House not selling (with listing)

[Housesale2]

Any thoughts welcome - awkward lay out? Decor? Anything else?

To pre-empt a couple of questions; it was originally listed at £400,000, and there is parking for two cars (one on the gravel, one on the right)

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/171873854#/?channel=RES_BUY

The office/gym needs to be restaged as just an office or bedroom as the bars just make it look cluttered. Stick the gym stuff in the garage and move the boxes.

Animal cages would put me off. Pictures should be taken from an angle where you can't see them.

Dining table pushed up against the wall may make people think there isn't room for one in the room, either put it away from wall for photos or consider removing the sofa and telly from conservatory to make it into a dining space. (even if just for photos).

Whatever is under the tarpaulin in the garden either needs to come out from under the tarpaulin, or go in the garage.

Love your floor tiles in the shower room.

Beautiful house with amazing decor

Decor is really good, I like it. I think the animal cages could have been moved briefly for the photos.

I like the inside, but how old are the windows? That could be a consideration as they look old and therefore I'd be pricing in replacements throughout. Also the fireplace is an awkward job to fix so may put people off.

I think it’s a nice house and most things people might not like are superficial decorating and a matter of taste. I don’t like the fireplace and would be factoring in that I would be changing it. I would tidy the bedrooms and present them to look less cramped. Having said that it’s a perfectly nice house and the market is very flat currently.

The house layout would be an issue for me. It can be a long walk back from the downstairs rooms to get upstairs. You can't change that without considerable expense but that would be a major reason for me. Good luck though.

I really like the kitchen. As others have said, I would declutter some of the bedrooms and study. I think the fire place would put may people off. I would also put some plants in the garden. For me personally , I have moved into 2 houses with no established gardens and my next house I refuse to start from scratch again so a nice garden would be importantto me.

This! Animal smells put people off. Seems like a lovely house though. Live in London so it seems well priced to me—but is it for the area?

Is there a garage?

I actually think it’s nice. Wonder if it’s just on too high?

It's not parking for two, it's a driveway and a bit of gravel instead of your front garden - no dropped kerb for it on streetview which means it's probably not got any proper foundations for the weight of a car bumping on and off it either.

The overgrown and unloved garden looks like you have never spent a second out there, and like the photo was taken in winter? (possibly icy grass?). Assuming Maps is correct, it is a North East facing garden which explains the two previous points but also means it will never be a place for lazy hazy days, just bright mornings if you're lucky.

Apart from the naff fireplace, the decor is fine although I cannot stand dark grout so I am looking past that because the 2nd bathroom is otherwise lovely! I am not a bather so the 1st one is wasted on me (but I have heard people complain about cleaning rond the back of freestanding baths being a PITA?).

I assumed the one you could see was theirs - the one to the right of the first pic. Maybe it belongs to the neighbour.

I wasn't sure either - I initially assumed they'd had a garage conversion from the blocky look of the building at the end of the drive, but that white garage seems to be on the wrong side of the other house?

This is just outside of my area of searching (I look every day and I’m about an hour from Swindon). For me I would rule it out based on the size of the garden (but some people want a smaller, more manageable garden). I’d like to see the dining table in the “snug” area, but again, personal choice!

The photos are dire and rooms need staging better. The front of the house needs tidying up.

The bedrooms are not big but that wouldn’t put me off. I don’t know the area for prices either.

The house is lovely. It isn't 100% to my taste,but there would be a couple of thi as id change; the fireplace and I'd install doors between the kitchen and the living room..

The reason it isn't getting viewings is because of how the estate agent gave worded it. It looks like is going to be sold by AUCTION. No-one buying at auction wants a fully done up house. The want do-er uppers they can flip or cheap terraced houses and flats in cheap areas they can let .

Ask the estate agent to change the guide price to something like £385,000 ono.

I think the white garage belongs to the house next door and OP's only parking is on the area in front of the window. If that's the case, it will put many people off.

I think the flooplan when it was last sold - with 3 bedrooms and an ensuite upstairs - would probably be more appealing to many people. I imagine it wouldnt be too difficult to change back.

I suspect the main issue is pricing, which is slightly on the higher side for both the area and the overall scale of the property. A five-bedroom home in the local area sold for £385,000 less than a year ago.

The additional spaces such as the office, utility room and snug will be very appealing to many buyers, however, these appear to have come at the expense of overall room proportions now being quite small. As a result, the property is likely to only suit a family with young children, effectively functioning as a three bedroom home with a fourth room as a bonus rather than a full-sized four-bedroom family house. I also think it wouldn't suit a family with lets say 2+ teenagers. Because of these limitations, I would expect buyers to compare it more directly with three bed properties in the area.

In my opinion, a more realistic price to generate interest and achieve a sale would be “offers over £350k”. It is likely to attract a specific buyer who values the layout and may stretch to around £370,000 if they see it as the right fit (I personally would if I was moving to Swindon!)

Out of curiosity, why are you looking to move?

Th weird angle of the French windows would put me off. Some of the other angles look off too but I think those are jost because the photographer was trying to make rooms look bigger.

But really your problem is the market. Nothing you can do about that apart from dropping price so yours is the most attractively priced for the few potential buyers.

The garden looks tiny, is that the case or just a bad photo?

For me there's no one picture that captures the wow factor. Knowing the kitchen opened into the snug would clinch it for me, but the photos don't show it. I think it helps of the photos themselves give a sense of the layout as I might have clicked off before looking at the actual layout.

If you could somehow get a picture that shows from the kitchen to the snug so I could imagine my friends congregating and chatting in all that space, it would sell it to me.

It seems expensive given the size. Wouldn't want teenagers in those bedrooms if I could avoid it and the master is too narrow for a decent bed. Upstairs it's like a starter home with extra beds. So I think it's the price. People who need a four bed may be finding others (or a cheaper 3 bed with the potential to expand) with larger rooms.

Otherwise I think it's pretty well presented. I agree sprucing the garden a bit and not showing the pets wouldn't hurt but if you're getting no interest, that's not going to be the crux of the issue.

None of the bedrooms look big enough, ceilings look quite low. The pic of the kitchen, pic 4 with a long table and only two chairs looks odd and pointless.

Modern bathrooms are good, kitchen nice but maybe not enough light? Is it just having that small window?

Garden could be better, made a bit more pleasant with some pots or bedding of summer flowers.

Idk about the area but as others say the price has to be a big factor.

It's not my type of thing in regards to the exterior design but there's plenty of people who like this type house.

The house looks sound enough but the things that would put me off,
External: the large green climber at the front door, the front and back garden areas in general looks tired and needs TLC
the picture of the front doesn’t show the whole property
fascia boards look like they need attention, possibly just painted.
the windows look quite dated and I think most people would want to change them

internal: the fireplace; it doesn’t seem in keeping with the rest of the house, animals in the snug, the bright colours are a bit jarring, the bedroom that looks like it just has a double bed in it. the office/gym room looks small and a bit of a dumping ground.

overall I don’t think the pictures are that great, they don’t show the rooms from different angles nor are they very good.

if you’re getting viewings but no offers I’d imagine it’s the price. If you’re not getting any interest go back to the estate agent and ask what they recommend to get interest.