Selling our house- give your opinions.......

[allotmentgirl82]

Our house has been on the market for two weeks.
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-40278814.html?premiumA=true

We have had two viewings so far, no offers.
First viewer-didn't ask much about house, Second viewer- property developer-said house would need kitchen and bathroom ripping out and didn't want to insult me with his offer!
OH is finishing off painting the front of the house as we speak.
We live near a university and houses are usually bought to let out to students.
The EA told us to put this price on it to help it sell faster.
What are your opinions of our house/price?
What else can we do to encourage more viewers???

We want to move to Cornwall- OH starts his new job on the 2nd September- he'll be staying in our tiny caravan until the house sells and we can move down there.

It needs more colour. Cushions for the sofa, a tablecloth for the dining table and cushions for the bedroom. You could even borrow from friends/family for the pictures and viewings.

RandomMess- ours is bigger than the house Aris linked, but there's looks better :(
We also have a cellar that is under the Lounge and hallway. Kids are emptying it at the moment!
I think I've got lots to do this week- not easy with 3 kids but i'll try my best.
Net curtains are about to go in the bin :)

I would think it needs a new kitchen and some work in the bathroom to even out the floor, get rid of the laminate as not appropriate in a room that gets wet.

Otherwise it seems ok, is it priced right?

I would guess that your house is a bit overpriced. When I click on "see similar properties" most of the ones around £100k are 3 bed. It also seems unlikely to me that anyone would spend £100k on a house and then £30k making it to their taste as this is a fortune compared to the original £100k.

The photos are terrible. Tell your agent to take better ones before you do anything else!!!

I'm originally from Preston and know whereabouts you are. I think your asking price is fair for the area but to achieve something near it you just need to dress up inside a bit better. Declutter, lighten and brighten. Turn all the lights on and retake your photos. Take your own and ask the agent to use yours.

Agree you should get rid of the nets even just for viewing. Bathroom looks ok to me and pic makes it look a decent size.
Dining room looks ok. Kitchen just needs everything taking off the surfaces completely. Where you've got dark paint can you paint over it with something pale? If you're opposite B&Q that's handy lol!
I'd even go so far as to move as much furniture out of the bedrooms as you can.

Make your agent work for you - get people in through the door. It only takes one person to love it and buy it so concentrate on getting the viewings in. Be really positive about it when they come over - sell a lifestyle as Kirstie and Phil would say!

If your market is landlords for students they will not care about decor but will look for number of rooms, it is possible to buy a 3 bed at your price point.

If you are selling to a young couple they will look for kitchens and bathrooms, I think your bathroom is OK - it is a great size actually - but the kitchen lets you down. poplle assume that a kitchen costs more to fit that it does so they will be knocking a chunk of your asking price.

I suspect a family may be tempted by a third bedroom and a better kitchen. They will also want to see an outside space.

I do think your dining room is a great selling feature.

Is the cellar full height - what could it be used for? Could you dress it and then have a photo of that as well?

What does your house have that makes it worth more than the cheaper 2 beds, is it just because it's bigger?

Photos aren't brilliant and why no floor plan?

I think it looks a very nice house indeed. I certainly wouldn't spend the money on fitting a new kitchen in today's housing market. Perhaps a few cushions in the lounge would be nice and other bits and pieces a la House Doctor! But I'm sure a buyer will be along shortly. But if it's the Landlord market your aiming at then I suppose it's rental value they will be looking at. And two weeks is no time at all.

Also take down the cotbed in your room - but dc either in a travel cot that can go away for viewings or let her sleep on the mattress only and stow it away under your bed for viewings.

You could do the same with the boys room, use the low bed and put the matress from the midi under neath for viewings. Time to do some car boot sales and sell as many toys and clutter as you can!!! Or could you borrow another double bed for the 2nd bedroom to dress it that way?

Picture 1

I don't like the photo of the outside - the net curtain in the window above the front door was what I noticed first; I'd try and change what you have got in the windows and certainly get rid of the net curtains if you can.

Can you paint just above the front door? It looks like it needs doing (maybe that is just the photo) but it'd make the house look more looked after? First impressions and all that. Same with the window ledges, paint them so they are not different colours.

In all the rooms, put the lights on.

Picture 2:

Can you brighten the room up by adding some brightly coloured cushions to the sofa, maybe a bright rug as well?

Picture 3:

Sort out the curtains so they are the same on both sides of the window - either both tied back or both down. Can you put some flowers on the table, or the fireplace to brighten it up? Maybe a table cloth on the table? It looks a bit dark and drab.

Picture 4:

The kitchen does look a little dated but that can be put right. Can you put away any of the stuff on the work surfaces as they make it look smaller and like there is less space than there probably is. Can you empty the corner cupboard without the door and leave it empty to make it look like there is more space? Maybe just a small plant or something in there?

Picture 5:

Take the seat out of the bath and put something on the window sill to brighten it up. Also, some curtains or a blind would maybe make it look less severe? It's a good size room. Maybe have a chair on the raised up bit? I've always wanted a bathroom with room for a chair but that is just me

Picture 6:

Move the clutter from under the bed so it doesn't make people think that there is not enough storage space

Picture 7:

tidy the curtains and move the boxes off the top of the wardrobe. Put a picture or a mirror over the bed?

it must be fairly big if there are 5 of you living in it
agree that the photos don't really do the rooms justice
the one of the lounge just shows me your sofa
the one thing that will stop it selling is the price
we took 2 years to sell our last house
we got greedy and went with the highest valuation
we turned down an offer within the first month, 2 years later we accepted an offer that was exactly the same
with hindsight, we had over-priced the house and should have accepted the first offer, but you live and you learn
if you really want to move to cornwall then you need to realistic in your asking price

Also, the number of photos isn't rationed. It's far better, imo, to have two or three pics of each room so I can mentally stand in the middle of it. Your rooms look far more cramped than they are, I can't see any radiators and have no image of how the rooms join together. Pictures of the garden, too, please!

Make your agent label the photos on Rightmove. Can't believe how many don't, and I'm counting power sockets to try & guess which room I'm looking at! Living flame fire? If it's good enough to mention, it's good enough to take a photo with it on :)

It might be an idea to stick a hanging basket, window box, coach lamp or something out the front, so yours looks the nicest.

It's a good idea to have a floor plan, too. I like to see how many cupboards there are, what's at the top of the stairs, etc.

I agree the kitchen and bathroom need redoing and the child's bedroom looks tiny with so many beds in it. Lounge has a great floor.

What state is the yard in? Worth a photo?
Can you get the sitting room photo retaken - suspect it is much bigger than the photo leads you to beleive.

Any chance of shifting the furniture around (or temporally taking on bed out) of the kids bedroom - again, it should be bigger than it looks, but it is also full of furniture.

I agree about the kitchen maybe needing replacing.. Bathroom looks fine to me. But then my kitchen and bathroom got ripped out, the fireplaces I'd stripped repainted, and my house sold on, so maybe I'm not the best to be commenting!

Agree get rid of nets, and DH will have done a great improvement painting the outside.

No 19 sold for 78k 18 months ago. How have house prices been since then round you? Round here they haven't risen that much, but maybe 19 needed lots of work, or was smaller?

Within 1/4 mile of you (and that could be the difference between desirable and not), rightmove shows me

66k, in desperate need of modernisation

three bed

two bed on with 3 different agents - so desperate to shift

needs modernisation but extra bedroom

For slight more than you are asking,

extra bed, no ideas on interior

I'd buy yours over this

Outside: get rid of all net curtains. Do you have space on those top windowledges to put a cheerful windowbox with flowers? Or could you put a hanging basket with bright flowers up?

All rooms: put lights ON when you take pics. That will warm things up a bit.

Living room: split up sofa to go on opposite sides of the fireplace. Get rid of pink box by sofa. Put nice (red?) cushions on sofa. You will need to be very careful about the angle you shoot this room from - the wrong angle will make it look horrendous.

Dining room: make sure curtains are not skew-wiff. Put pretty tablecloth on table.

Kitchen: clear all surfaces (inc cooker and windowledge, top of cupboard) of stuff and hang bright tea towel from cooker. Can you get a door for that cupboard? Could you put up some bright curtains?

Bath: clear stuff out of bath.

Kids room: take up everything you can see on the floor and under the bed and take that hanging thing down. Make beds.

Main bed: I think I would honestly repaint this in a warm cream and get new curtains and a few pretty cushions on the bed. Move stuff on top of wardrobes. It looks very cold and the curtains look very scrappy and studenty atm.

I agree with all the other suggestions re the nets/curtains/clearing clutter but yet making it more homely too.
The bathroom floor level does jump out at me, could you put a towel rail on it to give that part of the room a use?
This kind of thing
www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/8329350.htm

I would also tidy up the window sills and maybe even paint the front door in navy or black. And add a pic of the back yard if you can.

And yy to sorting out the master as this should be a selling point.
Paint the blue wall neutral, neaten up the curtains and get some cheap but nice plain bedding and a bedspread. Also lose the boxes on wardrobe top and move out the wooden trunk if you can.

Oooh, a towel rail is a good idea - with a big bath sheet and a smaller towel in a contrasting colour folded a la Anthea Turner on it for photos and viewing purposes only

Can you add floor plans.

Look at this two bed very close to you and listed for less. This is a really good example of how to present a house like yours.

I have read all your comments so far and I'm taking each on board.
The net curtains have gone in the bin.
We are thinking of re-arranging the sofa in the front room. Should we take out the corner piece and put a red table there with a lamp. Or should we take out the corner piece and join the end pieces together along one wall, with a coffee table (out the main bedroom) in the middle of the room?
Dining table has a tablecloth on it and a bowl of fruit.

More jobs will get done tomorrow. Thanks for your help so far :)

I would go for the option that lets you get that big wood trunk out of the bedroom. Put the joined end pieces against either the window wall, or the wall opposite that - if you have it facing the fireplace the room will feel smaller.

I think if possible I would change both the downstairs curtains too for something more colourful - I know it is a pain but they are very dark and are contributing to gloom.