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Original poster

Trying to sell - Critique my house!

117 replies

WhoLivesInAHouseLikeThis · 31/03/2011 13:07

House has only been on the market a couple of months but I have seen a wreck I love and want to get moving (so to speak).

We have had about 8 people around and feedback has been very non-specific so I'm after honest opinions on my rightmove ad. I have namechanged so as not to out myself but am fairly regular here.

Thanks,

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-32555795.html

I do have a man coming at the weekend to repaint the front of the house and the downpipe as I know it looks a bit tatty.

OP posts:

ChupaChups · 01/04/2011 15:41

I totally agree with everyone else...

The pics are bloody awful and need redoing.
Get rid of the slide
Get the EA to do a floorplan
Do something about the bush at the front
Get some potted plants with colour inside and out
A couple of vases of flowers

Other than that it looks like a really nice little house.

The market is so slow at the mo I think you just need to be patient.

libelulle · 01/04/2011 15:48

Photo 3 actually looks like the photographer has taken the photo accidentally as he was putting the camera down. I'm just open-mouthed that someone who does this for a living can take photos this bad. And you definitely need a floor-plan.

Having said that, it comes across as a lovely house despite the loopy photos, and you'd have thought that potential buyers could see that. Is the market particularly slow round your way? How does your house compare asking-price wise to similar ones on the market? Can you find out what kind of price things are actually selling for in the neighbourhood?

I wonder if the pictures are just one symptom of the main problem, which is that your estate agent is rubbish, and that possibly your house is over-priced. Which in itself makes me speechless with amazement and planning my move to a different part of the country, having just bought a smaller house in the SE for nearly three times your asking price :(

libelulle · 01/04/2011 15:49

alright, make that just over double - things aren't that dreadful:)

mrshotrod · 01/04/2011 21:57

Needs wider angle photos. Lovely looking house, but can only see teeny bits of it. Our agent seems to have unlimited space for photos, and we had lots on (Not sure how many were on shown on right move though) Some agents only seem to put about 6 shots online.
Good luck

Original poster

WhoLivesInAHouseLikeThis · 02/04/2011 08:43

Great hints here.

The agent is coming to take new pics of sitting room, dining room, kitchen, bathroom, conservatory, newly painted front, back garden now spring flowers are out, main bedroom and I have taken off the tablecloth and got rid of excess stuff in kitchen.

Off to mow the front lawn now as we have someone coming at 1pm today.

OP posts:

risingstar · 02/04/2011 10:01

just a quick one

the GARAGE needs to be highlighted right at the top of listing. Any where that has lots of terraced houses, parking is at a premium. i went right through the photos and only found at the bottom of the listing that the building in the garden is a garage (it doesnt look like one- which is good!)

you could lose loads of buyers who are doing a quick scan at the top of the listing who have garage as one of their essentials.

who are these estate agents?

MiniMarmite · 02/04/2011 10:12

Agree with everyone else, house is great, photos are shocking!

As others have said there is no real feeling of what the house looks like and the room proportions. I might not even look at a house that didn't have pictures of the bedrooms unless I was looking for a project (i.e. I would assume they were in a bad way).

Friends of mine that have sold very quickly in the current climate also removed a lot of nick-nacks/child-related items from the house for the photos and for each viewing (e.g. drinks bottles, things on top of kitchen cupboard, put washing line down).

But really the photos are the issue here.

purepurple · 02/04/2011 10:18

Agree with everyone else but want to add that the descriptions of your rooms are dire. Apparently, the dining room has 'space for a dining table and chairs' Talk about stating the obvious!
Also, why is there no mention of the lovely wood flooring in the lounge, which is obviously a feature as the EA has taken a photo of it.
Good luck with the new photos. Are you going to ask them to write new descriptions? You are the customer after all.

CuntessentialShadows · 02/04/2011 10:21

Good going, I hope it goes well for you! Good Luck!

saltyseadog · 02/04/2011 10:25

Lovely house - shockingly lazy EA. I'm sure the house will sell as it looks like a lovely family home - but agree with everyone else that your EA needs a fire lit under their arse.

TheMonster · 02/04/2011 10:33

Could you cut back the hedge at the front? It's bit overwhelming, and although it is tidy, it looks a bit uncared for.
The building at the end of the garden looks amazing! Take the washing line down because it looks tatty in front of it.
The kitchen window looks a bit grotty (has the double glazing blown or is it just dirty?) and looks stright out to a brick wall. Disguise it with a big vase if birghtly coloured flowers.

ScaredOfCows · 02/04/2011 10:37

Agree with the others. Sack the agent, I usually think that smaller, independent agents put more care and effort into the job. Consider going with 2 agents. Only the selling agent will get your commission so it can make them try harder. De-clutter - remove slide etc from garden, childrens pictures etc from walls/doors.

I think that's only one side of it though. You have had people through the door, but they haven't been over enthusiastic. So, tidy stuff from all surfaces (kitchen, dining table etc) before a viewing. Make sure that the place is show-house clean and tidy before viewings. Ensure the front of the house/garden always looks great as lots of people drive past before arranging a viewing, or drive past after a viewing to have another look. Basically, don't give anyone an excuse to be put off buying your house - lots of people can see past a bit of stuff lying around when they view, but lots can't. You can't risk your viewers being the ones that can't see past it.

Sunflour · 02/04/2011 12:01

I agree with others I think your house looks fine and that in the current climate it is just about waiting, but it has picked up. We've just sold having been on since October and lots of people liked it and came for second viewings, but it just took longer than we thought.
Personally I agree that a floorplan is lacking, but it seems that the sequence group - fox and sons or allen and harris etc. don't do them. When I'm house hunting it's a key thing for me to look at.

Original poster

WhoLivesInAHouseLikeThis · 02/04/2011 17:25

Well, people today seemed to like it as far as I could tell so it will be interesting to see what the feedback is.

Now, off the top of my head in the description I need to add off road parking to the 'features', add that there is an open fireplace with space for a woodburner in the dining room, emphasis on the stripped pine floors, add that kitchen is recently fitted with solid wood worktops and a recently installed combi boiler, put that the conservatory leads to cloakroom and separate utility cupboard with plumbing for washing machine and tumble dryer.

Must also underline 2 storey garage/workshop with electricity and water!

Any further writing geniuses (geni?) who want to add?

OP posts:

whatshouldicallmyself · 02/04/2011 17:42

I would move the stuff off the top of the kitchen cupboards, take the kids stuff off the doors, and also put something other than that map thing in the dining room. Other than that, it looks like a house ready to move into, except I wouldn't have blue in the living room but that's a personal thing and can be changed. Good luck

whatshouldicallmyself · 02/04/2011 17:46

oh and lose the strip light above the two doors, doesn't look like it belongs there

greenlotus · 03/04/2011 01:23

It doesn't actually say anywhere that the house is well presented/in good condition, although the rooms you can see look fine (at least they are neutral/tidy) you assume the worst about ones you can't see.

In the key features I would put "Large detached garage and study/office over", not just "off road parking". This alone would sell it to us if we were in your area, many people are looking for outbuildings for all sorts of reasons. There isn't even a picture of the garage (i.e. from the side you would drive in) that indicates what it is, I had completely missed that it existed.

The size of the garden should be stated as well as that it has access to the garage/studio.

Just to put that it's a well presented, recently modernised house, refitted kitchen/bathroom, add in your wood flooring etc. It's a lovely looking house from the few glimpses you get of it, clearly it's been recently done out to a really high standard with the free standing bath, solid wood worktops etc.

libelulle · 03/04/2011 07:50

I too completely missed that there was a Garage AND a studio. That's a major selling point. Your agent impresses less and less!

LynetteScavo · 03/04/2011 08:07

Sorry if it's been said before (I haven't read every single post), but the photos are shockingly AWFUL! Insist someone else comes back to re take the photos ASAP!

Tell them to take photos of the whole room not just one small part of it.

LynetteScavo · 03/04/2011 08:10

It's a nice house, so I guess the non specific feed back means either people aren't ready to offer yet, or it just doesn't feel right for them.

Would you consider changing the front door? It's the only thing I don't like about your house.

purepurple · 04/04/2011 14:14

See they have been round to do new photos. They are an improvement, the one of the conservatory is much better. Nice one of the bathroom, but where are the photos of the bedrooms?
What did they say when you asked for new photos? Did they send the same person?

crapbarry · 04/04/2011 14:19

definitely an improvement on the photos!

LillianGish · 04/04/2011 14:34

Photos look fine now - wish I'd seen the original horrors! Have to say though that while photos might get people through the door, more crucial is what the house looks like when people visit and even more importantly price. In fact that's probably the key factor for me when viewing any house - no idea whether yours is good value compared to others, but in my opinion if you want to move fast it's often worth dropping the price a bit so people feel like they are getting a bargain, especially in the current climate.

lucky4 · 04/04/2011 15:01

I think the inside is lovely,uncluttered,neutral and tidy just the way I like it!Back garden looks nice,slide wouldnt bother me but might make garden look a tad bigger if you remove it.
If I have to pick one thing it would be the front garden..first impressions and all that..I would maybe have a little tidy up and add a few pots of flowers.HTH

solo · 04/04/2011 15:10

The only things I would do is cut the front hedge back away from the path and remove the slide from the back garden as it's too big for the space and makes the lawn area look small.

I love your bathroom :)

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