Gutted my dream house is going to auction.

[JamesDelayneysTattoos]

Been on the market since Feb/March . Had one offer but we declined then the wife changed her mind although the chap wanted to increase offer.

Nothing since.

Found lovely house. Been on the market a year now ( not when we saw it ). Elderly couple, no rush to move.

EA told me yesterday that they've decided to put it and the house they built next door too into the next auction in August. I'm assuming they've decided to move closer to their grown children.

So gutted. House was ideal for us. 😟

Can you show me your dream house please?

All of the linked ones look lovely, it is an expensive area isn't it?

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-60727174.html

This house is walking distance to my dd's secondary school with 2 siblings to follow on. At the moment I drive 50 miles a week collecting her from school. Closer to our activities too. Beautiful arboretum walking distance.

Hi op - I feel your pain. We are in a very similar situation in terms of trying to sell a "specialist" house. I used to roll my eyes when I read the "everything sells at the right price" line, but I have to say (from painful experience) that it's true. Have you considered an auction process for yours? It is one way of finding a floor value for a property in a mostly cash market. This is what we had to resort to.

Thank you, it's beautiful.

I think I would lower the asking price on your house.

Will you go to the auction anyway?

chupa I've considered it. Dh isn't that bothered. I'm the one that does school runs, activities, nowhere to walk to during the day.

Buying somewhere cheaper would give us more disposable income too.

ava god no, I couldn't bear to watch 🙈

I can see the problem OP, if the barn was just the old bit standing empty it would be characterful. As it is the new bit is so ugly I'd worry it was going to turn into something really awful.

Has he definitely got all the relevant permissions?

And sorry, OP, I'm sure this is really stressful, but I'm another one who'd be put off by the busy road.

Amy that's exactly it. People can't envisage what it's going to be. I do understand about the road. It's 40 past our house as it's one lane.

The other house is lovely too. I think you just need to decide how low you can afford to go v what it would shift for.

Your current house is beautiful but I think you've priced it irrelevant of location.

I've also bought and sold a house on a dual carriage way, although mine was in a more town area with houses all along on either side and fenced off at the front, and I wouldn't repeat the experience. The truth is you get a lot of house for your money and if the house had been elsewhere it would have been a huge amount more.

You have to be realistic and accept that people will,live there but only for the right price. It's really not the barn that's your major issue.

If you went down to 350-375 would it be a no go? If it was mine I'd probably put it on for 375 and I'd put the picture of the front back up, there really is no point pretending.

While you're waiting for DH, you could always call the auction house and ask about what would happen if you decided to put yours in the auction as well.

Gives you something to do apart from hitting "refresh" on MN!

I don't think we can go that low. 😟

Ah, it's a tough one, if you need to command a certain price then you could be waiting for the market to catch up with you. You never know though, what was the offer you got?

I can't see how you'd sell your house for that price with the barn and the road being pretty big compromises for any buyer.

im not sure how many people would be willing to buy a stand alone, fairly remote house that has a conversion right beside it even if it were finished.

Also, although I like your decorating style, it's not to a lot of people's tastes with the bold wallpaper etc.

If the bathrooms have been refitted then those photos need to be replaced.

Sorry that all sounds quite harsh but I think you are being unrealistic thinking you can achieve that price given the set up.

I'm not keen on the first photo of the house. It's an odd angle. And I would want more photos of the garden for a detached house. The house itself looks really nice.

Are you sure you can't put any sort of fence up - even something wrought iron that could be seen through? I presume it's a rationale about visiblity / not distracting drivers that means you can't install one?

The lack of a fence would put off parents with younger children even if they could get over the proximity of the road.

You could defo put a fence in, there is one to the right of the house on street view, yes it would cut part of the front garden but irrelevant really as it's not usable. A big laurel hedge and a fence and it would feel much more insulated from the road and feel more private also. It would cut off some of the light from those rooms though.

The issue with security of gates etc is not so much to do with the safety of the garage but the safety of children. Presumably if a toddler got out the front door, they would be straight onto the duel carriageway?

That's how the photo makes it look like at least so if you can get a fence or railings up, that would help hugely

This is the front and the front of the barn. The reason they are allowed a fence is because their house is further away from the road. Ours is too close.

We can't have gates because you need a certain amount of space to pull off a dual carriageway and that would mean the gates would be on a shared bit at the top if that makes sense.

Sorry wouldn't allow me to load pics x

Why does that ruling exist re the fence? And would it apply to a hedge?

Would you get away with gates if they were further down your drive? e.g. just on the road side of your back steps? I'm thinking like people who have a fence across their drive.

Does your neighbour give any indication of when he hopes to finish? Are his plans lodged anywhere so potential buyers of your house can see them?

In an ideal world of course you'd buy his building, turn it into something nice that adds value to your house, and then sell the whole lot.

And what about a fence in line with the existing hedge?

The road is putting off families and it's a family house. I'd never have considered that location when DC were younger. Way too unsafe. But it's a beautiful house. So's the one you want. Gorgeous area.

OP I live not far from you. I know where your house is and I am afraid that is not in any way comparable to Stonall village.

The road is more of a problem than the barn. I have just bought and sold in the same area. Really sorry but your's is significantly overpriced.

I took a bit of a drop on my sale to buy in my preferred location. So worth it. I used to live in a lovely house but not a great location. I am much happier now.

How much of the drive do you share with the neighbour? I'm assuming that bit across in front of the shed is his?

Ah op you're in my neck of the woods. My folks live in Stonnal and I'm in Sutton Coldfield. I've sold first in January (fell through) then 2 weeks ago virtually over night. I think it must be the road and price as your house is lovely. I adore the one you like, I used to live on the Broadway as a child so know the area well. Could you afford to drop? Possibly consider getting professional photos done, it made a huge difference to the look of our house online. It's so stressful this buying and selling lark you have my sympathy!