Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

House up for sale for 2 weeks only 1 viewing

139 replies

Alexsb1 · 20/03/2018 15:47

So we have taken the plunge and put out house on the market . We have been here 14 years and its our 1st home so we don't really know what to expect in relation to selling a house . We got 3 estate agents out for valuation and went with the highest one out of the 3. Happy with pictures and description etc. We had been told by all 3 wouldn't take long to sell as ideal 1st time buyers or buy to let property . So expectations were quite high..... 2 weeks in we have had 1 cancelled viewing and 1 viewing that is 'going' to let us know. I am now slightly worried about the lack of interest and worried we have overpriced or something . Any help/advice?? Ty

OP posts:
HolyShet · 20/03/2018 17:51

Think about how people style and photoshoot holiday cottages and do a bit of that - your house has more charm, more outdoor space and is less overlooked than a new build, work with that vibe a bit.

wowfudge · 20/03/2018 19:11

I do wonder what some people on this thread would actually choose to view, and I think it is crackers to suggest discounting the price because you don't like the décor.

What I would say is that you need a better photo of the front of the house (no pylon showing) and it needs more kerb appeal - a nice planter of colorful spring flowers would help.

Inside the beds and sofa need smoothing for new photos and I agree you shouldn't have things on top of the kitchen units as it makes people think they is no storage.

Consider repainting the bathroom. When we moved into our last house, the bathroom was the same shade of shitty brown and was referred to as the shitty brown bathroom until we had it redone!

I think you are being sensible to give it another week before looking at reducing the price because the weather has been awful recently. As pp have said, I'd go with the average rather than the highest EA valuation if it were me selling.

Sprinklesinmyelbow · 20/03/2018 19:12

I think it’s crackers too. There is a huge gap between buying a lifestyle and not being understand that the previous owners will take their big blue boxes with them
When they move Grin

SpringHen · 20/03/2018 19:16

and I think it is crackers to suggest discounting the price because you don't like the décor.

I can look past soft furnishings and choice of paint/wallpaper etc...

But this house needs much more tham superficial touches in every room IMO. Costly non DIY jobs. And if I had the budget for that I might prefer to buy a house with bigger/more bedrooms instead.

JT05 · 20/03/2018 19:17

Lots of good suggestions by other posters. But I looked at the floor plan and your dining room seems to jut into next door? Or am I reading it wrongly?

dany174 · 20/03/2018 19:18

Its a nice house and there is nothing really wrong with it but you need to invite people a bit more to come a have a look at it.

Get some new photos and ask the estate agent to put measurements on the floorplan. People need help imagining themselves living in your house. Not everyone has the imagination to see past your stuff.

My first thought was why is there no picture of the dining room? It makes me think there might be something wrong with that room. Some people might also not even look at the floorplan first and assume your house is smaller then it is.

You seem to have some potted plants in the back garden, I would brighten them up and bring them up front to make it look more inviting.

The living room looks smaler then it is because of the clutter and everything is against the wall. Center the rug, place a coffee table on it and remove the clutter from the fireplace and bookshelf. If you or a relative have a nice armchair, place it close to the bookshelf and lamp. Also the flower painting looks to high up, I would hang it at the same hight as the mirror to give the impression of a higher ceiling. You might also try hanging the mirror portrait instead of landscape, as this too can sometimes create the illusion of a higher ceiling. This room also has the problem that with the sofa facing the fireplace, this only highlights it as a problem. I know its painted the same as the walls but it kind of looks like two sheets of cardboard. Maybe place something in front of it so that it becomes more of a frame and a quirky feature instead of a empty hole and flaw that is grabbing all the attention of the room. All this will make it look more like a comfy living room instead of like a playroom for the children.

The kitchen needs decluttering and the pictures needs to be taken from further back or different angels. It was only when I looked more carefully at the floorplan that I realised there was space for another door. I might also move the bin against the wall you don't see or get one that fits in the under the counter cupboards.

Remove all the kids stuff from the garden and place some chairs out.

Declutter your bedroom, especially under the bed and remove the little bookcase. Cover the bed with some white or cream covers because some people really don't like purple and it will mach more with your fabric wardrobes. Remove the chair.

If you can move one of your child's wardrobes to the wall we can't see or to the hallway. It might look okay opposite the stairs (if it fits). This will make the room look a little bigger.

The pylons would put me off, but there is nothing you can do about that.

SpringHen · 20/03/2018 19:21

Is there some sort of floating freehold issue going on with NDN over part of your dining room?

Drum71 · 20/03/2018 19:24

Presentation and photos are very poor. Pylons will be a huge issue to buyers. Is your floor plan correct?

adayatthebeach · 20/03/2018 19:27

The fitted carpet looks loose in the upstair hall. Everyone has good ideas. Maybe sells are slow this time of year and will pick up. Smile

turnipfarmers · 20/03/2018 19:33

What puts me off is the lack of a fire place in the lounge, the fact that the kitchen is so dated and very small - maybe it isn't but the fridge gives that idea.
The main bedroom is lovely. The bathroom is fine, nothing that a coat of paint wouldn't change - could you just paint over it and put a cheap B&M picture on the wall? Or add just the picture to break up the brown a bit.

When I got the last picture and saw the pylons and cables that really put me off so I wouldn't overlook other stuff that could be put right like the fireplace.

dany174 · 20/03/2018 20:15

Do i see it wrong or do you not have a shower? This would turn me of from the property because that means I need to put in a new bathroom before I can move in.

Mrsmadevans · 20/03/2018 20:18

I can't see a lot wrong with your home OP in fact it looks good for the price imho but then l don't know your local market but tbh it is the pylons that would do it for me too . I hope you have better luck and sell it very soon.

LadyPenelope68 · 20/03/2018 20:26

Kitchen is dated and cluttered, bathroom dated too.

Living room has a fireplace with no fire, which is odd and the big blue toy box looks tatty and out of place.

Bedroom looks untidy, particularly with whatever that is in the corner covered with purple fabric.
Plus the main one for me - the pylon View, it’s all you see.

Angryosaurus · 20/03/2018 20:41

No idea about the price, but it's a really great home you have. 2 decent bedrooms, upstairs bathroom, 2 reception rooms, semi not terrace, great views, decent driveway, garden, good decorative order, scope to extend...I wonder if it must be the pylons putting people off? I guess not much you can do about that other than drop the price? I'd wait and see if viewings pick up over Easter first though. As a FTB a few years ago I'd have been seriously considering it!

jkl0311 · 20/03/2018 20:45

Looking from an investors point of view.... needs a little tlc and I'm thinking budget of 4K to just make it rentable. So what price you thinking with that asking price?

BiologyMatters · 20/03/2018 21:36

Of course people understand that people take their stuff with them and also that people will redecorate to their own taste. that costs money. For example i bought my house for £210,000. It needed redecorating throughout and ive spent £20k over 2 years doing it. Houses which were already nicely decorated that you could move into and unpack were priced at £250k+ at the time. So the house i bought was realistically priced for the condition it was in. Op's house needs a lot of work just to get it to neutral so it should be priced in mind with the fact that pretty much every buyer will look at it and be put off by the relatively high price considering the work needed.

SlothMama · 20/03/2018 21:41

Declutter and have photos taken again, it's a nice house needs redecorating and personally I hate artex ceiling but I'd view it in under to see how much I can offer under the asking price to factor in the work I'd need to do.

SingaSong12 · 20/03/2018 22:01

You've had some good tips on getting new photos after decluttering to make the house look really good. I noticed the difference between the footprint of each floor so you might need to explain.

Some people may start looking around Easter when they have days off to really begin a search or to arrange viewings.

Londonwriter · 21/03/2018 06:50

OP - get your estate agent to take new photos. Those are dreadful.

You need photos on a sunny day and focusing on the best bits of your house. A good photographer should not be photographing your shed, your fridge, or using viewing angles to make the house seem smaller than it is (e.g the side view of the cabinets in the kid's bedroom so the room looks tiny).

I'm angry with your EA tbh. Their job is to help you sell your house and taking decent photos is a core part of that.

You might want to move some furniture out temporarily, repaint the bathroom, or stage your house with flowers on a table, etc. but a half-decent photographer should be able to work with what you have.

FluffyWuffy100 · 21/03/2018 07:14

A good photographer should not be photographing your shed,

I saw the shed photo and though, oh how useful, a nice big shed! A nice positive.

Alexsb1 · 21/03/2018 07:54

Thank you all for the suggestions, yes part of dining room is under next door its the way the house was divided and indeed has a flying freehold but when we bought the house was sorted so shouldn't be much of an issue for next buyers. Yes not alot i can do about the pylon BUT the house which the pylon is actually in front of was the one that sold within 2 months of being on. There is not space /good angles to take pictures from in each of the rooms, overall i was happy with photos tho not sure why the dining room wasn't photographed if you compare room sizes to new builds the house is bigger. Yes it needs a new kitchen and bathroom and we are willing to take a bit off asking price but was going for the aim high to negiotate down tack as dont most people offer 10% less than asking price ???

OP posts:
Misty9 · 21/03/2018 08:10

I think it's a nice looking house. Four things struck me;

Where is the front door? No obvious picture including it
Kitchen looks tiny and dominated by the fridge. A better photo might help
The huge blank fireplace. Probably easy to change but stands out in photos.
Bung some white bedding on your bed

I don't think people do automatically offer 10% under asking anymore.

Good luck

Alexsb1 · 21/03/2018 08:38

We don't have a front door ☺ just the side one .

OP posts:
80sMum · 21/03/2018 08:51

If you have nobody wanting to view then it must be because the details prepared by your agent are not very appealing.

I don't think the photographs are at all flattering to the house, tbh. Because of the lack of front door and the lack of external decorative features, such as a porch, the house is rather lacking in "kerb appeal". So, I would suggest that you don't use a photo of the front of the house as the main photo, but choose something more appealing, something that will make people want to come and look.

It might be worth paying a professional photographer to take some promotional photos for you. You would be amazed what a skilled photographer can do!

winterwonderly · 21/03/2018 09:00

New photos would make a big difference. Get some nice pots with colourful plants out the front. Take away every last bit of clutter, the blue box in the living room, stuff on top of the fridge etc. Put an electric replica stove in the space where the fireplace is. A lick of paint in the bathroom to make it nice and clean looking, white or cream. Light coloured bedding, make the beds look nice and luxurious, add a throw/cushions etc. Nothing that's going to cost lots of money but it will definitely get you more viewings.