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Original poster

What's wrong with our house?

392 replies

sueyandcol1 · 07/10/2017 18:15

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

OP posts:
Wigeon · 07/10/2017 18:38

£10k more, not £0k!

Madamnit · 07/10/2017 18:38

I used to live in ealing (and used to be an estate agent!) It’s a lovely house.

Potential buyers won’t be put off by the decor at all but will need to budget for new kitchen/bathroom/flooring and decor etc...it always comes down to the price. You can spend £££ on it yourselves to make it more modern or just drop the price and let the new owners do it!

Ploppie4 · 07/10/2017 18:40

It’s of an era. The 80’s 90’s mostly. All the pink/green walls and coloured carpets are of a certain period. The tiles in the kitchen are awful. The kitchen units and bathroom suite are very dated but quite sweet. When was the wiring/heating last done?

eurochick · 07/10/2017 18:40

I think there's nothing wrong with it as such. Yes, the decor is dated but it looks well- looked after and most people want to decorate anyway. It's either the price (don't know the area so can't comment) or the general slowing in the market. I've been browsing the market for about a year and lots and lots of houses are just stuck, even with price drops. We haven't bothered putting ours on because we don't think it'll shift.

WutheringTights · 07/10/2017 18:41

This one sold for £875k in the same street and is much more modern, has a proper garden etc. Your price is too high. A purchaser would have to spend a lot to get yours to the same standard as that one.

www.zoopla.co.uk/property-history/20-waldegrave-road/london/w5-3ht/43130370

DuckOffAutocorrectYouShiv · 07/10/2017 18:41

It looks beautifully clean and well maintained but the fittings are dated. Any purchaser will want to update them and unfortunately, it is overpriced considering the amount a buyer will want to spend on it.

Sugarpiehoneyeye · 07/10/2017 18:41

It's a very nice house !
I would change the toilet seat, for a more modern one, maybe a resin one. I wouldn't change the whole bathroom.
You have too much furniture. I would remove the chest etc., from the end of the bed.
A little colour in the lounge, perhaps a painting/print, or a rug/lamp/cushions. Again, too much furniture.
The kitchen tiles let it down, but I would reduce the property price, before I considered changing them.
Four weeks isn't long, however, I don't live in your area.
I'd do the bare minimum, and hang on for another month.
Best of luck , I'm sure it will sell. Once you lower your price, you can't go back up again.

longestlurkerever · 07/10/2017 18:41

I like it and would buy it if it really is priced for the area. I agree there'd need to be money in the budget for redecoration and a new kitchen and bathroom, maybe making the garden more child friendly. But it looks well looked after - I'd rather buy yours than one done up on the cheap by a developer. But the London market really has slowed. Our neighbour hasn't sold and it would have sold at the price they're asking a year or two ago I think. Good luck!

Solasum · 07/10/2017 18:41

It is a nice house. But, kindly, everywhere looks very dated. I would want to replace kitchen, bathroom, all carpets and lots of other things all the way through the house before I'd want to live there. And I'd expect that to be true of most people, so it needs to be reflected in the price. The outside is fine though

HeadDreamer · 07/10/2017 18:41

I don't know prices where you are. But I don't think a coat of paint will change the look of it being an old persons home. I will have to redo the bathroom and the kitchen and repaint all the rooms and change the carpets.

However it is always the price. Because in the end this is all cosmetic.

WutheringTights · 07/10/2017 18:41

And with one I linked to is four bed, yours is only three.

gillybeanz · 07/10/2017 18:42

I think you should define your rooms.
Put a white bathroom suite in and just lighten the walls with a neutral pale colour throughout.
having lived in dark houses i'd be put off with the lights all needing to be on.
I would prefer garden too, so I suppose I'd look at what needs doing and either leave it or want to knock you down a few k.
Gosh that's a lot for a 3 bed terrace, they are less than 100k up here. Grin

Good luck OP, I'd just brighten it up.

NotDavidTennant · 07/10/2017 18:43

Why do you think yours is worth more than the one that went for £875k in the summer?

HollyBollyBooBoo · 07/10/2017 18:43

It needs a lot doing to it in terms of decor and this does put a lot of people off. If I moved in I'd want new bathroom, carpets, decorating throughout, ripping out the wood wardrobes and probably upon closer inspection a new kitchen.

Some people don't have time and energy for that.

Bluntness100 · 07/10/2017 18:44

Op. I think you know the issues, you jump to defend it immediately. It’s vastly over priced. Looking at other houses available and property values you should be on between 800-825.

Overpricing your house always results in no one coming to see it. The fact you previously had it on for 925 is just going to scare people away.

I would take it off the market, wait a month and put it on at a reasonable price, otherwise in another month you’ll still be in the same position.

NC4now · 07/10/2017 18:45

Looking at the comparisons, the price needs to reflect the cost of refurbishing to the standard of other similar properties in the area.
There are some stunners at a similar price.
Wish I had 800k to spend in Ealing

Moreisnnogedag · 07/10/2017 18:46

Absolutely the price is on par for the area but if you look at comparative houses they are all much more modern. Honestly I looked at your home and thought that there's lots of updates I'd need to do whereas with other similar properties there's very little that needs doing.

I'm afraid I think you need to drop the price to reflect that. Sorry.

GreenTulips · 07/10/2017 18:49

There's no grass outside for kids to play
Bathroom is awful
Carpets upstairs are dated
Back room needs wood flooring and modern fire place
Curtains also dated

All adds up to a lot of hassle

If it was one thing fair enough but a young family won't have the time to do the work needed to make it child friendly

gillybeanz · 07/10/2017 18:50

I don't like the other, it's horrible honestly.
All modern and open plan.
The extra bedroom isn't even a proper room its a converted loft, not really a room.
I much prefer the OP's and some people might want to put their own stamp on it rather than pay for somebody else's idea.
Just make sure it's priced right and it will sell.
carpets don't cost that much if somebody wanted to replace them and a lick of paint isn't expensive either.

StorminaBcup · 07/10/2017 18:53

Does the price that you have it advertised at consider the modernisation costs that a buyer would be looking to do? Not all of the decor is to my taste but it’s a lovely house OP.

PickAChew · 07/10/2017 18:58

Agreeing with the above comments. You're better off dropping the price. We're buying at the moment and have viewed every house with a view to how much it's going to cost to make it suit us. We could live quite happily with most of your decor in the short term but apart from the fact that the house is likely to need its wiring etc checked, we'd need to change the kitchen to suit us better. No point you doing that because you might not create the space we need for our massive fridge and freezer and our dryer, so as buyers we'd be no better off.

Another potential buyer might have wanted to open the kitchen up to make a big kitchen diner, so again reducing the price would be more likely to attract that sort of buyer.

neveradullmoment99 · 07/10/2017 18:59

Its the price and the redecoration. As soon as i looked at it the back garden stood out. No grass. Either fix it or reduce.

FizzyGreenWater · 07/10/2017 18:59

Sorry but it is absolutely the price. As others have said (and linked to) - you seem about 50-70k over.

Also, offers over is offputting for some people. You kind of want to know where you stand.

Also, I generally love older houses just as they are - I like your bathroom lots!! - but yours is one I wouldn't go for not because of decor but room shape. I really don't like the galley kitchen and I think lots of people would feel the same. So, I also think that prospective buyers might also think - ok updating, but actually also building works to get a lovely 'family room' kitchen/diner out of the back part of the house (as seen on one of the links).

JaneEyre70 · 07/10/2017 18:59

I think it looks fine OP, a great blank canvas for someone to update and make their own. So I think you'd need to factor that work into the selling price?

Ropsleybunny · 07/10/2017 19:00

It looks lovely but old fashioned. I'd want to spend a lot of money updating it, so yes it's the price.

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