House been up for sale for months, still not sold!

[TamR]

Hi,

Just looking for advice...
We are trying to sell our house but just not getting any interest...
We initially put it up 7months ago, had approx 7viewings..few had a 2nd viewing, was told all very interested but they needed to sell theirs first..was having a bad exp with the EA so we got a new one. Been with our new EA for 7weeks, nothing..so in the fourth week we reduced the price..had one viewing, they came back for a 2nd, loved the house but not in a position to buy yet as theirs is only going on the market next week.
Had chat with EA, asking why are we not even getting people through the door, they cannot understand why, photos are good, had numerous quotes and all agreed price was right before we even reduced it, nice house in good location with stunning views. EA mentioned brexit....yet I’m still seeing others selling...
Any advice I’d appreciate please
Thanks

As for the painting, this was done before we moved in unfortunately just not had chance to redo it but yes I can certainly see your point, but can this really reflect the price?

Yes it can. You have people walking round your house thinking that they'll have to repaint a few ceilings and get rid of a red wall that isn't to their taste, then going into the summer house and seeing a pub that they're going to have to spent four weekends on the trot ripping out and changing into a standard summer house.

Then they go along the road into a house which needs none of that doing.

Obviously they're going to offer on the "needs nothing doing" house. The only way you can swing that back in your favour is to make the price more attractive.

Gosh I love it, amazing. Two bed terraces go for more where I am. The bar is amazing would def make me want it more. I think brexit is a real worry atm people are sitting tight.
The only reason I wouldn't buy your house is because I'd imagine the fields would be built on.

It's definitely overpriced OP. You need to be under £300k AND have sorted the decor out to something more neutral. The photos start well but go downhill when the red walls starting appearing, then the weird bedroom walls (very offputting due increased cost to redecorate and the time needed) and the 'pub' is just a shocker.

I don’t think the paint really affects the value - but it does affect how a prospective buyer remembers your house. “The one with the pub & a pink ceiling” for example. As opposed to “the neutral one with a proper garden”.

For me, I think the house is lovely - I don’t like the wavy paint but a couple of tins of paint would soon solve that, so it wouldn’t stop me offering. The pub would put me off if I’m being honest. I like a pub as much as anyone - but not in my own garden.

And I would want a family home to have some sort of lawn. Even just a small one. Unless the house was cheaper than others of a similar type, I wouldn’t choose it for those reasons.

I think the decor needs neutralising - both the dripping paint effect and the bright red in the living room. As a first time buyer I was happy to look past decor because we knew we'd redecorate to our own taste, but a four bed type family will likely lack time to do that and just needs to be able to move in.

Also, the pub. It needs to be changed into a home office or reading corner. Maybe paint the woodwork white so it looks less like a sauna.

I wouldn’t view it with the pub setup and the decor. Most rooms look like they need something doing. You can do more to dress the rooms to make it look more inviting as well.

Some buyers can’t imagine anything other than what’s in front of them.

I think it’s the outside that really lets the house house down. No garage for your kids bikes and stuff and the garden is like the exercise yard in Orange is the New Black.

Your target market is probably people with a couple of young children and they want a bit of a garden for them to play in.

It screams work to me. If you are at the top end price wise it needs to be painted properly and well presented.
I would fully repaint all of it, getting rid of all the red and all the half coloured walls and ceilings it needs neutrilising.
In the bathroom I would put a white plinth underneath the units it looks unfinished with all the legs of the units showing.
Good luck op.

Faced with an equal house some of the decoration would put me off but I like the big things like the kitchen. I really don't like the 'pub' though, if hate the work of removing that. Overall it's nice.

Apart from the paint it's lovely. I would want those views!

I would paint the walls. We just bought a house which had dreadful decor. We had to do it before the firniture went in, so because of timing it meant we had to pay someone. It cost us nearly 3 grand.

So it is a consideration for people, and if you can take that out of the equation you may get more viewings.

It's a nice house, it just looks a bit abandoned and very dated. I think you've tried to over tidy it for the phots and it's hard to imagine it being a cosy family home. My advice:
Get rid of the red walls and weird drippy painted ceilings, no one wants to have to paint ceilings as soon as they move in.
Remove the guitars.
Remove the cloth from the back of the sofa.
Get some flowers on the dining room table.
Put towels/loo roll in your bathroom and a candle/diffuser/pretty bottle on your shelves.
Get rid of the silky purple curtains and bed spread and use a different bedspread instead of the plain cream one or pop an inoffensive (no bright silk!) throw and cushions on top of it.
Update the photos.
You want it to be neutral but homely and at the moment it's neither. People often lack the imagination to see what somewhere looks like without the existing furniture and their own decor.
Take the photo of the bar down, it will put off more people than it will attract.
Personally I would remove 'REDUCED' from the literature it makes you wonder what's wrong with it.
Sorry if I've not been kind, I've tried to be helpful instead.

Agree with other posters, if you do the following it will make it more appealing:
Lay some turf in the garden
Paint ceilings and walls in neutral colours
Tone down the pub - you could present as an office

To add to all the pp, why does the master bedroom (assume that is it with the photo blurred out) look so pokey compared to the other room.

I don't want to be inching round furniture and huge TVs on tiptoes in my own room.

Just spend a weekend with a massive pot of plain emulsion and put up some rather less territorial-feeling pics - people don't want your wedding pics gurning down on them as they view!

And sledgehammer that Britain First bar too.

Its 100% the price... only 1 house within 0.5 miles has ever sold for over 300k... it was 308500 about a year ago... and had 6 bedrooms.
Your house is worth 270-290 in my opinion, but you would only get 290k if it was done up, which it isn't so I would say 270 to 275 is the value
Your estate agents are all deluded if they all think this house will break the ceiling price

Having looked at the photos, I’d want to pay less than the market rate because it needs work doing. A coat of white paint and removing the pub would work wonders. I’d be worried sick about those fields - are they green belt? Designated for building by the council? Where I live there’s an entire row of beautiful houses that nobody will buy because the fields out the back have been given the green light for future building.

The photos aren’t good, they make the rooms look small. Also get rid of the different colour walls and dress up the beds properly with throws and cushions, you need to make it luxurious.

I quite liked this and asked hubby about a viewing but we decided it was just too expensive as for that price we would want a garden. I’d paint in neutral throughout, and then people don’t feel they have to decorate as soon as they move in.

Gosh some of the comments are quite harsh, and a bit uncalled for.

The pub is easily dealt with if not to someone's taste. It's a useful garden room, and as is the decor.

Op, I also suspect it's the price in relation to your competition. The reality is, it's always the price if a propert doesn't move. Agents have a vested interest in keeping it high, they want to keep the market high, I practically had to go to war with mine five years ago as they argued point blank the price was right, but very little viewings and no offers after several months, and I was up against a time line. So I did my own research, dropped it, much to their disdain, and sold it within the week.

The thing is Bluntness, the pub and the decor wouldn’t bother me either, if the price was right. I’d factor in how much time and money it would take me to fix it. And I could sort out that garden with a bit more time and effort.

BUT the price isn’t right. And lots of buyers can’t see past the styling and / or don’t want to do much.

So what you or I think is irrelevant. Yes, we might be the one or two in 20 buyers who have the time and skills to fix the problems at the right price.

That 1-2 /20 won’t buy because it’s too dear. And the other 18/ 20 won’t but because of all the things they have mentioned upthread.

OP needs to appeal to the average buyer. Yes the market is slow now, because of Brexit uncertainly . But if she’s buying in the same market, that’s fine.

I see this all the time on MN. People ask for comments, then dismiss them all with excuses. The prospective buyers don’t want to hear your excuses. It’s business , not personal .

Op, I'm not sure you did get it cheap, looking at the sale history, you got it for 240 five years ago, the previous owners got it for 245 six months before that, so depending on if their price was right or not, might indicate more on yours, but I'd say you paid about right.

So you're talking an increase of 70 grand in five years, nearly 30 percent. And looking at the two sets of images, it's really hard to see any work you've done.

Looking at the competition, I suspect this market price for this,would be in the region of 280 max. It does need some work, which is likely more apparent on viewing, because it's not been decorated for a number of years.

I think you need to decide if you really wish to sell or not. And if you do what can you afford to take for it. Because keeping it over priced will just leave it languishing on the market, and that's a bit pointless.

Bluntness is right

Other then the pub which is almost too full of character- I think its too cold/sparse- it feels a tiny bit desperate as if its so obvious you are trying to sell you have removed anything really personal and any extra touches of warmth to make it homely- especially the bedrooms.

Add more texture- few more rugs/pillows/throws- I would cover beds with a large white throw/blanket as bedding is a bit old fashioned. Likewise add few wool throws/ some plump new cushions to sofas with textured rug on sitting room floor. But the kitchen is lovely and the view/surroundings- stunning.

Some of the comments you've had are astonishing. You're getting viewings and second viewings and people are not proceedable - it's the market. It's not the price, the decor or the 'pub'. If you don't want to wait it out then reduce the price but then that might smell of desperation and make people think there's something wrong.

I remember when we were looking in the NW in 2010 - we couldn't sell our house because ftbs didn't have the deposits needed to get a mortgage as lender requirements had become more stringent. The knock on effect was that no one was moving. Now it's Brexiteers uncertainty and people being wary they won't get full value if they sell now plus others waiting for a price crash before they'll buy.

Brexit uncertainty, not Brexiteers.