Why can't we sell our house!

[cocomom]

Long story short we've accepted 3 different offers off 3 different people all for them to 'change their mind' in less than 72 hours.
Lowest offer being 5k under asking and highest full asking, I think this is now really affecting our chance of selling as our house has been STC on rightmove three times now only for it to pop back up a few days later

Lovely house OP, but....it's too white and clinical looking and that's not to everyone's taste. The garden lets it down massively, it's awful. Good luck though, it will sell.

Offers from people who have not yet sold? Does this mean that theirs is under offer/exchanged and waiting to complete or only now being marketed. Accepting offers in the latter case, you run the risk that theirs turns out to be worth less than they imagined , so they can no longer afford yours.

I would not accept an offer from people who are not at least 'under offer'. Its still a long, difficult road ..

No theirs is still marketed so we aren't taking it as an offer it's just 'interest'
They do keep ringing every few days to check we haven't anymore interest though so take that how you will.
It's the being in limbo with everything that's getting me down, I just want to know one way or another, if we don't sell at this price in the next few months it'll be taken of the market and we'll probably extend again.

The decor and garden whilst your choice and you love them is really not mine. It's far to clinical and hard, not a home. There is nothing to do. It would be hard to change the basics due to space and the hard empty garden. Rental may be but hi Kim my small living space, bathroom.not for me.

Personally I find it too clinical. It's lovely but as I'm looking at the pics I'm thinking...sheesh, that's going to cost a fortune to make it family friendly (carpeting the main living area so it's not echo-ey, putting a garden in etc)

I love the bedrooms and it's obviously super stylish etc. But it just seems cold?

Maybe the viewers/potential buyers do like it but then another one the same style pops up that doesn't need lots of amending.

Also, the issue is, it's beautifully done which makes amending it seem wrong somehow! I would rather buy something that looked like it was still in the 60's and do it up to my own style than rip out perfectly decent flooring etc.

I would love to buy that it's stunning and so cheap. You can't venue get a one bed flat for that price in Bristol. I have a three bed not very nice house that needs renovating. Valued at 210k. Went up 65k in a year and. A half when all I've done is bedroom bathroom hallway and living room!! Your house eis a BARGAIN!!! AND SO SO BEAUTIFUL!!!

With it being all open plan at the back carpet doesn't work, it would mean carpeting your kitchen, or having a very unsightly join of tile meets carpet, it isn't cold, intact it's the warmest room in the house with all the new insulation and the sun being on it majority of the day.
I can't get my head round the 'family friendly' we have two kids and this house is plenty family friendly for us, the only reason we are selling is because I'm pregnant with our 3rd and want another bedroom. Carpets in the living room would be hell with my kids, my whole house is baby wipe down clean not get the carpet cleaner out.

We don't have carpets either, just rugs. I just think it feels white. People worry about wallpaper. I think family friendly can mean all sorts of things. Viewers are used to toys all over the place, grease spattered kitchens and karndean floors beloved of MN. This is considered family friendly!

I must say I did move some things while they was taking pictures massive pink tent and toys in the living room.
They have been there for viewings just not on the pictures, it is our home and we do live family life in it, it is a very personal taste which I do get, our life suits the open plan style very well, I can see what my kids are doing all the time while cooking tea, eating tea etc.
It's a very sociable house we have parties a lot and it works amazing for that! No awkward person hiding behind a wall, loads of seating space and it definitely isn't small at the back at all! On the pictures it looks quite narrow and long, it isn't like that in person but it's very hard to capture in pictures.

I'm saying from the point of view as a buyer - I would be 'thinking' it was cold and thinking it's clinical. Also, having had hard floors they're a nightmare to keep clean and noise travels.

This may not be the case in your home, but potential buyers are only looking at pictures. Tile meeting carpet doesn't look unsightly in the slightest when done professionally.

I'd be worried about my babies/toddlers smacking their heads on the hard floor!

uk.pinterest.com/pin/562668547177663503/

I also think, you could do with 'some' cluttering - books, pictures, vases, something really. The busy wallpaper is only to some peoples taste so to those who don't like it, it's something else large that needs to come out.

Colour and statement through accessories to appeal to as many as possible. But I wouldn't be redecorating at this late stage! Just be aware, it limits your potential market.

I personally like the white but think it would look warmer broken up with some pale grey or cream (thinking egyptian cotton type colour) like you have in the little girl's room.

Some folded coloured towels (for display) in the bathroom would be nice. Some tea towels folded or hung neatly in the kitchen. No blind at the kitchen window so that' more ££ the buyer is thinking.

Can you borrow some outdoor furniture to dress the outside? At the minute it looks like you hate your yard and don't go out there!

Sold prices in the same road

This will be putting people off too. Yes, you have a lovely extension but does it really add this much value? It would put me off if I'm honest..

It's not just the extension that adds the value, if you look at the other houses that have sold, most recent going for £140,000, it's a two bed had massive problems with rising damp, needed a new roof and windows, we know the people who bought it, they've told us how much they've spent on it since on essential jobs pushing their total spend to £152,000 it's still a two bed and we have nearly half their house more in extension.
All the bungalows round here have lots of faults with rising damp due to suspended floors and bad design, our floors have all been filled in now so that's one less problem ours has to the rest, a lot that have sold in the past few years have needed a rewire, boiler, basically the whole lot, so that is reflected in their selling prices they've been owned by original owners who've now passed away so most was in a very sorry state. This is why I say 'it doesn't need anything doing' I'm comparing to the rest that need big things done to them that really are a big expense.

I think the pictures aren't great - I agree with some other comments that there are too many pics and would potentially get some new ones done. Before you do there's a few things I'd do:

1. Move your dining table so it's not squashed up against the wall - makes it look like you can't actually use it.
2. If you can borrow some garden furniture and have done some work to your garden since these pics, then def show that.
3. Simple Pictures on the walls. In natural wood frames. The black and white is very stark and needs softening with something.
4. You've got all the leaflets and pics on the side of the fridge, but have cleared the kitchen worktop. I'd take the stuff off the fridge but have a nice (probably wooden again, something less clinical) fruit bowl on your island.

5.your living space looks long and narrow as you have your seating all down the one side, looking at your tv. Is it possible to have a small armchair beside the tv unit looking at the sofa, so squaring off the space a bit? And lose the footrest part of the sofa for now or relocate it elsewhere? And can I ask is that your plug sockets half way up the wall? Can't quite tell from the pics, but looks like there's one above the sofa? Quite unusual to have them that high? Hope that helps!

@Hobbes39 thanks!
I'm having new pics done next week, as we've done the garden and other things since, my worktop is always that clear I haven't moved that for pictures, my 'mom' fridge as I call it I will clear them for next week, wood doesn't match this house at all, I've tried it before with photo frames and they just look really out of place! I've just had a lot of pictures done of my DDs and wanted to display them but I didn't want people to think 'oh I'll have to fill all them walls in' if you know what I mean.
Yes it is a plug socket, we originally had our tv there with a big wall tv unit thing, my DH an electrician so we have bucket loads of plug sockets because as he says 'you can never have to many' lol

DH uncle is an electrician **

Your DH a bricklayer and electrician, I want to marry him

Ah, Dh Uncle is spark

If your DH is in a trade, you are ALWAYS the last to get work done! 18months it took him to finish building our extension! And the same for my drive

I think the thing is your living areas look v smart and pristine (which I am in awe of!) but because of that particularly with the black and white colour scheme, they look clinical in the pictures. I totally understand, you love your home and should be v proud, but now you are selling you need to make it appeal to people who don't necessarily share your taste, so that means taking the edge off things a little. You have the wooden frames to your velux windows, so I think you could have wood frames for pics - you definitely need something more 'natural' in there, so it really doesn't match on purpose. Even if you can't bring yourself to have the wood frames, do put pictures up - a small picture hook isn't going to worry anyone. Have some nice towels in the bathroom, dish towel in the kitchen, something with colour on the worktops. A wooden chopping board? Fabric placemats... something to soften... I'm not sure what, but something...! Good luck!

This pic from Pinterest (which I hope is attached!) kind of shows what I mean - the wooden coffee table softens the black and white....

You should move the kids' stuff out of sight for viewings.

The decor you have does not go with children's stuff from a visual pov. Children's toys also clutter and distract. You want people to see basically what they see in the photos. You want to enable them to see the space and imagine their own furniture there, and possibly imagine their own lifestyle there too - it might not be one that involves children, and if it does, then a living room that is dominated by a large tent or other toys might be offputting. That is the downside of open plan - one little thing out of place and your home looks like a tip. I have always lived in open plan homes myself, with children, and I like it. However, there are people who like to shut a door on a playroom and your house doesn't need to remind them during viewings of why they might hesitate to buy an open plan home.

Yes, it is your home, but it is a property on the market too, and for a few weeks you can tidy up when you know people will be viewing. You need to prioritise selling until the house sells. When you move into your next home you can let your hair down.

The problem with the decor is that it looks clinical, not that your house is actually physically cold.

If you could find a few large pots with a rugged, not metallic, and not angular appearance, and put in some really large houseplants you would soften the angles a bit. Put a fern or medium sized ivy in a pot on your kitchen counter. Or a medium sized pot of succulents, which are very 'in' right now. Maybe throw a blooming plant or two into the mix. It's about softening the lines and also introducing a little more colour but not too much.

s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/5b/a9/7c/5ba97c1cc0bd5a9f2c85342dda8a9668.jpg The basket brings texture here.
A few of these would introduce a natural, homespun element into your decor. It would balance it a bit and suggest to buyers that an alternative decor would suit the space too.

You could buy the plants in plain plastic pots and put them in tall baskets, pot and all.

Maybe include tradesman owner as part of the description.

cdn.homedit.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/large-plant-focal-point.jpg Here's another basket.

picmia.com/1275022
Decor in the same category as yours with large plant.

Just fwiw, my point of reference here is my mum who is planning to downsize and would like a bungalow with more than one bedroom. She would be impressed by the lack of practical problems (rising damp, etc) but would feel put off by the paved front and back gardens and by the potential cost of redecorating. She is elderly and has a lot of wooden furniture.

Wrt decluttering again, lose the visible stuffed animals for the next photos and also for viewings.

Don't focus on what you have already got by way of bites but on what features you have not made the most of that might be appealing, like your loft ceilings.

Also, your dining room - pull the table out from the wall. Is there any way you could borrow a wooden table until your house sells?

Could you hang a really big, colourful picture on the white wall of the dining room? Something abstract but not alienating, and not looking like the work of Thomas Kincade.
Or a triptych s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/97/20/ff/9720ff813ffc82e2f94178868fc50671.jpg

That or a large printed photo of something like Japanese cherry blossoms or other trees or a natural scene that is not depressing (such as a storm, for instance) - you need something cheerful, in muted colours.

Artwork in the dining area should be hung horizontally and at eye level. No higher.

It looks lovely. I would never buy or live in a bungalow (I like an upstairs etc) but it's perfectly nice inside and even the garden is fine despite people's comments above. You have also had offers so can't you just keep on and may be put some buyers into a contract race with each other -whichever of the two is able to exchange contracts first gets the property?

Also usually you will not get much more than the highest price paid recently on your road so that is going to be the biggest thing of all. If most go on that road for XYZ then no matter what you do to a place it rarely goes up much more than that.