House still on market over 2 years later

[lonelysadfedup]

Hi our house has been up for sale for 2 years and 3 months. We had lots of viewings, no offers. My husband then reduced the price this year, more viewings and still no offers.
My name isn’t on the mortgage and deeds due to my bad credit rating.

mortgage in principle ran out ages ago so we don’t know how much my husband would be able to get a mortgage for and how much a month it would be. We have equity in this house. 22 year mortgage with 14 years left.

I’ve made different suggestions to my husband such as listing it as a 4 bed rather than a five with the bedrooms not been big. I’ve suggested decluttering to see if that helps. I’ve suggested going with a different estate agent and lowering the price. Then today I’ve tried to talk to him about it. Mentioned lowering the price and he just dismissed it.

im fed up of it all now and it’s not fair on our children. I’m now at a lost as what to do

That’s a 4 bed plus study. The 5th bedroom isn’t legally big enough to be a bedroom.

The photos just don't show enough, what does your kitchen look like from other angles? Are there any other units or worktop space?
What picture is of the main bathroom? Is there a bath?
Why are some pictures essentially of doorways and nothing else?
Who in their right mind wants to see a washing machine covered from top to bottom with cleaning supplies and assorted junk?

What does the garden look like? Is that patio area yours? Why hasn't it been photographed?

1. Repaint every room in a neural colour
2. Rip out the dated fireplace, replace with a modern surround, these can be purchased reasonable cheaply.
3. Could you repaint the kitchen units? A new buyer will probably rip them out anyway but they would look so much more modern in a lighter colour. Replace flooring with clean modern vinyl? (unless those are tiles, photo is so bad it's hard to see)
4. Hire a storage unit or move all toys to garage.
5. Frontage is nice, maybe add a few large feature potted plants.
6. Where are the sofas in the living room? Stage this better.
7. Conservatory could be a stand out feature. DECLUTTER and stage with seating area and plants/lamps etc
8. Bedroom - repaint this and the attached en-suite a neutral colour, it looks really jarring with the pink bedroom and yellow bathroom.
9. All the photos are far too close up.
10. Back garden photo is a missed opportunity. Stage the patio/seating area, don't photograph the massive pool or whatever it is. Why is the focus of the picture a swing set that will be going with you anyway?

Main thing is to massivley massively declutter, neutralise everything and retake the photos with a photographer who understand angles better.
I've gone through your listing several times and still can't remember what the main bathroom, kitchen or living area looks like as it's so badly staged.

It has the bones of a good house OP, just bring it to life.

Good space/ get rid of all the crap. Nobody wants to see bottles and bottles of cleaning reagents and tubs of toys. We’ve been on for 2 months and rented a storage unit. It’s been utter hell- not having a work desk/ missing the kids toys but it’s gotten is offers in the end. And that’s living in a complete show home.

I very much agree that it looks cluttered and sparse at the same time. It makes me think there's a lack of storage which I'd find very off putting.

Generally it's price & location isn't it?

I agree it's a 4 bed plus study.

Also the seemingly massive conservatory because downstairs is small which makes a small garden even smaller!

I haven’t RTFT but I suspect people have mentioned how poor the pics are.

I often see houses like this on RM and think they look so unloved.

The clutter is pretty bad - not just in the conservatory, in your bedroom your bedside table is full, the en suite shelves are full, there is stuff on wardrobes, next to wardrobes, plastic storage boxes etc. it just screams no proper storage. And I suspect it’s because the bedrooms are really small to allow for 2 en suites.

Also, is that the sum of your living room? It looks like a thoroughfare. Where is the TV?

The picture of the garden - the blinds to the conservatory are all out of sorts.

I think with some effort and huge amounts of decluttering it will sell. And FGS, don’t let your husband do the viewings - there’s nothing worse 🙈

Nice kerb appeal in the first pic. I like the tree. But the interior pics are depressing.

OP I’d get this thread deleted if you’re seriously thinking of divorce. It’s very outing.

Does your dh want to sell? Are you around for the viewings at all to hear what is said ?

First off I'd be put off with a house being on Rightmove for 2 years as I'd be thinking what's wrong with it despite it looking lovely from the outside.

So I'm thinking the agent can't be bothered anymore so I'd get rid and start again for spring time. That gives you a few months to clear out the clutter and stage it a bit more for the pictures.

We sold 3 years ago and the person doing the pictures was really helpful with suggestions such as removing towels/ hand towels from bathroom, only having a posh soap out and then for viewings a better than average shampoo/conditioner/shower gel ( yes I had a set I just put out for viewings). Same as bedding - have a second duvet ready and waiting all neat and tidy up the loft and whip it out for viewings.
Toys - remove completely for pictures - then have a limited amount of them out for viewings.

Kitchen - units dated, could they be painted to lighten up?

Obvious declutter especially utility - do you really need all of those products by the loo?

Good luck!

He works from home, but we could leave the house on a weekend for viewings. I don’t have anyone to help me. Wish my husband would listen to me

It looks lovely. PPs have given you good tips to help sell but I would guess that the biggest problem is that it has been on the market for over 2 years. People are going to wonder why it hasn’t sold, think there must be some bad reason (eg development, crime, structural issues) that will put them off and they may also worry about reselling.

Are you ever there for the viewings? Sounds like your DH is putting buyers off.

Or you are getting offers and dh isn't telling you!

It's a cluttered house but I don't think that's the reason it's not selling. Most people can use their imagination of what the house could look like as a blank canvas

This blows my mind because a house like this in my area would be about £1.2m!

There's obviously some clutter but I can't believe most people wouldn't have the imagination to see beyond it. Was it does suggest though is that there's no storage, which would put me off. It's a 4 bed plus study really. Saying it's a 5 bed is a bit of an oversell.

What's the area like? Are you in the middle of nowhere on an estate or are you near shops, etc?

Ultimately, it's only worth what someone will pay for it and no one wants to pay what you're asking.

There's a house at the top of my road that's been on the market for two years. Earlier this year they finally dropped the price by £25k and it's still not been sold. I can't understand why they don't accept their house just isn't worth what they want for it.

You could massively declutter and improve the pictures and list as a 4 bed. However, these aren’t why it hasn’t sold, given that you’ve had lots of viewings. My guess is that your husband is sabotaging the viewings (consciously or unconsciously) because he doesn’t want to move.

So, take it off the market. Decide on your marriage. Decide whether you actually want any to move. If you can resolve both of these and your husband is with you, relist as a 4 bed with better pics and an agent who will do the viewings.

You need a photo of the dining room - or somewhere where the number of people who live in a 5 bed house can all sit round a table. The table pushed up against the kitchen wall screams "too small/not enough space".
This could be the dining room, or the conservatory.

Photos make all the bedrooms look tiny - they can't all be as small as they look in the pics!

Other than that, just a massive declutter, both inside and out. There's just stuff everywhere which I KNOW is not part of the sale, but it does the house no favours.

But price will be the main issue. And people will be wanting to put in a new bathroom and kitchen (both look like the originals, and are in need of updating), so will be factoring that into their offer.

I agree with other posters, if you are getting viewings, which your husband is doing, but then no offers, it seems likely your husband is putting people off. Intentionally or otherwise.

From what you’ve said about him, sounds like he doesn’t actually want to sell. Gaffing about with the photos and floor plan isn’t going to help if your DH is making buyers think he is going to be an absolute PITA to buy from.

Divorce and buy a smaller house in the village.

although only 3 bed the house across on the corner from you sold in 2022 for £232k.

this is how they presented it
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/details/england-114205973-15451567?s=aea4e6c1c2ba85d3e9f71d3b7b2e0c91ccca4422cd7fba9c7cfe62118f37dc88#/

Obviously there are huge storage issues in your home.

Think you're at the very top end price wise too.

It's Crofton. Sorry...

Frankly it’s the price. People evidently don’t feel the house is worth the cost. I don’t see it either. Also every single photo has junk, I’m not sure how you can’t see that. It looks like the starting point of hoarding! It’s quite chaotic. Even if you cleared the clutter, it’s still not worth the asking price though. As you asked for examples:

#2 - full to the brim bookcase with lots of junk on top, lots of stuff in/around the tv stand. Makes me think there’s not enough space inside.

#3 - every single shelf including the windowsill is full of junk. Even the crawl space between the counter and the wall, and the side of the toilet! It looks trashy

#4 - why are there random things on top of the wall counters? All the counter space is occupied too.

#5 - this photo actually is difficult to look at. It’s visually chaotic and hurts my eyes. This goes beyond “clutter”, I’m looking at this thinking it needs a skip. That huge sack in the corner is concerning.

#6 & 7- every surface covered in clutter in both bedroom & bathroom

#8 - why is there junk on the windowsill?

#9 & 10 - filled to the ceiling with junk, every surface is covered

#11 & 12 - more junk everywhere. Is that a bunch of stuff hanging off the door in the left of #12? Why is the radiator placed so high? Why is there stacks upon stacks of stuff?

#13 - what is this photo’s purpose? It comes at a random point in the listing and isn’t particularly attractive

#14 - again, junk everywhere in the garden, but you can also see into the horror that is the conservatory and all the junk inside too.

She’s still have to deal with her DH putting buyers off! I’d be even less likely to buy a house from a feuding divorcing couple.

People suggesting nice towels & nice toiletries to stage the property are talking nonsense.

All property selling is based on
Price
Location
Plus each person has their own wish list of their ideal purchase.

I would look at what similar properties are selling for in the local area.

If you want to sell, drop the price

It doesn’t seem overly priced for the area, if you search for 4bed plus houses, detached, in the locality yours is the cheapest. Interestingly the others have been reduced as well so don’t seem to be selling. Is the area not popular? Poor local school, etc? The others are less cluttered than yours so I’d focus on that.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=POSTCODE%5E944712&minBedrooms=4&maxPrice=325000&minPrice=240000&radius=1.0&propertyTypes=&includeSSTC=true&mustHave=&dontShow=&furnishTypes=&keywords=]]

The things that stand out to me:

1. You need to declutter, massively. Even just chuck everything in loft/back of car/in bin if it is just clutter. Then get new photos taken.

2. It does look a bit dated, maybe some surface level re decorating would help, fresh paint/curtains.

3. It’s the price. Looking in the area for a very similar price there are multiple 4 beds with beautiful gardens, brand new kitchens & bathrooms etc which make 290 for yours look overpriced. If I was looking I’d choose to pay an extra £10k on my mortgage for one of the homes that’s all done and just ready to go vs 290k for one that (for me) is a bit dated and would need new kitchen bathroom. I think reducing the price again, quite a bit, would see more interest as for a lower price I wouldn’t mind doing the updating myself.

i think it’s a bit over priced if I’m honest id want to do a lot to that. There’s no coving up the fire is original the kitchen is dark the utility looks like there’s no storage same in the downstairs loo it just looks really like it hasn’t been looked after the access for the neighbours would put me off too as would the tree - the conservatory is nice but you can’t see the space for stuff and it’s not 5 beds.