House for sale but only 2 viewings so far

[sanityisamyth]

Good evening MNers!

My house has been for sale since Mid-April but very few viewings on it. I know it's not perfect (very small garden, no parking and opens straight onto the road at the front) but is there anything else I can do to it to encourage viewings etc.

I don't really want to drop the price much more - it seems to be about right for the area and other similar properties.

Thoughts appreciated though!

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-72530438.html

The house looks nice - only thing I can think of is a flower box on the windowsill, maybe geraniums or similar and grass / flowers in garden, shed looks like it needs a coat of paint. Tablecloth in kitchen would be better removed if there's a nice table underneath. Not sure how much difference any of this would make though.

Living room looks very bare , could you add an armchair or something to make it look more homely?

Thing is, if it's not selling, it's too expensive. Property is only worth what people are willing to pay for it.

Living room is lovely although id lose the red throw. Kitchen is nice apart from the too bright yellow wall and ceiling. Beams painted white and a different colour like sage green. Bedroom wallpaper is too much and a bit old fashioned. Kids room is stunning ideal. Garden small and pebbled cant change but spruce up with bistro table and lots of pots.

Thanks @penguinsnpandas

The shed isn't mine but I will have a go at painting it if the neighbours will agree. The retaining wall could do with a lick of paint anyway.

The garden was laid to turf but since the guinea pigs died I have nothing to cut it (and nowhere to keep a mower/strummer as no shed!)

Flowers on windowsill - do you mean at the front of the house? They'd get nicked or trashed probably :(

The table underneath the cloth has definitely seen better days. It was a present from a friend after the ExH took his back when he moved out so it's only a temporary one, but it fits well in the kitchen.

So frustrating not being able to grab people off the street and force them to look around!!!

Can't comment on the price as it's so far from me.

I think you need to emulsion the kitchen in a more modern colour - not everyone likes yellow and it's a bit 80s. Anything pale and neutral will do. Same with the feature wall in the bedroom, choose a lovely new duvet cover and pick out a shade in that to paint the wall. Ditch whatever that pink thing is on your bed - looks like you've something to hide.

The attic is lovely!

Thanks @tootiredtospeak

Red throw on the sofa is covering many bare patches and stains - it's a horrible old sofa.

The ceiling in the kitchen is white? Took hours taping off the beams to keep them exposed - EA said it was a good selling point. Was very tempted to jack it in and paint them white but he said to keep them exposed.

The bedroom wallpaper went up literally 2 hours before the photos were taken. It's the only paper in the house and loved it in the shop!

Can get some more things in the garden though to make it look more functional! :)

Honest opinion.

Although it looks clean and tidy it doesn't look homely. Which then draws attention to thing that people may want to change. Which costs money. It looks like a tidy student house. Consider a rug in the front room, a big picture on that yellow wall in the kitchen, fruit bowl or flowers on the table etc.

As per pp, although you may not want to drop the price much it's only worth what someone will pay. Nearby sold prices show one similar to yours on same street sold for about £28k less last year and the rooms look nicer than yours do.

I don't think minor stuff like the throw etc matters. Are you absolutely sure its correctly priced? Have you looked at sold values not just asking prices?

colourful rug on the grey carpet would brighten it up.
Attic looks nice
Otherwise you may have to drop the price.

It’s definitely the price.

This sold for £111K a year ago and it is much better presented than yours and has a larger garden.

www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/detailMatching.html?prop=62140550&sale=89709072&country=england

Am I being silly or is there no window in the kids room?

Possibly the photos are a bit too focussed on the ceiling which can make the rooms look smaller.

I think it may be down to the competition, this is on the market for only £2k more than yours, am guessing there will be others close by too, and whilst it's a nice house, the presentation doesn't appear I imagine to the market.

I think you have to modernise the look - I think the dark red in lots of rooms and the yellow in the kitchen is quite dated. The loft bedroom, the other bedroom, above the fridge and the shelves in the lounge need a real de-clitter to give the impression of space. White bedding. And the shed / garden fence need painting and dressing with some pot plants.

Looking at what has sold on your street, there was a well presented 2 bed house which sold last year for £111,000. It had a wood burner and a bigger garden with a lawn. Sorry to say it, but it's the price.

Snap Woriedd!

Thanks all :)

I've looked at sold prices (and compared to asking prices which haven't changed that much). I might ask the EA what they're doing to actively market it. I have no rush to sell it (don't have to move) but the longer it's on the market for the more people will think there is a problem with it.

It’s not really a 2 bed because you’ve lost the attic space so no storage. The pipes on the kitchen wall look awful and you don’t seem to have a lot of work surface / cupboard space either. I don’t like the beams
The lounge, bathroom and bedrooms all look nicely presented, but essentially it’s a 1 bed house in need of a new kitchen and a garden, with the front door in the lounge. I think you need to compare price wise with other 1 bed places.
Sorry

To be honest it must be price. Its a tough market, we had to drop 10% off our asking because we were getting no viewings. Had loads and sold quite quickly once we’d done that.

I can’t see anything in the pictures that would be putting people off that can be changed. It’s a sweet little house.

@Worieddd the house doesn't come up - just the link for the house price page?

@PlateOfBiscuits there's a small roof window in there but it's got a black out curtain up there as my DS sleeps in the attic and it's bad enough now the sun doesn't set until stupid o'clock!!!

All useful feedback - thanks all!

P.S. @namechangedtoday15 de-clittering sounds painful!!! ;)

I wonder if the layout of your house is putting people off. You’ve got a nice big bathroom, but the bedrooms are on different floors and that may well put people off. Similarly, the attic bedroom doesn’t appear to have a door. That may limit your market.

Could you present the attic room in a way that made it clearer where people might put a bed etc? It’s not entirely obvious from the photos where you’d put one, which makes you think it might be an awkward space.

@UnimaginativeUsername the attic doesn't have a door - the staircase just opens up into the attic space. The eaves still have a fair amount of storage accessible but that's a good point.

When ExH rented the house out, the tenants managed to get a sofa bed against the wall with the clock on it, opening up towards the stairs. I think it was a double but can't remember. I only saw it once.

Saying this gently. The house is fine but does look tired.

Comapred to the other that a poster mentioned above.. the stove, more cosy yet modern and fresh.

The main bedroom with red wallpaper. I would do that up. Nice light fitting. New linen. Maybe a more pastel colour scheme.

Children's bedroom - gorgeous.
Garden - white coat of paint on shed. Maybe bistro table and chairs.

Living room - new throws perhaps (Amazon do them that cover all the sofa) and new cushions. Doesn't appear to be a good use of space (I know that is difficult) maybe a rug to tie in with cushions

Lot of clutter on shelves.
Kitchen - don't like beams that colour or yellow paint.

It might be that some people are put off by the lack of a door. And you might know there’s space there, but it has to be clear to someone glancing at photos on rightmove or they’re likely to discount the house.

TBH (and I’m not trying to be horrible), it does look like a house that’s been rented out in the photos.

Lounge, nice and big, but I'd want to be able to seat more than two on comfy chairs in a home for a couple and one or two kids, so would expect two sofas or at least another comfy chair (how about a poang chair from IKEA, very cheap second hand). The throw does make it look like a rental, maybe get one that's not so dark so it's not so obvious. Kitchen looks fine to me, although would look bigger with white walls. Move the magnets off the fridge and replace the plastic tablecloth with a cloth one and a nice vase with flowers. Reckon a spend of £50-100 on the kitchen would make it loads better.
Main bedroom is dark, maybe spend a few quid on a white throw and red cushions so it matches the wall (I'm sorry, but the grey and pink on the bed just don't go with the red, maybe it's the lighting in the photos though). The light fitting is a bit odd too, maybe get a simple one?
Bathroom is great, clean and bright - leave it just as is!
Kid's bedroom is a lovely space, but again is dark and cluttered. Why not get some big storage boxes or bags and just throw all the stuff in when the photos are being done. We used to clear all the clutter and put in big bags/boxes in the car while we had viewings. I think this could be a big double room, but it's hard to see that when it's got so much stuff in and a small bed. It would look amazing with a double bed in the alcove. All the stuff stored on the floor makes it look like the room is too low for any proper furniture to fit in, which it probably isn't.
Garden is quite decent sized, but doesn't show people the 'outdoor lifestyle'. A couple of nice chairs and a table (anything that isn't plastic) would show viewers that it is big enough to sit out for a drink in the evening at least.
Good luck, hope this doesn't come across to harsh, but want to give you some practical ideas to help it sell. I won't comment on price as don't know the area.

Woriedd's link works OK for me, try clicking on the link to the right of your house on your RightMove ad page, below the 'properties sold nearby' heading. It's 35 North Street, and it sold for £111k just over a year ago. It's definitely price if you aren't getting viewings.

I would worry whether the loft conversion met building regulations. I would have expected a protected escape route but the stairs seem to end up in the kitchen. I also agree that the lounge is too bare.

But mostly like others I think price is the biggest issue.