Trying to sell our property and would welcome some constructive criticism/ Feedback

[dtyzer]

Hi Everyone. I'm new on here, albeit have read previous posts from others. We are going through the dreadful period of trying to sell our property and wanted to try and obtain some additional feedback as to why we have had no viewers at all. We have had the house on the market since the start of August, thinking that we would have had at least a couple of viewings, but since going on the market we haven't had a peep.

Our house is in the middle of a village where the majority of properties are smaller terraced houses so if you were to do a property value on zoopla the average comes out pretty low in comparison to the estate agent valuations.

We had 6 estate agents see the property and went with the top end figure that we had from most of them.

I was wondering if anyone would be kind enough to give their opinion on the matter to see if there is anything more that we could possibly do to help move things along.

The property is listed here www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-27688524.html?premiumA=true

Thanks in advance

Your agent needs to start doing some work - for example ask people who they've sent the details to why they do not wish to view the property.

It is a lovely house though!

A bit strange that the floorplan doesn't show any door to get into bedroom 4,how is it accessed?

Hi throckenholt

The streetview view is further down the road as if you head towards Stockport Road. I agree that this too needs sorting.

yours is very pretty and cute, nicely presented but seems to be same price as this:
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-20784282.html
i dont know the area but it looks like same road but masses more space and garden seems less bare in the other one. Yours should be cute and cottagey but the fence across the middle of front loses some of the cottagey prettiness for me. Your kitchen diner (dont like wall betw kitchen and dining area) and bathroom are tastefully done, your decor all looks good and 3 of the beds are a good size though there are no measurement (or door) for bed4 so I am guessing it's 3 beds and a boxroom which you can't access????

It's a higher price so maybe it doesn't suit a family with 3 kids on a budget but should be marketed as 3 beds and study/bed4 though put a bloody door in. That's why I struggle with cottagey properties.

Agree with everyone else. It is beautifully presented and looks like a lovely house, so if you are not even getting anyone through the door, it must be a lot overpriced or you have a really, really terrible agent.

presentation is beautiful, since you cannot do anything about the location, i fear the price is too high...

I have just been bimbling around on streetview (why have googlemaps made that harder to do now ?!).

Is it the one nearly oppostire Higham Lane with the woodland behind it ? If it is, then I would change the outside shot to one coming from the Stockport Road direction - sort of from outside the red brick house with the double bays on the other side of the road. It makes it look far more attractive.

But you have a lovely patio right outside the door. I would def sacrifice the side one. Also noted no access to Bed 4 on floorplan? Has I would clear the weeds in the treacle brow- really small thing but your hose is so neat and tidy they stick out like a sore thumb to me. Crucially you haven't told us what the price range was I we talking £10k or more?

overmydeadbody & Badroly.

I have never noticed that re the doorway to bedroom 4. Its actually right to the top of the stairs. Again maybe another thing to put off people. I must admit the chap that came round to do the EPC and floorplan littery jogged round my property whilst tapping a few times on a phone app!!! Wasnt too chuffed, however this was paid for by the Estate Agent so didnt take bother me too much.

I have to ask.. is that a toilet in the kitchen or machines in the bathroom?

I'm In my phone so can't tell from the photos.

Ok, here goes...

On seeing the first photo of the exterior of your house, I thought it was a tiny 1-2 bed semi. It doesn't look at all like a 4-bed detached. I don't understand the fence down the middle of the front garden?

The photography is pretty poor, IMO. All the rooms look dark and shadowy. I bet they aren't in real life. Was it a professional photographer, or an estate agent? Look at photo 27 - it looks as if your front door is bright red and yellow.

On the whole, presentation is good. The photos aren't. To be nit-picky:

• move the childrens' toys off the lawn and cut the grass *remove the small box which is on the floor next to the trunk in the living room
• I wouldn't include the photo of the utility room at all. (We didn't include a photo of the utility room in our house details).
• Photo 13 shows a more-or-less empty room. You need to give it a defined purpose - playroom, study...
• The little girl's room looks pretty cluttered. At the very least, move the toys off the floor. I would also advise removing the wall stickers if possible.
• The 3d floorplans are fantastic - I haven't come across those before. But how on earth do you get into the playroom? It looks as if it is only accessible from outside the house. And bedroom 4 doesn't appear to have any doors at all?!

Can you move the fence that's cutting the frontage in half? I suspect you won't be eating on the patio any time soon :)

Looks lovely but a few things probably affecting viewers are because you priced the highest valuation chances are you might be missing out on viewers , our estate agent said always price slightly lower to get people through the door and it worked we got over home report price a house exact the same for sale around the corner has been on 3 months now and they had a higher asking price.

Also the toilet / utility room, the room confuses me is it a toilet with a washing machine or a utility room with a toilet.

Hi firsttimemama

We are south westerly facing so get the sun most of the day in the garden but runs from the side of the property to the rear throughout the day which is why we originally had the second patio area, but duly take note on this matter. Seems to be a running theme :)

We have also cleared all the weeds for most of Treacle Brow. We have actually taken more photos since doing all the extra work (weeding, redecorating, new furniture, more homely Nik Naks) and sent them to the agent asking if this would be worthwhile adding to Right move. Their response wasn't the best I must admit, stating that the small changes we have done wouldn't make a difference in selling the property.

I spotted that there were mistakes with the floorplan - no doors to Bed4 or the playroom - but anyone with an ounce of intelligence would realise that is a mistake with the way the floorplan is drawn, and not a reason to reject the very idea of going to look at a house!

I do wonder about the fence at the front of the house too though.

Also maybe too many photos - be really critical on which ones. Don't necessarily use the estate agent ones. When we sold my mum's house the estate agent photos really didn't do it justice. We took our own ones with a digital camera, picked the best and mailed them through to the estate agent. Big tip - use a really good light if taking photos on a dull day (we used something like [[http://www.screwfix.com/p/rechargeable-portable-li-ion-led-site-light-240v-10w/61325 this] - be careful to check for casting shadows though).

gah - can't do links today !

this

Just to emphasise - take it off the market for a week or two (change estate agents if you think worth it), and then remarket it - it will then be more prominant on the for sale sites. We were advised to do this by estate agents when selling my mum's house after she died (she had had it up for sale for a couple of years - middle of the recession).

Agree with everyone about the front view.

I would say that this is not just the photo, it is what people will see when you drive past.

If I was lucky enough to have a four bedroom detached house, and pay the cost of one - I'd want it to look like one. And it just doesn't.

The house is gorgeous by the way.

I have no idea of prices in your neck of the woods but it might be overpriced compared to what else is available. A house is never worth more than a buyer is prepared to pay for it and you aren't even getting viewings.

Others have mentioned the fence at the front and the fact that it makes a detached property look like a semi. I would say your house has no doorstep appeal. The fence needs to go, you need some bay trees, a path, etc.

The other thing that really strikes me is the fact that a four bed house has only one bathroom and I'm not sure that's acceptable in this day and age and further I can't see a lavatory downstairs either. There's a playroom which seems to indicate young children but no downstairs loo for emergencies, hand washing, etc.

Whilst I could see beyond the doorstep appeal which could probably be put right quite easily, fitting in another bathroom and a downstairs loo would be a more expensive problem and I'd be looking at a chunk off the price for that if you have gone towards the top end of estimates.

I thought that it was a semi from the first photo. Could you remove the dividing fence? I bet people don't even bother to read the details - just assume that the "detached" bit in the title is wrong.

I don't like the toilet in the utility room. At least photograph it from an angle where I won't see it. It might stop me viewing a house, but wouldn't necessarily put me off buying IYSWIM.

What is the very long thin room with the TV and the toy kitchen? It could do with with a seat or something.

I think having a door on floorplan is better than none at all. Have just realised you have a fireplace on the wall between kitchen and diner so there is a purpose, not obv from floorplan. suggest you talk to agent and they rework that floorplan. Seriously I've never seen one with NO door before, Imagined it as some sort of annex or only accessible through bed 3. I hate 3 d plans. It confuses the measurements for me and I expect it to have features such as a stove and doors but I think the program can only put a door in if there's enough space.

Also as a family with young kids the patio is lovely but looks like a toddler could fall off it in shot 23 - which is generally unflattering, I'd prob remove it and aim for about 8 - 12 photos total. What is photo 16 of? is it part of the playroom? I thought the loo was in the utility room but it's not shown on floorplan.

Has the area got much movement? it could be that there aren't many people looking. I think price can only be sustained if its a desirable area as it might be that families are looking for space over beauty if it's not a prettified area.

get them to take better photos at a better time of day. And put every light on on the house when they do it.

I know that is the advice - but seeing lights on always makes me think it must be dark and need lights on. Really puts me off.

Love the 3d plans but the playroom and bedroom 4 don't appear to have doors? Or is the playroom only accessible from the outside?

I love lots of pics and between pics and floorplans I would decide whether to bother viewing or not. The order of the pictures is terrible though - it makes it really confusing and I had to check the floor plan before I could figure out how the house worked and I am still not sure.
Get the agent to reorder them as though you were viewing the house. Facade, hallway, living room, kitchen diner, terrace, garden, then upstairs. If you have changed the property then get those pics updated.
Do you have a driveway to the left of the house? Your house is unusual in layout - a site plan showing that your garden is on the side of the house and not the rear would be useful.
Why is the cellar not on the floor plans? That's a brilliant thing to have. How big is it?
Mostly though I would hang tight, take it off the market and remarket it in the Spring. There are two houses on at £325k which look visibly more spacious but have rubbish gardens. Maybe that's your selling point as your house is lovely.

didn't even realise there was a cellar. Would be shouting about that.