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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:
JoJoSM2 · 07/10/2017 23:22

And the North Circular around the corner... I think it’d be a tough property to shift even if the market wasn’t so bad. Just price is appropriately and have patience. It will sell eventually.

5rivers7hills · 07/10/2017 23:38

And the North Circular around the corner

Oh wow, the house is on a tiny island cur off by train tracks on three sides and the circular on the other!

DuckOffAutocorrectYouShiv · 08/10/2017 00:31

Is it wrong that I love the brown bathroom? Blush

MovingOnUpMovingOnOut · 08/10/2017 00:35

The pp points about the road are right. The street itself is very nice but it's a dog leg off the North Circular and a bit that when I lived round there, was almost perennially snarled up. Tbf they were working on the bridge bit forever but it's still very hard to actually get anywhere in the car.

My ex neighbour did something similar to you op - had a look at what the average price was for x number of beds in the area and put her house on the market with an online agent, completely ignoring the fact her house needed a significant amount spent on it before it was comparable. It was about £80k more than it was worth. She ended up selling for 30% less than her original valuation (and about £60k less than it was worth) with a local agent because she found somewhere to buy and then needed a quick sale. If she had priced properly in the first place she would have made more than she did in the end.

makingmiracles · 08/10/2017 00:48

Kitchen and bathroom especially need renovation, a lot of people might open up kitchen and dining room so most would see as a total renovation project and need to factor cost into prize.
Look round some local agents, see what things they've sold similar in same areas recently in same condition and ask how long they were on market for too. I would hazard a total guess this is about 95k overpriced given the location and amount of work needed

Briette · 08/10/2017 01:11

I love the decor (other than the brown bathroom suite, which would absolutely have to go on day one, I'm sorry) but the price is very high. You can get so much more within a short distance from Ealing that you're limiting your pool of buyers a lot. I wouldn't have been interested at all when I was considering that area, because for that price I'd want a lot more for my money. I think if the price dropped, even without updating the house you'd get more interest.

ivykaty44 · 08/10/2017 01:21

Id paint everything white and the fitted wardrobes pain those white

The bathroom - get the estate agent to take the photo Dow

As others have said define the rooms and lose extra furniture

Oliversmumsarmy · 08/10/2017 01:37

It is the price

People will buy and want to put their mark on it but to bring it up to date will take money. People want the cost of the renovation and something on top off to make it worthwhile.

There are houses that dont need the work and an extra bedroom for less.

HeartsTrumpDiamonds · 08/10/2017 01:37

Totally get thee on Rightmove. Zoopla alone raises questions.

What does your estate agent say about the lack of interest?

NotMeNoNo · 08/10/2017 01:55

Is there a reason you have gone with the online low-fee agent - seems like you are getting a level of service to match? A local agent will help you price it realistically and market it to buyers they already have contact with. And put it on Rightmove which 99% of people base their searches on.

LivingInLaLaLand · 08/10/2017 02:35

I think what you can do to improve your chances of a quick sale depends on your target market. Who are the people buying properties like yours, what will they be looking for? Are they young families, young professionals, middle aged families with older kids, or could it be a property company wanting to turn it into a HMO. Also who are your estate agents customers, they might not be the right estate agent for you. When I sold my old London property, I saw 3 different estate agents. The last one had the right customers & my property sold within a day.

Most of your rooms are okay across the board, what could be improved would depend on who you are most likely to sell it to, for example your bathroom could be dress up slightly differently & would be quite fashionable to some, where as your hall would look dated & uninviting to some. The wood doors & pink in the bedroom could be improved cheaply with a whitewash. If a property company were interested, they wouldn't care about decor as they refit it all out neutrally, They will be cheeky on price, but if yours is a sort after area, you can hold your ground & get a better price. It really depends on what else has sold recently & at what price in your area too. Estate Agents do tend to bump the price up to get your business & then expect you to come down after a while.

WatchTheFoxes · 08/10/2017 05:01

Some weird advice on here -- really no point doing major renovations to sell, just rearrange the furniture in the rooms to look good in the photos, and lower the price. It is a lovely home. And as for the pp who said the fireplace needs replacing with a modern one: I can't think of anything worse!

fullofhope03 · 08/10/2017 05:48

Is it wrong that I love the brown bathroom?
It certainly is - DuckOffAutoCorrectYouShive Smile

Figgygal · 08/10/2017 06:14

Price
Bathroom
Garden
Location

Sorry needs lot of modernising

Alittlepotofrosie · 08/10/2017 07:29

The lights on everywhere give the impression the house must be really dark.

JT05 · 08/10/2017 08:02

It’s obviously a munched loved family home, but I agree with what PPs have said.
I have sat in many traffic jams at thr end of that road! The NC is very narrow there due to the railway bridge. The traffic congestion, fumes and the railway would put me off.
Unless the house was a real bargain I wouldn’t view it, sorry!
I write as someone who downsized and sold a loved family home, it’s an emotional wrench, but you have to be realistic.

Bluntness100 · 08/10/2017 08:11

Ah. Op. Are you coming back?

Remember you’re house is lovely. That’s been said many times. But you asked why it wasn’t getting any interest. Not what was good about it.

These threads tend to go two ways, someone asks, and then is actively involved in the responses, makes the changes required and interacts. And I’d say that’s 90 odd percent of them.

A small percentage I think are hurt or pissed off by the comments and aren’t open to hearing it. You need to do the difficult thing of disentangling emotionally it’s your home v it’s objectively a house to sell.

Hopefully you have just been busy and come back and comment.Flowers

wowfudge · 08/10/2017 08:13

As per my original post on this thread, no viewings is down to price. The other things everyone has pointed out are not what is stopping people from even having a look. Drop the price to a more realistic one for the condition and dress the house for sale so it looks it's best. Every room has to have a purpose, some of your furniture probably needs to be thinned out too - especially in the second bedroom and the dresser in the hall.

Your market is families - you have to think like your target market when you are selling and put yourself in their shoes.

flumpybear · 08/10/2017 08:29

If I bought that house I’d want to knock through the kitchen and diner into bigger living space so you could get a quote so you can suggest to new buyers the price to do this and also seek planning if it’s needed (no idea?)
Bathroom is far too dated I’d consider replacing this or dropping price by 10k
Decor old - too much pink and green - I’d be inclined to get it all painted white
Can you change the doors on the built in wardrobe they’re very dated too
I’d check to see what other houses sold in your street, check their decor and sold price as it may Be over priced if no interest at all, you could add something to the particulars about being a house with some modernisation required but price reflects this ...
Good luck

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 08/10/2017 08:46

I wouldn't bother updating it yourself. It would be different if it weren't perfectly clean and nice and liveable as it is.

Even if you spent an awful lot of money - not to mention all the time and faff and hassle - on doing it up, your choices would not necessarily be to someone else's taste. Some people would prefer to refurb to their own taste, not live with someone else's idea of a nice kitchen and bathroom. But the cost (and all the hassle!) does need to be reflected in the price.

FWIW a dd recently bought a house that was far more dated than yours, but it was clean and perfectly liveable, and she's happy to live with it until she can afford to do it all. But the original asking price was realistic, and even a fraction lower than similar in the area. It had a warm and well-loved feel - not all houses do whatever the decor - and I imagine yours would feel the same. It sold very quickly.

I think you need to ask some local agents for really honest opinions.

clary · 08/10/2017 08:47

Agree with everyone, it is priced too high. Clearly a well looked after home, but needs to be priced as a doer upper.

I would want a new bathroom, downstairs loo and knock through the kitchen. You don't need to do that tho OP! Just lower the price by maybe £70k. Also yy put beds in the bedrooms. Photos a bit confusing. And oddly stretched.

Garden us fine IMO, lot of London homes have no lawn, there's usually a park nearby. Hth

LaurieFairyCake · 08/10/2017 08:57

Every carpet, every wallpaper, bathroom and kitchen need to be replaced. And that’s not even considering whether it’s also not been updated with wiring/plumbing since the 80’s.

It’s also only got one loo and in that price bracket people want more loos.

Knock £150k off and there will be interest. It will cost that to do all the work and in London it’s an utter ballache and stupidly expensive to get kitchens done.

carelessproffessional · 08/10/2017 09:08

I like it. But sadly people seem to want a terrace with character and rip every bit of originality on it, make it open plan and stick bifold doors on the back and paint it in a wanky grey so it looks like every other soulless little box on the street. Sadly, that's your market!

carelessproffessional · 08/10/2017 09:10

And I can't possibly be the only person who utterly loathes open plan?

Patchouli666 · 08/10/2017 09:11

IT is on right move. Just googled the postcode and then put that into the search function on rightmove and there it is.
Sadly I agree with all the rest. Overpriced. Yes, it may be what other houses go for in Ealing BUT, they are different, more modern, bigger gardens, better locations. The only one sold recently in your road went for less and had one more bedroom.
You need to drastically ( £100k) reduce the price. Don't leave it hanging on for a long time or people will get bored of seeing it on the Internet and switched off.