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What's wrong with my house?

165 replies

Namechangeforhousey · 24/01/2017 17:18

Name changed for obvious reasons. House has been on the market for 2 months and no one has enquired about it after seeing it online. We've had a couple of time wasters sent by the EA, but no real interest.
We put it down to Christmas quietness but other houses have been listed and sold in the meantime in the same price bracket.
Any tips as to what is wrong with either the house or the photos?

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-45647871.html

OP posts:
SantasLittleMonkeyButler · 24/01/2017 19:29

At last! An OP asking a question about a house in an area I actually know 😀.

It's a lovely house OP, but you really can't compare yours to any of the 3 storey houses on your estate price wise. Where I live (not far away), the houses seem identical - I have been in both the two storey, 3 bed (like yours) and the small ish three storey, 3 beds you have linked to. Whether they actually are much bigger in square footage I don't know, but the 3 storey definitely feel bigger. Around here the 3 storey sell for at least £50k more than the 2 storey.

So, for me, it's price. Sorry.

PossumInAPearTree · 24/01/2017 19:31

Or 5k more but conservatory, study and utility semi.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-57787435.html

witwootoodleoo · 24/01/2017 19:31

The bathroom would put me off as it appears to just have a little shower head over the bath that you couldn't actually shower under? I'd expect most people would be factoring in the cost of a new kitchen and bathroom so I'd expect the price to reflect that- if it's priced top of the range for a house of that size in the area I'm not surprised it won't sell.

In terms of cosmetic tweaks I'd move the armchair and take the pink cushions off the sofa and chair as they draw all the attention to them rather than the wider room. I would dress the kitchen window with a blind or at least some plants. I would move the chest of drawers in your room as it looks in the photo like there's no room to walk between them and the bed, implying the room is small.

Is there any parking?

The agent really needs to put room dimensions on the plan - puts me off looking at a house if they're not there.

SciFiFan2015 · 24/01/2017 19:32

Based on photos alone it doesn't look like you have a proper shower! Yes the description gives more information - good to see a proper shower. That was my first impression. Good luck.

namechangedtoday15 · 24/01/2017 19:34

The 3 storey houses look almost double the size of yours. They are much more workable in terms of family living and both (on an initial review) much nicer in terms of decor. If they are reasonably priced, I'd expect yours to be a good £40-50k lower.

LetThereBePeace · 24/01/2017 19:36

Is the bed in your bedroom a double or king size? It looks like there isn't a lot of space around it so if the latter, can you borrow a double (or get a cheep/free one from a local forum)? Also, could the dining area take a bigger table? If so, again can you obtain a bigger one to demonstrate that? It does look beautiful.

LillianGish · 24/01/2017 19:37

It's always price. There's nothing obviously wrong with it - you can nitpick about how the furniture is arranged, but whoever buys it could move in and live in it - so if no one is interested in evencoming to have a look it is too expensive.

TurkeyDinosaurs · 24/01/2017 19:37

It's too expensive. I wouldn't price it at any more than £160k.

witwootoodleoo · 24/01/2017 19:39

Re your question about the 3rd bedroom definitely present it as a bedroom and not an office - otherwise people may think there is no room for a bed in there.

Amazed that they charged you for the photographs - I've never had to pay an agent for professional photographs and these are in no way professional - I could have done better with my camera phone

VeritysWatchTower · 24/01/2017 19:39

It's not the houses that are currently up for sale which is the issue, the issue is the sold houses on your road. On Rightmove on the right hand side "properties sold nearby."

It lists all properties near to you (you can widen the search) but the one that I assume is the same as yours sold for a lot less.

Either this one was the show home or someone knows exactly how to decorate a house.

I think your lounge looks lovely in terms of the wallpaper and the curtains but the bright pink cushions do not go at all. This is also true of the dining room curtains. They may look lovely in real life but on the photos they look garish. I would buy something cheap to replace them (Argos/Ikea) but tone in with the lounge. The kitchen is in a similar colour scheme to the lounge anyway.

Agree there needs to be photo of bed 3. I would leave it as an office. You should be appealing to young families with one child or a couple either young or much older.

PossumInAPearTree · 24/01/2017 19:40

How many valuations did you get and what prices did the other EAs suggest?

Kirsty and Phil say no viewings is down to being overpriced. Viewings and no offers is down to something wrong with the house/immediate area.

Mungobungo · 24/01/2017 19:41

My personal opinion (for what it's worth)

Rearrange the lounge, turn the whole lot around, have chair or sofa in the window alcove and to elsewhere. It's an awkward shaped room and the chair in front of the door makes it look even more awkward/cramped.

The kitchen is very uninspiring. Ok, the units themselves aren't particularly pretty, but it's so bare that I can't imagine anyone cooking a meal in there. It looks unused and therefore unusable.

Bathroom, as others have said have a pic of the shower too.

Re-write of the blurb so that it includes room dimensions and cuts out all the bullshitty sales patter 'deceptively spacious' is merely another way of saying 'compact and bijou' aka tiny, pokey, small.

I think the dad's room os actually the only one with any character and get a photo of the box room/study put in - it's important! There's nothing wrong with a box room, but I find that by not including a pic, you're giving the impression that it's not worth looking at.

Inject a wee bit of personality/comfort/homeliness. You don't have to go mad, but people want to see a home, not a stark box.

Oh, and definitely look at the price.
You either want to sell or you want the higher price. If the former, drop the price as it seems very overpriced for the size and shape of the rooms. If it's the latter, you're on a hiding to nothing as the house won't seek if the price is too high. The fact that you've had no interest tells me that people are being put off when comparing price to photos.

Also, for some reason, EA's lately have gone mad on 'arty' waist height photos which just show corners of rooms. Get them redone, from eye level and in a way which shows the sizes/dimensions of the rooms. And shows the house off in a good light.

All in all I think you've been let down by your EA. perhaps try someone else?

Hav you thought about doing an open house?

Somerville · 24/01/2017 19:41

It's nothing to do with decor or furniture placement IMO and everything to do with price. There are houses very close by that are 20k less and 3 bed semis or townhouses. They also have square footage on floorplans and look to be more spacious than yours.
Yours is terraced and has no square footage listed - it looks small from the plans though bigger from the photos and your ea may be doing you a disservice by not adding square footage measurement.

No interest from online means either hideous (which it isn't) or over priced.

BaronessEllaSaturday · 24/01/2017 19:43

Kitchen is off putting because I can't see how it would work for me. Very little storage and where is the fridge freezer

Bluntness100 · 24/01/2017 19:54

Our agent did this to us , telling us it was worth x, I argued at the time as too high, he argued back and sent me lists of other properties that sold in the area. Queue two months and no viewings. Dropped the price minorly, as he argued so hard, still not enough of a drop in my view, again, no views, dropped it to where I thought it should be , sold it that week. Some agents are just twats. They try to drive the house prices up and think only of their commission, and wish to keep stock on their books. They attract clients to use them by over inflating the price.

If no one comes in it's because it's too expensive in comparison to what else is available in the local housing market. Even the worst shit hole sells for the right price and this house is immaculately presented. The kitchen is unappealing due to the colour scheme but it's not bad , And people would over look that for the right price. It's also very small dimensions bedroom wise and is pretty much a two bed and a box room. There will be a demand for that, but for the right price.

Look at what else has sold locally to get an idea of where it should be positioned. You can ask what you want for it, but it's really only worth what someone will pay, and at this price range they don't even want to look.

Sorry op, drop the price if you want to sell. I'd go between 150 -160. Your first hurdle is to get them through the door. The second hurdle is your house to be better than the others they have viewed.

Falalalafffffffttt · 24/01/2017 19:59

It's a nice house. I can't comment on price but I think your photos have let you down in the first instance. Looking at the other property with a similar layout to yours I could "see" the flow of the rooms and therefore imagine walking through them. By showing a room twice from different angles but with some aspects repeated allows potential buyers to better visualise the space. Your bathroom photos are particularly bad. My first thought was "urge, needs replacing" but if it's the same as the other house's then it is fine, just needs someone with a better eye.
I agree with others about the lounge and showing third bedroom. Also, could you take a photo of the back of the house from the end of the garden?

Falalalafffffffttt · 24/01/2017 20:00

Urgh not urge!

PovertyJetset · 24/01/2017 20:08

its overpriced

You bought it for 153 in 2008 which was the peak of the property bubble. The house has no value added since then and it's overpriced now.

Reduce the price, get better pictures done. Dress it a little, it looks bare and harsh and cheap. Can you tart up the kitchen?

Sorry to be blunt, but if you want to sell then you need to get realistic.

ShatnersBassoon · 24/01/2017 20:17

It's the price. I agree that the photos make it look poky, but most people looking to buy in that area would have an idea of what to expect from every house style on that estate, so if it was even vaguely interesting and affordable, you'd be getting viewers.

There's nothing wrong with the house. It is what it is and there's nothing you could do to make it live up to the valuation. Knock the price down and see if it becomes more appealing to your target market.

Longdistance · 24/01/2017 20:29

Right, here goes, I work within EA so know something...

Rearranging the tv to the other corner would be handy, as the sofa looks odd at that angle. If it was by the other sofa, it would look great.

The first photo of the house doesn't look central and well presented, so get your EA to come take another photo.

The shower is in an odd place, could do with being high on the wall.

Other than that, it's fine.

Is the price where it should be in your area/street too?

SingaSong12 · 24/01/2017 20:46

Don't know about the price. Agree with PP comments about the photos. Just to add what is the blue thing on the photo of the garden

mrsBeverleygoldberg · 24/01/2017 20:52

Get the word deceptively removed, it implies your house is small and the estate agent is a liar.
Move the sofa away from the door to opposite the fire. It will create a 'hall' and more cosy looking sitting area.
Super clean, I'm a bit jealous!
Are you getting viewings? If not the price is too high.

Namechangeforhousey · 24/01/2017 21:20

Just wrote a long reply and then MN broke!
Virtually unanimous on the price then, I wish the EA hadn't got our hopes up about what we could achieve.
Another EA recommended £165k but we went with this one for a few reasons, although the price was obviously a big factor.
Verity yes that one was beautifully decorated and it had a garage. The seller also needed a quick sale so it was listed for under market value according to the EA who sold it, not the same as ours.
Santa yes it's rare but I love it when that happens too!
Poverty nope, guess again.
This is the most recent one which sold and is closest to our house www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/detailMatching.html?prop=57166552&sale=25424385&country=england
The blue thing in the garden is a paddling pool!
For the PP who asked about the bedroom furniture - Dunelm, still available Grin
I'm going to have to make a long list...

OP posts:
Namechangeforhousey · 24/01/2017 21:27

We've had 5 viewings, 1 offer of £172k which we accepted but they withdrew it the next day never to be heard from again Angry
No constructive feedback from any of the viewings - they all "love" the house but it's not in Sutton Coldfield, not next to the train station, not enough room to park a motorhome... Hmm

OP posts:
Imknackeredzzz · 24/01/2017 21:30

No viewings equals price problem. It's really that basic