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 do think your house is beautiful :)

Agree it needs to be priced as a doer upper. It is clearly well taken care of but despite that, as pp said, younger buyers will want to replace kitchen, bathroom and all decor, and probably knock some walls through too. That all costs £££ especially in London.

The house itself is lovely but think most people would want to change the kitchen/bathroom which is major expense.

The price needs to reflect the work that will have to be done to update it.

I agree with other PPs. The house has obviously been well looked after but the décor is dated and more to the taste of the over 50's than a young family, which is presumably your target market for a 3 bed house. I don't think you need to do work to it if you don't want the hassle, BUT if you want it to sell then you need to set the price about 50k less to reflect the work that most people will want to do to it.

Agree with others. Beautiful house but dated. Need to reduce the price

"Offers over" is a good way to put buyers hackles up

And also, the price is too high

Does not sound like you have a good estate agent. Did you pick them because they gave the highest valuation?

Also look at the zoopla stats for average prices / selling prices in your area. It's considerably less than your asking price. Sorry.

www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/44957399?betabanner_dismiss=1#c09yAbWjF3694rFZ.97

In addition to the price comments, consider which estate agent you’re with. We sold in SW London a couple of years ago and it was amazing that above the c£750k market it is very foot driven rather than an internet driven market still. So getting people shown your place with the agent who wants to show them a few houses in their price bracket is a good way of getting people through the door. Consider changing agent.

None of the rooms would trouble me except the bathroom and kitchen. Yes, most of the rooms are furnished in an older persons style, but they are quite neutral and don't look like any issue to redecorate. But bathrooms and kitchens seem like too much hassle/cost for many people. The brown suite, and the kitchen tiling look like things people would want to change.

I would think you need to look very carefully at your pricing and work out your priorities. Quick sale= competitive fixed price, a bit lower than your competition. Maximum price= take it off the market, get advice from estate agent on your target buyer and renovate bathroom and kitchen accordingly, return to market.

Also are the pics stretching the rooms? Looking at the pics, they seem like really big rooms, much bigger than the square footage indicates. The two don’t seem to marry up.

It looks immaculately presented by sadly dates. Most people would want to update it whilst keeping period features, therefore the price needs to reflect that. Drop the price by £50-70k

Looks like it has lots of potential.... Get some other valuations maybe?

People look at what to change in a house and will always over egg the price. The bathroom is awful (sorry) and perceived as a lot of upheaval to have done but done with a plain white suite no bidet and maybe slate tiling or similar more modern style it could make a big difference. I would also see the kitchen as needing changing and galley kitchens are not popular. I also think you might want to look at the price and say is it good value if I have to redo kitchen and bathroom and possibly knock through kitchen or extend orrr.... etc. If you want top dollar you will need to do the work first the market is v demanding in London. Personally I love it as a property but would still want to do bath and kitchen :-)

I think it must be the price. I look at your house and think it's very dated (sorry). I'd want new carpets, new kitchen, new bathroom, everywhere decorating - which in London to suit that area would probably cost about 50k minimum. Have a clear put of furniture. I don't think it's worth you doing the work as whoever buys your house would probably be looking for a project. Have an honest chat with the agent about the price.

Withering tights link is 4 bed and modern/finished. Yours is 3 bed and needs updating throughout.

Oh yeah and in the bedrooms lose some of the furniture (esp pink room with loads of drawers all different) and plain bedding as the patchwork whilst pretty dates it

It's immaculate but completely out of date.

Either do it up yourself or drop the price accordingly, you could try putting 'offers invited' by the price.

Unless you live in a really dire area or you are trying to sell during a recession it's always the price.

The reason you have had no viewings is the price, pure and simple. It's just too much money for a house which needs a new bathroom and kitchen.

Drop the price, make the bedrooms look like bedrooms and cut some of the superfluous repeat photos of rooms.

No lawn in a family home, that bathroom (wtf is that in the bidet??!) and over priced compared to what else you could get in the area.

It's the price really. I know the area and it looks about £100k over what I would expect.

I think it might be overpriced. It's a beautiful family home but looks very dated and a bit too "brown" to be honest. The bathroom would benefit from a white suite. I like the kitchen a lot but others might find it a bit clinical I suppose. Good luck with your move - I'm sure someone will buy it OP!

It looks a bit dated , and bedroom 2 and 3 don’t have beds ? Or have I got that wrong
I would guess people look at it and think they’d need to spend quite a lot
I don’t know your area , but I think if you have no viewings it’s because it’s overpriced

Looks ok to me. A bathroom can be changed. Our house had a very old pink bathroom, we bought it and changed it, it was more or less the first thing we did after we moved in.

Decor can be changed, too.

As a PP said, price is too high. The area is good for schools isn't it - I have a friend in Ealing. So it can only really be the price as people will see beyond a lot of cosmetic issues if the schools in the neighbourhood are decent.

It’s overpriced. Starting with the basics, there’s only 1 toilet, people expect more in a 3 bed now. But the links above to modernised and extended houses do demonstrate that it’s overpriced. I’d guess yours doesn’t back onto the railway which would make quite a difference to the value.

It's an immaculately presented house, but I don't think the chocolate bathroom suite does you any favours.

Could you replace it for a cheap plain white one?