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Original poster

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

195 replies

TamR · 21/02/2019 07:35

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

OP posts:
Ratbagratty · 21/02/2019 10:09

Reducing it to 310k won't trigger the next group of search's. Reduce it to 299k and it will get more interest as those searching up to 300k will be included. If they fall in love they may find the extra money or you get a bidding war you may well get more.

TheFaerieQueene · 21/02/2019 10:13

My advice is to take it off the market and spend the next couple of months redecorating. The colours are dated and the dark picture rails/coving just bring the height of the ceiling down.
The pub is too polarising so as others have said, I would repurpose as a garden room - take the bar out!!

Best of luck.

QuantamBaby · 21/02/2019 10:14

I don't think the paint is the problem really - I quite like the drippy effect!

What would make me cross this off the list is the outdoor space - there is no garden and no garage as far as I can see.

If you have a summer house which is currently the pub then I would change that into something that looks more like outside/garden space. Take out all the pine, dark furnishings and football stuff and make it feel like a nice place to sit outdoors. Make it look bright and cheerful, Paint it lilac, open the doors and put plant pots in it! Make it feel more like the garden than another room in the house.

Good luck!

NellaBonella · 21/02/2019 10:19

Apart from the kitchen, the whole house looks very dated. The bathroom would need modernising and even the shiny bedspreads just look dated.
The painted ceiling and the red everywhere are off putting and wouldn't be an easy cover.
Definitely priced too high!

lll77 · 21/02/2019 10:21

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?

I think this affects both price and how likely someone is to view and put in an offer. I'm looking for a house at the moment and as I'm downsizing have a fairly flexible budget. I am really looking at three different price points

  1. this house could be amazing but needs work and I couldn't live with it in current condition for more than a few months

  2. nice, but not my taste. Can be decorated slowly as I get round to it

  3. nothing much to do at all

For what I am looking for, there is about a 50-70k difference in what I'd be prepared to pay for houses in the different brackets and I wouldn't even view somewhere that was in condition 1 but priced at my category 3.

I'm generally not a fan of neutral, but when it comes to selling it is a bonus for lots of buyers, so in your house I think the advice to repaint bedrooms and present the pub as something with broader appeal like a study or garden room is probably good.

SalliSunbeem · 21/02/2019 10:25

The reason a house doesn't sell is usually because it's priced too high.

ThisMustBeMyDream · 21/02/2019 10:27

Hi OP.
I'm currently your target market! I'm looking to move to a bigger 4 bed in Wigan. I haven't seen your house because my top budget is 220k, for which there are many lovely 4 beds avaliable in that price range around Wigan.
Aside from the price issue, I agree with other comments on the decor. Paint the colours away, to something less bright, and make it a little more homely. I would also want more pictures as some of the room shapes look a bit odd, so I'd want to see how they flow. I agree about the bar. Dont put a picture of the inside. Just put it as a summer house and a pic of the outside.
I'll have a further think and come back to you!

EatToTheBeet · 21/02/2019 10:27

The other thing about the paint is also that if it looks dated and neglected then people start worrying that other elements have not been looked after either.

SalliSunbeem · 21/02/2019 10:28

@TamR

Get rid of the coloured paintwork! Seriously, it is very off putting to people if they see how much work there is to do.

A neutral house will always sell better.

JoeElliotsMullet · 21/02/2019 10:30

Two things sell houses - location and price. Your house is in a nice location, but it’s overpriced compared with the competition. Repainting to neutral and stripping out the bar won’t add thousands but might sway people who otherwise like your house but don’t want to do loads of work to it.
Personally, I think the house is a lovely family house but I wouldn’t buy it because of the garden ( two small kids and concrete, no thanks!)

GookledyGobb · 21/02/2019 10:33

A small thing but the floorplan is missing kitchen door, utility door and back door

steppemum · 21/02/2019 10:34

I think some of the comments are veyr harsh.
I also don';t think you need to repaint.

As other have said, for the right price, no-one cares about the paint/pub.

But this seems to be expensive compared with others.

the single biggest down side is the size of the garden. I have kids, they want to play. So trying to rejig that and make it look like somewhere kids can play will be your biggest seller.

Also, while the pub isn't to everyone's taste, it is a proper extra room, so remove the banners from the ceiling, and sell it as a garden room/shed/bike store.

But again, people will look past all that if the price is right

ineedaholidaynow · 21/02/2019 10:46

I would sort the pub out. I don't know if it is the photo but it seems quite large. Could be used as a garden room/office/kid's den. So get rid of the fixtures and possibly put the office in it and re-instate the bedroom

user1471426142 · 21/02/2019 10:47

I don’t know anything about your area but typing in the location brings up other properties that I’d look at first before yours and they are cheaper. Like others, I’d be put off by the pub and the decor. The logical side of me says I could repaint and strip out the pub if I liked the property enough or the price was right but I’d also factor the time and cost into any decision about price. If there were other similar properties at a similar or lower price then I just wouldn’t go through the hassle unless I was getting a major bargain or buying somewhere really unique or special.

BlackbootsNC · 21/02/2019 10:47

It's a nice size house and the layout is good, but I just wouldn't even view a house that's needs a full on paint all over before I even moved in. I hate painting at the best of times. I think of you do neutralise it a little it could bring more people through the door.
I like the garden pub, but we would use it as a play room island can see that it could be used differently to how you show it. I'd remove that photo of it though.

BlackbootsNC · 21/02/2019 10:48

Instead * not island

itwaseverthus · 21/02/2019 10:50

Probably a tad over priced.
Needs to be painted more neutral.
Move both leather sofas to face each other, one with the window behind it. TV will have to be moved to accommodate this. Coffee table in middle. Bin the odd sofa at the patio door, it's pointless and ugly. Not sure what I'd put there because you have a dining room elsewhere but I'd prefer my table and chairs there to look onto garden. Maybe a work area for crafts or something? Point is, it has to look useful instead of the dead space I suspect it is.
Bedding/curtains dated, plain, natural fabrics work best. Colour can be injected with artwork, cushions, throws etc.
Pub - I just wouldn't include the photo.
Dining room, remove the table cover, it's dated and put flowers or a plant on there and de-brown that room. Brown coving?!

BrizzleMint · 21/02/2019 10:53

I'd be seriously concerned about the fields as I'd be concerned that they would be built on. The money needed to get rid of the bar would also be an issue.

sashh · 21/02/2019 11:26

Some people have no imagination, you need to lose the pub, the wavy wall colours and the red.

Don't get me wrong my bedroom is a very similar shade of red on all four walls and I love it.

The pub would put me off because it looks like you get all the neighbours together to watch football so I'd be thinking the neighbours are going to be shouting at ht eTV every time there was football on.

Also if I'm looking at a 4 bed place I want some place I can store garden tools, maybe a chest freezer. You have got rid of the garage and by the looks of it the garden shed is a pub.

I'd also move the dinging table to what is now the sitting room so that it doesn't look like you have to take food round 3 corners.

Then put the office furniture in what is currently the dining room. It will make people think there are more rooms.

Bluntness100 · 21/02/2019 11:38

The paint wouldn't put me off, but what it does tell me is the house hasn't been decorated for at least five years, possibly longer, and although thr op has spent money outside, it's not apparent.

If I couple this with the fact they bought it for 240 five years ago, and originally wanted 325, And it's been on the market several months, I'd assume maybe the sellers were unrealistic.

If you then tie in other properties on the market, at the same standard or better and for much less, I'd also probably not consider seeing it, or see it just for comparison purposes.

Ultimately anything sells for the right price.

Bluntness100 · 21/02/2019 11:45

Also you have this one less than half a mile away, which is twenty grand less, but the kitchen diner is fantastic.

Housemove18 · 21/02/2019 11:48

For me it was definitely the price (and the field was a concern that it could be built on in the future), but that price you would expect to see for houses in Standish and Haigh which are seen as “more desirable” than Aspull.

SwedishEdith · 21/02/2019 11:50

It needs redecorating, looks old-fashioned and I would never have thought you'd pay over £300k near Wigan. Shock

flirtygirl · 21/02/2019 11:58

The price needs changing to reflect the sold prices in the area. 270 to 280.

To me it looks boring and meh, yes you could paint everywhere but the curtains and pine furniture also scream meh to me.

The sofa by the doors should go and take a new photo there. It's an ugly corner with the combination of brown, red and beige and do you need another seat there? Put something else there.

The pub would put me off and it would take many weekends and more money to sort it out.

Restyle the garden for kids with astroturf. I had a Victorian yard before. I added astroturf and my kids and their friends loved it, they could play out there and do hand stands etc and no mud to drag inside. It was perfect for sitting on and also for play. I made the summerhouse into a Playroom and craft room but you could make a home office and repurpose your 4th bedroom into a guest room.

The toilet is a nice size but put on the blurb that the washing machine could be resited there and point it out at viewings.
It could be a laundry space quite easily.

I would remove it from the market because a property that has been on too long gives the idea that there is something wrong with it. Viewers then think that they can do cheeky offers, even when the property is priced right and there is nothing wrong with it.

Do the work, get new photos and a new price and put it back on the market then.

AlanThePig · 21/02/2019 12:07

Id want more/better photos of the garden. I'm assuming the pub is a large summer house in the garden buts that's not clear.
If it is, then get the EA to remove the photos of the inside of the pub and show a useful, garden outbuilding in situ instead.

And I agree with the paint.