What's wrong with our house 13 days no viewings

[Namechangetoshowhouse]

Help us out Please 🙏
We put our house on the market 13 days ago we have friends in the area who have put theirs on and been busy with viewings straight away but we've had nothing.

Three Estate agents said £375 so we started with that after no viewings at 9 days we dropped to £367
We know house is a bit bottom heavy a bit like me and doesn't look pretty but is well presented and has over 80 Sq m of downstairs living space. A huge Kitchen and lounge, 10 mins walk to most amenities as well.

We have seen a house that we love that won't come up again we've put in an offer for asking price but not sure we'll get it as they say they've had 6 offers already.

Anyway here it is do we drop the price some more or just wait a bit?
www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-82594633.html

Some of the feedback you're getting about the interior is a lot harsher than I'd be. I love your kitchen, for example. I'd love a utility room. It's not at all a horrible house!

Yeah, sure that is what they're doing. It's just weird that they mark it up as a dressing room on the floorplan but then call it a 4-bed, like how OP's calls mark the extension as a reception room but then count it as a bedroom. There's some basic competence issues going on. Also the fact that it's only accessed through another room makes it much more a dressing room than potential bedroom. Both houses are more of a 3 bed with a 'plus' point really. Although your link has a lot more going for it and tellingly sold for less. Good research!

Bland. Awful flow with the downstairs rooms. Downstairs bathroom. Tiny 3rd bedroom.

Honestly, the house just seems soulless. Sorry.

There is zero curb appeal, it just looks like a box. You need to address that before you do anything else in my opinion.

Kitchen
Cons - Very bland, cream walls, cream units, cream range etc. The only colour is the green stools which honestly are not a nice colour. Brighten it up, find a way to add colour that is pleasant and not in your face like those stools.
Pros - its a massive space, great unit layout

Lounge
Cons - ever heard of red and green should never be seen?? The sofa and greens clash. It is a big space but poorly laid out so just seems soulless and devoid of warmth
Pros - its a huge space...

Room with shelving
Am assuming this is the potential 4th bedroom?
Cons - it is full of clutter, its the only room that looks used. Clear it up, tidy it, make better use of the space

Bedrooms
All lovely. Yes the third one is small but you have made good use of it.

Bathrooms
Family homes would expect the bathroom to be upstairs. I have a downstairs bathroom and love it but I do get it outs a lot of people off. Is there any way to remodel or at least get quotes to make the master smaller and have a shower fitted in the toilet upstairs?

Garden
Needs better pictures
What is the rubbish pile by the trampoline? The picture isn't clear but it looks a mess. Get it tidied up.

The whole house seems really cold. There is nothing "family home" about it. Its cold, white and overly clinical. Have a look on Pinterest for ideas on how to dress rooms...flowers, pictures (but not loads).

It also seems a really high price for what is there. In the same price bracket there are some much bigger houses with better layouts. Technically yours is only 3 bed so I would guess it is at least 25k over priced

Sorry OP but I wouldn't even consider it a 3 bed. That 3rd room is so narrow that I would (personally) discount it as a bedroom at all.

That makes this a 2-bed house with the only bathroom downstairs. For me, that's a first time buyer couple with a baby kind of territory. For which, the £ may not suit and you may be able to get the same kind of space for less, or more for that price.

Agree with others that the insides seem very empty and the ouside a bit basic. Ultimately, though, that layout is always going to be a hurdle for selling and you may have to reduce quite a bit further to overcome that?

The most off putting things are that there is no upstairs bathroom and it isn't really 4 beds -not just size but the fact that 4th bedroom is downstairs. You have to think of family dynamics. A downstairs bedroom just wouldn't be feasible for some.

Another thing is the layout of the living room. I like space but it all feels too ooen and a bit misplaced.

Who were the photos taken by? Honestly, the photos don't even look straight, which is pretty unappealing.

Also, lots of the furniture has sharp corners or sharp lines which visually looks unappealing, together with the sharp lines on your exterior of the house.

It's not a standard layout - two bathrooms on the ground floor and what looks like a loo and sink on the first floor. That will immediately put some buyers off.

The optional 4th bedroom needs to be dressed as a bedroom if the property is to be sold as a 4 bed.

Also, the interior photos are awful. Too much 'ceiling' in them, which I feel makes rooms look boxier.

Was it originally a 2 bed and the bathroom was removed to make a bedroom?
I wouldnt class it as a 4 bed op.
I would drop the price and add some colour.

Also (sorry) the kitchen looks quite big and it looks as though there’s some kind of conservatory beyond it so why not have the dining table either in the kitchen or turn the conservatory into a smart dining space? Why have it tucked into that odd alcove at the opposite end of the sitting room?! It just makes the downstairs seem really small and badly laid out.

I believe this is the road over from yours with 4 beds, a layout you'd expect, 17k cheaper, premium listing and has been on since March! Is the market generally slow in the area?

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/54520554?utmsource=v1:5bWFDybfWx7C7AGpeagt7mP3PgcqjuqJ&utmm_medium=api

The photos are poor tbh. They're taken from the wrong angle so they emphasise that the rooms are long and narrow. They also need more warmth whether that be flowers or throws or rugs or cushions. There needs to be something appealing in each pic to draw and direct the eye. Also the pics don't flow. It's difficult to get a sense of how the rooms relate to each other.

Your estate has done you over like a kipper on the photos, is your problem. It looks cold, flat, lifeless, dark, and dull because of the vast expanses of cold, flat white and the lack of natural light getting to the back of certain rooms, and the angles the photographer has used.

You need to get the pictures re-taken with better angles and something to reflect some light back into the darker areas, slap a filter on them to warm them up a bit, rearrange your furniture a bit so it doesn’t look so cramped in places, and - the big bit - get the listing fixed: it says 4 bed but the floorplan very clearly shows 3 beds.

You reduced it very quickly. If I was looking, I’d see when it had gone on the market and wonder why you’d dropped the price. Particularly at a time when the market is so odd right now, and lots of people,, in spite of COVID, are off on holiday. I’d say it’s quite a high price for what is is and the layout, area etc?

I think more effort could be made with some of those Internal photos. But if it’s correct that both bathrooms are on the ground floor, I think that is going to put a lot of people off. Your price will need to reflect this, it be careful. If you keep reducing the asking price in a short timeframe this is inevitably going to raise questions for potential buyers.

Are there any other properties like yours, with the same configuration, that you can compare with?

Assuming you went off of valuation from a few different EA's, I'm guessing the guide price must be correct for your home/area.

I read some interesting statistics online that you sell 40% faster if you dress your home for photos - unfortunately a lot of people lack interior imagination or just aren't into decorating and can't imagine your home looking any different to how you present it. You know... put flowers out, get some nice matching cushions for the sofa, use bright but neutral colours, put some plants around the place for colour.

Maybe if this continues you could think about spending a little bit of money dressing your home and having the photos retaken? Best of luck to you with it all

When no one views it’s always price. I actually don’t understand why drop it eight grand, that’s very unusual and seems a tad pointless. It should have been dropped to thr next band down and 350. Which is potentially still too high.

Sorry OP That would not get a viewing from me. It’s NOT a four bed house. Bathrooms are downstairs AND by external doors. Garden is small.

This one looks better value.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-90297353.html

As has been said it is really a three bedroom (and with three very small bedrooms) and a second reception that could be used as a bedroom. The outside is not particularly attractive and the garden is also not appealing.
Sorry - but having recently been looking for a new house if we had seen that online we wouldn't have bothered to make an appointment to view.

I would imagine people who are looking for a four bed, get put off by the fact it's not a four bed, and its only got two bedrooms upstairs plus that tiny room (can you get even a bed + person in it?).

I would reword add to say two bedrooms + downstairs bedroom/extra reception room plus upstairs cubby/study area. It's not a four bedroomed house. Or whatever that translates to in estate agent speak.

It's got nothing to do with the decor or stickers etc.... It really is the fact that it's not a 4 bed. No amount of dressing will change that.

People searching for 4 bed houses will be getting search results that are genuinely 4 bed, with bathrooms upstairs, and comparing those against yours.

The problem is that people who exclusively search for "4 + bed" will automatically rule it out. Advertise it as a 3 bed and you may get more interest.

I also don't understand for the life of me why there is only 1 photo of the extra living area extension. I have no idea how big the room is or what that sofa is pointing to. I can just see a very narrow room with lots of clutter.

Move the lime bar stools out of the way, the eyes are automatically drawn to them rather than your beautiful big kitchen.

The photo of the back garden is shockingly bad, is that it or does it go beyond the extension like an L shape?

You need photos redoing. I'd be very, very annoyed if these were the photos took of my house

Put pots of shrubs or flowers around the outside. The interior colours don't look nice green with reds and browns. Could the estate agent come back and retake a photo from the front? It looks strange, long and thin. If your cars were in the way, then move them for the photo.

is the funny little room upstairs, what used to be the bathroom?

I would discount it too based on bedrooms sorry

It's def not a 4 bed and it's not even got 3 decent bedrooms. The downstairs room to be used as a bedroom would be a massive compromise and unless it's significantly cheaper than other 3 beds in the area people would over look it as a 3 bed

The bathroom downstairs would also be a no for me

Sorry, the layout is very unappealing. I wouldn't view it - bedroom 3 is way too small, no upstairs bathroom. Was the downstairs reception room/bathroom used as a granny annexe?