House not selling / help! (With listing)

[Housesell]

House has been on with another agent since the summer, now re-listed early November with another one. Comments welcome!

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/168880388#/?channel=RES_BUY

I like the location of your house, one of my massive peeves is seeing loads of parked cars in front of houses, I would really appreciate the fact that when you look out of your windows you see a nice green and will never have to worry about vans, caravans, motor homes or multiple cars cluttering up the street.

This looks like a lovely spacious house, but to be blunt the back garden is horrible. Just paving, hardly any greenery, no flowers, no grass. It’s not my taste and I’d be faced with the job of tearing up all the paving, laying grass, planting a couple of trees and bushes… fine if you’ve got the time and are prepared to wait a while for the garden to mature, but it would put me off.

The back garden coupled with the punchy price for Swindon would really put me off. I’d be thinking how even after I purchased the house at a high cost that I’d then have to dig all that up.

I think it's a nice house - seems very spacious - but the blue paint would put me right off straightaway. Cannot understand why people decorate in blue or grey - such cold colours.

I like the garden - nice to see an adult-focused one without bloody trampolines and plastic kiddy furniture. That is a plus point for me and people like me.

I think it’s quite dated, although obviously clean and tidy, well kept etc. the decor is very meh…most people don’t realise they’re not buying the decor as such but it has an impact.

To mention , and I note the EA has included a photo of it, some people dislike paths next to their properties.
You have a nice house. The market has slumped though. No idea about Swindon prices I am afraid.

Compared to recent sold/ under offer, your price is quite punchy esp with no family friendly garden. Presentation is nice.

Off tangent, but will you be leaving the fish behind or taking them with you?

the garden would be £££ to turn into a family space, and the inside is very dark. Price!

I think you just need to wait for the right buyer

We have young children and I would love to have a house like this - field out front for the kids to play in but low maintenance garden in the back! But a lot of British people are obsessed with gardens and gardening so it will put some others off

The blue and the plum colours aren't to my taste at all and because they're quite strong colours I'd have visions of it taking about 3 coats of paint to sort out. Other than that I can't see much wrong with it so I'm guessing it's the slow market and/or the price.

And the typo! Agree it's always the price. I think that it's a lovely house. I would be concerned about the field being built on, and the garden not being kid friendly.

It's a perfectly fine house with no major issues, fairly neutral decor and a lovely outlook over the park. I don't see that you could do anything to make it immediately more attractive to buyers without spending a significant amount that you wouldn't get back on a sale price.

Things that would put me off are:

1. The garden is not designed for a family. It's small and paved. The cost of taking up all that paving, levelling and turfing it would not be cheap.
2. I'd want to replace the bathroom and kitchen. You can tell the house was built 15 years ago - the fixtures and fittings are dated.
3. It's a detached house, but you have a lot of other properties surrounding you and it's very overlooked at the back.

I don't know your area, but I'm assuming there are a lot of newer new build estates in the vicinity where people could get a much newer house with a similar footprint that's got more up to date fixtures and fittings, for the same amount or less. That puts you at a big disadvantage in a market where people don't want to buy a house and then spend £££ putting it right. It's very much a 'turnkey' market right now (according to an estate agent I spoke to a few weeks ago when getting my place valued).

The fact you've had little interest shows it's too highly priced for what it is.

So you either knock down the price, or take it off the market and wait a while for things to pick up - if you're not desperate to move, that is.

From first photo I wasn't sure which house was for sale!
The house itself is lovely, well presented good layout,room sizes etc.
The garden is too small imo for a family house.
Is there a garage or parking? Perhaps I missed it.
Then it will be price and the flagging market , especially this time of year.
Unless there's something else like backs onto motorway/ sewage works etc!
But its a lovely home it will sell for the right price and when market picks up.
I don't think there's anything more you can do really other than consider price and maybe turf the back garden so its more child friendly.

Looks lovely from the front but the interior is bland and featureless. The garden needs a lot of work.

It’s immaculate, must be the price. If I was being picky , I don’t like the fake brick wall paper. Does it smell of smoke or pets ?

It isn't clear from the first photo which house is yours

The inside is very dark and dated looking

The garden is horrible, sorry to be blunt but I'd need to totally redo it, likely at a large cost, which will put a lot of buyers off

It's priced too high given other similar sized houses nearby have sold for much less

The field in front - who owns this? Is it likely to be built on?

The path running in front of the house would put me off, I don't want people walking past directly outside

It's a nice house, very like mine, but mine is new build and also with a small garden which we have hard landscaped. So the feedback about the back garden is confirming some things for me if we ever sell.

It looks like a nice house with a good layout but there's things that draw the eye so you don't see the rooms, you end up concentrating on what are ultimately not big issues but because they take your eye, I missed other positive things.

I'd neutralise quite a lot of it, especially the blue which is very strong. You seem to have a lot of furniture too so if there was a way of thinning that out it may help.

Plain bedding rather than the fussy flowery covers. I'd also consider taking the curtains down as my eye was immediately drawn to them being three quarter length which is a personal thing I don't happen to like, to the point I didn't even notice the dual aspect windows until the 3rd look through and I love dual aspect windows 😄

Maybe some colourful flowers in the kitchen or something to break up the green, wood and cream theme which is quite a lot and block-y too.

The garden is iffy but three houses across the road from me have miniscule gardens and they've all sold quickly, some people don't like the time and trouble a garden takes. You've got a huge advantage in the space to the front which is beautiful.

Are there fountains or something in the pond bit? If there is then get them on, if there's lights in the water, get a nighttime picture taken and soften the area with borrowed garden chairs if you don't have your own, cushions, throws etc, maybe a tray with tea, coffee or drinks on it. Make it look welcoming used and usable. Get a picture with all of your double doors open and lean into the indoor/outdoor space being one huge space in the better weather which immediately makes the garden and usable space bigger. See if you can get some colour into it as well with flowers or pots etc. I think part of the problem is that it's very block-y in colour and dull because of the season. I don't think whoever took the pictures has done you any favours unfortunately.

Maybe some neutral throws to break up the red suite which is strong and block-y. Try and tie in the colours with the softer furnishings outside.

Get rid of the towel or whatever it is over the headboard too. 😄

I've no idea about price. I'm in Scotland where offers over are standard so that doesn't bother me. Good luck with it.

Why is your asking price so high OP?

It’s the garden. Essentially doesn’t have one. Few families looking for a 4-bed detached would want a garden like that.

So, yes, likely the price – unless it’s priced low because of the garden, but also because you have to find exactly the right buyer who doesn’t care about the garden, and they will be few and far between.

Our house, before we moved in, had no garden. Owners had concreted over the whole thing, put in a huge double garage and knocked through the garden wall to the road, with a dropped kerb. So essentially a huge driveway but no garden. It was on the market for a year, began at £995k, dropped in price twice and we got in for £795k. The house itself is a gorgeous Victorian – 4 bed, 2 bath, two reception rooms, kitchen, diner, utility, cellar.

We were the only ones crazy enough to be willing to reinstate the garden. Which, yes, cost a shit load (£25k), but the house is now valued at £900k because of it.

It’s fine. Needs modernising but perfectly nice. You just need someone who wants to live there. If it doesn’t sell then it’s the price.

From the first picture you can’t tell which house it is, and the garden is tragic.

@dontcrowdthemushrooms , there is no need to be rude.

I like the garden but even covered the pond will put people off, @Housesell .
Beware the late night keyboard warriors. They've probably been on the booze.

I disagree with comments that it's massively dated. Once the furniture is removed it will be easy to change the paint colours and it looks immaculate. It's a lovely house.

Things that jumped out for me would be impossible to change. I think the word 'security' sums it up.
I would be concerned about the public footpath running right next to the house. I don't like the trees and parkland at the back - potential for kids, noisy teenagers, undesirables hanging around. Also, I don't like the thought of people being out there in the dark lurking and looking in my house. This is compounded by the tiny fence. I just wouldn't be able to relax. Maybe I'm weird, looks lovely on a sunny day but home alone on a dark and stormy night 😯