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Original poster

Why is my house not selling?

177 replies

MummyMather2 · 28/07/2018 17:35

We listed our house in May and within 4 days we'd had 3 offers and sold our house for over the asking price. Unfortunately our buyer was going through a divorce and her husband suddenly changed their mind on the amount she was having (we'd previously had a letter from her solicitor showing where the funds were coming from) and she pulled out as she wasn't sure how long it would take to settle or if she would have the right funds.

As per her instruction we had moved quickly. The majority of our house had been packed up and move to relatives spare rooms and we were a week away from exchanging contracts.

We shed a few tears but quickly got the house back on the market. I fully appreciate it has only been back on for 4 weeks but we have only had 4 viewings (less then last time!) and things round here sell very quickly usually. We haven't had a viewing in 2 weeks.

To add even further pressure there are now a lot more houses in the same price bracket as ours that have come on for sale.

Estate agent isn't very helpful. We are chasing them but haven't heard from them in a week now as we got fed up of chasing them and waiting for a few days for them to get back to us. However, we haven't had any feedback that says it was too expensive just it didn't tick all their boxes.

I didn't know if anyone can advise what to do - I also realise that the summer holiday period really kills it a bit but just so disheartened!

Luckily the people we are buying from don't seem too bothered yet but I don't know what I'd do if they turned around and gave us a deadline! They are a deceased estate and it's almost our dream house!!!

Any advice welcome.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-55167393.html

OP posts:
DoinItForTheKids · 29/07/2018 15:07

I don't think because people are saying on here that they understand that some buyers are really put off by looking at the amount of painting and other jobs that need doing - I'd be put off by some things and not others but the fact does remain that many people ARE put off!

It is as loveka says, a bloody long-winded messy task as usually it's not just a case of slap on some more paint. The sanding, the filling holes, the mess, multiple coats of glossing, urgh, it's hard work and in many homes a stairwell area is so vastly high in places you'd have to hire special ladders or platforms to have any chance of doing it safely - unsurprisingly, that does put some people off even if they can see past what it could look like!

You can be cheesed off about this as much as you like but people, rightly or wrongly, have higher expectations than they used to and don't want typically to do lots of work or spend out on a house to have to then decorate and recarpet it.

Snog · 29/07/2018 15:10

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-55154655.html

This is £300k and looks like pretty stiff competition

Snog · 29/07/2018 15:15

That house has nearly twice the square footage for another £10k and is a character property, no leasehold.
I don't know the area but as a superficial judgement based on Right Move this house makes yours look like not so good value for money and possibly over priced.

usernameismyusername · 29/07/2018 15:18

Ooh I like that snog!

I prefer op's lounge though, so pretty and light.

brizzledrizzle · 29/07/2018 15:31

The inside of Snog's link looks nice but the wildlife unfriendly outdoor space would totally put me off.

Snog · 29/07/2018 15:35

Yes OP definitely has more family friendly garden space. The square footage difference is HUGE though.

wowfudge · 29/07/2018 16:41

That other house is a terrace, on a main road with a bus stop practically outside and a school very close by. It has less outside space and is more overlooked. And what is going on with the bath on that weird wooden plinth? The Victorian terrace would be what Kirsty and Phil would show someone to demonstrate that you can have more living space in the same price bracket, but there are compromises elsewhere.

FrayedHem · 29/07/2018 20:46

Looking on street view, the parking for the 2nd is ripe for a MN parking wanker thread! And bin-napping!

GuntyMcGee · 29/07/2018 21:00

It's a lovely house, but I did recoil slightly at the blue/grey hallway and the wallpaper and light sabre lights on the landing would really put me off. I'm a lazy arse and would be put off by having to redecorate as soon as I moved in, especially a tricky area like the stairs. So neutralising those would make me more likely to want to view and that's the thing OP, people need to want to view a property and there are many things that can put people of. Decluttering and neutralising decor, while a cost and faff for you, is more likely to get people through the door. As is looking at the price bracket and what people would be likely to expect for that price in your area.

I'd also be looking at giving your estate agent a shove and trying someone else who wants to sell your property.

Original poster
MummyMather2 · 30/07/2018 07:49

Thank you for everyone's opinion. We don't want to redecorate for someone else to redecorate to their taste, however, we are going to speak to our estate agent to ask them if we should reduce the price slightly to reflect that it may not be decorated to everyone's taste.
Going to ask them to remove the pictures of the entrance hall and upstairs landing. We possibly will tone down the kitchen and will remove the mid sleeper bed in the small bedroom and put a smaller bed in there. A house smaller than ours down the road has come up for sale and their smaller bedroom looks better presented then ours.
Do you think the estate agent will take new photos as part of our package or make us pay more? As they have been useless I don't want to give them even more money!!

OP posts:
wowfudge · 30/07/2018 07:57

You can take your own photos if necessary. If they haven't suggested anything else or been proactive then they'd have a cheek suggesting it would cost you to get more photos taken. Don't even suggest it to them. They stand to make their commission if they sell it.

loveka · 30/07/2018 09:36

So people wont see the awful hallway upstairs until they arrive now?!

Quite a few people have told you that this would put them off. You have it in your head that they will redecorate to their taste anyway. Maybe eventually.

But that is different to feeling you HAVE to do something to it. If you are inexperienced you will be worried (possibly unconciously) about cost or time which will make you think you don't like tbe house. That is how human psycology works.

Have you never watched a property programme? To sell, they always advise redecorating anything particularly outlandish.

The downstairs blue wall is fine- it is a very contempory colour. But the upstairs bit needs to change.

MissCherryCakeyBun · 30/07/2018 09:56

^^
This... totally this
You asked and you are now ignoring the answers saying decorate....Confused

GrumpyOlderBloke · 30/07/2018 10:18

Tenure: Leasehold

Has all the recent negative publicity about this put buyers off?

user1471426142 · 30/07/2018 10:46

I don’t think it is so much about redecorating for someone to change it. It’s capturing the people that don’t want to immediately have a big job to do. The vendors neutralised our house and we haven’t re-done any of it. It gave us a blank canvas to make it our own with furniture, curtains, soft furnishings etc. Eventually we’ll get round to it but it was a big bonus that we didn’t have to. I was pregnant when I moved in and since then, haven’t had the inclination to do a big paint job with little people.

OftenHangry · 30/07/2018 10:53

I would be pretty peeved off if I went to view and found out they "hid" the upstairs hallway.
You will just end up with viewings and no offers
Downstairs hallway is nice. It's in, but the upstairs is just not.
Just buy a simple white paint and spend a day on it. It's worth it.

Bluntness100 · 30/07/2018 10:58

I'm not sure of your thought process of just hiding rhe pictures either. If it's going To put someone off best that happens before they waste time viewing it.

SmileSweetly · 30/07/2018 10:58

I'd repaint to tone down the landing and kitchen, make those areas more neutral and then re-photograph.

commonarewe · 30/07/2018 11:48

Lol, buyers really love surprises - go for it!

AgathaF · 30/07/2018 12:06

Why on earth wouldn't you just paint the landing and possibly the kitchen after so many people on this thread have said it would put them off? It's a days work over the weekend and could save you thousands.

usernameismyusername · 30/07/2018 12:22

It's not redecorating for someone else to redecorate to their taste. It's removing something that appeals to very few people, with something neutral that will appeal to a wider range of buyers. If it's neutral they may not redecorate at all, that's the whole point.

Bluntness100 · 30/07/2018 12:35

I'd agree rhe likely hood of someone moving in and wishing to repaint a neutral immediately is low. The likely hood of someone moving in and having to repaint the kitchen, hall and stair well as is, is probably quite high.

I'd repaint before I dropped the price to reflect the fact it needs redecorating, it's neither a big or expensive job.

You could easily do the kitchen and take the blue out the hallway in a day, and just take rhe light sabres down. Leave the upstairs hall as that is a bit of a ball ache to do about the stairs,

glintandglide · 30/07/2018 13:30

It’s going to look crap if you repaint it all yourself, unless you happen to be a painter and decorator

Bluntness100 · 30/07/2018 15:00

It’s going to look crap if you repaint it all yourself, unless you happen to be a painter and decorator

Don't be daft, it's not exactly hard to do, no reason for it to look crap.

AgathaF · 30/07/2018 15:13

It's perfectly possible to do a good job yourself.

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