Best cheap way to make house more desirable to potential buyers?

[carriewintermeadow]

Our house is on the market, we need to sell for financial reasons.

unfortunately it's a bit tired, some cracks, grubby marks, dirty old carpet. However, the colours are neutral. We have no money at all, so can't decorate or put down new carpets.

What I can do is clean carpets, use polyfilla on cracks, touch up paint etc. What would you think?

We've had 4 viewings, the feedback was from one couple that it was too expensive (we were happy to accept lower offers, but council tax was too high for them), another two couples have said they would need to make changes but didn't state what or try to negotiate, the last viewers have no reason.

I will try and post a link to Rightmove.

In the meantime, would you be happy to take into account the fact it needs a coat of paint and new carpets if we said we were happy to look at offers below asking price? We have already reduced by £10k already.

We're in Yorkshire by the way.

[JeffreySadsacIsUnwell]

Spam spam spam spam...

Given the OP's financial circumstances 2 years ago, and her worries about repossession, I really hope she's sold it now.

[carriewintermeadow]

I don't think it smells of cats. I always open windows and doors well in advance of people coming, the cats go in the garden, the dog in the car and I put all their beds etc away in the garage.

[momb]

The house looks lovely on right move: some things which may be affecting the sale/desirability:
Does the house smell of cats? Really clean the carperts and use whatever cleaners you can to freshen up the place.
Clean the windows, tuck back the curtains to maximise light.
Wash down the walls if possible and certainly maike sure that all the gloss paint is gribby fingerprint free
One tin of white emulsion can brighten a whole house if you paint the ceilings!
Talking of which: is that stains on the ceiling in the penguin bedroom?
Make sure the hosue smells fresh and looks bright and clean and you can get away with most other issues.
good luck.

[bilbodog]

the dreaded estate agent again - have you checked on rightmove to see what your local competition is? This is the best way to see if your house is priced correctly? Put yourself in the shoes of a potential buyer, with that amount of money to spend, then look at all the houses in the area that are available at the moment to buy (you could even be a bit cheeky and go and look at some of them) - see how yours compares in its size, rooms and general decor. I agree with all the others earlier who said that otherwise it looks fine. A few fresh flowers or plants strategically placed - and how about some pretty cushions that you can take with you?

[joanofarchitrave]

OK, I would ask the estate agent for more pictures to show the other bathrooms?

[carriewintermeadow]

Sadly the mortgage rescue scheme, where the government buy your house, no longer exists as of March 2014 .

[happybubblebrain]

And plants. And lamps - lighting is very important.

[happybubblebrain]

I think it looks about the right price. It looks like a good family home with good decor. It does look a bit boring though. It needs a bit more creativity and interest - flowers, cushions, pictures, a bit more colour, a bit more personality and originality. This can be done very cheaply. For inspiration have a look on Rightmove at some of the properties in Brighton at the higher end of the market, loads of great ideas there.

[rockpinkpumpkin]

It was the citizens advice bureau that told me that (after I'd sold)
Even if that route doesn't work out I hope you manage to sell your house soon! !

[carriewintermeadow]

No, you are right, just one bathroom picture. But the others are shown on the floor plan and listed in the details. However it's possible people are missing it.

[joanofarchitrave]

oops sorry I totally missed that there was more than one bathroom!

Actually could it be that others are missing that too? Am I a complete dunce, or is there only one bathroom picture? Willing to accept that I may be a dunce...

[carriewintermeadow]

Joan how many bathrooms can they need? There is a family bathroom, an en suite and downstairs wc.

[carriewintermeadow]

rockpinkpumpkin, I've never heard of the local housing authority buying houses? I'll look into it

We are selling as dh had been out of work for a long time and I don't earn enough to cover the bills. We are in arrears and we need to sell before the building society decide to repossess

[joanofarchitrave]

I think your house looks lovely. I'm not sure where it sits with the rest of the housing stock locally to you - it would be amazing to have a detached house round here, but having said that the houses are fairly snugly arranged. TBH it sounds like the buyers were giving you fairly vague reasons and I'm sure the cleanup will help.

I do wonder if the 'would have to do work' comments meant they were looking for more than one bathroom? I certainly wouldn't expect anything of the sort at that price but don't know what other houses locally have.

[rockpinkpumpkin]

I'm assuming your financial situation has taken a bad turn? ( hope you don't mind me asking)
Happened to me...basically dh walked out & refused to pay mortage.
What I wish I'd known was that I could have sold the house to the local housing authority and stayed there.
(Don't know if that helps at all.)
I like your house a lot. I agree with the changing of the pink bedspread to blue, and removing the empty pots, but I'd be overjoyed to live there!!!!

[TranquilityofSolitude]

I know they're cheaper, but I think it might be for a reason! We had a lot of viewings. Our first sale fell through and Preston Baker managed to sell it again within a week. I'm not saying they're perfect but they were proactive.

I do think it's hard to sell a house of that type there. We had the same problem. There are loads of new houses for people who want them, which makes the 'nearly new' less desirable. Also, there's little employment locally to support the middle market houses. I hope your luck turns soon :)

[carriewintermeadow]

Tranquillity, I'm using Stephensons as they gave me a very good rate, much much cheaper than the other agents. The price we originally marketed at was what was quoted by several agents. We have since reduced by £10k. Yes I know the house over the road sold for £183k, it was on the market for years. Next door to us - also 4 bed - sold for a lot more over a year ago (£210k or similar).

I guess we will have to reduce again, but are able to wait a few weeks and hope for more viewings.

[Bragadocia]

So it looks like no. 22 sold for 183k last December, marketed at offers over 190k, and it seems to be a similar layout to yours. It looks about the same state of repair, though pictures can be deceiving!

Zoopla says house prices in your postcode are 5.51% up on a year ago, so that would make about 190k seem likely. A year ago, however, the mortgage lending criteria wasn't so strict, so there may be fewer buyers at your level.

I think it might be priced too high. Did the EA suggest this value, or is it what you wanted to achieve?

[TranquilityofSolitude]

Do you think the problem might be the agent? We moved from Selby earlier this year and used Preston Baker. I wouldn't have chosen Stephensons to be honest.

[LaurieFairyCake]

Will they change to interest only rather than force a sale? I know someone who did that and got their MP involved.

Could you rent it out? We're thinking about doing that with ours next year.

Would it be possible for you to rent somewhere cheaper than your mortgage?

[carriewintermeadow]

No, sadly not a stealth boast No one wants our house

Unfortunately we do have to sell. Building society won't change to interest only and benefits payment doesn't even cover the whole interest, let alone the repayment part.

[LaurieFairyCake]

There's nothing wrong with your house or the price, you've just missed the boat for this year.

It's very cheap and as you say there's nothing else on that's comparable

Can you renegotiate your mortgage or go interest only and stay? Can you afford to stay til next Spring and then put it back on?

Do you have to sell? I just can't imagine not being able to afford somewhere so cheap - if you've lost your job benefits will cover the interest after 6 months I think

What about renting out a room or 2?

[Mostlyjustaluker]

Yy to taking up rug even if just for photos.

[whataboutbob]

Is this a stealth boast? It s lovely.

[carriewintermeadow]

Yes I can take up the rug

There are no identical houses on the market at the moment. There is a 4 bed house in the village on the market for £30k less than ours but it has no garage and the 4th bedroom is tiny. The 4 beds with garage are all more expensive than ours.

At the price it's on for I would expect people to at least come and look and offer lower, but that's not happening, which makes me think the house is putting them off. As stated above, two of the viewers said they would want to do work to it - but the house is only 9 years old!