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

The whole house gives me an impression of being fussily adapted to the tastes and lifestyle of someone who is so very much not me that I would find it very difficult to imagine it as my home. SO perhaps I'm not the target audience and shouldn't be giving my opinion. However, it seems so overly full of furniture - can you lose some of it? - the fitted wardobes and other fitted furniture in the bedroom shown in photos 7 and 8 are very 1980s in feel and would make me shudder at the work involved in making the rooms feel like they were mine rather than belonging to the previous owners. Could you replace the fitted cupboard doors with something more neutral? I would tone down the number of throws, pillows, fabric layers and drapes throughout - all too fussy and giving me the heebyjeebies.

I agree about the dining room looking weird, dark and dated. And it seems very odd to me (as a non-bungalow dweller) to have a bedroom between the kitchen and dining room anyway. There isn't a photo of this bedroom I think - why not? In fact, I think I would re-purpose that middle bedroom into being a dining room (furnished in a modern way - you can hire good furniture for the purpose of selling a house) and make what is currently a Dining Room into the Sitting Room (new lighter-weight curtains perhaps? and a less strident sofa); and what is currently the sitting room into a bedroom. You then have all the bedrooms grouped on one side of the house and all the day rooms on the other side, which would feel less odd to me.

Haven't read the whole thread so will give you my thoughts based just on the house (and a cross-fence with RightMve)

1. Price - you can buy a bigger house for the same price in the same area (although being a local I don't know if certain roads are better than Otis)
2. Odd layout. I'm not a fan of bungalows at all but having a bedroom between kitchen and dining room is odd (and could be noisy of someone wanted to sleep in but others were in the kitchen)
3. It doesn't look like a family home, which may remove many of your target buyers. All that paving and gravel in the garden would put me off (a friend with a very gravel-based garden keeps getting buyer feedback that gravel is bad!).
4. It is beautifully clean and tidy - which is great - but needs a lot doing: all those fitted wardrobes ripped out, bathroom and kitchen updated etc.
5. Too over-styled.

Maybe I'm just old but to me it doesn't look dated at all. I think it looks very nice. The one thing that would put me off if I were looking for a 3 bed property is that it looks like it's actually 2 bedrooms plus a 3rd added upstairs and the 3rd bedroom has no privacy as it has no door. Plus it's a bungalow and perhaps most people looking for 3 bedrooms don't want a bungalow.

It sounds like they've overpriced it. I sold my house last year. The kitchen had been fitted in the 1970s and was falling apart. The bathroom dated from the 1930s and was also falling apart. The whole house needed decorating and recarpeting. Some of the bedrooms had fitted 1970s wardrobes which looked dated. It didn't sell particularly easily but took 7 months. I think people looked at location, room sizes, price and what extensions and major alterations were permissible. If the price, location and room sizes are right, plenty of people will buy and won't be put off by decorations.

Drop the price. If it has been on the market for 5 years it clearly isn't going to sell at that price.

Is the problem that they think they will be in financial crisis if they can't sell at that price?

If so, you need to have a clear and honest discussion. It souns as though they may have been a bit ostrich like. However if they need your support financially you have to all be clear about what is going on.

Ok, read whole thread now. See you are going to have frank discussion with them. Do not lend them any money. Give them money if you want to and can but do not expect to see it again. Anybody who has had a house on the market for 5 years and can't see that it is priced incorrectly is not very good with money. They have also mismanaged their mortgage. This might not be their fault, but neither does it make them competent with money.

I don't think that tinkering/redecorating will make any difference. The house is simply over priced in a very slow market .Your PILS do however have some options to consider if they will not accept a drop in price:

The rental market is buoyant at the moment and has gone up by 400% since the down turn ( as % of housing stock).

People who would previously have bought can't get mortgages and are turning to renting as a mid to long term solution.

I would get an agent out to advise on likely rental income and what would need to be done to get the house in letting order.

This could give them a regular income to enable them to rent a smaller property to live in.

If they are willing to consider new build properties then one of the builders would do part exchange. This would be based on realistic value of the property ( at the lower end).

They may also be able to do a private shared equity arrangement where someone buys say 75% of the property just now and the rest at a later date. Your pils would retain a share of the property . A lawyer could advise on this.

They definitely need independent financial advice about their mortgage situation and I would absolutely not offer any financial help, You will be putting your own situation at risk and not doing them any favours in the long term.

This is an area which I am very familiar with so feel free to pm me if you would like more detailed info and advice.

Surely the mortgage situation means that they can't hold onto the house indefinitely? I think if the house has been on the market for five years but they refuse to acknowledge that there has been a housing slump, despite having this ticking timebomb of the mortgage (presumably quite a small one) to pay back, there isn't much helping them. Please do not give/lend them any money.

I haven't read the thread but these are my thoughts

Nothing about it puts me off. It appears well looked after and presented.

HOWEVER, it is incredibly dated and I would still want to rip everything out and start again. (Kitchen, bathroom, carpets, wardrobes with sindy doll wedding icing feature).

Therefore price wise I would value it the same as somewhere the same location and size with kitchen dropping to bits.

Hope this helps and that I haven't caused any offence.

I agree they are being delusional, the price is the problem and I wouldn't loan them any money because it's just going to get messier.

Are your PIL fit to work?

If so, they should be paying their own mortgage. If not they should consider bancruptcy.

Just to stick an oar in, the issue of bungalows not being family homes does not apply in Glasgow and Edinburgh because bungalows is mostly all there is to choose in some areas - miles and miles of them. We are in our second, and have converted them both.

It would be better to drop the price than to redo the decor extensively, because people on the whole probably want to have it done to their taste if they are buying a new place. The only things worth doing are changing all the curtains and blinds (for something a little less fussy), getting rid of the wallpaper, and taking those fitted wardrobes out. Perhaps jazz up the kitchen a little bit with nice accessories and make the place look a little younger. Maybe swap that gravel for some lawn. These are not super big jobs in themselves. You might need to get someone in to skim the plaster if the wallpaper has damaged the walls, but that is a quick job for a professional.

I don't get this 'the bathroom and kitchen and carpets NEED to be changed'. They are not to my taste but are perfectly livable with if the house is otherwise OK. I'm not sure what happened to people just living with stuff until they get enough money to do up a room.

However they need to drop the price to offers over 280,000. Houses with a garage and a smaller garden in the area have sold for less than they are asking for. And possibly they should market as a 3/4 bedroom.

Do NOT pay their mortgage unless you are happy to never see the money again.

They have to get real. Five years on the market with 7 agents is nuts. The price is way too high and they have to snap out of denial. It's not their house to be in denial about - they've only been paying the interest, they can't even afford that any more and they can't pay the principle if it doesn't sell. You have to talk some sense into them, drop the price and sell it.

God don't lend them money - you'd just be getting them deeper and deeper into debt.

Wouldn't lend them money. We have sold two of our houses that needed doing within the last year. One had had tennants for 8 years and needed gutting although was clean etc. asking price plus buyer paid all our fees.1st viewing.

Second house we built, was luxeryy, huge, new but basic, sold for way over agents valuation 1st viewer 1st day on market.
House is lovely and well maintained - only reason I can see it hasn't sold is price.
If dh won't listen to 7 agents over 5 years I'm not sure what you can do for pil but really would expect them to sink or swim on there own if they won't take advice.

Ok, I was bought up near there & am familiar with the area.

This house is seriously over-priced, no wonder it hasn't sold.

Gracepinkhill has given good advice - your PIL's need to start thinking out the box about different approaches to their financial situation. I would not personally lend them money in this situation - you will never see it back again. A radical approach is needed.

Very good advice from Grace, I would present you PILs with some different options.

Can you get a new mortgage if you are elderly though, even it its buy to let?

Your PILs are deluded about the monetary value of that house. They probably imagine that paying their mortgage is in your interests as it is protecting your future inheritance.

You may not be able to make them see sense but you should get your dh to discuss the options properly with you, so you can come to agreement and present a united front.

I'd arrange for new estate agents to value the property with fresh eyes considering the current economic climate.

It is dated and would need cash chucking at it. I wouldn't pay maximum price for something that needs work.

if your pil can't afford the mortgage, they can't afford to pay you back either. they're basically asking you to pay it full stop. so if you go down that road you won't get it back. they will plead pensioners poverty / no income and make you feel unreasonable for asking. as nice as they are the figures won't add up.

secondly that house is way over-priced. they made a mistake and now they need to face up to it.

it's not in tip top condition. only if you like 80's decor. a buyer is going to want to put their own stamp on it and that means more money. they'll want the kitchen to go for starters. that's very dated.

on the whole your pil have obviously kept it nicely. but i don't think it's in a condition to demand top price.

good luck!

Bear in mind that, at their age, life expectancy could well be another 30 years. Don't think that helping them out is a short term measure.

People will buy anything at the right price, so this isn't on at the right price, but of course you know this.

Rather than tackle your Pils talk to DH - get a clear idea of how long he anticipates subsidising his parents or if he is proposing a lump sum loan what will happen if the money runs out before the house is sold? Additionally point out that for every £1 you lend that is an extra £ that your pils need to add to their sale price.

Let your DH work out that bailing them out us simply not feasible and the you can start considering options

Have your PILs had other agents round for a chat? Who are they listening to on this? How fast is the local market? In a way, getting a variety of estate agents for an honest appraisal has to be the best bet as they will at least know the local market

As others say, if comparable places sell quickly, price is the issue. IME people study the sold prices on Rightmove before offering and want to get something at a price that makes sense compared to them - maybe show your inlaws the house price data for the area? The longer a house has been on the market the tougher buyers are about that, and who can blame them!