What's wrong with our house?

[sueyandcol1]

Hi all. I'm a retired gran living in west London with DH and I would really appreciate some practical advice please.

Our house has been on the market for 4 weeks and we haven't had a single viewer. I know the price may seem high but that's about average for this area. We can't work out what's wrong with it. We know we could rip out the brown bathroom, paint all the walls white, etc, and if we haven't sold in six months then maybe that's what we'll do. But we're just wondering if there's anything obviously "wrong" that we can fix without spending too much money. We just want to get some viewers! Any practical suggestions would be most welcome...

Please see www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/44957399?betabanner_dismiss=1#8IpVgvS6tHJhxHgW.97

I'm genuinely baffled by this situation really. People often post similar questions and it's not so clear what the problem is but this is absolutely cut and dried.

No one is going to pay £20k more for a house which needs completely modernising than one which has been fully refitted and significantly extended.

I can't comprehend how that isnt obvious to the OP.

No mortgage lender is going to value that house over £800k given the other house sale price.

On my screen today

The blurb has changed price thingy

OFFERS IN THE REGION OF

Is what my screen says it has changed to from yesterday, so @sueyandcol1 has either been reading this thread or asked friends for their opinion

Hope they drop the price cos otherwise it just won't appear on people search quota thingy

When looking to buy a house I always put in between X and Y in search box on rightmove etc but always a bit above and below my budget so I could see the ones around my budget that might drop in price iyswim or if I was having wishful thinking that my magic money tree would bear fruit

I haven't read the full thread but my instant reaction is that if I was moving in there I'd need about 50k to do it up.

I don't like the bathroom
I don't like the kitchen
I don't like the carpets
They all look old fashioned

This old fashioned look is reinforced by the furniture (no disrespect)

Now no old couple will want your house - a young couple will but honestly they will not be attracted to it as it is now.

Consider offering 40k cash back if they purchase or some sort of incentive- stamp duty?

No comment on pricing as not London bit would lose the dresser at the foot of the stairs and make bed 2 more like a proper bedroom - proper double I assume. Filing cabinets are ugly things I'm afraid.

Master bedroom a white bed cover (or plain) would make the room more modern.

Try to make the house as neutral as possible so people can picture themselves

Did an estate agent suggest this asking price OP? Or is it your own valuation?

I'm genuinely baffled by this situation really. People often post similar questions and it's not so clear what the problem is but this is absolutely cut and dried

Or the OP isn't the owner and it's just been posted by someone nasty?

Whoever owns, it the principle is the same swedish, that house isn't worth anything like £895k so marketing it at that is pointless.

It's a lovely house but younger buyers will inevitably want to modernise and the price needs to reflect that. You want to make the buyer feel like thy are getting a bargain with scope to add value without under-selling. This type of property should get a lot of interest at the right price and often goes to a budding war (although possibly not if the market has slowed).
In your position I wouldnt touch the interior but find a more sensible agent who can actually price correctly, reduce to offers in the region of £775k and change the wording to emphasise what you have done to maintain the fabric of the building (roof works, boiler maintained, new decking etc) and play up the scope to modernise/priced realistically / of interest to developers etc. It isn't cheap enough for serious investors but the novice developer will be interested (& naive enough) at under £800k.

OP,
Not sure if you are still reading this but if you want the thread removed you just have to report your OP and I'm sure MNHQ will take down the thread. I think you must have the information you wanted by now.

I agree it's pricing #1 and it's not staged. I kinda know the area and would price it at £795k if you want to sell. The reason for that is the updating of decor and the fact you back onto a train line.

If you did the work, you need to redo the bathroom, kitchen and take a good look at flooring. I would estimate the cost to bring your home up to £850k to £875k (I think £850k is a more realistic price) to be about £35-40k minimum using Wickes. I'd also do a rewire as your are redecorating anyway. It doesn't cost much to rewire a home but it really puts people off.

I think there are easier ways to make £10k than doing all of the work. I would drop the price myself and sort out the walls, furniture as that is super cheap to fix.

I don't like open plan.
I think the OP needed to get a couple of local estates agents round for a valuation.
Criticising the decor, bathroom etc which are all a matter of taste doesn't really help. If the price is right someone will buy it and change it to their taste.

It's not only young people who'd want to do a complete renovation.

My inlaws bought a house with identical bathroom suite and tiles and very similar kitchen and that was back in 1979. The first thing they did was rip out the bathroom.

I'd be looking at the roof, wiring, heating and plumbing and definitely changing the windows from aluminium to wood. I'd also want to create a second bathroom and potentially reconfigure the kitchen/dining arrangement.

That's before flooring and decor.

There's a lot of money to be spent there and that's without considering the tiny third bedroom, the garden space, lack of parking and general location with road and rail services. None of those things will put off everyone of course, but most of them substantially reduce the pool of potential buyers.

I'd get three local agents who have knowledge and experience to come out and value the property and take it from there.

The listing has changed to “offers in thr region” from offers over.

I also just looked at no 20 that sold for 875 in July and it’s been hugely extended , modernised and renovated. I don’t understand why the op is ignoring the feedback she requested and doggedly holding at whaT seems a 100k over price based on no 20. No mortgage company will value at the level your selling at.

Op. Are you not fussed about selling? My neighbour put his house on for 1million, at the time it was over priced,although it’s worth about 1.2 now, his feedback was if someone wants to pay me a million I’ll move. No one did. I’m still really not sure what he was tying to achieve. Seemed an exercise in futility. I wonder if you’re doing the same thing. If someone wants to offer you 900 k you will move, if not you’re happy to stay?

Its lovely. Is it overpriced? I’d want to re-do bits if it.

Thank you all so much for your feedback - more than 260 responses so far, that's amazing! As a PP noticed, we have already changed the price to "Offers in the region of". We will analyse all the responses and decide what else to do.

We do appreciate that many potential buyers would want to make costly changes, but we thought people would still want to view and then haggle over the price. It's many years since we sold and bought a property so maybe we are out of touch.

Thank you all again for spending your time giving us your advice, it's really appreciated.

It looks extremely well kept but dated. It looks like it needs a new bathroom and kitchen and redecoration throughout which would put some people off. Garden looks lovely so maybe more pictures/better pictures of that.

I would also suggest removing some of the furniture and books, nick nacks etc. and then get your pictures done again. you could even paint the ‘coloured’ rooms cream or white. I put my house on the market I painted three rooms and hit loads of my personal things. Sold in three days.

I think it’s also a good idea to be with a small agent rather than one of the big ones where your house sits on their books with hundreds of others and they’re not interested in trying to sell it. A one man band typed agents are more likely to put hard-work in to get people into the house.

Overall, it looks like a decent house! Probably just the personal taste that needs removing. Best of luck!

Ps. Always grateful I don’t live in London at those prices

Do you think you will lower the price then OP? I admire your optimism price wise but I think you need £100-125k off the price.

OP - at a minimum you need to replace the bathroom, change the handles on the kitchen cabinets and do something about the tile in the kitchen.

For staging what you have the walls needs to change (one big picture rather than smaller ones) and I would take away some of the furniture because it distracts from the good sizes of the rooms.

We do appreciate that many potential buyers would want to make costly changes, but we thought people would still want to view and then haggle over the price

Yay, you came back.

And yes you’re right, but not when you’ve priced yourself so far out thr market, they won’t even view then, never mind haggle, as I think you’ve found out already with no viewers. The difference in value versus selling price is too big for haggling. No one wants to haggle for a hundred grand off the price.

Please change estate agent for a local one

Maybe good idea to get same one as number 20 had that might have buyers that missed out on buying it

OP, you are still miles out at OIRO £895k.

Serious question, what is the logic behind you thinking it's worth £20k more than a house that is bigger and has had circa £100k worth of improvements?

'but we thought people would still want to view and then haggle over the price.'

They won't when your price is so high. Hence, why no viewers or interest at all. You know how you want to maximise what you get for your home? Well, they want to maximise the house they buy for that price. I'd look at that and see 100k worth of work, seriously. There's only one bathroom and it needs gutted - that means plumbing, too. So cost of that plus putting in another loo. Then the kitchen. Then all the redecorating. And again, when people see a house with very dated decor, they automatically assume the maintenance (plumbing, wiring, heating system, boiler, roof, guttering, structure maintenance) is equally dated and mentally add that into the sum. No off street parking, right on a rail line. They see that and know you've been living there for decades and know that you likely paid far, far, far below what you're asking, will make an enormous profit no matter what and won't be willing to hand over 900K for a home that needs 100K of work that's a PITA, especially the one bathroom.

Well done for coming back OP. I do genuinely think people are trying to help, but it must feel a bit personal.

I disagree with you on the pricing. Anything that is even £20k over sensible and as a buyer, I just don't want to engage. I don't want to do business with someone who's offering an unfair deal, it feels like they're treating me like a fool. When buying double glazing, do you prefer to deal with a national chain whose first quote is 3x what a local independent offer, then they come down with "amazing" offers when you haggle, or the local independent who give you a realistic price from the off? I guess some people must be pulled in by the "offers", but I much prefer to give my money to someone who didn't try to screw me out of an extra £10k at the start.

I do think you need to listen to local agents, if you haven't already. And bear in mind that a fair proportion of them may price ambitiously to tempt you in, then ask you to drop the price after you're locked in for a number of weeks.

Haggling is for 20-30k though, not the £100k your property is overpriced by.

OP well done for coming back!

Look I know the area and street you live in really really well and I honestly believe you are £100 - £150 K over priced based on other sized houses, in similar condition, in Ealing. People WILL negotiate but over £20k not that amount. That level of over pricing means that buyers don’t even bother viewing as they’ve made a judgement on you being unreasonable sellers and owners based on current condition of house (decoration as well as rewiring, plumbing etc) versus desired price. Lack of viewings is a pricing issue - lack of offers is a house issue.

Don’t waste your time redoing bathrooms and kitchens as most buyers will change this anyway upon purchasing. Do de clutter the rooms as others have advised.

And you need a local estate agent who knows area. I’d try as my starting point and in no order Grimshaw, Sinton Andrews and Northfields amongst others.