Help me sell this house!

[eggofmantumbi]

On the advice of a user on my other thread.
This house was meant to be our forever home. Then things went a bit wrong and now we're relocating. Bought for 210k in September 2015. Need to sell ASAP.
On the market for about 6 weeks. 7 viewings. Common theme about kitchen (1 or 2 also just downstairs in general) being too small.

I've done what I can for pictures but teaching full time with an 18 month old and no family/ friends nearby....

But it's half term next week and I have childcare so any advice??? Please be nice- I'm a bit tearful! 🤣

www.rightmove.co.uk/s6p/67709629

No offence but it all looks a bit cheap. Beg steal or borrow some nice throws and cushions for the beds and layer up so they look a bit luxurious. The dining room looks like a playroom. Move the table into the centre and pull out the leaves if possible and remove the toys and children's furniture. Either lay the table with sparkly glasses and set for dinner, or remove the tablecloth. Your furniture is all really cheap looking, might be worth having a look in a vintage or antique/junk shop for a substantial dining table and a pretty dressing table. Some pretty but substantial lampshades would help and you can take these with you. The study lacks a decent desk, so it all looks a bit bitty. I would also move the bookcase into the dining room from the lounge and get rid of the ones in the dining room. You need a pop of colour in the lounge, so either a contrasting colour in the cushions or change the curtains and the cushions so it doesnt look so soulless. The approach to the house although ok lacks any colour, so a couple of substantial planters with some winter pansies and drafts and tulips for spring would help. Your back garden grass needs cutting. The angle of the photo in the kitchen does it no favours so they should also retake that one as well as the others. A bit of colour might be good too. Good luck.

@eggofmantumbi you're getting viewings at the current price, so it's not unreasonable. It needs better staging, it needs to reflect the buyers lifestyle aspirations. :)

Front of house - is the ramp just for pushchair? Is it removable?
If so show the step, prune bushes and add a decent potted plant by the front door for colour!

Rear of house - prune, cut grass, add a few plants to tubs, fix shed curtain. Close windows before taking next pics.

Can you borrow a few bits/do you have a budget to dress for the house?

Lounge- coloured cushions and a rug. Clear mantle and replace with 2 candles to one side and a bunch of flowers,a mirror would really help. Pull sofa nearer door away from patio a little.

Dining room- buy two fabric ottomans (Argos) and put either side of chimney breast filled with toys and topped with cushions. Large picture on chimney breast. Put kids storage in kids bedroom.
Table and chairs in middle of the room, large vase of flowers on it. Plant from there to kitchen windowsill.

Remove stair gate and paint any marks.

Kitchen needs 'dressed' all too plain. Add colour to all rooms with bedding.

Remove the random garden pictures and the close up of a rather plain fireplace.

Good luck!

I love it just the type of house I'd buy so I could put my own style/decoration on it. It's bright and clean and around here an end terrace with a loft conversion costs £500k.

I think it's fine personally, a bit dated but as I said clean. I could easily move in and not feel like I need to instantly gut the place because it's tired, manky and dirty.

I rather like it, if I was looking in the area it would definitely be one I'd consider.

Things I like; having two toilets, there is a decent sized hallway and a separate utility area. The garden is a nice size, and there is driveway parking

Downsides for me. not clear if you can use the garage for a car, it seems small and full of kitchen units. Not keen on flat roof extensions, 4th bedroom looks very small.

Some of the pictures are a bit weird and there are too many of them close up of the unremarkable fireplace, why? The measurements for the forth bedroom seem wrong, and the bathroom. nice enough, but not stylish

Unfortunately, people cannot are past the carpets and bare beds.

You need to present it as a showhouse. It needs to look like someone could move right in and not have to change anything.

It's amazing to me that people cannot see past decor but they really really can't.

Agree with PP. You need more color (think: curtains, duvet covers, plants, picturs on walls, decorative items, etc.)

Furthermore, I think you need to take only 1 picture of each room with the best possible angle. There doesn't need to be any pictures of stairs or hallways, unless there is a way to make them look inviting.

Thanks ladies. I'm going to write a to do list and try to improve presentation.

Seriously, someone should start a business doing this!

What's the wooden ramp to the door? I'd move that fir the photos, open all the curtains fully, cut back the shrubs, and do a bit of staging with flowers etc
It's a lovely house.

For me the major issue is the assorted colors of carpets. As a prospective buyer, I’d just think £££.

Not sure you’d be able to do much about that tho.

Otherwise, lovely house, great garden and lots of potential.

Good luck.

It looks a bit dated, red carpets and a lot of stained wood/ mismatched furniture.

OP - don't just set the dining table up properly for photos, do it for viewings too otherwise viewers will think it doesn't fit properly, even if it does.

I’d remove the make shift wooden ramp by the front door.

To be honest the entire house looks like it needs updated/renovated inside and. There isn’t very much you can do about that unless you want to spend £££ so is it priced accordingly in comparison to the rest of the local market?

As a 4 bed priced the same as a three bed with more appealing presentation on the same street @SuperstarDJ, I'd say it is.

Very similar to other suggestions, it looks rented and a bit unloved.

Tidy garden
Show less pics of garden

Don’t highlight the fireplace with its own photo....it’s not an ornate open fire.

Inject some colour...cushions in sofas and beds.

Change bed covers

Think about painting a few ‘feature walls’...nothing crazy, but some subtle colours to give it a bit of life.

Make the dining room a dining room. Move the table into the middle, Does the table extend? You need a larger table with 4 chairs in a house that side. Keep some of the toys in there, but keep them together..move the little kitchen. The colourful unit can go in the baby room...and then some of that furniture can be moved elsewhere.

Put pots and pans away as it looks likes there’s no room in the kitchen...even if there isn’t, don’t highlight it

Some plants, flowers, artwork to make it feel like a loved home

Move the furniture around. The baby’s room looks like a bit of a dumping ground for lost furniture but then the other rooms don’t have any.

Have a look online at other homes...see how they have been dressed. Look at how they lay out the furniture.

Move some of the furniture out of the bathrooms...they look a bit cluttered. These could be used elsewhere

I’d put the small table from dinning room into kitchen - see what it looks like? Make it look more lives in and as if it’s part of the kitchen rather than an odd Oversized utility’s

Honestly the mismatched carpets would put me off. It looks like it needs a lot of updating.

As a quick fix could you put extra things in storage so each room looks less cluttered. Have a nice dining room (ideally less like a playroom)

I’d also suggest plain white duvets with nice cushions throughout. Add some plants and mirrors.

Make sure it is spotlessly clean.

Can you get your estate agent to redo the pictures. They are all quite dark and could use some retouching.

Good luck.

Honestly, if you can afford it, I'd take out the walk and make a new open plan living are with new kitchen ... but you'd need to take off the market and up the price

Depends on time you have and desperation to move

New photos with some colour.

Beautiful fresh flowers. Colourful bed linens.

Dining table with nice oil cloth.

Pictures on walls. Cushions on sofa.

Some plants in pots in both gardens.

And yes, cut some of the shrubs back. Maybe some garden furniture if you have some?
Good luck with it.

If you look on Rightmove at sold prices for the street, there are photos of your house from September 2018. Apart from some bad shots and lighting, I think the presentation is actually more appealing than once you'd decluttered. Yes there was room for improvement like bedding needing to be straightened, Roman blinds that need neatening and way too many toys in the dining room, but it looked more homely.

Prices have risen in my area since 2015. We don’t all live in London!
I think it looks bland and soulless. The mix of carpets would bother me as I’d be instantly thinking that I needed to rip them out, which is obviously expensive. I think it’s a fantastic doer upper but would represent a lot of work for me. Great for loads of people but a 4 bed house is generally a family house and a lot of people with young families may be put off by the amount of work required. It really does have great potential though!
I think the pictures are repetitive. The house has maybe been depersonalised too much and looks a bit bland. Agree the dining room needs to be presented as a dining room.

I would paint the front door black to match the garage door.

Move the bedroom furniture around so people can walk around the beds from both sides. Otherwise it looks smaller than it is.

Throws, cushions, brighter artwork on the walls.

Personally I think the hallway carpet is really awful (so sorry!) and I would rip this up and lay a very neutral beige, as this is the first area when people come in and will also make the house smell new and fresh.

It's very dull, it needs House doctoring! Also I'd want a hug fence between me and next door on the patio .

I think it has a lot of positives in terms of size of rooms, 2 loos. But looks rather unloved.

I would sort out the overgrown bushes at front & back of house. Add something in pots with colour / interest to make the front look nicer, get rid of the ramp if possible.

Inside make the dining room a proper dining room as others have said - for photos & viewings.

And sort out the kitchen. Table in the breakfast room bit. Stop calling it a utility. I think people will be more influenced by a dine-in kitchen than a utility that isn’t really a utility as not separate from the kitchen. I imagine most people would be thinking they’ll knock through to sitting room anyway. Move the high chair out for photos and viewings. It is overpowering.

The rest is fairly inoffensive to me - though I am someone who can see beyond a few cushions! I would view it as a house needing quite a bit of work though and offer accordingly.

In a way the 3 bed that has gone under offer could be an advantage - you / your agent can point out how easy it is to knock through the wall AND you already have an extra bedroom.

Good luck.