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

Obviously take out the bed from the 3rd bedroom!

I think the photos look really stretched, which makes me think it’s tiny. The outside photo is not appealing. I’d add some more soft furnishings (rugs, colourful cushions) and perhaps some candles and flowers to make it look cosy.

It looks like a series of corridors downstairs and too small upstairs. I'd try zoning downstairs to get the feeling of more usable space. If there were 2 adults wfh and kids doing homework where would everyone go? It's too open plan to work for me. The garden toys dominate so much that I didn't even see the table and chairs until a pp mentioned it. Even the garden looks like a corridor. The dining table far away from the kitchen is odd to me so I'd move it closer. The shelf storage in the downstairs room makes it look claustrophobic- maybe it's just the angle of the photo. As many others have eluded to it's overextended downstairs for the size of the plot and comparatively too small upstairs. Think about your target market and how they would use the space then try to replicate that. For me the no bathroom upstairs and very small bedrooms would rule it out.

You can’t change the layout , or the fact it shouldn’t be marketed as a 4 bed.
But you can change the photos. They are all taken from a strange angle and make all the ceilings look very low.

I also think you are brave to post the link! I can see that you've added hanging baskets and pots to the front door but as that is at the side of the property, something similar at the front (if it still allows you to park the cars where you need to) would help.

It is an unusual layout which won't appeal to everyone. You've obviously decluttered like a hero but I think the kitchen, in particular, needs a few items on the work surfaces to look a little cosier.

There is a bit of a contrast in the decor between the downstairs and the upstairs (and the internal doors - downstairs are more modern than upstairs which has the original doors).

You can't change the downstairs layout, but you can dress it to show what it can be used for - is the extra reception room used as a playroom at the moment?

The photos probably don't do it justice and it may be worth taking another set. I know people have already commented on the amount of ceiling in the photos, but by photo 3 I knew it had been extended because I could see the RSJ in the ceiling. If you have a house that will sell easily then it may be worth using an online EA, but I'd have to agree with the PP that said using a local EA may be worth it here. They may be able to persuade people through the door to have a look, which the online EA will not.

Good luck with the sale OP It just needs one person who likes it and can buy.

Simple:

No kerb appeal
No front door
The back looks like a holiday park home
No upstairs bathroom

Sorry, don’t like being mean about someone’s home. All houses will sell eventually, you just need to price accordingly and for this price I would pick one of the other houses up for sale.

For me it would come down to curb appeal and price. It's not a four bed, it's a three bed with no upstairs bathroom. Three bed properties with a full upstairs bathroom in your postcode seem to be on for £250k - £350k.

The photos are awful and need re doing. Urgently. Get the cars off the drive and some plants around the front.

I'd speak with your agent regarding how the property is being advertised. Yes it's a bottom heavy house with 2 downstairs bathrooms. Whack a toaster and kettle in your utility and ta dah! You've got your self a granny flat.

Alternatively make that downstairs room into an office space for two people.

[quote StatisticalSense]@VinylDetective
Using an online estate agent isn't in itself a problem, especially in the current time when people are at home even more than usual, as people tend to look on Rightmove or Zoopla rather than in the windows of physical estate agents. This particular online agent appears to be either lacking in skills or the OP has chosen a package that contains too many DIY elements for someone with their level of knowledge, but plenty of those working through online platforms have just as much knowledge as those in traditional estate agents.[/quote]
Bricks and mortar agents advertise on Rightmove and Zoopla too. The issue is that local agents understand the local market. Using an online agent is like using an agent in Aberdeen to sell your house in Winchester. As a buyer I avoid properties selling through online agents. They won’t be there to oil the wheels. There’s a reason they’re cheap.

I think it is the layout that is the real issue. Advertising it as a 4 bed will attract families but it is not really a very practical family house with no bathroom upstairs and one of the bedrooms downstairs.

I think the house is more suited to those wanting annex accommodation. You could consider advertising it as a 3 bed with downstairs annex. Really though one of the upstairs bedrooms could do with being converted into a bathroom.

Description is shocking lodgers!! photos shocking lights should be on in every room. Why concentrate on two rooms with bunk beds makes it look like a youth hostel. It is a three bed with a home office.

Please take car off the drive, put lots of plants in. Neutralise bedding and get a nice headboard, what is the black thing in the bedroom a safe?

Pull the dining room table out into the room and lose what looks like a recliner in that corner, move that to where the corner seating corner is to create a tv area, lose the bilious rug. Why have you got grey cushions with a brown leather sofa. Go to B&M Home bargains when you have looked on instagram, pinterest for ideas and get some ideas.

The garden I can only think you have just turfed over the flower beds with the two tone effect.

Look through rightmove see how other agents photograph, the bones of the house are good.

I would change agents.

The house a couple of streets away at £350k is ex council. That automatically lowers the price, so it’s not comparable.

From 2014

“the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) reckons ex-local authority property is about 20% cheaper than comparable private properties.”

The garage conversion would be better marketed as a playroom or office than a bedroom. Your upstairs footprint and rooms are very small; if I was looking for a four-bed, I wouldn’t look at yours. I wouldn’t want to have a young child sleep in a ground floor room off a utility room. No upstairs bathroom is very odd in a modern house.

I would be put off by the sterility of the exterior, and the fact that your entrance is on the side. It’s not clear if the tarmac area which runs in front of the house is communal or not. You might consider putting a gate across what might be the driveway (running from the house just to the rear of your front door) if indeed it is all yours, to enclose the ‘garden’.

I never view houses where the first picture isn't the front of the house.

Make more of the outside space; fertilise the lawn add shrubs etc. Spend some money making it look appealing - I think it can be done but you need to spend some money(if you have any). Copy what other similar nice houses have done.

Remove the green stools!! Replace with light oak. Look in some home magazines and bring things up to date with colour, cushions, throws, rugs etc.

Depersonalise your house.

If you spend you will probably recoup this when you sell as at present you could lose a bit.

It feels too open plan but not in a great way. You need to bring the rooms together somehow.

No hallway, having to walk through other rooms would put me off at that price. Also, anyone looking for a 4 bed would usually want rooms for dc and the room downstairs wouldn’t work for many people so you’ve instantly reduced the target audience. Decor wise it’s lovely and inoffensive but the price and description feel wrong to me. The small third bedroom would also put me off.

Some of that you can’t change, but things you can:

Use the side photo of front door as first picture with kitchen second.
Describe as 3 bed with flexible second reception room and spacious living area idea for families and socialising.

Upstairs it's a 2-bed with study and no bathroom. Downstairs it's a truly bizarre layout and the photos aren't helping. No bathroom window? The sitting room layout is odd and furniture just looks plonked at random, it doesn't feel cosy or homey. Kitchen layout isn't great.

You can do something about some of this stuff - rearrange furniture, dress it all a bit, get better photos taken; but you can't do anything about the poor layout and quirks other than drop the price massively, call it a 2- or 3-bed, and market that extra downstairs room as a study or bonus rumpus room. Or don't mention it and rightmove obsessives can discover it as a nice surprise.

The house a couple of streets away at £350k is ex council. That automatically lowers the price, so it’s not comparable.

I think this house also looks ex-council from the outside.

I personally find the fireplace directly in front of the door to the living room a bit odd. To me a fireplace should be the focal point of the room, but it doesn't look like it's possible to arrange the furniture to do this.

I'm sorry, I'm not keen on the kitchen either, it looks a bit clinical, a bit like an nhs staff room.

I dont mind downstairs bedrooms, I have two myself, but they're not accessed through/next door to a utility room. That would put me off as I wouldnt be able to put the washing machine on in the evening.

I also think a local agent might be better for a property such as this. They often have buyers looking for particular things - eg. a buyer looking for a 3-bed house in your location with potential for office space slightly separated from the house - which this one would fulfill.

Out of interest what made you buy this property originally? Was it on at a knock down price and seemed good value for money?

I wouldn't view it, firstly it's a 3 bedroom house not a 4 bed. Two of the bedrooms are too small and no upstairs bathroom is putting me off.
I would want to redo the kitchen to add some colour which would cost me more money.
Coming from the North too it's insane to me that for that price I could buy a gorgeous, big house in a lovely area by me!!

The extension downstairs could be great for a granny flat, or an adult child who wanted their own space. I don't think the potential for this space has been empasised in the listing. It could have a lot of flexibility. Is it wheelchair accessible? If so, this should also be mentioned.

Tiny bedrooms and decorated like student digs

It looks like a house occupied with random furniture and not really a home.

There’s no curb appeal and the trees at the bottom of the garden would drive me mad.

It generally just looks really unloved and in need of some tlc, especially the yellow on the door in the bedroom.

Sorry, I don’t want to be rude. It’s your home.

I'm a bit confused as to which room downstairs would be a bedroom? That back room might be useful as a sort of granny annex, but it's not a master bedroom or a child's bedroom because it's downstairs.

So basically it's a 3 bedroom house, with one very small bedroom and downstairs bathrooms. They're not really attractive things.

In terms of decor, doesn't matter really - I like a blank canvas to put my own stuff into/onto.

I agree with the person above my comment though.

The furniture reminds me of student accommodation/ a house share. It doesn’t really scream ‘homely’.