Please help me sell this house

[bigblockofcheeseday]

We've been on the market for 6 weeks, plenty of viewings, even second but no offers as of yet.

I am therefore donning my hard hat and asking you wise mumsnetter for feedback on the house.

Link is here
I found this property on the Rightmove Android app and wanted you to see it: www.rightmove.co.uk/s6p/82802135

Thank you!

Well, I think your house is lovely. I love the exterior. I’m in a Victorian terrace and your house is the sort I am looking for. I don’t know anyone who’s in a family house like mine that has a utility room or playroom, so I wouldn’t care about those. I don’t think it’s cluttered at all - almost the other way. It’s too sparse for me. I would like to see the dining area. I’m not keen on estate living, so that would put me off, but that’s by the by. I don’t know your area, though.

I like how it looks from the outside.
I’d much sooner that than many of the houses you see on most modern estates now.

Lovely big bedrooms. Having the balcony at the front is odd but there is nothing you can do about that.

Can you rearrange the furniture in the front room to make it look more spacious perhaps?

Your house is top heavy, more space upstairs than downstairs, that has and would put me off.
People are so fickle, but what stood out to me was the baby gate still up in the photos.
I think the front is very industrial and needs softening, likewise the garden.
Good luck with it all.

Can you declutter the office and stage it a bit?

The stuff on top of the kitchen cupboards makes it look like you've not got enough storage.

Is the first bedroom picture of the master? If so you can do something re the bedside tables/chest of drawers? Move and replace with simple cheap tray tables with a nice lamp either side and maybe a large piece of artwork above the bedhead?

I think you jus need to reconfigure your downstairs space a bit better.
Move that large green round chair out of the way. It looks like it’s blocking everything.
Move the table down a bit
And put tv on end wall, not side wall
The house is lovely, 6 weeks isn’t a massive amount of time. If you’re getting viewings they’re not being put off by the outside.

How to use/configure the downstairs space and price are why you've had no offers. I'm not sure if you have a dining table - I think there may be one between the kitchen and the cuddle chair - but you should have a dining space and a photo of it and probably put that chair in storage and use something else to zone the space.

Remove family photos from the walls and declutter the kitchen.

Your selling the space, which is hard to envisage when it's full of personal possessions.

It's really not an issue with presentation other than clearly showing a dining area and removing the huge arm chair. The OP is getting viewings and second viewings and not just one second viewing.

I think it would be helpful to look at the competition and see what advantages those houses offer over yours and see if is there anything you can do to make yours more appealing.

I wouldn't even view it as I don't like kitchens at the front of a house. I also dislike that the only way into the garden is from the sitting area. With small children and/or a dog there would be mud everywhere. I am aware you can't change these things but they are probably putting people off.

I think it's nice, how does it compare price wise to other 4 beds in the area?

Oh I love the outside! I think that putting in big glass door petitions would be a good idea, that’s what we have at our house so one living room is separate from the kitchen/dining/lounge space, we have them open most of the time but can close them if we want to have two seperate areas.

I don't think there's anything wrong with the presentation of the house, I agree with the others it's just a space issue. It will only appeal to certain families.

For me I'd like to see a photo of the dining area and possibly the parking. I had to read through the blurb to check there was parking. That is going to be important to a lot of people.

Agree with the other comments. For me, looking for a 4 bed I would expect another downstairs space, it's more a 2/3 bed to me, small downstairs, with limited space for furniture configuration and somewhere I would grow out of quickly, so not a long term purchase if you're a young family.

I would remove the armchair completely to make the dining table and space more prominent.

Also I really dislike the pointy, dark architecture so think that will put some people off, lots of plants needed to soften it. The balcony is just wasted space, I can't imagine ever sitting there looking out.

I may also put a day and night blind in the kitchen, as the window makes it seem very overlooked.

Also yes to declutter the study, can you replace the desk with something smaller? Remove all the stacked up boxes.

I think it has niche appeal

There's too much emphasis on the bedrooms and upstairs space in the pictures and only one very shiny hard to look at photo of the kitchen. I can't even tell if that's a door at the end or a big window. Where's the dining area?

I’m currently looking for a 4 bed house at the moment.

Yours would be instantly off the list because there is no separate room downstairs. I love kitchen diners and the French doors leading into the garden are great. But I would want the lounge separate for so many reasons. Also the kitchen area looks rather narrow and not much space. I think it’s the way the photo was taken. And where is the dining area?

Upstairs is great, love the balcony.

Love your username too !

I don't hate the look of the exterior. I'm less keen on developments and prefer living on a 'road' as opposed to in a cup de sac or similar.

My issue is the open plan, I don't like it unless it's limited to a kitchen diner. I have dogs and rooms with doors are so handy. I have been out of fashion for ages in that regard, most people seem to like it to a degree.

as others said declutter study,bathroom kitchen. remove large arm chair and put a table in to show dining area. I would also perhapd neutralise childs bedroom as yes its lovely as a nursery but not if you've not got a baby, also perhaps move cot to a wall for viewings to help room feel bigger.

Its a nice house. The only thing I would improve about the presentation would be to make the bathroom a bit less clinically white. A bit of luxurious-looking accessories might help.

Doing a search for what else is available nearby - everything else 4-bed nearby between £400k and £450k is just frankly nicer. You should price at offers in excess of £399,995 and the people who are looking at £350k-£400k will consider it as their "stretch" possibility. With any luck with two such interested people needing to out-offer each other you might get an offer around £410k.

It’s lovely. For most of the things suggested so far, you wouldn’t be getting viewings if it were an issue because the photos are really clear about what sort of house it is. I suspect it’s just the market- are other things selling in your area?

It's a house that could be made to look fabulous with some cosmetic changes. I'd consider some modern topiary pots in the front and back garden. Remove any patterned bedding and go for all white - keep it clean, simple and Scandi style. De clutter and remove the photos and painting from the stairs. Check out #scandistyle and interiors on Instagram. Play to the modern build and remove any fuss.

Come back OP! What do you think of our feedback?!

Hello everyone.

Just checking back in to thank you all for your feedback. A special thank you for the appreciation of my username!

The comments about the house being top heavy are absolutely right and match viewing feedback. Some people have said they like the open plannes but they are in the minority.
Also, agree that the outside style is marmite. The estate itself is known for its architecture hence the different styles.

My husband and I have have been discussing selling versus extending to.add another playroom and utility room. We are still deciding on what to do but in the meantime we've decided to do the following based on your feedback:

Add colourful hanging baskets at front of the house.
Add small trees to the balcony
Add a partition wall with sliding door between the kitchen/diner and lounge to make sure we have a separate room. We would decorate this differently to make sure there are different "zones" for eating and relaxing.
Declutter stuff from top of kitchen units and study.

Apologies for lack of paragraphs in my latest update.

My original post contained hem. Scouts honour!

Great ideas OP. I hope it all works out.