) I think some people will be willing to over look that if the house is already vacant and ready for a fast sale

S1naidSucks · 20/06/2019 12:25

Maybe it’s too neutral.

House NOT selling... AIBU?
ContinuityError · 20/06/2019 12:26

As you are keen to move, work out the minimum you could accept (you’ve probably done this already). Might be worth taking a bit of a hit to start your new life in Switzerland. Keeping it on and renting out is a PITA if you’re in a different country but worth keeping as a plan B unless you need to get the equity out. The plus side id that it gives you a base to return to if anything goes tits up.

VenusOfWillendorf · 20/06/2019 12:26

You don't need to be in the UK to sell. I assume you're either renting or getting company accommodation in Switzerland, not buying (unless your OH is Swiss?).
Would it be easier to let through an agent for a year or two and sell later when the economy is more stable?

Mumek · 20/06/2019 12:27

Have you thought of renting it whilst you are away..

Coronapop · 20/06/2019 12:29

It may be to your advantage to keep a house in the UK, should you ever wish to move back here and want to get free treatment on NHS etc.

AntiHop · 20/06/2019 12:30

Are other houses selling in your area?

Can you consider renting it out instead?

rainbowbash · 20/06/2019 12:30

if noone want to pay 545k for it then it is not worth that money no matter what the valuation says.

It's only worth what one is happy to pay for it. Drop the price.

and on that price, I wouldn't want a parking issue.

lottiegarbanzo · 20/06/2019 12:30

Selling is a numbers game, like dating. To find 'the one' buyer who believes your house is the one for them, you need to let a lot of frogs visit.

Yes there's a quality vs quantity argument, which is about your agent actively marketing it to the right people but the bottom line is that you need to get people through the door.

You could discuss pricing / viewing number strategies with your agent. It might be worth either dropping the price a bit, or doing a lower number with 'offers over' to make it appear to be within people's price bracket, who might then be impressed enough to offer.

Do get onto the agent, keep your house at the forefront of their minds and ask them how they are actively reaching people e.g. showing it to people who contacted them about a different property and might not think yours is 'for them' until they see it. Are you very flexible about viewings? Could the agent drop in with someone after another viewing, as a 'well why not, as we're in the area'?

Blobby10 · 20/06/2019 12:30

Round here, with houses of that value, they are usually towards the top of a chain so you have several people who need to sell before they can buy so they take longer to shift. My EA told me last week that six months ago, properties were getting an offer within 6 viewings. Now its 12-13 viewings. The whole market has slowed down.

The parking may be an issue but you can't change that . You could try the usual tricks of flowers and baking smells during viewings but if someone likes your house they will buy it,! Could you offer an incentive like paying the buyers stamp duty? Do you have lots of newbuilds in your area ? Maybe the incentives they are offering are just too tempting for buyers?

TurnAroundWhenPossible · 20/06/2019 12:31

Make sure the estate agent is vetting viewers to ensure they are a) on the market, b) have a mortgage agreed, or better still c) sold and ready to move. No point having lots of viewings if the potential buyers aren't even on the market (we had a few of these when we sold 18 months ago), like the man who turned up, they may just be being nosey.

I got so frustrated with time wasters when we were selling. The feedback was often 'there's a lot of garden to maintain' and 'you can hear the motorway'. We also had some cheeky offers. So I instructed the EA to make sure anyone who wished to view understood the garden was very large, you could hear the motorway and we wouldn't even consider any offers less than £.

Personally, I think it's better if you can do your own viewings. I think you can sell it better to a potential buyer.

MRex · 20/06/2019 12:31

Search on rightmove for your area and house price (£25k more to £100k less), see what else is showing up. Does your house look like good value based on floorplan and style? Do the photos look good?

Some agents are crap, sometimes you're unlucky because you only need one buyer. A sale falling through would worry me and the agent needs to field those questions well. Any chance you can rent it out for a few years? Might be better financially if you're going to Switzerland for a few years as the £ is low right now.

Pinkmouse6 · 20/06/2019 12:32

If you don’t want to link, maybe post a few photos instead?

It could be the parking issue, many people want their own drive (I know I do). Not convinced people aren’t buying atm, four houses on our street sold within two months. Maybe your price is too high for what it is.

Cruelstepmother · 20/06/2019 12:34

Maybe it's just a bit too bland and generic? It's a perfectly nice house, but so are the other 3 they looked at today. And there wasn't anything about the house that made them feel, YESSSS!! this is the ONE!!!!

What feature makes your house memorable (in a good way)?

Do you 'stage' the dining table for viewings, so they can imagine themselves sitting there for a meal? www.stagemyownhome.com/staging-the-dining-room.html

ChequersDog · 20/06/2019 12:35

When you say neutral, what do you mean? Magnolia may be making people think it’s dated. Too much grey puts people off. What’s your outside space like? That influences buyers more at this time of year.

Rosemary46 · 20/06/2019 12:36

It’s the price. If you need to sell quickly then drop it.

Stop messing about.

Nettleskeins · 20/06/2019 12:37

If you weren't moving to Switzerland, and weren't having a baby, what would be good about it?
Entertaining space, location, commutability, retreat, part of the community...number of bedrooms?

Whatever bit is making it less than ideal, then you have "sell" another aspect of it. So if it isn't good for elderly or babies, what do the families or couples/[professional find appealing. Maybe not neutral, maybe artwork, sofas, dining area, a study. A sense of how brilliant it is to be on three floors not how annoying. Views out othe window on top floor, frame with curtains/beautiful blinds. Too many bedrooms for living space, one needs to feel like a study perhaps.

Original poster
AllTheGin84 · 20/06/2019 12:45

@Didiusfalco thank you! Yeah sooo stressful and so heavily pregnant. Fed up!

We can't wait/rent ect because of the move and impending baby.

OP posts:
Alsohuman · 20/06/2019 12:48

For God’s sake, don’t “stage” it. Pretentious affectation that will put off as many people as it attracts.

I feel your pain, our universally admired house is sticking too. The feedback from viewers has been worse than useless. The very well priced house we want to buy has been on the market for a year for no good apparent reason. All the usual reasons why a house isn’t selling are of no relevance in the current market which, like everything else at the moment, is just fucked up.

CruellaFeinberg · 20/06/2019 12:48

is house on Rightmove? best take it off quick if you don't want anyone to see it?

CruellaFeinberg · 20/06/2019 12:48

On a serious note - if you want your house to sell, you need as many people as possible to see it - why wouldn't you post it here?

pollypenguin01 · 20/06/2019 12:50

Nobody can help you if we don’t know what the bloody house and garden looks like!

Honestly what do you want from people? Do we need to use telepathic powers to see what needs changing?

The Help Me posts are really annoying, people are trying to help you but you’re being completely unrealistic in what your expecting from us.

Just change your username and post some pictures if you want advice. (Or link the property!)

The random person showing up at your house can happen anyway if you have a house for sale, we had a random family of 6 wanting to view when we had a board out, never met them before, EA had no idea, it’s just one of those things.
While we were changing agents and waiting for a new for sale board (so had no board up at all) a random couple knocked on the door Sunday dinner time and asked for a viewing there and then, god knows how they even knew it was for sale.