Any suggestions on why house isn’t selling (with listing)

[Sheepcountryside78]

Posting for traffic. Reduced a couple of times previously - would welcome any opinions, brutal or otherwise!

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/161097428#/?channel=RES_BUY

I've looked through again and seen that I was confused earlier and got the bedrooms wrong. 'My' bedroom was pic 11 at the front, and, while it might fit a double it wouldn't really be a 'master' bedroom by most people's standards. What used to be the double must have been sacrificed for the stairs and the other room was always a box room anyway. So yes, the bedrooms are very small.

My other memory of the house was that it was very dark a lot of the time, especially at the back. If viewings took place on a rainy day it would really spoil the sitting room. I like the feature wall though and it looks so much better than the hideous dark green carpet and brown velvet curtains my parents had, which must have mad it even darker.

The back garden looks loads better than when I was there but it doesn't get much sun and I think it has clay-type soil and is pretty hard to get stuff growing well (I'm no gardener though and it may just have been my parents' ineptitude.)

It was a small house though - no real hallway - and I do think it's been over-extended, nice though the kitchen-diner is, and the loft-room.

It all looks nice as you go through the pictures (though I think the angles don’t help with making the rooms look cramped) and then the last pic of the outside just looks awful,

Can you put a line of white rocks or planters between your drive and the neighbour’s, put pot plants in front of your house, a hanging basket. And paint your side garden white,

Your neighbours are doing you no favours, with that horrible looking garage door one side and the grim looking wall the other. Would they let you paint the top of that white?

So in answer to your question I would say ‘immediate location’

The EPC rating is pretty high (E), and will likely cost buyers a bit of money to improve, so that might be putting off potential buyers - not least because energy bills are getting more and more expensive and we’re coming into the colder months. With apologies, I haven’t read the full thread, so I haven’t seen if this has already been mentioned!

The tiny garden would rule it out for me. I think you could do more to indicate how what garden there is can be used and enjoyed - is it somewhere for a BBQ, or for kids to play, or for a quiet evening meal as a couple or even just a good spot for a peaceful coffee on a sunny Sunday morning? 'Dress' the garden to convince potential buyers it adds something.

I'd also assume that a property like this, where the decor is fairly new but not to my taste is poor value for me, because as a buyer I would have to budget to rip out and repaint perfectly good interiors just because I don't like them. They aren't bland enough to live with for more than a few months....

@Sheepcountryside78 we are trying to sell MIL house in Swindon. I think you are over priced for the area and the curb appeal of your house. Have you tried another agent?

We were told on average 6 to 9 months to get a sale in Swindon currently.

1. I am also suspicious if first photo isn't front of house.
2. I didn't realise it was a semi - agree with all the comments on kerb appeal.
3. I think you have too many photos and some detract from what you are looking at - eg master bedroom looks great in photo 6. Looks like it is dominated by a massive oversized wardrobe in photo 7. Some of it is the photo angles.
4. I would remove photos 4, 5, 7 & 9 immediately.
5. I personally am not keen on the dark feature walls.
6. Kids bedrooms and stairs bedroom look small and cluttered. If you can rearrange rooms - eg put cot in the stairs bedroom so it is nursery/office and borrow actual beds to take photos in other rooms I would.
7. Agree with suggestions to market as 3 bedroom + study/nursery.
8. Kitchen is lovely.

Good luck

Is there no way you could offer to have that garage door painted? Because even if you changed the photo, it's going to immediately put people off and they will feel that their time has been wasted. Also your bricks look very discoloured. Apart from that, it's a nice house.

I was left with the impression of a not cared for exterior front and back, an overlooked kitchen (all you can see are other peoples windows through the windows) and sloped bits of roof in multiple rooms.

I don't think that room with the bed and desk could honestly be called a bedroom and the one with a cot in it looks tiny too.
I'm not sure what the bed with the frame over it is but it makes that room look like you couldn't fit a double bed in there with bedside tables.
Bathrooms give the impression you have to squeeze round stuff.

The living room looks much better in pic 2 than 5 (in 5 it looks like a corridor) and it's confusing having the images separated that way for the same room.
Too much blue, it's a depressing colour and means a lot of money to spend getting rid of it from seemingly almost everywhere.

So, cramped blue spaces is my overall impression and 2 bedrooms I'd not really count as big enough to be bedrooms at all.

Your layout map doesn’t match the house, it shows a front door at the front of the house.

i wouldn’t look at a house with the front door coming straight into the lounge,
agree it needs some kerb appeal. And the wee bedroom needs to decide what it is.

selling is just awful. I hope it sells quickly for you xx

Others have said this but the picture of the front is terrible and doesn't show off your house. You need a photo that is just of your half.

Also I would try and mark the boundary between you and neighbours with planters or pots. Do you park in front of your house?

The kitchen window used to be a garage door, that would make downstairs extremely small, was it originally a detached property?

Like many others I think the kitchen is nice, putting the sofas in an L formation may make the living room look bigger.

Picture of front outside needs to be first photo. It looks like a large detached and I can't see the boundary, my first thought was blimey, Swindon's cheap before I realised.

Another saying that isn’t really a 4th bedroom if the bed is that squished, also for a sec I thought the en-suite was the only bathroom, I’d put in the other bathroom as a photo too

I am always suspicious when the first photo is of anything other than the front elevation, it suggests that the front aspect isn't appealing and that's usually the case. I would try to get the photographer to use a different angle and exclude the neighbouring property, or have them fuzz it out. But in RL, it would improve things if the boundary could be more clearly defined.

I never suggest plumping pillows or changing rugs with houses that aren't selling, but this one is so bleak and grubby looking at the front that I think it would be worthwhile prinking it up a bit so it looks nicer and well-loved/well cared for. It just looks neglected at the moment, sorry.

For the rest, it probably needs to come down in price more than anything. It is what it is.

Definitely ask the neighbours if they would mind if you painted their garage door a nice neutral colour at your cost and time (assuming the blue door is a garage door and your neighbours). Then show the boundaries more clearly, tidy up the front, plants in pots and maybe some hanging baskets.

Change bedroom with bed squeezed under the stairs to an office then advertise and 3/4 bed or 3 bed with office space.

@Sheepcountryside78 is your problem lack of viewers or lack of interest following a viewing? What's the EA feedback so far?

Have to say when I skimmed the advert and read their blurb I thought it was a low cost online only agency and I cringed at their blurb. As others have said, the photographs are dire and like other posters I'm also put off when the first photograph isn't the frontage of the property, but when I saw what they'd come up with I knew why they'd hidden it at the end.

I never see much point in commenting on what the price would be in my area or on things you can't change, but that said there are a lot of reasons why people wouldn't view your house that you can't do anything about and you obviously know them. No clear separation in the driveway, next door's garage door, top heavy accommodation with small and very small bedrooms, no downstairs loo and a terraced garden.

So having ruled out people who are put off by those factors, who are you supposed to be marketing to? You do have a lot and some clever storage, but the house still looks crowded and as though you've outgrown it.

In the short term I would spruce up, clean and brighten the outside to make it more attractive. Zone the outside areas to show how the garden can be used instead of it presenting as a potential problem. This is even more important as we move into Autumn.

Move your furniture around as suggested before, particularly the tiny bedroom, which should be the nursery and the slightly bigger bedroom shown as a combined study and spare bed. I also agree with others to lighten some of the decor even if it is only a living room rug. You have a lovely home, but the dark colours might overwhelm some people who can't see beyond them and visualise the rooms as even smaller because of it.

Tidy trailing wires and anything unnecessary away and get new photographs to replace the god awful ones you have now. Your agent really should know better and I'm surprised you say they're doing well in the area, they must be better in person than they come across online.

Remember any movement or changes are just to sell. None of us live like we normally do if we're marketing our home, we have to cater for the market.

After all that, best of luck, it's not easy I know and can be such a frustrating time trying to be patient for the right buyer.

First get the agent to stake a photo that crops out your neighbour's messy door. Make sure they come on a sunny day.

Jetwash your drive and get some colour in there. I'd probably paint your planters - they are really nice and you could use them very effectively.

Bathrooms don't need re-doing. Just declutter all your toiletries.

Bedrooms - freshly pressed duvets before photos, take the caps off the curtain pole in the office/bedroom and consider borrowing a smaller chair. At least tuck it under the desk.

Can you move one of the sofas in the sitting room so they are not right opposite one another? Photo makes it look like a waiting room. I love the slightly mid century vibe of your sofas but soften/lighten them a bit with throws/not too many cushions for a scandi vibe. Maybe de-child the cube storage. Some of the walls on the photos look a bit bare and your coffee table is very high - breaks up the room.Maybe put it on a cream circular rug? Move the sofa near the curtains in a tiny bit if it's staying there - looks squashed back and it's squeezing the curtains.

All tiny tweaks.

Some pots in the garden and a bit of tidying up. A chair/table from marketplace for a bit of lifestyle tweak?

It's a lovely home - just saying all these things because I've recently "staged" my late dad's home for selling and it all makes a difference. Good luck!

The plan can't be accurate as the ground floor is larger than the first floor.

People probably already said this - de-clutter the living room, hide the wires in the bedrooms and get a toilet seat that fits. Main thing though is make the front more attractive.

I'd speak to next door and offer to get their garage door painted or have photos that just don't show it. It's blatantly obvious that's why the front of the house is the last photo. Improve the kerb appeal of your side and get the photo replaced in the listing.

My overall impression is that there aren't really 4 bedrooms - two aren't presented properly as bedrooms and their purposes aren't clear. The one with the stairs through it looks to be too cramped to have anything other than a desk or a cot. Maybe the bed could go where the desk is and desk tucked under the stairs instead, at least for the photos. Clothing on racks screams not enough storage in the other room.

The garden is small and tiered.

It looks as though the potential has been maximised. Ask yourself who your house at that price point will appeal to. You may need to drop the price to get a sale.

I think the economy has a lot to do with it Swindon does not have a lot of Jobs if you want to sell might have to lower the price

Pictures 9/10/11/16 not great. I’d get rid of them.

I like your kitchen. It looks bright and a great space to cook in. Nice and social with the sofas too.

The first bedroom looks dark. The wallpaper won't be to everyone's taste.

The second bedroom is cramped with the desk in. Can you take that desk out?

I like the leaf wallpaper in the babies room.

Both bathrooms look lovely.

The house from the outside looks drab. It lacks kerb appeal. Large pot plants, hanging baskets, etc could brighten this up.

The living room needs rejigging, the seating arrangements make it look very narrow