What's wrong with my house? No viewings

[vincentaroony]

House has been on the market for several weeks and we've had zero viewings. If you have a moment to take a look at the listing on Rightmove and let me know what you think is putting people off, I'd really appreciate it.

Unfortunately the house is not furnished (was tenanted but the tenants did not want their belongings photographed so we had to wait til it was empty). Also I know town houses are not the ideal layout for many, but there are plenty of other townhouses in the area that seem to be selling.

Have spoken with agent, reduced price a few weeks ago, but nothing...

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-64693244.html

I think your last post has also clarified the issue.

You bought it as a couple and that's who you need to market it to - it's not a "family house".

As such 4 bedrooms aren't an asset - but 3 bed house with a large study/garden room is.

Equally a guest suite on the ground floor for visitors is nice.

Even if you don't want to decorate I'd still consider getting professional cleaners in for the day to get it ship shape.

I don't think the carpets look grubby. They may not look new but they don't look grubby.

My DP owned a similar place that was very difficult to sell- two main bedrooms downstairs, kitchen/living/dining and other bedrooms upstairs. It had been tenanted and he was trying to sell it unfurnished too (cos the tenants trashed the furniture and we had to bin most of it!)

Had the same cream carpets that were fine when it was furnished but suddenly looked really pocked and mucky when it was empty.

We ended up having it properly deep cleaned- steamed EVERYTHING, washed skirting and windows, scrubbed all the walls etc.

We were moving into a new place and actually arranged our furniture to go via the place for sale! Unloaded a cursory amount- bed, table, chairs for the photos then loaded it back up.

We also did the "rebranding" thing other PP have suggested and labelled the front bedroom as "Study/Bedroom 4" and back as "Guest suite/Bedroom 3". We also worded the description differently, describing it as a good opportunity for professionals working/running a business from home as well as family.

Once we'd done all that we got a steady amount of viewers and it sold for a couple of K over the HR value.

Sorry just to add - I'd also use Garden Room/Study for Bed 4 rather than Playroom/Study.

Again - it's not a "family home" so playroom is confusing.

I suspect layout and photographs are part of the issue. Three ensuites but no communal toilet is a bit odd - visitors have to walk through a bedroom to use a toilet. Similarly Bed 4 is the thoroughfare for the garden and would be better described as gardenroom/study.

I would be tempted to spend a bit on proper carpet cleaning, a coat of white/cream paint throughout and get the agent to take new photographs with more light in the rooms.

The advice to market for professionals with guests also makes sense.

It looks grubby and unloved. Could you get new (cheap) plain carpets throughout, get some plain curtains, give it all a bit of a clean etc....it may look more appealing.

Not impressed with our agent who originally put it on at £220k!

Sounds like they deliberately over-valued it to get your business.

I know this area quite well and the house is overpriced for where it is - agree with PP to drop to £199K and see where that gets you.

Likewise the place needs a bloody good clean. New builds are notorious for having oddly proportioned rooms so trying to get an idea of scale can be difficult without furniture in. If you have any mates who can lend you a two seater sofa and an old double bed then that can really help - you stick them in, sling a cheap neutral colour throw and bedding on them and it gives everyone an idea of how big the rooms are.

The photos aren't great - especially of the garden. I'd want to see a photo taken from the perspective facing away from the house so that you can see where the boundary is and also what's at the end and potentially overlooking you.

The layout is quite odd; we've got similar on our estate and what's marked on your floorplan as 'bedroom 4' is normally marketed here as a den/TV room/office.

I definitely wouldn't view that house. The pictures are terrible and the house looks very scruffy. I would definitely get it properly cleaned up and some cheap furniture in there. Otherwise you will need to drop the price significantly so it will probably cost you more in the long run.

I can not get my head around how a family could make this home work for them, yet with four bedrooms surely it is intended to be a family home? The layout would never work for a family. Even the garden access is awful, for when children are out. It is much nicer to be in the kitchen looking out at them whilst getting chores done rather than sitting watching them from a bedroom. I really cannot get my head around the layout at all.

Sorry had missed your last post. Could you pay a cleaning company to go in and spruce it up even, if it is too far for you to go? I like the idea of labelling bedroom 4 as a study/garden room, I do think that will help.

Overpriced for where it is, if he put off by being so close to the motorway and to Middleton to be honest.

Did the agent from Rothwell value it? Because it's valued at Rothwell price, not Middleton price
-you'd be better asking the Morley office to go and value it

Or get manning Stainton to value it -they tend to be more conservative

It will get you a better idea of value

But knowing the area I don't think you'll get people through the door if it's over 190k -even with new photos and floor plan

MissDaisy I agree the layout is odd but it's a very common townhouse layout and garden access for NB properties in these parts. My estate has similar and I'd never buy one because you spend all day hoofing up and down the bloody stairs! However they are popular so people do like them.

Agree with Emochild about getting MS in to value. They do a lot round LS10 and LS11 so will probably value more realistically, whereas if someone's come from Rothwell then they'll be sticking a premium on it that is very unlikely to be achievable for this area.

The motorway and proximity to Leeds will be popular - I know loads of people who look in this area because they want to be able to commute somewhere else, or they work in Leeds and want to be able to bus it in - 15 minutes and you're there.

I can not get my head around how a family could make this home work for them

Funny. Our house has this layout and we (plus many others in similar) find it works very well. We are a family of 4.

Ground floor bedroom at front - ideal for a pre-teen or teenage dc. Got it's own bathroom, so means a lack of queuing for the bathroom. DC gets their own "space". If it's the same as ours, the downstairs bathroom is actually a "Jack and Jill" bathroom, accessible from both the bedroom and the hallway, which means it can be used by visitors who don't need to be given access to the second floor, keeping that area of the house more private;

Ground floor bedroom to rear - ideal as a study when dc are older, either for adults or so that dc have a quiet space away from the rest of the house/distractions for doing homework. When dc were younger, it was used as a playroom to keep the clutter of toys out of the study. As a playroom, it can open out into the garden for dc to play and you can sit in here to watch them. We used to have armchairs in there, bookcases and a TV. Now that the dc are older and it is used as a study we have a sofa bed in here for guests (usually kept as a standard sofa). Because the utility room is downstairs there is little need to be pottering around in the kitchen doing "jobs" (or maybe I'm just not a pottering around in the kitchen type of person). Most 4 person families don't use their 4th bedroom as a bedroom anyway, even with a more conventional layout;

Living room/kitchen - fairly standard. Ours are quite large. If yours are the same proportions, the photos don't do them justice. We have a 6 person kitchen table in our kitchen (for everyday use), plus a 6 person dining table in the dining area of our living room (for when we have guests);

Second floor - main bedroom, fairly standard, ensuite. Again, if yours is like ours, the photos don't accurately depict the size;

Second bedroom - for another dc, or large enough for 2 young dc to share (our upstairs second bedroom was large enough for two single beds with plenty of space to spare), especially if you have a dedicated playroom downstairs, so they don't need to store their toys in their room.

Main bathroom, which means whoever gets the second bedroom upstairs doesn't have to share the bathroom as the other bedrooms all have en-suites.

However, the layout works especially well for a 4 person family if you have pre-teen or teenage dc as each person can have their own bedroom and there's space for a dedicated study too. It's not conventional, but actually very versatile.

I should say OP I think it needs to be clearer on the details what parking space you have and the fact you have a garage. A house without a garage would be an absolute no-no for me, but it's not clear from the pictures and people won't always read through the text.

*to keep the clutter of toys out of the study - I meant to keep the clutter of toys out of the living room

As a family it would work for us too. Our teenager would love a bedroom on her own floor with a bathroom. She has this in our house, only it is the top floor. DH would use the bottom floor as an office / playroom for our DS who could go out into the garden

We would then use the first floor to live on and the top floor for us and a nursery.

The layout would put me off.
I'd want living and dining rooms downstairs, plus kitchen. At a push a downstairs toilet.
Upstairs bedrooms and bathrooms.
(I can't stand downstairs bedrooms and bathrooms).
Also it may be hard to visualise without furniture.

I think it's probably the layout and maybe photos could be a bit better

Is the layout right?
Bed 4 doesn't have access to a bathroom?

dila there's a door missing on the downstairs bathroom (should have 2 doors, one to the bedroom and one to the hallway - in the written description but the floor plan is wrong). Likewise the upstairs bathrooms are incorrect (OP spotted it earlier in the thread), as one is not an ensuite, but a main bathroom.

I think the estate agent has done a particularly bad job and I'd be looking to change to be honest.

A few more positive replies there, thanks Tw1nset, PaulDacres, emo. Wish you were my estate agent NoBetter! Sounds like pretty much the same house layout you have. Yes the rooms are all really spacious, especially for a newish home. I will investigate the furniture hiring idea to better demonstrate the space available.

Yes it's close to Belle Isle, Middleton, M1. I can't change that! But as PP pointed out, it's quick access into the city centre or onto the motorway and prices are much cheaper than other Leeds suburbs. We were happy there, as were our neighbours and our tenants. It's a big estate with lots of families and we were friends with all of our neighbours. I'm getting nostalgic now - maybe it's best if I just move back there

I'll be speaking to the agent tomorrow and also looking into cleaning / decorating / furniture hire.

Before you start hiring furniture have a look at Gumtree and Freecycle. I have sold loads on Gumtree for much less than hiring would cost.
Once you are done with it either sell it again or give it away.