My DM selling her house - should anything be happening yet?

[SpidersAreShitheads]

My DM is selling her house and for various reasons is desperate to get things moving. Unfortunately for her, she also can't afford to take a massive drop in price - although there is a little bit of wiggle room.

Her property went on the market a couple of weeks ago - so obviously it's still incredibly early days.

However, I would have thought that there would have been more interest when the property first goes on the market, dropping off the longer it stays available?

She's not had a single viewing yet.

Two people expressed an interest - one person was a builder and I think the estate agent tipped him off before it went on the market, but he found somewhere else to buy the day before he'd asked to come round. The second viewing was cancelled as the woman drove around the area and didn't like the hilly roads on the way to the local shops.

Some of the photos were a bit crap, and there was virtually no description by the estate agent. He's been around today and taken better photos, and uploaded a description which explains that the upstairs floor could potentially be self-contained accommodation.

The problem is that her property is a bit weird in terms of layout - there's an absolutely huge second bedroom which takes up almost the whole of the converted loft space, and it's lovely. But the third "bedroom" is a tiny, tiny room which also houses the boiler. If I were looking for a three-bedroom house for me and my DC, the configuration wouldn't work - and I suspect that might be the same for a lot of buyers.

It's a nice property but I am a bit concerned there has been absolutely no interest. The photos weren't amazing before, but they were passable. Certainly not enough to make people skip past.

I'm a home owner but not sold on the open market before - do things normally take a while to get moving - or is this a concerning sign? I know it's only been two weeks....but no interest in even looking?

Does anyone have any killer tips to get people in to look at the property?

One of the reasons she's so desperate is that she needs something very specific in the next house she buys which is quite rare - and there's one on the market now which fits the bill. If she doesn't get her house under offer soon, this other property will inevitably be bought by someone else, and I don't know how easily we'll find what she needs again....

Here goes... .

Overall...is there anyway you can hire storage pro tem, a sit seems you just don't have the time to properly de clutter but you do need it cleaner lines.

Is there any possibility that your folks could actually move out now? Do they have somewhere to go to?

The photos are dire. Were the photographers drunk and had their eyes tightly closed?!

The bungalow isn't too bad... The kitchen would definitely put me off.... It looks way too cluttered... I would be thinking there isn't enough storage to put mops away etc👍.

I completely understand two older, bad health folk don't want to use baths, but I think would be a good idea to get some quotes to convert one bathroom into one with a bath,.si that folk could see not too expensive.

The 3rd bedroom needs to be cleared and shown off as some sort of nice studio nee aream with one of those bunks with a desk underneath / or very small double?

Desperately needs brightening up at front with some flower pots.

The pics need not to show the car. Showroom next.door

Overall the spaces need to be clearly delineated, the lounge doesn't look at all cosy, more like a corridor... I'm sure it's cos if your mum's disability, but nevertheless it does make it look clinical.

The garden needs to have the metal bars painted... Is there any wya you can have the grass laid?

Cna you more clearly delineate the areas?

If I click show similar properties I get a lot of new builds which are going to be more family friendly and less trouble to move into. That’s your competition - which you can likely only deal with with a price cut.

It makes it difficult as they have found somewhere they love and want to
move fast. In the short term declutter ( consider a short term storage unit), paint neat real ( the hospital green bedroom is not neutral) and put a bed in each bedroom.

If the one they want is niche enough that it will take time and they can come off the market for a couple of months, take 7' off the lounge and put the stairs going up there so the door at the top to master suite will be on the left and the fourth bedroom on the right. It will cost about 3k. Then you'll have 2 decent sized bedrooms downstairs. This then becomes a 4 bed with an en suite to master and a good sized kitchen diner/ lounge: widen the doorway between the two to make it more open plan. I reckon you could spend less than 7k if you can do the decorating between friends and family, just paying professionals to build stud wall, widen owning to kitchen and move stairs.

@Flowers500
The pictures are not at all good but I don’t think you can really blame the EA, it’s not their job to declutter and stage

No but surely its their job to gently suggest how to improve things....I mean do they not want a sale?

I'm sorry, but I'd have stopped looking after three or four photos. I'm far from minimalist but there's just SO much stuff in it. It's impossible to tell what the rooms actually look like. Seriously, everything in those drawers and on the shelves needs to be put in storage for a few weeks. And everywhere needs stuff tidying into cupboards so it's not on display. Some of that furniture needs moving out too.

The disability stuff/over the bed table HAS to go. I'm sorry but it's really depressing looking and makes the house impossible to see as a family home.

I wouldn't even think of viewing. That might be my loss as there could be a nice home under there. But it's exhausting to look at. The clutter is just there and I find myself feeling as though I'd be the one having to move it.

@kwiksavenofrillsusername

It’s a weird layout. It’s almost like the downstairs is a bungalow, and the upstairs has been added as an extension at some point. It might suit someone who needs ground floor accommodation but doesn’t want to downsize to a flat. The top floor could be made into a studio for a live in carer or family member. So there is a specific market for it. I think you’d need to get an agent who has good contacts and could potentially sell the place to investors.

^ this. It will appeal to someone (most likely someone just like your mum but younger- ie whatever made her buy it is what will appeal to next buyer)

The fact it’s all accessible may appeal to someone older or with mobility issues (I bought a house with a downstairs bedroom & shower/WC for that reason )

Re clutter: it’s not that bad! Move stuff out for pics then put it back: get the estate agent to explain your mum needs it to get around before viewings

Biggest issue to me I’d the huge upstairs room… it’s so big vs rest of rooms but no easy way to divide the space

Looking at the other available properties in the area I'd value it at no more than £230k.
It needs to drop to at least under £250k to jump down a couple of price brackets on Rightmove.

The picture flow is also dreadful - it should walk you through the space where instead it goes from livingroom to master then

Those photos are awful! Considering the amount of decluttering needed, fewer but well dressed photos and a decent floor plan should be an awful lot better.

[quote godmum56]@Flowers500
The pictures are not at all good but I don’t think you can really blame the EA, it’s not their job to declutter and stage

No but surely its their job to gently suggest how to improve things....I mean do they not want a sale?[/quote]
Most estate agents wouldn’t have a huge amount of business if they told their customers to go back to square 1… I think oh this sort of case they usually just let it sit until the seller agrees to discounts?

From the floor plan, how do you get into the kitchen?

Bloody phone - then jumps around

I have a lot of sympathy as I sew and craft and it's easy to amass a lot of stuff. I probably wouldn't strip all of mine if I was selling but in my case I have neat storage for it all, it's in the 5th bedroom in a house with lots of space and a clear layout, and has a big double desk so even though it's not set as a bedroom you can clearly see it is a good sized double room.

That's not the case here, it's taking over what should be the master and making the space really hard to visualise. So it has to go so that room can be shown as the main bedroom.

Why would someone buy that house instead of this, for £20k less?
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/81227124#/?channel=RES_NEW

@SpidersAreShitheads

This house is one of those that seriously has great potential but for the purpose of selling all the clutter needs to go and be moved

I'd get a removal/ storage firm to come in and pack away excess stuff she doesn't immediately need and surplus furniture as a starter I'm sure that would help

It’s very hard to figure out what rooms the photos show.

It's impossible. I didn't have a clue what was what.

The photos aren’t great to be fair, but I understand the difficulty around your mother’s mobility. I wonder if it were marketed as a large two bedroom with a bonus storage/study room and the current study staged as a snug type room would it make a difference. It would come up in searches for a 2 bedroom with buyers possibly buoyed for a potential third ‘box room’.

Sorry I've skimmed a bit.
I think it has a lot of potential and although its cluttered I can see they've actually organised what they've got and its clean.
The photos don't do it much of a favour and there's some that make areas that looked ok, look very cluttered from a different angle.
However, there's been a lot of suggestions to hire storage and pack a whole lot in there and then go in and stage the house and I agree with that.
I think its easier to get people to accept storage rather than going through a painful decision making of Decluttering their beloved possessions. But every surface seems to have some kind of doll or toy or ornament. Less is more.
Things that stood out most was the stuff on the top of the fridge, the fridge magnets, the completely bare outside of the house which could do with some pots and cleaning of the guttering on the lean too which looked discoloured. Also the garden is full of stuff but it looks like there are no plants in the pots. The arch should be covered with climbers or should go. It would be better to put some kind of bamboo screen on the handrails area. A change of bedspreads into something plain and stylish would make the bedroom look bigger and clear every windowsill of dolls. A cupboard in the bathrooms, to replace the open storage.
The craft rooms are well organised but from a sale point of view they should be cleared of some of the stuff or the room given a purpose ie dining room
Also I think I saw a little pet in one of the photos.
Its a lot of work I know but I think if you were able to do even some of the suggestions stored a lot of the bits and bobs, streamlined every room and spent a bit on matching accessories and plants that it would make a big difference. Good luck.

I'm back.

Sorry I haven't tagged or answered everyone individually. There have been so many brilliantly helpful comments on here. In the morning, I'm going to trawl through everything again to make sure I didn't miss anything.

I sent my DM a WhatsApp message earlier tactfully outlining the feedback from this post, then she rang me and I gave her the full verdict, no holding back. Bless her, she's taken all the terrible feedback very well!

We have a plan.

She's tied into this estate agent for another 10 weeks. He's honestly terrible. I know he shouldn't have to point out things to tidy up - but you should have seen the first set of photos.....these are such a huge improvement!! One looked as if he'd taken it from sitting behind a bush haha! My DM had the blinds down in one photo - honestly, I don't know why! - and he never suggested to put the blinds up, just took photos of a dark and dingy room! He didn't write ANY description at all. So we wrote out the description for him, he agreed to use it. The description was neatly in paragraphs and spell-checked etc. He tweaked it a bit (which is totally fine) but there are typos/spelling mistakes on the parts he changed and it's now a giant wall of text just crushed up together. He honestly couldn't make this look any shitter if he tried.

My DM and stepdad are nearly 80.....I mean, come on.....this is his daily job, surely a little guidance is part of the role? Even if it was just - shall we put the blinds up? Or maybe I won't sit behind a bush to take this photo? Sigh.

Anyway. Despite all that my DM is really worried about annoying him. So, we're going to ask him to remove three photos - the one of my stepdad's study (bedroom 3) which houses all his stamp collecting, the photo from the bottom of the stairs and the photo of the street which shows lots of random cars (it's actually a quiet road!). Other than that, we're just going to wait it out - she has another 9-10 weeks before she can use a different estate agent.

In the meantime, during the next 9 weeks, we're going to hire a storage unit and shift as much of the stuff as we can. I still don't think she understands what I mean when I say uncluttered! But there are some bits of furniture that we can move out - like the fridge in the dining room. She has 4 fridges by the way. 4.

I'm going to help her do all this. We have nine weeks to get it done so it's not a mad rush to do it in a single weekend. I should be able to free up enough time to help her work through it during that time. She needs help so we'll manage somehow.

This means by the time she's allowed to sign with a different estate agent in 9 weeks time, it should look like a different property!

If this doesn't work, we could put two stud walls in upstairs to divide the large space and create two distinct and separate bedrooms. Mum has a lovely builder who does all of her work, and I don't think it would cost too much. She was given that option when the loft conversion was done but two smaller rooms weren't much use to her. She opted for a single large space they could use as a relaxation/craft area - she never expected to leave this house. So, we "could" put in the stud walls to make it a genuine three bedroom + 1 study (the tiny bedroom with the boiler) house. It would be a bit more work but potentially more marketable as it would then appeal to families who need the three genuine bedrooms. I haven't mentioned this to her - she's had enough bad news for one night!

The chances are that this very special property she loves and wants to move to will be gone but there's not much I can do about that now. It's been on the market for 2 months now and no interest so you never know, it might still be there! Like her house, it will appeal to a very niche market so we might get lucky.......

Thank you again for all your time and suggestions. Much appreciated. I'm temporarily holding off on torching her house as we now have a plan of action that might work..... 😅

@MyAnacondaMight - I just wanted to reply to your question about why someone would buy my DM's house rather than the one you linked to.

The kitchen on that is 12ft - my DM's kitchen is 20 ft.
The dining room and living room combined are 22 ft - my DM's dining room and living room are 27 ft.
That house has two flights of stairs - my DM's house is more accessible.
That house has a tiny, boring garden - my DM's garden is genuinely lovely and large, even though it doesn't look like it from the photos (needs some flowers planting - since my stepdad's heart attack he's not been able to do his usual annual planting).
The upstairs of my DM's house can be easily used as self-contained accommodation - you can't do that on the house you linked to.
My DM's house is on a quiet road - that house is just off a busy, noisy road.

I realise I might sound as if I'm being defensive - but I'm genuinely not. If I were given the choice of the two houses, I would buy the other one, no question. I wouldn't buy my DM's house. But you asked me why someone would buy my DM's house over that one - and there are possible reasons.....but it probably would take a very specific kind of buyer who would prioritise these criteria.

I would have thought dividing up the huge room, so it becomes a TRUE three bedroom may make all the difference....And then BONUS! PLUS a study for wfh.

We're looking for a 3.bed currently, and the difference between the 3rd box room and the huge attic is just too great!

Surely a decent estate agent could advise whether it's wise to divide the larger space up? Id go and butter up the Property Centre... Pals. Sold through then in Gloucester some time ago.. And presumably no reason why you can't have a convo with them now? Also if you are ready early, surely the rubbish EAs won't sue for breach, as they havebeen so useless? Or?

I'm sorry, I am a chronic hoarder but I could not live there.
As pp have said the whole place needs completely decluttering. It is way too busy. None of the rooms are shown to their best potential. I really think the whole place needs emptying, repainting and starting from scratch. Including the garden, it doesn't look at all child friendly and there is no way I would let my children play in it.
I agree that the estate agent is not a staging company but as a pp has said surely they should have offered some advice.
As the house stands now there would be no chançe at all of me viewing it and because of the very odd layout I think it would need a complete renovation.
I honestly do think as jokingly mentioned up thread that you would be better off torching it. Failing that I would need the price to be much nearer to £200,000 than it is.
Did you say you would be looking to sell yourself soon.
Could you not pool your money with your parents and buy somewhere much larger or with an annex or potential to build one then it could be to your specifications. However for God's sake Dont let your mum fill it with junk.
Sorry this has been so long and sounds so mean. 💐

What clutter? It looks like tidied away stuff in free standing storage units to me, and of no concern to a buyer. It's more likely the layout and things like the unattractive metal railing in the garden.

Why is everyone commenting on the clutter? When we looked round our house there were something like four sofas in the living room, the kitchen was orange and purple, and damned right there was tons of clutter and not as organised as in the house pictured here - there was a family with three teenage girls in it. We weren't buying their furniture or objects, we were buying a house in need of decoration only (and most of it actually ok) with good sized rooms and a lovely garden in a great location. Now, this description doesn't apply to the house which is the subject of the thread, but I think people are a bit shallow/lacking imagination if they are put off by the contents of the house which they won't be buying. Sure - area, layout, size of rooms, overall state of repair, garden etc are all relevant. But I would never be put off by the bits and bobs people have in their house.

it's a nice house with potential and I love the garden!

agree with the others.
declutter, new photos, better description, new (lower) price.

is there something worth to mention nearby? like a stately home, or other tourist atraction? put it in the description.
public transport links?
electric charger for a car on the drive/in garage? relatively cheap to put in. good selling point.
schools?
possibly special schools or rehabilitation centre nearby? given the house's layout and downstairs accessibility that would be worth a mention.