Could anyone give their honest opinions on why this house isn't selling?

[ComtesseDeSpair]

It's been on the market for rather a long time and after an initial flurry in the first couple of weeks has attracted relatively few viewings (an average of about one a month) Please be as brutal as necessary, I'm not precious and would really prefer honest opinions. I have my own suspicions and feelings about why, but DH doesn't agree with me. Thanks!

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-23747520.html?premiumA=true

There is nothing at all wrong with it. Except the kitchen seems a little bit too narrow. To me it seems very expensive. I'd like to move to but I'm just not prepared to pay the difference in price between our house and something a bit better.

Have there been no offers?

The back "garden" would not appeal to me -it's very uninviting - no grass to walk on.

I agree, it's lovely and light and airy, but it needs to be priced as a doer-upper, because that's what it is in terms of decor and there isn't really any point going through listing all the things that are "wrong". My parents (60s) would consider that style dated.

Such a pretty house on the outside but inside there are a lot of very old-fashioned fittings and twee touches: the floral curtains, swags and pelmets; the dated kitchen; the fitted white wardrobes. None of this will appeal to a young couple and may feel oppressive even. It looks like an elderly couple live there.

could they move out, rent (briefly) while the house is 'doctored' by you and sold?
because time is of the essence

It is well looked after but PIL probably can't see that it is old fashioned looking.

Most Glasgow buyers would want to put in a new kitchen as it is old fashioned and obviously rip out the wardrobes etc.

It is a great part of Glasgow so desirable from that point of view, I think the price is too high as it does need work.

The house was originally marketed at offers over £400,000 in 2008. There was an offer of £385,000 just after going on the market, but PILs turned it down as they were so confident of getting the 'offers over' at that stage.

All offers since then have been around the £250,000 mark, the last being £255,000 in late 2011. No offers since, but none of the few viewers since then have been in a position to make one as they needed to sell their own properties first. There's not a chance PILs will ever accept £250,000, no way and no how.

I do like the 'doctoring' idea whilst PIL's rent. I'll discuss it with DP I think, although how we'd ever convince MIL that her beloved dining room curtains needed to go into storage for a bit, I have no idea!

It needs general updating. The kitchen and bathroom need replacing. After five years they need to accept that the price needs heavily reducing. You'd be mad to take on their mortgage without them understanding that.

This happened to some people I knew. Turned down quite a good offer about five years ago. And no offers anywhere near since. On and off market. House prices just have gone down in quite a lot of places.

Is great but it does have chintzy décor and the fitted furniture is a bit passé especially the dark wood. No idea on price but little interest in viewing often means it is overpriced compared to similar. Is the downstairs bedroom shown the back one or the one on right ? It might be better to dress the middle one as a study/bedroom .

I think your pil need an up to date valuation by a chartered surveyor. I wouldn't be doing any 'doctoring' until you've established what it is currently worth and give pils some realistic expectations. If it only worth even £300,000 (not saying it is but as an example) no amount of doctoring is going to make it worth £400,000. Also worth bearing in mind that any amount you spend isn't going to add that to the value, although it may help sell it quicker. However often lowering the price is a cheaper way of achieving the same.

It must be the price. But you might also have idiots viewing who can't see past the very minor decorative stuff that you would probably want to do. Kitchen and bathroom look totally livable with. And perhaps if it is being marketed as a family home the garden doesn't have enough grass - but that isn't too difficult to change. No garage will put people off too for the price.

Could you market it as a 4 bedroom, if there's a dining kitchen? That might get a new set of prospective buyers.

People also often won't look at bungalows as they are perceived to be for the elderly.

I think you also need to get a sense of who is buying houses in the area. That will tell you who your potential market is and how/if you should 'doctor' the house.

I'm not sure I would bother doctoring either, it is what it is and it needs a full overhaul. Recalibrating expectations all round is likely to be cheaper and easier in the long run. It sounds quite diplomatically difficult though. Good luck!

Went for a quick google having only read your OP and found this. I think your property is seriously overpriced when this one sold for £321k last September.

Honestly, if I were you I would try not to get involved - it just sounds like a disaster, especially the part about you lending money. You say they wouldn't accept £250k but what if they have to? They can't go on much longer like this (unless you start funding them, and where would that end?)

I think the house is ok, but wouldn't appeal to a family because of layout, decor, but most of all price.

These are the details of the house that sold for £321k

And the house I've linked had a home report value of £375k.

just had a look on rightmove sold prices for the area and most bungalows, within the last 2yrs, have sold for the £250,000 mark. the only bungalow that sold higher than that(£325,000) had 4 beds, a much bigger garden and nicer décor, except for the painfully coloured kids rooms.

your ILs are living in dreamland.

I would drop the price to offers over £225 and see what comes of it.

Oops! £325!

If something isn't selling, it's too expensive.

All the other stuff is pretty irrelevant - yes it's dated and fussy - but most people want to change interiors when they buy a house anyway.

If your PILs really want to sell (and they bloody well should, if they can't pay their bloody mortgage!), they should drop the price.

"Ooh, pil, I've hust heard of this new website. Have you seen it? It shows you what houses have sold for. Yes, that's right, not what they're marketed at, but their actual sale price. Amazing isn't it? Shall we take a look?"

Apart from the obvious (price!), the main thing that stands out for me is the layout. I wouldn't care about curtains, but I'd want to see how the house would work for me.

Who else lives there? What are the two spare rooms for? Could you persuade them to market it for family buyers? Or specifically grandparents? Move sitting room to back, two bedrooms together at front. One 'teen' room, one younger bedroom / playroom (to show potential) and a property luxury 'adults only' upstairs? With posh toiletries and plush linen etc. Sandpit and a few balls in the garden to create 'the home'.