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....

Have you considered advertising it as a 2 bed rather than a 3. With office space in the description. Like you say it will only appeal to a very niche demographic right now, but by realistically advertising it you may get more viewings. I use search filters and look for 3 beds, I want to see 3 feasible bedrooms. If you reduce it to 2 it will come up in more searches.
Just an idea.

Definitely agree declutter what you can. Even if it means storage. It's really hard to see beyond all the stuff. Even simple things like magnets off of the fridge etc. Just less to distract the eye.

Really dislike the random furniture too. The unit/island thing in the kitchen closes the whole thing in. Just sooooo much furniture. Struggling to understand what photo 14 is. Is it one of the bedrooms? Strip it all back

I was just thinking if it might be possible for your DM to move out while her house is on the market? Then you can really have free choice over how to stage the house.
You could move the furniture from one space to another so that you could photograph it better. So the living room is just that and you don't see the furniture in the dining area, and vice versa.
There is an awful lot of stuff in the house and while I can understand why there is a lot of furniture, there is a lot of other stuff too.
Potential buyers are not looking to buy your SDad's stamp collection so clearing out his space (only temporarily of course) would help a lot. I also don't understand why there is a photograph of what looks like an understairs storage area with a stairway but there is no context as to where the stairs go to (an upstairs bedroom or a bathroom or where?)
The back garden! It looks lovely and sunny and should be a huge selling point but it looks like there is a lot of work to be done in it to improve it. The different levels and the lean-to. I'd even consider removing the lean-to and investing in a lovely colourful garden parasol/umbrella and some colourful bistro set to stage the garden as a nice place to enjoy some down time.
A floor plan would be really really useful.

I hope your DM and SDad manage to get their place sold and for the right price.

One further question - did she shop around when looking for an estate agent to take on the job of selling her property or did she just go with the first one she saw? You should always get three agents to look over a place and ask for their selling estimates (what they think the property will sell from low & high price). Also, ask to see some of their previous property brochures that they have managed to sell and ask what they sold for. Then you have an idea what you're letting yourself in for.

I missed the floor plan in my first browse.
There is something wrong with the floor plan - there doesn't appear to be a way in to the "Kitchen/Breakfast room" except to go outside and back in through sliding doors. If it's open plan there shouldn't be a huge black line down the floor plan.
Upstairs - there is the ensuite off the master bedroom but there is a lot of space between it and the exterior wall. Would there be money in the budget to be able to make that ensuite a bit bigger and make it into a Jack & Jill upstairs bathroom (so that you don't have to enter the master bedroom to get access to it from the other upstairs bedroom)?
The drawing of the floor plan though is indicating walls everywhere but they don't seem to be there in the photographs. Thick black lines on a floor plan = solid wall (some load-bearing, some not).

Looking at other places in that street, it is vastly overpriced.

We have just bought a house, that would have come up in our searches for our criteria. The clutter doesn't bother me, pictures are deceiving and decor can change so I prefer to use the floor plan. That said there are too many of the garden and I is confusing.

Its light and bright, nice view. BUT the bedroom layout wouldn't work for me with a young family. I'd either have to give a toddler the giant bedroom and be downstairs or have him downstairs on his own.

As a adult the shower/bath thing doesn't phase me. I think you would either need to wait for an adult wanting a property that size or lower the price for it to be reconfigured for a family

Surely it's a two bed house with generous reception space? It needs to be priced as such.

Most houses that have that much stuff in them are very old fashioned decor wise. This is not.

Anyone that is looking for such a house can think about what they can use different roooms for. So downstairs bedroom would be, for me, a study with the chance to use it as a bedroom if I ever needed it.

Sorry, but it's a two bed house. One bedroom is large. The other is very small.

Sorry OP I did have a little laugh just then at "4 fridges"!

The stud wall idea to make it into a 3 bedroom + study is brilliant.

Also dressing up each bedroom to have a "bed" for the photograph (even if it's boxes with bedding on top).

And labelling each pic to show what room it refers to is a must too.

You sound like a lovely daughter. Good luck

Yes I agree with other posters, it’s a 2 bed. A room being marketed as a bedroom downstairs will put a lot of people off but the fact the second one upstairs is tiny would make it even worse.

I would be wary at spending a lot of money on storage (agree throw out some of the four fridges) or changes to the house.

It’s v unfortunate your DM has signed up fir a 10 week term (which is super long) as even with a new agent it will be hard to shift as buyers will likely have seen it on already. I’d get onto the current agent and make them do some work. Sort out floor plan, cut some photos out and seriously think about a price reduction.

[quote SpidersAreShitheads]@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.[/quote]
This is good info - problem is it’s not easy to see all that from the listing. To capitalise on these points, I think the following need to be made clear:

• Quiet road. Important to old people - and buyers may not already know the area. Needs to state that in the listing. Also current photo of Vans R Us does not make it look like a quiet road.
• Flexibility re upstairs. Maybe worth stating that upstairs could also be reconfigured to provide two decent bedrooms - not just self contained accommodation. Also it took me ages to work out that the current craft room is (I think) the master suite.
• Lovely garden. I’m afraid it doesn’t look it right now. I can see past clutter and furniture in houses, but I struggle with the garden. Could you get a photo taken from upstairs/the extension roof, to show the garden in its entirety? And mention the total dimensions of the garden - it looks small in the photos, but perhaps isn’t.

Ultimately though, it’s a niche property, priced quite punchily - so only worth it to a specific type of buyer. They might get lucky and get a buyer who wants all that specific stuff - problem is, could be a long wait. If time is of the essence, I fear they may need to sell cheap to a developer, in order to be able to move on.

The 'bones' of the house actually look OK, and it's nice and bright with a good sized garden but there is no cohesiveness or flow. The kitchen looks cluttered - get one of the fridges out, and things like the bin and the mop/bucket suggest lack of storage.

Your DMum could spend a couple of thousand on a staging company who would store the clutter and stage the house properly - friends did this and more than made up the staging company's fees when they sold (their place had been on the market for months with little interest then sold within a couple of weeks).

Could you help them sorth the garden? It wouldn't take much, but does need something to bring all the different areas 'together'.

I’m wondering if more could be made of the fact that the downstairs bedroom is fully accessible with a shower, there must be people looking to buy with an elderly relative or person with disabilities? More could be made of the fact that the big bedroom can be divided—this should be spelled out, maybe with a quote for how much this could cost? And with clever staging of the room—zoning bedroom area, desk area, sitting area—people could see the potential clearly. That way you can argue it’s currently an annex, bedroom study but has potential to be an accessible bedroom, two bedrooms, study?

No wonder you’ve had no offers or viewings, it looks messy and dirty. The mess makes it look really small like there’s no storage and the plastic storage……

Get rid of all the ‘stuff’ piled high in the office. Move the carrier bags and rags from the picture with the freezers, I don’t really understand that picture it shows the back of a cupboard. All that plastic storage needs
to go.

In the bathroom get rid of the maiden and bin from the shower, it look strange , swap the packet of wipes for a plant.

Kitchen, fridge magnets and ‘stuff’ on top of the freezers need to go. Can you take the table out of the kitchen to show how spacious it could be.

Clear the bedrooms of bedside rubbish and toys.

Basically declutter, get rid of anything you can and add plants to the garden, it looks like a mud heap in one picture.

I just noticed on the view of the kitchen you can see a man in the hallway 😂 I’d do the photos yourself based, surely the estate agent could do better pictures than these?

I feel for you OP, my dad had a house a bit like this - odd layout, not really suitable for any particular demographic. Over the years he had made so many bizarre changes to the layout & interiors, I did warn him at the time it would make the house harder to sell but he was adamant the house would be perfect for anybody

Long story short it took AGES to sell and a substantial price cut. I would just urge her to lower the price to the minimum she can afford, have a tidy up and hope for the best.

OP, could you temporarily move the furniture, just for the pictures?

As PP have said, definitely declutter and list it as a two bedroom, not 3.

I also think it would be worth having someone come in to do yard work. The garden looks kinda awful, even through the blurry pictures.

Might it be possible to work with a different real estate agent? From your descriptions it seems like this one doesn't really care.

The layout wouldn't work for me and the garden looks expensive to sort out because it's so layered. I clicked on similar properties and for just £11k more there are better proportioned new builds not far away.

Definite declutter needed!

If this was our house, I'd take it off the market, get a builder in to shift the walls around upstairs and a plumber to make the upstairs en-suite into a family bathroom. Move it into the corner of the house, make the little bedroom larger and ideally move the boiler into a cupboard in the bathroom.

I guess your mum and stepdad won't want to do this and would rather sell quickly. They would probably need to reduce the price a lot - it's a nice house with lots of potential, but it's priced at the top end without being a showhouse style property. If they need it to achieve top end (to buy their next house), they'll need to spend effort and cash on it to make it look like it's worth that. The garden really needs a makeover too.

Unfortunately at the moment it looks like a doer-upper at a high price, hence the lack of interest.

I feel bad for you OP - reality is you can’t just price your house to buy one you want if it’s not worth that much.

Bungalows are already a niche sale (they are slow to sell in my town, extensions or not) as they are usually a compromise for a family or older people might not actually want the rooms upstairs (my MIL hates stairs). You will never get a quick sale at a high price for the perfect property. A slower sale with an offer then scouting around to see if anything you like is still on the market may be the best bet!

You could try talking to the EA of the house she likes though, see what they advise. Maybe that owner would take a reduction if it’s been on a while.

Honestly it’s the layout that would put me off, the bathroom and kitchen look too small for a family house and the downstairs bedroom and minuscule upstairs bedroom just aren’t practical. I think it would perhaps appeal to someone who was prepared to renovate it but they’d want it cheap or an older couple.

Go with Murdock & Wasley instead.

If they could move some of the craft storage out, even temporarily, I think that would be helpful. It does take up a lot of room, and makes a viewer think that there is not enough storage in the house.

Make sure there are no cuddly toys on view (bed, living room) and nothing on the dining room chairs (there is something on the chair nearest the play table).

There are a lot of fridges, if they need a backup fridge for medication then maybe one other. Or a backup freezer if they use it for meals.

I do think it's slightly overpriced but I assume they've gone with that because they need it for the onward purchase. If so, bear in mind that they may not want to radically alter the current property if it won't go for that price.

I think there is a door into the kitchen near the dining table but it's not on the floorplan so ask them to amend that in the meantime.

Good luck with the sale for your parents, OP. The views will have shot up on Rightmove so the agents will know something is up!

I remember your mums house as it came up on a property search - we were looking at Gloucester and Evesham and I was constantly on RightMove and Zoopla.

We discounted the house due to the amount of furniture, one room in particular looked like an office but it had so many cluttered shelves in there it put us off. We’re also not a fan of tiered gardens either.

You said your mum needs furniture dotted around so she can be mobile. I’ve not read all the posts so may well be repeating what others have suggested, but clear each room to the minimal amount of furniture and take a well lit photo, put everything back and move on to the next room.

When people view explain the situation and need for furniture. They’ll be able to see the potential of the rooms in the photos and will better understand.

I’d even suggest putting the property with another agent to get it back to the top of the search list. Lots do a one off Open Day viewing which drums up a lot of interest so see if your new agent does those. You could even shift some of the excess furniture to a willing to help neighbours house for the day, bunch of flowers and nice chocs as a thank you gift.

Good luck and hope you get a result soon.

I would sort the large room upstairs out with a dividing wall and stage them as bedrooms - pick up cheap beds from a charity shop or Facebook, pick up some plain bedding for throughout - I had a spare duvet and pillows made .up and just used to throw them on the bed before a viewing.

The study downstairs, I would get rid of the desk and put one of your Mum's comfy chairs there , with a little table and lamp for a reading area,, the light through the window is brilliant.

One of the fridge freezers has to go the big one by the door just dominates. and move the bin by the patio door - if you move the fridge a bin can go in that space.

The dining area, put away the children's scooters

Outside if you cannot do it can you afford a gardener to come round to just give the back garden a tidy up, your Stepdad can supervise !

Bedroom 3 - needs to be tidied and marketed as a home office.

Remove the picture of all the parked cars/vans - not necessary.

If you Mum can do without a lot of the craft items they need to be packed up and put in storage - if you make the changes to the big bedroom (into two) you may be able to put a single bed in one of the rooms (or bunkbeds) and have enough room for a smaller craft area for her, whilst they are waiting to sell.

Bathrooms shame there was not one bath left but as someone else said maybe get a quote to see how much it would be to put a bath back in so if you get queries on it you have the answer.

The front garden does need some kerb appeal - it is practical but boring !

I think it is a great size house, it just need rethinking and rejigging as people cannot see things unless it is right in front of their face !