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

As others have said, it really is very niche. I'm looking for a 5 bedroomed house, but would not want that even assuming it were where I needed to live as the upkeep would be enormous. I don't have time to maintain that kind of volume in each room, nor the garden (before you get on to things like roof replacement etc over time).
I'm not sure there is anything they can do though - it is beautifully presented, and the photographs are fine and the info is fine and the important rooms like the kitchen are modern - it's just a case of waiting until 'the one' comes along if they don't want to drop the price to a silly level.

Fudge me, how much do I LOVE that staircase.

Otherwise, it's not hugely attractive from the outside, and that's one helluva huge house. I could afford to buy it twice over, but would I want to pay to heat it/clean it/maintain it? No

I don't think the agents' write up is really selling the house, nor are the photos. The agents' blurb doesn't say anything about the age or the history of the house, or how old the panelling is, or anything about the living room ceiling, or what the stained glass window is all about. That's the kind of house you fall in love with, and that person will want to know the background and history of it.

I think you also need fresh photos, by someone who knows what they're doing, and is able to stage the house to show its potential. Lets get rid of the kiddie paraphenalia in the dining room, and instead set the table so that you can imagine dining there. The kitchen looks nice but bland - it needs flowers, and maybe some bar stools so you can imagine sitting down at the island having a coffee etc. The furniture in the bedrooms - chests of drawers etc are a little cluttered - they need to be cleared, random suitcases removed (photo 16) and maybe the bedlinen for the photos could be a bit more chic/5 star hotel-y? And make the bathrooms look more spa than family? Get some coordinating small towels rolled up on a shelf for a colour impact, some candles so that people can think "mmmm I can see myself having a beautiful long bath there".

Can you do an exterior shot that shows an area where you can sit outside for a glass of wine, and enjoy the view?

I love the house - just love it, by the way.

On first viewing (here, not seen it in RL!), I'd say it doesn't look very welcoming or tied together in terms of colours and style - to me it's neither grand nor homely, though could be both.

Sorry if that sounds rude. It's not meant to!

Gorgeous house - if they're downsizing could they split it into 2/3/4 properties?

Are they able to neutralise the bedrooms? As they stand they're really quite dated and look a bit weathered. Or even just give them a spruce up with some new linen, brighter pics etc.

I agree about it being a very niche place. It's probably bigger than what most people want and people are maybe put off by how much work there would be to do to get it to how they would want it.

It is an amazing house! Prob just too big for most/too expensive.
Decor and style may not be to everyone's taste but that can be the case with any house on the market.
Could they arrange open viewing day? I've been to quite a few on Saturday mornings from 11-1. That might generate some interest.

The area is nice, a v pretty coastal village....5 mins walk to the beach. Bus links to Sunderland and South Shields and about 10 mins drive to east Bolton metro to Newcastle. Good parks/schools locally. The semis in Sunderland I don't think you can compare to as this is large and detached.

I will pass on feedback about photos and blurb making more of the history etc.

It's beautiful. To me, the bedrooms let it down in terms of furniture and presentation - the louvre wardrobes in one, for example and some are a bit untidy looking. It doesn't have the extensive grounds you might expect with such a big house.

The entrance hall, inglenook and windows and beautiful ceilings are amazing. The marketing needs a rethink and probably the price too. It probably needs a more specialist Estate Agent to market it.

Although the garden backs onto the road it is raised v high from the road iyswim so feels v distant.

i'm not local and think it looks like an amazing house in fantastic condition and clearly very well looked after.

i imagine for the area that it is hugely expensive compared to a 3 bed semi (!) or a small/normal 1200 sq ft detached which is what the average buyer can afford. houses that price will take a long time to sell if the buyer pool is smaller.

is there a final price drop they could do after taking a new estate agent's advice?

Wow!! I love it. Shame it's not down here as I'd have it although it looks like it may need a fair bit of work. I agree with everything chin up chest out has said. They are needing to appeal to the high end market who can afford to be picky. As it looks a little dated and mismatched a buyer will wonder if the heating, plumbing and electrics are up to date. People look at photos and maybe read the blurb later if at all so the photos need to be fab. These are not. Each room could do with 'setting'. The garden needs a bit of a manicure, steps sweeping etc. I'd definitely change agents as they will have lost the impetus after 3 years.

I don't know anything about the area so am not sure if the price is reasonable or not. But here I is some feedback based purely on the decor.

The house is amazing and the period features are fabulous but I think the outside could do with being painted and freshened up, the garden needs a definite tidy up and new photos taken now the garden will be coming back to life.

Inside the downstairs is lovely (except that mustard yellow in the dining room, I'd say paint that a more neutral colour). Love the green hallway.

Upstairs seems quite dated and not as loved as downstairs. Lose all the curtain pelmets and replace with nice poles, change all the curtains for less floral type and more plain modern (particular the black and white patterned ones).

Lose the curtains from the bathroom and put a nice blind in there and definitely paint the blue bathroom white to spruce it up. Also does that blue bathroom have a carpet floor? If so definitely change that, bathroom carpets are grim.

Neutral colours are best as they will freshen it up as some of the decor is quite dated and in a house of that size it would be daunting to think of the cost, time and energy involved in a simple paint job.

The exterior from the garden side is gorgeous. From the entrance side, it's a bit ugly (sorry).

Wonderful big rooms, beautiful windows.

The kitchen, bathrooms and bedrooms don't have any impact. Shiny, glossy, modern and high spec is one way to go, or traditional (Aga, butler's sink, claw foot bath etc). At the moment, it's neither.

The garden looks small for the size of house in the photos.

It's a fabulous house but it's dated and badly in need of someone who knows how to dress a house properly. As pp have said the garden needs a makeover.

It's an awful lot of money for a big house with no grounds. For that sort of money I'd expect a secluded large garden. A house that big needs a family but there's not a lot of outside space so the price needs to reflect that. It is still very overpriced and your parents are going to have to manage their expectations accordingly.

It's absolutely gorgeous. And if the area is nice it must just be the price.
Will they need all the furniture? It might be worth mentioning to potential buyers that it's available, the only thing that would put me off would be he cost and hassle of furnishing it!

I can't gauge the price because I don't know the area but I do agree with pp on the staging of the house - the photos would be fine for your average family house but they aren't doing it justice I suspect. Because you really love the place and know all the special bits could you try and get some that the agent can include in the pack. That way you can explore the light and the best views. It would need some considered additions though, lots of fresh flowers in the kitchen, a set dining room, more luxury feel in the bathrooms.

The other option is to try and get outside interest to increase foot fall - the sunday times used to visit a home a week, or try a larger add in a local paper.

Have your estate agents used publications of the type found in hairdressers the equivalent of Lancashire life, or home and country. I do think you need a specialist.

Sorry also if this sounds mean but the photo with the huge garage door is pretty ugly, it's not a good view of the house at all. You may just have to hang on, but I would start to explore with other agents if the current ones don't seem active.

I actually don't think there is anything wrong with it and the price is good, but its location, however pretty probably doesn't draw in the big earners. Most big earners live in easy commute of cities that pay large incomes. If it were this price and easy commute to Leeds or Manchester it would have been gone years ago.

Just being nosey now, don't answer if you don't want, but what did your parents do for a living to afford a house this fabulous and several children? Seriously I am envious of your childhood.

..... tries to look fondly back at my six foot x five foot boxroom bedroom at home.

Ok...amazing house obviously. It's got plenty of character but the dated decor in some rooms and the bleak expanse of paving make it lack charm. It's maybe a little austere?
I think they're stuck with either spending first and keeping the price as it is or reducing the price knowing the place needs to be spent on.
It needs cleared out and kept simple. You don't need brass chandeliers and pelmets...the house should speak for itself. But do pretty up the front entrance. You asked for honesty and here it is (sorry) - the front entrance looks a lot like a hospital ward I used to work on. It doesn't look like a home.
Instead of bigging up the back so much (it is undeniably impressive) focus on making the entrance fit for the caliber of home it is.

Hope that's ok.

It's a really beautiful house but I know the area and unfortunately it's down to price. Although all the points re dressing the house are good - fundamentally I think it will come down to that.
If it was below 700k it would attract more interest.
If it was my family home though I would be heart broken to let it go.

It's a lovely house with stunning features, however like others have said it does look like it needs total modernisation to me. It looks like a very well kept home, but its not to most younger people's taste (I'm guessing you'd be aiming it at a family).

Bearing that in mind and the substantial size of the house, the renovation costs will be significant (£'000s of thousands). Plus it's going to cost a bomb to run. I suspect most buyers will be thinking of a total re-wire and plumb etc as I'd guess they hadn't been touched in years.

The other things that strike me is that the plot is small for the size of the house, plus is seems very crowded by another property. I know there isn't anything you can do about that, but it will limit your potential buyers to those who aren't fussed about that.

Realistically you're looking for someone with £1m + to spend on a house and I can't imagine that will be easy there. You'll need immediate curb appeal to make people see their vision for the house. I think if you wanted to do anything, getting the garden looking really lovely and taking some photos with flowers in bloom and the leaves raked would help. Maybe it's just my taste, but I'm not sure the exterior colour of the property works that well. The yellow looks dated and doesn't work well with the grey stone features. If you were looking to do a thing, I'd think painting the exterior would help massively, maybe a light grey?

You lucky fucker...

What a magnificent house. I can't comment on price because to me it seems like a total bargain but I guess not for the area. It needs a full refurb for a family and that will cost a fortune. For a kitchen alone to do a house like that justice yours going into 30-40k kitchens. For me, it's just too big I am afraid.

What is the square footage? There's nothing about it on the plans and that's one of the first things I look for. I would want that added

Definitely needs new bright photos as it's quite an imposing style house so having it in dreary photos makes it look very cold and unwelcoming.

About 4 posts down from your initial post someone put a link to another local similar priced house. To me that house has what your parents one is lacking and that's a hint of warmth and character without making it hard to see how a buyer can put their own stamp on. Now please don't read that as me saying your parents house is cold and boring as it's not what I'm saying. In the other house photos you can see some greenery in the front pic which makes it look welcoming and countrified. Your parents one has two teeny neat bushes either side of the front door. I think your parents house has a very imposing front which needs some TLC to give it kerb appeal and be welcoming.

Then in the other pics there were a couple of vases of flowers in a lounge and some plates on the wall in another. Your parents house is very devoid of these sort of accessories. Although people are dumb and often can't look past a sellers own decoration and belongings, they equally struggle to buy a dream if there's no taster. It's a fine balance.

They have a lovely house, sorry to hear it's taking so long to sell. Our old house took a year and that was soul destroying enough so I can't imagine how rubbish they feel about it.