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 know the area a bit and I've looked at the map on the zoopla link. Looks like a cul de sac off the North Circular and possibly backing onto the Great Western railway with the whole road sandwiched between that railway line and another one, regardless of which side of the road you are on. All in all a very busy location which I would guess mean your street would achieve lower prices than comparable houses on other streets in Ealing (but that is just my assumption).

Now this won't matter to potential buyers if the price is right but as many pp have said, you seem to be pricing it very high for what is a well cared for house, but which most people will want to redecorate and redo kitchen/ bathroom which takes time and or money. If you want to try and achieve above average for your area, a buyer will want to be able to walk in tomorrow and not have to touch a thing.

Separately, are you using a local estate agent or an internet one? I didn't recognise the agent on the zoopla link. Is your property on rightmove and prime location? People look at zoopla more for sold prices than buying. How did you come up with the price and why put people off by saying 'offers over'? Have you actually been told you could really expect that price? I'm not a fan of estate agents, but it doesn't feel like you have a good grip on the local market which any local estate agent worth their salt would be able to give you with a free valuation.

Sorry if that's a bit blunt, but hope it helps - I wish you all the best, selling/moving is not a fun process.

Blimey, those houses are massive inside aren't they?! (Compared to what they look from the outside!)

Yeah IMO it's the price. Nearly a million for a terraced house with almost no front garden is an OTT price IMO.

And I do agree with the posters who say it's a bit 'old person' design. And the bathroom colour makes me vom (sorry!)

But really, it is very nice inside - apart from the brown bathroom suite.

Seriously, what were you thinking?

Ooh, I forgot: a good lick of paler paint in the hall would tone down the brown look a lot too.

If you could manage to put some of the heavier furniture in storage, that would also work in your favour.

@tippz My friend's mum has a house in a similar area and of a similar age that looks like a standard terrace from the outside.

I swear it's a fricking TARDIS; it's massive when you get in there! Whatever those architects were doing I wish they'd rediscover it for new builds, they're often pokey af and not a candle to these older properties.

Does it have parking? I don't know if there's something wrong with the listing but if I click into photos I can't get back to the main listing. Same for the map.

I've given up now!

Whilst it looks well looked after, the colour scheme, kitchen and bathroom appear very dated.

You mentioned it similarly priced for your area. Are the other houses modern in comparison? If someone sees yours v’s one with an updated suite/kitchen for a simular price they will easily go for the other.

Either bring the price down or update the kitchen and bathroom.

I love it but then I see the layout as a big plus, the bathroom dated, very dated, but not tight on space and i could update to my own preference when cash allows. The same with the kitchen doors and especially there being no lawn but in the meantime a lovely area. However, I don't look at knocking down walls nor having what I want straight away nor all modern bland open noise-enhancing look. So you should probably ignore me. Love the front.

I also forgot to mention the dark carpets.
If the original floors are nice, I’d hire a sander and pull up the carpets.
I wonder if the hall has lovely original mosaic tiles?
Boards looks so nice if they’re under there.
Matching green carpet and walls was a bit too much !

It's a lovely house, but I think the décor and furniture looks dated ( possibly just a slightly older persons home). I think the London property market is tricky at the moment. We had my late fil's house in South London on the market for 18 months with about 3 viewing despite dropping the price considerably. London prices are crazy.

No downstairs loo or utility room, floor plan doesn't have the dimensions of each room on which is very offputting...

But also, interest rates have just gone up, it makes people who might have been ready to buy think again...

Invest in some white paint and does the hallway have tiles underneath the carpet? Also take the sofas out of the dining room and do the bathroom! Or reduce the price.

Not read the other comments.

Is it a house that will appeal to families? If so, it doesn't feel like a family house. I'll be honest but I hope I don't sound rude, it's very dated. It looks well looked after and big and bright but a bit old people rather than boistorous family.

Could you put a bed and wardrobe in the office? Personally I think it's easier to imagine a bedroom as an office rather than the other way round.

Also, make the third bedroom into a bedroom. If I've understood the photos, it's a room with a sofa right now which is a bit odd. That makes it obvioys it's a 3 bed.

Of course, it might not be on the market for a family anyway. :)

I'm not sure I'd really know what to do with a living room and a living room/dining room. Could you turn one room into a large dining room and keep the other as a family room? Give them some purpose?

The bathroom is very striking and it's something which people might not be willing to take on or live with. A basic white suite costs about £300 and would replace like for like although you'd need to do something with the bidet. On TV they cover tiles with some sort of sheeting. That would save the time, expense and mess of retiling.

I agree with what PPs have said - people near me who want to get top dollar completely redecorate before the property goes on sale - neutral walls and wooden floors etc. Also I don't like the big ivy hedge in the centre of the garden - it isn't a very big garden and it just makes it look a lot smaller.

Without a lot of work your house is a doer upper and needs to be priced accordingly. Sorry.

I’d remove pic twelve op as a matter of urgency, when you look at the sink you can see how stretched the photo is to make it look bigger. I think the same issue with thr bath , but the sink in pic twelve isn’t good.

I am in the same predicament as you. We are in a flat atm and looking to move, but our flat needs a total refurb. We could drop the price to accommodate the need to do it up, or we could spend a bit to get a bigger return.

Your house is super-clean, and very well looked after, but I agree, it needs a refurb. It needs a total "blanding"; white and cream throughout. Even the dado rail. Your house is too "grown-up" for a family. I can see that I would be put off by the amount of work that needs to be done.

Good point about Zoopla. I have never looked on there for properties for sale but I can't find it on Rightmove which is the one that everyone looks at?

It's overpriced, given the amount you'd need to spend.

Buyers will be put off by how dated it is - brown bathrooms haven't been fashionable since the early1980s, so people will think that nothing's been done for thirty odd years.

The kitchen also clearly needs redoing- that's two massive jobs which will put people off.

Your best bet is probably to drop the price to reflect the fact that a new kitchen and bathroom are needed, and rethink the furniture to define the rooms - a clear dining room, a clear sitting room, and bedrooms with bedrooms rather than sofa/desk arrangements.

It's gorgeous but kitchen very small for that price.
Could you attach a plan of what it could look like if you knocked the kitchen wall and made it a big open plan space, and an estimate of the price to knock the wall.
Probably a stupid idea but that's what I would do.

It's lovely and very best wishes with selling it.

Having only the one toilet/bathroom means that stripping it out and redoing it will be a hassle - having to redo two bathrooms would be more expensive, but less annoying.

The amount of money that I’d need to spend on modernising would put me off. The very dated kitchen and bathroom would make me wonder what other big jobs would need doing - like boiler and electrics.

Maggie good spot on the zoopla thing. Any chance you've used an internet only agent who hasn't given you a sensible local price?

interest rates have just gone up

Mortgage rates might have gone up a bit but the base interest rate has not gone up.

Another totally personal thing: I can't abide electric hobs, and I know a lot of people similar. This is a bigger job and so might be for your 'in 6 months time' plans, but if you can make it gas that would probably help.

I honestly don't think I would buy a house that couldn't have gas but that might just be me.

Are the water bills really that low

I really don't think changing the hob to gas will help when the kitchen clearly needs replacing.