Honest advice on this house

[vulpeslagopus]

Have name changed for this:

This is my parents' house.....i lived there for many years and it was a wonderful family home and still is when I visit with my own dcs.....

However, me and my siblings have all left home so they are looking to downsize. House been on market for almost 3yrs and not sold, they have already reduced asking price.

They want honest opinions on what they could do......

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-52303834.html

Throw in a free live in cleaner..that's a fucking huge house,I wouldn't be able to keep that clean,not in a month of Sunday's

It's a lovely house, but the front garden could do with a bit of tlc. Maybe for this reason currently lacks what the Kirsty would call kerb appeal?

It's a really nice house. It's hard to know what to suggest other than asking agents for feedback.

What else does that budget get in that area?

Hmmm I don't know? It's a gorgeous house! Pricing?

It's an amazing house, but fairly unique I would imagine, maybe houses like this just take an age to sell?

This is a similar area and price

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-26983474.html

Don't think there is anything they can do, it's a lovely house, but no many people want five bedroom houses do they so they might just need to wait a while before a seller comes along.

The deco is really not my taste but I have to say, the rooms looked really big, plenty of space and very well balanced (i.e. Not one really huge rooms but the others are tiny etc...)

Knowing the area and the size, my first reaction would be that it would be within the right sort of price.
Is there some land with it, garden etc??

It's a beautiful house, but very niche. Someone will either want it or they won't. Reading that the heating alone will cost 4k a year before you've used the cooker or put on a light is a reality check. Plus big money for upkeep and maitenence, it's got to be someone extremely well off who buys it.

There's not a lot they can do I'd say - anyone buying is going to want to do their own thing so no point in changing kitchen or bathrooms

YY about the garden. The photos have been taken in wonder which will not have helped but you do need to have one where the garden is tidy and looking nice (it needs to be like this during the visits too)

Wow, amazing house. As a PP has suggested I think there are probably fewer buyers for such big houses so it just takes longer. If they're desperate, it's probably a case of dropping the price. Photos of the house/garden in Spring/Summer might be more appealing.

I agree, its niche
Someone will fall in love with it but maybe it's over priced?

It's lovely but if it hasn't sold then it is over-priced. There are several other big houses in the area much cheaper.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-55401919.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-37347885.html

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-40961686.html

Its beautiful, just gorgeous. Parts of it are a little dated. I don't know the area but I would hazard a guess that people with £750k to spend are not looking at the outskirts of Sunderland?? Is the local area busy / thriving - I am guessing (and please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong) that Newcastle and its suburbs are more of a draw than Sunderland now?

But as Kirsty always says a property that is priced realistically will sell. If its been on for 3 years, it would seem overpriced?

Have there been any offers in that time? How many viewings?

It's bloody gorgeous but I agree it's probably very niche.

I don't know the area at all but if it's not sold after 3 years, and assuming other properties have, then your parents probably need to drop the price further.

It's obviously a beautiful house. It could simply be location. Is it close to transport links? What's the local area like? I remember seeing, online, an actual castle somewhere up north that wouldn't sell... It was surrounded by a modern council estate on a kind of island of poshness :) No one wants to feel socially isolated. Equally, anyone with the money to buy and(importantly) maintain that kind of house can afford to be quite picky and it may be they prefer to buy something surrounded by fields or with room for horses etc.

Beautiful house. I don't think they are that comparable NameNot they look much more compact.

Although at the end of the day it always comes down to price.

I think it's a stunning house - especially love the entrance hall and staircase + stained glass windows. Here are the potential issues:

1. I'd want to refurbish it completely which would cost obscene amounts of money. Potential buyers might not be able to justify the costs as it seems to be a generally pretty cheap area and they wouldn't see a return on, say, 300k refurb.
2. The garden looks like it backs onto the road? How busy is it? People might not pay top whack as it might feel quite exposed. The least you could do is have a bigger, thicker hedge.
3. The house seems to be approached via a small side lane - not the grand entrance that potential buyers of mini-mansions might be after.

I think the setting, approach and garden make it a lot less desirable than the other house you linked.

I hope not to get flamed for the suggestion but it could be an idea to see if your parents could get a planning permission for converting it into smaller units - that would make it sellable to a developer.

Crossed with lots of people but having looked at Name's links i agree. Better presented, easier to maintain houses on for less...

Its a stunning house and i am quietly envious that was your family home.

I think its very reasonably priced but im in the south and that would buy you a three bed semi around here.

I think its abit of a mishmash of colours and styles but thats actually part of its charm for me.

sorry probably not helping.

get them to change estate agents for a start.

I don't know prices in that part of the world but we bought a property in not dissimilar condition and a similar size two years ago and 0.5 miles from stn. It's in Surrey and was less than twice the price.

Houses sell on location and price. I'm sorry op but it's very overpriced in my opinion.

Has it also been marketed as a commercial building by the estate agents? Maybe someone who wants to run a b&b might buy it. Could be worth asking the agent?
Also agree the first photo of the front garden could do with being taken in the summer when it doesn't look so bare. Clutching at straws though as it looks beautiful & I'd love to live in a house like that. Perhaps as others have said it's the price.

Beautiful house. Realistically speaking though, unless you are in London, how many people locally have that sort of money? You are asking a VERY small number of buyers to buy their house, it is lovely but as other posters have said it looks like it would cost a pretty penny to heat. I would look very carefully at the price, as if it has been on the market for three years is it overpriced? What has sold locally in that time, for a similar price and how does that compare with your parents house?

Its also highly individual - you need that one person to love it, but how long you'll have to wait is anyones guess.