Advice on selling house - one year on and still no offers

[Munchkinsmama]

So, our house has been on the market for almost one year. We are with an online estate agent but as of yet have had no (sensible) offers and viewings are not exactly thick and fast. We originally put it on just under the highest valuation, but knowing that was probably a bit optimistic quickly reduced it by £10K. We reduced the house again 3 weeks ago to by another £10K. We just can't afford to drop it anymore, as we need what little capital we have left in it for the minimum deposit for a new house. And to be honest it's now on at a very competitive rate for similar properties, although admittedly its a two bed cottage at the high end of the price bracket for a 2 bed - due to location, size, standard and character. But it is comparable to similar properties nevertheless. Its also now on for less than what we paid for it 7 years ago.

Since reducing the price we've had 2 viewings (although one generated by someone we know who was looking for a buy to let) and an open house today which generated 2 more viewings - although i suspect neither were that serious and just curious.

I'm at a loss at what more to do. The house is finished to a pretty high standard. Kitchen and bathroom all under 3 years old and tastefully (IMO) done! Despite having an 18 month old son the house is always immaculately presented at viewings (most toys hidden and is presented like photos/how we used to live in it before child came along as target market is young professional couple).

I know the market is slow, and tbh although things in my area are selling, those that are selling in my price bracket do tend to be 3 beds - with the odd exception.

Does anyone have any words of advice to help shift our house. I'm 20weeks with dc2 and we'd really like to be in something bigger by the time he/she comes. I have considered moving to a local estate agent but all the house buyers we know just use rightmove so really i really question the benefit. And having dropped the price means finding the £3000 or so would be hard to find!

Munch, looks like http://www.allagents.co.uk/properties/view/stoneswood-road-delph/2-bedroom-cottage-for-sale/id/90893/ this is an old listing of yours... Some of the pics are better, and it shows you've got a v light living room with weavers cottage style windows on the other side (maybe with a view?!), but the higher price might be confusing.

Your house would have sold at that price 3 years ago, but the local market has dropped since then and is only just showing signs of recovery. The trouble is, you bought at the very peak of the market: the average house has dropped about 15% in value since 2006/7/8 - though you should be protected from some of that drop, because your house is def not 'average'. :)

I think you have a choice: drop your price another £10-20k for a quick sale, in the knowledge that, if you move before sales pick up again, you'll also save that (or more) on your next purchase... Or wait it out. Prices may well rise again...

Link fail This

It's gorgeous.
Bedroom two does not look like full size single with a cot in it.
I would never have considered buying a house without using an estate agent as a fist time buyer. The size of this house looks like a first time buyers house so you are limiting yourself without using local agent.

I love it!!! It is lovely and you have done every single thing you can possibly do with the interior so I think unfortunately it must be the price. It is such a shame as you paid more for it and have made it so gorgeous. You could do what people have advised and put a bed (I would put in a small double not a single) in the second room I suppose.

Is that your neighbour's window? That would definitely be a deal-breaker for 99% of purchasers (unless the house was significantly under-priced to compensate). I probably wouldn't view on the basis of that photo (expecially because there would be no one I could ask at the online agents, and I wouldn't want to comit myself to a viewing).

If it is your window then no problem, but either way, get a different photo.

You can put your stats in here to check where you should expect to be on price:

www.nationwide.co.uk/hpi/calculator/calculator.htm

neeps, other people's windows in your garden are fairly common round here (I have one myself!). You're right it might put many people off, but people looking at cottages in Delph/Saddleworth/Uppermill/Colne Valley will know - or will soon discover! - that this is quite often a quirky 'feature'!

If that is the neighbours window looking over your deck area, could you put a couple of tall plants in tubs in front of it to disguise it a little? Or something like this?

The main factors that would put me off are unfortunatley ones that you can't do anything about. Firstly, the house is mid terrace and there is no route through to the back except through the house. Secondly, there is virtually no outside space, only the decking. The inside is lovely, though the second bedroom needs to be presented for a more adult market. I would have thought that maybe a single person in early retirement might buy it or perhaps a couple who don't like gardening.I'm sorry you are having such trouble seling as the inside is imaculate.

This is the OP's street and this is higher up her road, and this is an old black-and-white photo of the road, showing how it winds up the hill... Lots of houses round here don't have gardens, because they were originally workers' cottages built without them. Generally people don't feel too deprived tho, cos they have the whole of the Pennines to play in, and they don't even have to cut the grass! :)

Lovely house.
Agree with the others that say change it to Delph or Saddleworth, not Oldham. And go to Ryder and Dutton

Lovely looking house!!

I have just checked the postcode for your area and they have your address down wrong - as mentioned by people above. They have failed to put the details in properly onto rightmove.

Wow, so many replies thank you everyone. So many kind comments about our house and lots of practical suggestions. Some easy to do, some out of our control. Some of its isn?t exactly what I wanted to hear, but probably expected to hear!

Here goes at replying to some of your suggestions:

1. The Nursery. This isn?t something I?d really thought would put people off. I didn?t think it looked that ?nursery like? and apart from one wall needing a lick of paint its adult friendly. I totally get the bed size suggestion. We?ve only had a futon and office furniture but the people we bought it off finished it with a double bed, so it does easily fit. Examining the picture more closely, I don?t suppose it does the space justice as its actually quite a reasonable size 2nd bedroom.

In terms of the bed, putting in a double, or even single, isn?t really an option. Ds just isn?t ready for that yet and also we have nowhere to put the cot he is in. So it would mean getting rid of it completely. And it was expensive. Also, if we don?t sell, dc2 is at some point going to have to go into the 2nd bedroom with ds1 and a double/.single would make this impossible/difficult.

The bed he is in now is actually quite a large cotbed. Do you think taking the bars off and lowering the ends for a picture would serve the same purpose? I think once you are in the room its clear you could fit in a double bed so its mainly the picture that?s letting it down.

2. The place ? Oldham. I had never noticed (shamefully) that it said Oldham and not Saddleworth, This is a big deal and as people have pointed out in post parts of Oldham you could buy a 4 bed detached for £200K. So that will be changed immediately!

3. The garden. Yes the only land is the decked area. It is slightly larger that you can see as its kind of ?L? shaped. But essentially that?s it. Common ?round these parts, but nevertheless an issue I know. You can access the back without having to traipse through the house though. I have rights to cross neighboring land and there is a path. But similar next door have the right to cross my land. Another common occurrence here but also, another issue. Yes, the tall window you see is next doors. It actually use to be am ugly unused porch which got knocked down when they renovated. Its does actually have a tree infront of it now so I may retake the picture. If fact I may re-angle the picture. The house I own was the first on the street (240 years old) and they then built a house next door hence the layout.

4. Price. For those that are comparing the price to Oldham houses, as other have said, Saddleworth just isn?t like the rest of Oldham. Its rural, desirable and expensive. The price is reflective of the area. Whether its slightly over-priced is questionable. Hand on heart, now its been reduced I think its actually a good price. Whether we can afford to drop it further is the big question. I don?t think so, so our only option may be to take it off, and save. I also haven?t seen the drop in prices locally that others are suggesting. Where we have seen properties come on to the market and sell, I have looked at when they (and neighbouring houses) we bought and what for and they seem to reflect current asking (and selling) prices.

swish the houses you have mentioned are further up the street. They are 2 bed terraces also but smaller and without character. I couldn?t comment on their condition. There is a similar house to those on the market now for £138, so yes, considerably less, but although compare because it has 2 bedrooms, its not really a comparable house.

This is probably more comparable. Around the corner. Its god 2 reception rooms and a larger garden. But its on a busier road. Obviously I don?t know what the price was that they have accepted but the asking price is £40K more than ours. www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-39454946.html

This one which is a similar price but comes with garden. But needs some work and is in a cheaper location on the outskirts. www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-38709647.html

Slightly cheaper, much smaller. Same village www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-41069432.html

5. Agent. I have arranged for Ryder and Dutton, probably the best of the local estate agents to come around to the house this week. They?ll give us an up to date evaluation to work with and can tell us what they have to offer etc. I like the persons suggestion that I ask them if they have sold similar properties to mine recently sow ill do that. I?ll be getting at least one other agent around too, if we consider the move to a local agent.

Flow lost of useful comments and suggestions thanks! You are completely right that are target market audience is small and my fear is exactky what smells has said ? people like myself and my husband who were in our early twenties when we bought it, and not thinking about children are now priced out of our bracket of the market, or are more conscious of the longevity of a home. We knew we?d have t move out in 5-10 years, and were happy with that. In this climate, you people don?t want to take that risk.

We have actually had a couple of downsizers view the property. One seemed to love it but?nothing. An elderly person just wouldn?t buy it as there are 3 levels.

But yes we have lovely views, and are sooooooo close to the village you can stumble home drunk So will take pictures. The BBC idea is also very good. Next door bought their house a year ago and she works for the BBC. Will ask her for suggestions!!!!

Right, I think I?ve covered most things. I?ve definitely waffled on enough.

Thanks for all the lovely comments?..are you sure none of you want to buy it????

Good luck. Let us know what the agent says.

I think that I'm the sort of person that would buy your house (professional couple, no kids), and I'd be put off viewing by, as everyone has said, the impression the photo gives that the 2nd bedroom is a small single, not a good sized double.

I think that at least trying to take a photo where the bed looks like a bed, not a cot, would help. I think we're trying to judge the size of the room off what looks like an ordinary / small cot, which isn't the case.

I'm afraid I wouldn't buy it because of the overlooked courtyard, but there's not much you could do about that, presumably.

You've decorated it beautifully though, and it looks like a lovely house.

Can you move his cot into your room and your bed into his, take photos, and then move them back?

Second MammaMedusa's suggestion about moving beds - you could ask for most photos to be done one day and for the EA to come back when you've moved things around for the other room. Its not an unreasonable request as any half decent EA know the photos are what will get viewings, and they would normally retake some if e.g. the sun went in and a room looked dark.

Could you get a single bed for the 2nd room just for the photos, then put the cot back in? At least people would be able to see the true size then. I would also take out excess furniture in that room, again just for the photos, to make it look more spacious. I would definitely paint over the feature wall in there too. It is lovely, as is the rest of the house, but some people need almost nothing to put them off.

Perhaps you could play around with photographing the outside (front and back) and the views at different times of the day and in sunshine, then ask the agent to put the best ones on the details. The trouble with relying on their photos is that if they turn up on a dull day (as most are lately), or the wrong time of day when there are big shadows cast over the exterior of the house, it can pull down the look fo the place.

Take off the photo which shows the neighbours window overlooking your courtyard /garden . Let the viewers fall in love with your house by viewing rather than highlighting before they've viewed. Then they could overlook this detail, bc they've fallen in love with your house

I think that you are in a really difficult situation.

It is a lovely cottage and would easily sell in a good market. However, in the current climate I think you will struggle:

• if your focus is on young professionals then I expect the downstairs bathroom would be an issue. You don't want your guests to have to go to the lower ground floor/basement if they need to go to the bathroom. Also, a combined toilet/bathroom for visitors to use is not ideal.

• outside space seems very small given the asking price

• photos are quite dark.

For a family home it seems small with not much outdoor space.

If you really need to sell, I think you have to price it much more aggressively. Alternatively, take it off the market, hoping that the market will pick up in a few years and have kids sharing the bedroom in the meantime?

I would not keep it on the market as it is. Potential buyers can see how long it has been on and this may put them off.

OP let us know how you get on with the local estate agents. I hope they can manage to do some decent marketing for you.

Yes moving our bed in there for photos is a possibility. A massive pain in the bum as theres not really the room for moving furniture in and out, but if needs must...! I will probably drop the bars etc on the cot first and shift some furniture and see if i can get a better picture first. if not, we'll do the bed.

I'll def retake the outside pics too. Some of the pics are dark we some were taken at night - well teatime in the winter! We can retake those easily on a sunny day - if we ever get one of those!

The outside space is small, but tbh that was a bonus to me moving from a house with gardens to 3 sides that i couldn't be bothered to maintain in my early twenties!!! And its very typical of around here. We often look at 4 bed detached houses anyway between £300-£400 with tiny gardens and sometimes just little terraces!!! Land is quite sparse! But yes, i accept, another thing to put potential buyers off.

Agatha will def update at the end of the week once R&D have been. it will be interesting to hear what they say, although i'm just home from seeing a friend who sold her house through an online agent....!!! Thats a second friend!