Why isn't this house selling?

[parmavioletmartini]

Posting for a friend.

It's been on the market for over a year.

www.johnfrancis.co.uk/properties/9766921/sales

Any tips much appreciated.

I have mentioned today that it's not on rightmove. And the agents website is terrible.

Its gorgeous but price. Pool maybe a buyer would need to decorate.

5 beds 4 baths and 4 receptions is huge in my book and my adcuce may be irrelevant as i doubt id ever live somewhere like that. Its beautiful

I'm currently looking at houses in this price bracket. Not my area, but if it was I wouldn't bother viewing. Rooms look small, needs new kitchen, no floor plan and a swimming pool.

Price seems inline with others in the area.

But it seems to be a very slow market.

• poor photos

-low end finishes, I'd want more for that price. Agree the photos shouldn't focus on things like the gas fire. You want to draw people in with the photos so they fall in love and therefore will gloss over stuff like that.

• the pool. It must put off about 90% of people.

How much is it?

£689,995

Not on Rightmove
The pictures make it look tiny.
The pool.

It's normally the price. The other houses showing in the "similar properties you may like" section are about £100k cheaper.
The photos don't look "wow", it needs new photos and to be dressed to sell. Little things like rumpled bedding just let it down. The bathrooms look ....Ok. Not stunning.
The balcony looks overlooked.
The pool and back garden. Or rather lack of back garden. It looks like an above ground pool with built up decking - add that to the bare boring wooden fencing and it just looks like an expensive to maintain eyesore. The whole area could look so much better with sympathetic planting/ styling.
Pool safety concerns are easily addressed with fencing and pool covers, which can look very smart and should be flagged up in the details.
It could be a stunning house, the area is lovely, but some money needs to be spent to get it right, if your friends want top dollar for it.

It's not in rightmove?!

I have never looked at an estate agents' website in my life. I do all searching via rightmove as do most people I know.

Agree that focussing on a "feature" gas fire -
Which is not really very nice - is not a good idea

Those photos give no idea of what the house looks like. I've looked at all of them and I'm none the wiser.

It looks nice from what i can see but that's the point - a messy website which is hard to navigate. Can't even see the price.

it looks a little dingy and not tip top

one of the bath surrounds looks a bit dodgy, and one of the shower room looks grubby along the floor, the other looks like the inside needs a good scrub, but that could be a shadow, the vanity unit has an iffy door
NYC taxi photo over the fire place...very wierd and doesn't really it with the orange pine mantle or the bounteous orange pine kitchen

Add in the pool and all associated issues and I'd never even consider doing a drive by, never mind a viewing

Hmmm it's tricky isn't it.

I agree about the styling and terrible photos are really not helping.

I'm obviously over invested as I google earthed it to get a sense of the plot. The photos are really crap and they don't show the frontage well at all. With fencing and a little landscaping, the front lawn could easily be turned into a proper garden which would make the property feel more balanced. I would expect more of a wow period feel to the inside too.

Polter thanks that's actually a good idea to put birds eye on. It is so much bigger than the photos suggest!

Maybe a strange one, but I think I'd be put off by the big dog. I don't dislike dogs, but my immediate thought was "smelly". Maybe not ideal for the photo.

The pool's a bit impractical as it's a bit small and dominates the back garden

I like the front of the house. Very pretty.

Looking at it on street view though you can see right over the front wall, and there is a bus stop right by it, so people on the bus will be looking right into the garden, even on a single decker.

I don't think that I could relax in a garden with people looking in all the time.

Id agree with the fact it's not on Rightmove. Probably hardly anyone has seen it. Photos aren't great and it needs a floor plan

I wouldnt view it as too much black..kitchen bathroom wallpaper. I know l could change it but its big money so l would like to love the kitchen . I wouldnt nuy a houae with a pool. I could never relax if small children were around.

DH has just pointed out that there is a suitcase beside the gas fire too in the feature photo. Why?

I agree with everyone else's comments. Get some better pictures, do a floor plan and stick it on Rightmove and I'm sure it'll sell. The estate agent's website is absolutely terrible and you can hardly see the pictures properly. It looks like a nice house but as a buyer I don't know if I could be bothered to contact the agent for more information when they've done such a terrible job of advertising it.

There'a no floor plan which makes it look as though they're trying to hide something.

The photos are crap. The house looks a bit more cluttered that I would expect for a house on the market.

Pool photo - get rid of the blue shark and the black hanging chair
Lounge photo - pile of junk on the coffee table
Lounge with red furniture - so much stuff round the fire place. Why is the music stand in the way?
Study - messy box on top of the filing cabinet and a bag flung onto another box
Grey bedroom - rug on the floor is awful and there's a pile of suitcases by the window and a messy nightstand
Bathroom - bath panel doesn't fit
L-shaped sofa photo - phone on table, clothes lying over the bed behind
Bedroom with white bedsheets - bed hasn't been made properly, something is lying across the chest of drawers
Balcony - one useless planter and a bowl of slime
Blue bedroom - is the rug stained?
Banister - just a hideous photo. What is it meant to show? There's a huge pile of junk in the first room
Last bathroom - the towel isn't even straight!!!!

Not being on rightmove doesn't bother me as it's not used in the area I live coz there's a more local website that everyone uses.

I'm househunting and selling at the moment and these photos give me the fear! If this is genuinely the absolute best that they can show off their house, i'd be really concerned. Imagine what it must be like when they'e showing people round. Their house has to be spotless and 100% clutter free or it just puts people off.