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

Good come back op. You handled that hugely well.

What did the brick and mortar agents value the house at?

I think this is a difficult time to gauge price the market in London is rocky.

I would really reduce it and see what interest you get - if cash buyers are throwing themselves at you then it's a bit low. The danger by not pricing realistically is that doesn't sell and the market crashes.

By the way, the EA we are using is the UK's longest established online EA - this stuck out for me. We moved house around 18 months ago. Whilst we were looking for a property, we tried to get viewings with online agents. We didn't manage to get any viewings with them, even though we phoned several times. So I don't have much confidence in online agents, especially for properties that maybe need a bit of active selling. I just don't think online agents are that invested in selling.

Well done op! You sound very sensible

Yes, I have seen several houses near me (also London) go on sale with online EAs, sit there for months, then finally go on sale with a traditional EA and go under offer very quickly.

In theory an online EA ought to be able to do much the same as a traditional one but ... it doesn't seem that they do.

OP - A good agent has a book of business. That is people looking to buy and people looking to sell. I have about 25 agents who know to call me if something interesting comes up.

Our buyers used HouseNetwork. Our EA did the work of two in order to progress things and keep the chain together - especially when their Ftb naively, but stroppily, started making demands to have their rent paid. Most of the local reps working for online agencies lack the local knowledge of the traditional ones and don't seem to do much for their fee. I am not a fan of EAs, but good ones ensure sales get completed.

A good local agent will have a good knowledge of the types of properties in an area and the different buyer profiles they tend to attract. We chose ours precisely for that and because the other one that knows our village well was too dismissive and wanted to push us to market at an unrealistically high price for the condition of our house, which, like yours needs some internal renovation. The one we chose even turned out to know about the house we're buying and it's not even in the same town as their office!

One thing that impressed us about the one marketing the house we're buying is that they had a good grasp of the vendors and the background of the properties they were marketing and they did a tour of various houses we were interested in viewing, with us, enabling us to make comparisons. Incredibly useful and wouldn't have been possible with an online agent, even if they had several properties in the area.

I think the more personal touch of a local agent is still important, particularly when you have a house to sell that might be more difficult to shift for any reason, whatsoever.

I think if you spent £5000 on a white bathroom suite you could end up being able to charge another £15k and pay it off. Up to you though of course.

So refreshing to read a poster who actually listens to what people say.

FWIW I don't think you should do any work to the house, other than making sure there are no damp patches or cracks, ie make sure the place looks well taken care of. (It does in the photos).

A new bathroom or even kitchen won't scratch the surface of what a lot of London buyers would want to do and it isn't going to change the house from a "doer upper" to a "done up" in their eyes.

Don't do any work OP! Tastes are too different and buyers will most likely want to change what you put in. The house is well cared for: this is the important bit. The rest is cosmetic and can be changed gradually. Nothing needs urgent attention.

I really think you need to price it more sensibly and get a reputable local EA. I'll eat my hat if just those two things don't get you a sale.

Good response, OP. Just a couple of things though - you say you had estate agents round last year. I assume you mean 2016? I agree entirely with the view that you shouldn't change anything but I wondered if your pricing was based on what they said? The whole housing market has changed since then and any valuations from them last year won't be valid. In particular, they pre-date your neighbours' sale, which, as you can see on here, will inevitably have an impact on what you will find people willing to pay for yours.

It's easy when a neighbour sells for less than we think they should to find a reason, but the fact is that they sold for £875 because that, more or less, is what their house is currently worth on the market. At the height of the most recent London craziness, in 2013, you could more or less name your price, and it would go for 10% over. Now, houses aren't realising asking price, and they will basically find their level. Even if selling 'quickly', your neighbours would have sold their house for more if that was the going rate for it.

When we were looking at putting our house on the market, we got pretty tough love from local agents who pointed out comparators on our street and nearby, and I think it would be incredibly useful for you to get agents back in and discuss it with them.

It doesn't seem like you are responding to individual questions OP, but I would really like to understand your logic in thinking your house is worth £20k more than a bigger, fully refurbished one on the exact same street.

Doesn't the fact that that house started off at £1m and dropped make you realise you are in the wrong ball park?

Of course everyone wants the most they can get from their sale to do what ever they chose with but just because your intentions for the extra cash are honourable, doesn't mean it's going to happen.

Oh, and while I don't completely hate fitted wardrobes, they would need to be entirely to my taste, which yours aren't. Having wardrobes taking up so much room, and limiting flexibility, in a room when they're not ones that you chose yourself, isn't something I like, so I'd almost always rip them out if they were already there.

One last thing! You are understandably slightly horrified by how much in cash terms a conventional agent's 1% is, but please do think about how much more you might lose if your house is sitting unsold in a falling market.

Online estate agents work brilliantly for some people and houses. You though would benefit massively from proactive selling, which online estate agents just don't do.

That house was originally on the market this year at £1m! But they quickly reduced and sold it at £875k. I think they were in a hurry to move and maybe got less than they wanted.

I doubt it. It doesn't matter what they "wanted" - its what it's "worth".

Your neighbours are very smart, tuned in to the market and have responded accordingly to get a sale. Unless you are happy to sit out another 7 year property boom bust cycle I would engage with local EA regarding accurate valuations and shift it now to get on with your life.

With respect, the entire property is really dated. The price for a three bed house in Ealing doesn't reflect the amount of work that would need doing to modernise it. The bathroom is incredibly dated and would need to be replaced, and most people under a certain age would want to rip out that wood panelling in the bedroom at the very least. The kitchen looks like it's old school Formica? If it's not? Id try getting a better photo of it. I'd also want that fireplace modernised and all the banisters painted or replaced etc...

I'd say your price is about 100k too high given the amount of work needed...

Re online agents - I’ve used them several times and it was AMAZING. Local agents are less flexible to do viewings, don’t necessarily know the local area as well either. Not to mention the massive saving made.

Local agents are less flexible to do viewings, don’t necessarily know the local area as well either.

Local agents do not know the area as well as a national online agent

Spam me thinks.

Local agents do have long lists of people looking to buy - as soon as you ring to book a viewing for one house, they take your details and start sending relevant emails. We also didn't look at anything with an online agent for a long time and are now slightly regretting it as buying through one is a pita. Local agents also chase buyers for you and co-ordinate the chain, as well as checking ID properly (in person).

@Bearbehind

You thinks wrong. I’m speaking from my experience of buying and selling several properties. Online agents advertise your property online but you do viewings yourself. I made sure I was available for viewings 7 days a week, also very early or late when EAs just would not work at those times. I was able to tell the viewers about the house, the neighbours, local amenities, activities and events, knew a lot about the schools, shortcuts to stations etc. In comparison, when viewing properties with local agents, they’d struggle to answer a quarter or those questions. So paying £££ for an EA is a complete waste of money in my book. The only exception would probably be if your target market is 70+ and might not use the internet to find a property but go into local EA’s office instead.

We've always done our own viewings, but using local agents. I agree that vendors know much more about the property and have an interest in telling prospective buyers as much as they want to know, unlike lots of agents. I still wouldn't use an online agent though.

When we put our house for sale earlier this year, we didn't even view homes that had an online agent. I like being able to pick up the phone and speak to someone when I please - not email and await a response. Our agent did have a list of interested parties and had organised two viewings before the sale board even went up - and the first viewer bought the house. I personally cannot speak highly enough of them as it made the whole thing so easy.
They also really pushed to keep the chain moving
(was a short chain but had a few hold ups).

OP I agree with you, don't do any major works, price is definitely the problem I am afraid :-(

My observation is that the garden is concreted over. If this is a family home for a family with young(er) kids, they'd want some lawn, not decking and concrete. They will be factoring that into the cost too.

As others have said, your decor is dated and people would change it. That is par for the course though with most homes, even ones that are more modern.

The bathroom is ghastly. Sorry. I think if you do anything it should be to change that for white, get rid of some of the pink in the house and even consider cheap, neutral carpets.

Buyers are going to factor in changing carpets or putting down wood/laminate, removing pink walls, the bathroom, the garden, etc.
And I'd take down some of the art work as the walls look cluttered.

Interesting that the OP has ignored all the advice and the house is still on at the same price!