If your house hadn't sold in a year surely you wouldn't put the price UP!

[StripeyKnickersSpottySocks]

My mum's been trying to sell her house for over a year. Is now with the 3rd estate agent, all agents say its on for the right price and looking at other houses it seems to be priced ok. She did knock 15k off the price about 5months ago but has only had 1 person come to see it in the last 6months.

She's now reading about how much house prices have increased in the last year and thinks she ought to put the price up. Am I missing something, 'cos I think she's barmy.

You're right. She's barmy.

You're right, she's barmy. If nobody wants to buy it at the price it is on sale for, then it is not worth that much. A house is only worth as much as people want to pay for it.

Barmy

If it has been on the market for that long with so little interest something else is wrong. Without wishing to come over all Ann Maurice, has she tried doing a little house doctoring on it... Stuff like; is the garden tidy, has the front door been painted, is it clean and uncluttered, are there any garden gnomes visible??

If that is all in order then she needs a new estate agent.....

People do , you'd be surprised. A numerb have locally. There was one which we never got to view as it was taken off the market at £499k last August when its sale fell through, came back on a several months back at £575k, reduced to £550k and may well have sold since (not listed on Right Move anymore). However if she hasn't had viewers at the current price level putting up won't help unless she does something drastic to the property.

Thing is, I guess (don't know if this applies to your Mum) that a year later the prices of the next stage houses have risen too, iyswim?

Amazing what you can do to sell a house with a few pre-planted pots from the garden centre and some lavender by the front door , imo

Same here as Lizs. House in my village on for about 3 months didn't sell at £240 went back on 6 months later at £280 and sold.

Her house is immaculate, plain magnolia freshly pained walls, she's taken pictures down, got rid of some furniture, taken rugs up, etc.

No gnomes and very uncluttured, although some of the carpets are patterned (but new).
New kitchen, new garage, new extension, all new upvc windows.

Garden is great in one way but bad in another. The backgarden is landscaped and has no grass. It was a big lawned garden and all grass was taken up and they put down (nice) gravel, with little windy paths and loads og gorgeous plants. Shes a keen gardener and its nice. But as its a 4bed detached house I think its a family house and having no grass will put families off. She disagrees and says an older couple might want it. Or a family can re-landscape it bacck to grass if they want.

Here have a look. We could do with some feedback;

www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-6978516.rsp?pa_n=2&tr_t=buy

I think you're spot on about lack of grass putting families off - when we looked at houses with no lawn that was one more thing that counted against them.

If only one person has come to see it in the last six months, either she has the world's worst estate agents or it's too expensive.

lack of grass

the carpet covering the lino/tiles on kitchen floor has to go - just take it up when ppl come to look

the living room needs repainting in a neutral colour and decluttering

thats just from what i can see - have sold quite a few houses in my time!

get estate agent to take more pics - declutter EVERYWHERE.

Cx

The garden looks immaculate but having looked at the picture, I would be fearful that it would cost loads to make into a child friendly garden. Also is that a pond in the picture? Ponds put a lot of people off.

I sold my house in June, the people who were across from us, couldn't/can't sell their 4 bed because they have no grassed area at the back, only a concrete patio.

I'd agree . It is a family sized house but not a family friendly garden, even a small lawn would make a difference. I doubt an older couple would buy that size.

Photos don't come across very well tbh, makes it seem dark and enclosed. Superficially the lounge looks a bit tired decoratively, is the carpet that red in reality, and also what is on floor of kitchen (btw I'd be specific about d/w in kitchen and wm in utility) ? Is that style of house typical for the area, flowers and tubs would add kerb appeal ?

It all comes down to price though. No grass is bad for a family home so it has to be priced less than a house with a child-friendly garden.

Well for that much money I'd want a bit more of a wow factor kitchen, it looks pretty bland. Also think that it is a family house without a family garden.

P.S. Haarts are rubbish estate agents we walked away from a property on their books because they told us blatant lies about being in competition with another interested buyer.

I think you could do with more pictures on Rightmove. I think we had 9 in total if I remember.

we just sold ours in 4 weeks and not a blade of grass in the garden... all hardlandscaped.. (we were getting around to laying a lawn as only been here 2 years but as moving, not bothered)..

Tis easy for people to lay turf if they want it.

I wouldn't touch that estate agent with a barge poll to be honest.... They have blatently approached us 3 times trying to get us to go with them instead of our current EAs... we have only been on the market 4 weeks before we sold..

Agree re Carpet - I wouldn't cost much to put a neutral one down.

Definatley needs more pictures on the website, and a floor plan would be good.

hope she has more luck soon...

Well the new estate agents (not haart) have just taken new pics so hopefully they will be better/more of them.

I don't really like the kitchen but its new and cost 9k to have done.

I'll tell her to make sure the rug is up in the kitchen when people come round.

Yes the carpet in the living room really is that red and I've tried telling her to replace it but she won't. "because its good quality and quite new and I'm not spending money when I'm leaving". Its like banging my head against a brick wall.

Floorplan is a good idea as well.

If it's theoretically the right price and she's not even getting any viewers then either she has terrible estate agents or there is something about the details putting people off (which would also argue for terrible estate agents, to be honest, because they ought to Know That Sort Of Thing).

The gravel garden (and pond) would definitely put me off. And really, how many nice elderly couples are shopping for four-bedroom houses? And how many parents with young children want to completely re-do the garden immediately after moving in? I think there's a good chance that if she really wants to sell then redoing the garden in more family-friendly style (and maybe then putting up the asking price by the amount that she's spent on doing the garden) would be a worthwhile investment.

Other thoughts... Is that the new kitchen in the photograph? It doesn't look new IYSWIM, it looks a bit poky and dark (and I'm not sure that the tile pattern is helping). I read the description "having been recently re-fitted with an extensive range of wall and base units with spotlights under untis and pelmets, display unit, work surfaces, wall mounted Belling double oven with twin grills, inset Stoves gas hob, stainless steel twin sink and drainer, space for upright freezer, fridge, washing machine or dishwasher, extractor fan, floor level kick-strip located fan heater, fully tiled to walls, enclosed balanced flue gas boiler, double glazed window to rear garden, door to rear garden." and then look at the picture and think "Oh." If it looks good in real life maybe get the photo taken out of the details so that people don't get too many preconceptions?

In the lounge my attention was immediately drawn by the red carpet (and the border/wallpaper looks a bit dated). I'd be inclined to paint the walls and put down something more neutral/seagrassy if I were house doctoring. And move the furniture away from the walls. And Ann Maurice would definitely put a huge great mirror over the fireplace

The only other thing that would put me off is that it's a 4-bedroom house with only one bathroom (plus a downstairs shower/utility room). Admittedly there's not much she can do about that, although if there's any possibility from a practical point of view of, say, converting a corner of the master bedroom into an ensuite then just saying as much in the details might help? (I suspect that actually doing it wouldn't give great return on investment, although the estate agents might have a view on that).

without the postcode I can't look at the past sold prices for the road - but you can do that and see how they compare.

It's obviously a family sized house but the garden is not family friendly. It's lovely but if they want to sell they should put some turf down. It doesn't have a second bathroom or toilet and it doesn't seem to have a lot of privay - so probably more family market than for a couple.

Living room carpet is not helping and the cushions just remind you of the floor colour - lose them, some furniture and that dark rug. A paler rug would hide some of the carpet. Think I'd rename sitting room as family room. Lots of people like to eat in the kitchen - any chance of knocking one living room through to give a bigger kitchen - not saying you should do that but if the potential is there it would help to mention it.

Kitchen looks dark - they need a better photograph or leave the picture out completely. Why no bedroom photos or bathroom photos?

red carpet is baaaaaaaaad
but you can change it
the house looks neat and well cared for
we are searching for a house and have seen some shockers
the garden would put me off slightly but a few hundred quid to lay some turf isn't a problem IMHO so buyers will put an offer in on that basis

People won't buy a house at a higher rate if they didn't buy it a lower price. If it has sold for more money chances are it was to people who didn't see it before.

There is a downstairs loo in the shower room. We'll have to make sure thats clearer in the new details.

Yes that is the kitchen in the pic, but it is a bad photo.

The sitting room is all painted apart from the border - will have to see if that can be peeled off. Will try and get rid of some more furniture. Will lend her a big mirror for the sitting room as well.

I've tried telling her to spend 3k on the garden and get the gravel taken up but she won't do it. She reckons someone might like it and if they don't then they can do it.

With regards to the garden I think in the blurb it should say "beautiful landscaped garden" and not try to hide the fact it has no lawn. You need table and chairs/hammocks/bbq etc out to identify different uses for different areas. People need help to imagine what they could do in the garden.