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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
BlackRowan · 15/02/2026 17:40

Sorry the pictures are terrible.
the first photo is not appealing at all and you have weeds on the driveway so people will think it’s unkempt
no idea about the house prices locally, just commenting on the photos

MynameisJune · 15/02/2026 17:40

Sorry to be brutal but you’ve ruined the house. The front flowers added character and colour, everything is miserable and grey. Grey has had its day even on insta. People want a home not a content creator house.

And if that’s the renovated kitchen then there are issues.

You bought it, painted everything grey/black, re-tiled bathrooms and painted woodwork, ripped out the garden and wanted £123k more?

MrsDoubtfire123 · 15/02/2026 17:40

ghostyslovesheets · 15/02/2026 17:36

The garden was beautiful 😢

agreed!

BoxingHare · 15/02/2026 17:40

Happytaytos · 15/02/2026 17:38

Omg the garden in the old version too.

OP I genuinely cannot believe what you have done. You'll be lucky to get what you paid for it. People would have to pay to rip up the tarmac and patios. The kitchen looks like it's been vinyled over.

If this isn't a wind up then the OP seriously needs to find a person with taste to advise them.

user8539762897 · 15/02/2026 17:41

Ah, Man! You’ve taken, from what I can see was a lovely mature low maintenance garden, front and back and ruined it…the shrubs particularly at the front really softened a quite stark building.
If I see astroturf on a listing I keep scrolling so I’d be wary of your EA’s questionable advice!

MrsDoubtfire123 · 15/02/2026 17:41

MynameisJune · 15/02/2026 17:40

Sorry to be brutal but you’ve ruined the house. The front flowers added character and colour, everything is miserable and grey. Grey has had its day even on insta. People want a home not a content creator house.

And if that’s the renovated kitchen then there are issues.

You bought it, painted everything grey/black, re-tiled bathrooms and painted woodwork, ripped out the garden and wanted £123k more?

Exactly what this poster has written.

doglover90 · 15/02/2026 17:42

Houseadvice26 · 15/02/2026 17:31

Lawn has been taken up and covered so buyer can have option of gravel/astro for ease which agents say is the main preference these days.

So you basically bought this to flip?

I've just discovered the old listing. The outside looked beautiful and well loved. The inside was dated but I think the choice of grey everywhere and dark carpets is now seen as pretty dated in itself, and a lot of buyers would want to change that. I don't see much evidence that it has been 'heavily renovated' and as a buyer I wouldn't want a wood burning stove, especially in an urban area, because they are so harmful to health. The kitchen cabinets look cheap and there is very little cupboard or counter space, unless the photos are missing something. The bathroom tiling also looks odd. I presume the lack of garden pictures means there isn't one anymore.

Sorry but this is what happens when you try and flip a house on the cheap! It doesn't look like a much loved family home, it's obvious from the last sold vs listing date that it is a flip, and as a buyer I'd be put off by that.

EstherGreenwood63 · 15/02/2026 17:42

Oh no! I kind of hate you for what you've done to the garden OP. FFS.

C152 · 15/02/2026 17:42

Too late now, but your update of the front of the house makes it look depressing, dated and unwelcoming. It's also full of weeds, which make some people think the rest of house probably won't be well maintained either.

Put any 'extensive' renovations out of your mind. There's always a ceiling price on property. No amount of renovations will make the sale price go above that. Unfortunately, none of the photos make the property seem attractive or somewhere I could make a home. You've got brand new floors throughout, which look appealing, but everything else goes on personal taste e.g. I'd rip out the cheap bathrooms and the carpet. I can't actually tell what I would do with most of the rooms, because there's limited furniture and what is in place is unwelcoming and still doesn't tell me, for example, is the room with the IKEA chair the lounge room, or a dining room with an inappropriate table? The house also actually looks pretty small from the photos. The lounge room doesn't look particularly big and I wouldn't count attic rooms as proper bedrooms. (The previous photos from, presumably, when you bought it, show the size of the rooms in a much more positive light.)

Unless you live in a particularly expensive part of Swindon, there also seem to be loads of 4 bedroom detached houses in that area that are significantly cheaper and ready to move into.

So, I'd stage the rooms so that you can tell what they might actually be used for, clean the front of the property (no weeds etc), put some large planters with vines or tall shrubs to hide that massive blank wall, put some pot plats etc in the front garden area you've paved over; and have new photos taken. You may also need to reconsider the price.

Merkins · 15/02/2026 17:42

BoxingHare · 15/02/2026 17:34

No, it looks like a secure halfway house facility for ex cons.

It looks like every “budget” makeover on Homes Under the Hammer when the buyer intends to let it as a HMO so goes for dark carpets and lots of grey to keep maintenance costs down. You don’t want nice bright stuff when a succession of tenants are traipsing in and out. That and the black fittings and B&M tile flooring scream cheap, unfortunately, and that’s before we even get to the outside…

nOlives · 15/02/2026 17:43

Wow, you have absolutely ruined a perfectly nice house. I mean the loft room looks better except for the grey behind the bed, but absolutely everything else was way better before.
The front of the house looks awful, why on earth did you paint the wood black? It has changed from warm and homely to old, exposed and tatty. Absolutely no kerb appeal.

ChalkOrCheese · 15/02/2026 17:43

Houseadvice26 · 15/02/2026 17:31

Lawn has been taken up and covered so buyer can have option of gravel/astro for ease which agents say is the main preference these days.

That's so completely the opposite of what we look for that whenever I see a hardstanding "garden" I mentally deduct £££ to correct it.

In terms of the renovation, you'd have increased value IMO just by moving the door - there is no privacy. Most bungalows I've been in have a corridor of bedrooms/bathroom away from the main living space.

In terms of whst you can do now, add some pots of flowers out front and furniture to show what each room is. The desk in the lounge with ikea chairs isn't helping you. There's no comfort or anything to draw buyers in. It looks like you're in the process of moving out with pictures on the floor leaving against the walls.

Eta to clarify that i know there are upstairs bedrooms but anyone using the downstairs ones is likely to be walking around in a towel.after using the main bathroom so have said bungalow.

Leavesandthings · 15/02/2026 17:44

I think the biggest problem for me was that looking at it, the lack of furniture meant I wasnt sure what photo was of what or how it linked together. It would be useful to have photos that "situate" you in the house so you know what you are looking at.
It also looks a bit clinical bare, the odd picture on the wall with sofas and beds would go a long way.

Overthebow · 15/02/2026 17:44

Barrenfieldoffucks · 15/02/2026 17:21

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/property-history/55-sutton-park/blunsdon/swindon/sn26-7ba/65838182/

The old listing is much better.

What have you done to the kitchen, garden etc?

This looks so much better @Houseadvice26 , what have you done to it? The bathrooms are the only thing that you’ve improved, and you’ve made the kitchen so much worse and ruined the garden. You’re not going to sell it for £400k, it will probably be worth less than you paid around £350k to reflect the work that needs to be done.

Strikeback · 15/02/2026 17:44

Are you actually living there? I suppose I'm wondering where all your stuff is....no books, pictures, anything that makes it look like people actually live there! I am sorry, all the grey and black would put me right off. Oceans of floor and wall are not my scene.

IggysPop · 15/02/2026 17:44

You must know that the millennial grey/black is so unfashionable now. Or maybe not. The bathroom is dated too. I would be thinking how much it would cost to rip it all out. The naff ikea chair needs removing ptonto.

The flooring is an improvement- if it is a decent quality engineered wood or laminate tho.

WhatDaHell · 15/02/2026 17:44

Houseadvice26 · 15/02/2026 17:31

Lawn has been taken up and covered so buyer can have option of gravel/astro for ease which agents say is the main preference these days.

Omg, this thread is mortifying 😱

Valentinny · 15/02/2026 17:45

Houseadvice26 · 15/02/2026 17:31

Lawn has been taken up and covered so buyer can have option of gravel/astro for ease which agents say is the main preference these days.

Oh no! Why do that when a lot of people would like the 'option' of a lawn?
Astro turf is the work of the devil and gravel will be a huge litter tray for neighbourhood cats.

And... what about that other advert linked to earlier with it being for over 60's only and much cheaper?

Happytaytos · 15/02/2026 17:45

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Andouillette · 15/02/2026 17:45

Houseadvice26 · 15/02/2026 17:31

Lawn has been taken up and covered so buyer can have option of gravel/astro for ease which agents say is the main preference these days.

Your estate agent is a wanker. Sack them at once.

Valentinny · 15/02/2026 17:46

.

Tiramisutoyou · 15/02/2026 17:46

What’s going on in picture two - there seems to be two bathrooms

the weeds are really unsightly

it lacks love and looking like a home

the fireplace is too near the stairs which is very odd and means it can’t be the centrepiece with sofas round it

can’t believe you were trying £495. Looks about 300-350k
to me if it’s in Swindon

Houseadvice26 · 15/02/2026 17:46

I’m not ignoring questions, it would be easier if I posted the reno insta account handle but there is the odd personal post on there so I better not.

Appreciate all comments/suggestions even the really harsh ones!

OP posts:
Freddy67 · 15/02/2026 17:46

The place doesn't look very attractive from the outside and the fact that it is a bungalow with a loft conversion would put me off altogether.

I don't know the area but seeing a bungalow I would think the whole cul de sac is bungalows and not be interested as neighbours are probably mostly retired and not the kind of community I am looking for. I would be too worried about complaints about noisy children in the garden etc. I would assume that anyone looking to downsize in to a bungalow would consider the four bedrooms too much.
I'm not sure if this is supposed to be a family home or a home for downsizers and I imagine others feel the same.

The sloped ceilings upstairs look low and looks like you'll come close to banging your head every morning when you get out of bed.

I'm also put off by the comment of the property being renovated by the current owner which to me suggests that you have done most of the work yourself and I would assume it's an ametur job which looks chik for the first few months but starts falling apart very quickly. I would be worried about buying and then finding lots of boxes work hidden under the fancy exteriors.

BoxingHare · 15/02/2026 17:46

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