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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

House not selling (with listing)

1000 replies

Houseadvice26 · 15/02/2026 16:40

Posted here for traffic. Thoughts welcome please!

Purchased for £360k in 2023
Heavily renovated
Reduced gradually from £495k last year
Now on with a new EA for £400k

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/165327158#/?channel=RES_BUY

OP posts:
Thread gallery
41
UnbeatenMum · 16/02/2026 08:29

I don't know Swindon so I can't comment on the pricing but I think the style of decor is aimed at families, maybe with older children or teenagers as people with babies and toddlers would prefer to be on the same floor. So having a lawn would make sense. I would also stage it with furniture and pictures. A big sofa as a minimum so people can visualise the space. I'm mid 40s with teenagers and I wouldn't be put off by this house but you could definitely do more to make sure it's all finished nicely and the garden is tidy. People buying a renovation want to move in and not have to do anything to it.

Eatyourcrust · 16/02/2026 08:32

Did you make any changes to the layout OP, or just updated finishes? There are some key areas I would have tried to address:

-headroom in the loft rooms are very low, I couldn’t walk to either side of the bed in one room, are they really rooms for double beds or better done up as kids’ rooms/studies?

-ground floor flow is very odd, do you have to go via the kitchen to get to the living room from the entrance hall? Then via kitchen to living room to get to the stairs? I would have tried to rectify some of this ahead of the new bathrooms you fitted.

-do you need a WC and bathroom downstairs? Getting rid in one could improve the flow.

-have you fitted a new grey window to thd living room but left a white patio door next to it? Feels a bit half done.

-what it the utility area, has this got laundry facilities?

In all honesty, you can’t expect to maximise resale value from just a domestic tart-up and new bathrooms, buyers can see through that, especially if ‘before’ photos are available.

WelcometomyUnderworld · 16/02/2026 08:35

Northernladdette · 16/02/2026 08:20

Kickboards (I assume you’re abroad as British call them skirting boards) are traditionally painted white, as is most wooden paintwork in the UK. The shower screen is a modern phenomenon, a take on crittall windows. It’s become a modern look now along with black taps etc🙂

Kickboards are definitely called kickboards in the UK and are almost always the same colour as the cabinets, so would usually only be white if the cabinets were white.

(Note, they are not the same thing as skirting boards)

Ginmonkeyagain · 16/02/2026 08:36

@Northernladdette no I am UK based. Kickboards and skirting boards are not the same thing. Kickboards are removable boards used in fitted kitchens to conceal wires, cupboard legs and gaps below electrical items.

The point is they are meant to be seamless so the bright white below green units draws your eye to them. It is a choice but it looks, IMO, slapdash.

CasuallyConfused · 16/02/2026 08:40

It's always the price, someone will compromise/fix the things they don't like if the price is right.

You can dress it much better, the outside looks awful, the weeds, black front, it just isn't very appealing, you could tidy up, get some nice pots with flowers (closer to spring obviously, and you can take them with you), paint over the black it's awful.

Inside it just isn't staged as a home downstairs, it's hard to imagine living there. Also the kitchen is just such a let down, given it is the most expensive room to do I'd look at that and think well that's 20k+ before we've started. I'd buy some new cupboard fronts online to try to dress it up, that mint green is awful.

I think the main thing that will put people off though is marketing it as a 4 bed house. We are going to be moving to a 4/5 bed house soon, we won't be going to view any houses where the bedrooms at least 2 bathrooms aren't on the same floor, if you are counting random rooms around the house they aren't bedrooms, they are reception rooms. This is a 2 bed bungalow with storage/a guest room upstairs (my husband's gran's house was like this 2 bedrooms and a tiny bathroom upstairs, she never ventured upstairs, her family slept up there when they stayed). Or it's a 2 bed house with a dining room and office downstairs, and less than ideal having the proper bathroom downstairs. A family looking for a 4 bed home won't want their children dotted allover the show like this, there isn't enough reception rooms for it to be a 4 bed besides.

Tidy it up, relist with the correct number of bedrooms and drop the price. I'm sure it'd sell to someone needing a bungalow or a couple without children.

randomchap · 16/02/2026 08:42

It's not even a proper circular driveway as the kerb is only dropped at one end

UnbeatenMum · 16/02/2026 08:42

Also if you weren't going to change all the windows I would have stuck with white. Having half white half grey isn't appealing and has a kind of half done feel. I'm not sure you can change that now but for future reference.

Blarn · 16/02/2026 08:42

Northernladdette · 16/02/2026 08:20

Kickboards (I assume you’re abroad as British call them skirting boards) are traditionally painted white, as is most wooden paintwork in the UK. The shower screen is a modern phenomenon, a take on crittall windows. It’s become a modern look now along with black taps etc🙂

Kickboards are another name for the plinths at the bottom of kitchen units.

I do agree with the shower screen, especially if Swindon has similarly hard water to Bristol, each of those frames would collect a huge amount of limescale if intense claning is not done after each shower! But shower screens are the sort of cosmetic thing people change to when they move in, brand new or not. Its the least of the OPs problems!

Spiderx · 16/02/2026 08:43

Houseadvice26 · 15/02/2026 16:40

Posted here for traffic. Thoughts welcome please!

Purchased for £360k in 2023
Heavily renovated
Reduced gradually from £495k last year
Now on with a new EA for £400k

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/165327158#/?channel=RES_BUY

You know what...? Just sold our late mothers house last Nov. that looked exactly like yours. It took a few months and after about 15 viewers we only had one serious enquiry . We cultivated that buyer and they bought it and loved it . We had the most enquires though when we put up our own 'for sale' sign (£20 from ebay) and got most of the interest from potential buyers that just happened to be walking or driving around that area
My advice ...ditch the estate agents and do the viewings yourself ...plus we saved £3500 in estate agent fees !!

TeaChocKitKat · 16/02/2026 08:44

I haven't read the full thread but its the price and decor. I bought a house in 2023 and have replaced exterior windows and doors and upgraded the heating and have just sold it at a loss. You bought this in 2023 to make it 'Instagram' ready and have ruined it. The grey is awful. The house we are buying has astro turf in the back garden and our first job is to lay a lawn! Your future buyers are probably going to need to undo pretty much everything you have done.

GertieLawrence · 16/02/2026 08:45

ChattyCatty25 · 16/02/2026 03:20

I have just read all of OP’s posts; it absolutely blows my mind that this was supposed to be a renovation for profit! She has wrecked the lovely mature garden in a way that’s hard to fix, and the outdated millennial grey has not actually been there since the late 2010’s, but done recently specifically to appeal to buyers!

Don’t give up the day job, @Houseadvice26 !

This unsellable burden is karma for your environmentally damaging choices.

Personally I’d be amazed if this is OP’s house. Not sure what the agenda is here but something is off. Some kind of reverse maybe.

No-one would say “insta worthy” or be so disingenuous in casually mentioning the garden was ripped up.

What’s the skinny @Houseadvice26 come back and tell us!

Northernladdette · 16/02/2026 08:45

Blarn · 16/02/2026 08:42

Kickboards are another name for the plinths at the bottom of kitchen units.

I do agree with the shower screen, especially if Swindon has similarly hard water to Bristol, each of those frames would collect a huge amount of limescale if intense claning is not done after each shower! But shower screens are the sort of cosmetic thing people change to when they move in, brand new or not. Its the least of the OPs problems!

I see😉

123123again · 16/02/2026 08:46

To improve the kerb appeal, I would dig up the small black tarmac semi-circle area at the front and plant with shrubs/lavender etc.
Get rid of weeds at the front and side of the house. Place two well-shaped small trees in large pots/planters in front of the blank wall.

So exactly how it was before the renovation !
Theres a housing crisis isn’t there? The house will sell.

HostaCentral · 16/02/2026 08:46

You say it's had a major refurb, I would say it needs redoing! Sorry it looks very bitty. Too many floor types, bathrooms give me a headache, too swirly or too many lines. The whole house is just landlord special grey. Everything looks a bit worn out and unloved. The outside is grim. Render needs a refresh, weeds, and not a pot or a plant to be seen.

Ginmonkeyagain · 16/02/2026 08:47

@CasuallyConfused that is a really good point. The target market is likely not to be families, but older couples who want most things on one floor and will use the upstairs as guest rooms for family or hobby rooms/storage.

In which case the decor and removal of the garden is a significant mistake.

shhblackbag · 16/02/2026 08:48

The kerb appeal is zero, and the house looks like it has an identity crisis inside. Every room looks like a different style. I'd want to put in a different kitchen right away.

Spiderx · 16/02/2026 08:49

carconcerns · 15/02/2026 16:59

It looks like a man lives there alone

Cheek !🤣

Northernladdette · 16/02/2026 08:49

Ginmonkeyagain · 16/02/2026 08:36

@Northernladdette no I am UK based. Kickboards and skirting boards are not the same thing. Kickboards are removable boards used in fitted kitchens to conceal wires, cupboard legs and gaps below electrical items.

The point is they are meant to be seamless so the bright white below green units draws your eye to them. It is a choice but it looks, IMO, slapdash.

I’ve never heard them be called kickboards, we call them plinths. Not sure why OP didn’t replace the kitchen as it’s terrible, probably didn’t want to spend the money 😩

Spiderx · 16/02/2026 08:52

Astronautsdontcareaboutbeans · 15/02/2026 17:02

Who eats a singular ready meal every night, before wanking and crying himself to sleep

Oi...! Enough already ! ...or a mad cat lady !

OlympicWomen · 16/02/2026 08:53

123123again · 16/02/2026 08:46

To improve the kerb appeal, I would dig up the small black tarmac semi-circle area at the front and plant with shrubs/lavender etc.
Get rid of weeds at the front and side of the house. Place two well-shaped small trees in large pots/planters in front of the blank wall.

So exactly how it was before the renovation !
Theres a housing crisis isn’t there? The house will sell.

They'll have to reduce the price though.
The crisis is the lack affordable homes, not ones flipped for a quick profit like this.

Judgejudysno1fan · 16/02/2026 08:53

Inside absolutely lovely.

Outside is strange looking and not welcoming.

Hope you sell :) donr reduce the price because of the outside

BatchCookBabe · 16/02/2026 08:56

Judgejudysno1fan · 16/02/2026 08:53

Inside absolutely lovely.

Outside is strange looking and not welcoming.

Hope you sell :) donr reduce the price because of the outside

Inside 'absolutely lovely?!' 😬

Are we looking at the same listing?!

PistachioTiramisu · 16/02/2026 08:56

There are 3 main things which leap out at me -

Staircase leading from living area
Terrible outside wall and drive area - needs completely re-doing
It's SOOO GREY - depressing and would put me off immediately.

garlictwist · 16/02/2026 09:00

I think it's a really nice house, I love boxy houses like that. The decor is a bit grey for my liking but that can be changed. I agree it needs some more furniture for the photos and what does the garden look like?

DeftWasp · 16/02/2026 09:02

Northernladdette · 16/02/2026 08:49

I’ve never heard them be called kickboards, we call them plinths. Not sure why OP didn’t replace the kitchen as it’s terrible, probably didn’t want to spend the money 😩

Plinth is the correct technical name, but they get called kickboards a lot, that's the American name for them.

Skirting board in American building terminology is baseboard.

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