Selling our house - Advice needed

[Emzipoo4u]

Our house has been on the market for 3 weeks and nothing is happening fast - I know it's usually not a quick process but was expecting a bit more activity! Just gets you down and into "oh we're going to have to stay forever now" mentality - booooo :(((.

Here is our link on rightmove - can anyone offer any suggestions to improve to pull in some more viewings, or is they anything that would put you off ?

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-26993199.html?premiumA=true

Still commenting on the photos. They need to be retaken and I agree with all that We are eternal says but would be even more drastic.
I would only have two things out on your kitchen surfaces.
In the bathroom remove everything from the windowsill and the side of the bath.
In the living room, remove the rug, paint out the red wall, and remove a sofa.
In the dining area, pull out the table, remove the chest and if possible, remove the storage unit which must dominate the room in real life. Certainly remove all that is stuck to the front of it.
Lose the ?spears and family photos from the conservatory.
In picture nine, centre the bed on the wall. The bed should be pristine and the bedside cupboards empty. Dress the curtains so that no lining is showing
Weed the patio.
Now for the hard bit.
You are advertising your house. It "reads" That you are absolutely bursting at the seams with toys and children and NEED to move because of lack of space.
I would suggest that you remove ALL toys and evidence of children from the photographs. Just move them out of the camera angle. This is the reason to remove the Thomas bed frame, also the things hanging behind the door in that bedroom.
This is not a comment on your house, just the amateurish pictures.

said this one other threads but if you get property bee add on to rightmove you can see how long houses have been on the market and any price reductions- there are a few near you that have been on the while- this has just sold - 10K under your asking price

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-35657026.html

In general, the house looks ok - lived in but not "staged" to sell.

What would put me off is the tree in front of the house in picture 13. I would worry about subsidence issues (not sure how close is it to the house) and the fact that it looks like a Leylandiai which would need constant trimming or could grow out of control.

Also, garden does need a tidy - weeding done, shrubs and trees trimmed and pots with dead plants moved to shed.

Get new photos done after a general tidy-up and de-cluttering?

Hi emzipoo we're selling ours at the moment and I know how helpful impartial advice can be, so here's my advice for improving the photos:

-move the trailer for the photo and if possible trim back the tree

• take everything off the kitchen counters, it makes it look a bit cluttered and like you don't have enough cupboard space
• I'm not entirely sure what photo 3 is for? I don't think it adds any value, I would just leave the text saying you have good views as that can be enticing alone
• move the things off the windowsill on the bathroom
• get rid of the rug and the coffee table by the radiator in the living room
• move the spear things in the conservatory (they are distracting) and have the doors properly closed
• take the photos/leaflets off the fridge door and move the basket of stuff in the dining room photo
• move the throw from the bed
• I don't like photo 10, I think it would put me off
• open all the blinds properly in the photo of the back of the house
• Photo 13 doesn't seem necessary
• Photo 14 is a much better picture of the garden than photo 4 so I would delete photo 4

I hope that helps!

Good luck :)

If I am honest I never get how some people are scrupulous about the pictures. I looked at the OP?s link and did not notice any of those bins or rugs mentioned by others. What I notice is the space, layout, general tidiness, garden, kitchen cupboards, bathroom. What matters to me is the sq. footage, layout, house orientation (west east etc.), garden size and overlooked or not, road quiet or not, parking, utility space, hallway space, and if I am picky, kitchen and bathroom (needs redoing or not). A serious buyer will see past the rugs and bins. Though I do not object general tidiness.

I come from continental Europe and we may look at things slightly differently, though.

By the way OP your house is lovely and homely and if it was located where I want to buy, I would happily buy it.

There may well be things you can do to improve the pictures, but overall IMO they clearly show that it's a lovely house. I doubt it's the pictures are putting everyone off.

Which leads me to believe the major factor is probably price, sorry.

Check out what houses near you have actually sold for - here's a link that shows sold prices in the last 2 years near you

Looking at that list, your house is priced at more than all of the other 3 beds sold near you, except one.

So yes, I expect it's the price. If you try changing the price and then nothing happens, I'd be tempted to change your agent, so you get new pictures, and more importantly your details get sent out to everyone who subscribes to the websites again.(This won't happen with a change of price unless the agent deletes your house then uploads you again IIRC).

What's your deal with these agents? Are you tied in? Did you pay up front? Have they listed you with all the online sites? We used an online agent - www.housenetwork.co.uk and it worked for us, but we were in a rising market (inner London). What's the market like round there?

Did you get the local agents round?

Why not invite a couple around - if you tell them you're on with an online agent but not getting any viewings and you're thinking of changing agents, I expect you'll get some good advice - (there's no obligation to actually change).

*although take their advice with a pinch of salt as always when talking to estate agents!