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What's wrong with my house

164 replies

mrsanflowerpot · 22/08/2020 20:08

Please help.

Our house went on the market about three weeks ago, 8 viewings compared to everyone else in the same bracket having lots. Similar price to others locally even though we have an extension that we use as a dining room. I know the second bedroom is small, but nothing we can do about that. Can we do anything else?

Thank you!

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-72197922.html

OP posts:
emilybrontescorsett · 22/08/2020 22:26

I think it looks lovely.

beautifulxdisasters · 22/08/2020 22:27

Haven't read other comments so probably repeating things, but:

I'd assume guide price meant auction or some slightly odd selling arrangement.

The description is badly written - tbh it reads like it was written by the work experience student or someone very new to the job!

Lots of very similar photos that don't add anything.

Why are your windows open in the two almost identical shots of the front of the house?

Tablecloth looks scruffy and because of the colour your eye is drawn to that rather than the rest of the room.

wowfudge · 22/08/2020 22:30

The guide price is putting people off and the photos and blurb just aren't appealing enough. You won't get £370k by painting the kitchen units and straightening the bedding, but it could be much better presented.

BananaShackles · 22/08/2020 22:39

While I think that a lot of what previous posters have said is total nonsense — in my experience there is zero relationship between neatly-made beds and dining-room tables ‘dressed’ with flowers and whether the property has been well-maintained or not — alas, the terminally unimaginative, and people who make snap decisions based on matching bathroom towels and kitchen unit handles, buy houses too, and you should probably try to get them through your door.

So yes, try to enter the mindset of someone who really, really minds whether a house they’re considering viewing has a perfectly-made bed.

Good luck, OP!

NavyBerry · 22/08/2020 22:44

How high are the ceilings there? It looks a bit squashed maybe just due to the photos

snowone · 22/08/2020 22:50

Hi OP - I personally agree with others. I think the photos Aren't great but you could do lots more to improve the situation. Definitely some de-cluttering required in the bedrooms, personally I would remove all the stickers and stuff from the wardrobes / furniture and I agree about properly made beds. It may not be how you live but the aim of the game is to get people through the door.

I just sold my house in 4 days. I have 2 kids and literally everything was shoved in cupboards until they were fit to bursting. It looked like a show home.

SionnachGlic · 22/08/2020 22:51

Extension:Remove the items on floor , the play mats, dog's bed (?), small trunk/box with (what looks like) toys, heater etc. Also remove the table cloth, put vase of flowers or candle.

Bedrooms: plain or co-ordinated (with decor) bedding, fluffy pillows, properly made/uncreased beds. Remove fan & items hanging outside closet, remove chairs from childrens' rooms.

Sittingroom: Plump up couch seats...add some colour/lamps

Outdoors: Take away kiddie toys /furniture. Give a lick of varnish/paint to brighten up.

Also...too many pics perhaps.

Best of luck OP...I hope you have a successful sale & happy move

Runkle · 22/08/2020 22:51

Make the beds properly and neatly, plump the cushions and sofa properly and neatly, hide any clutter and personal photos, consider painting your kitchen cupboards they look very dated, paint the decking and fences they look old and unkempt.

Plussizejumpsuit · 22/08/2020 22:57

It looks a bit dated sorry I know its your home. I know that shouldn't be important but I think people want to imagine themselves in the home perhaps even just better staging. The photos aren't great, better angles and lighting would help.

SuperheroBirds · 22/08/2020 22:57

I’d echo what everyone else has said, a good declutter will make it look less crowded. There are several photos for each room, but generally it looks better from one angle so the additional photos are a hinderance (eg photo 12 is the best one of you bedroom, photos 11 and 13 then make it look messy and small). If you can remove the stickers from the wall and cupboards in the boys room, it might make it appeal to more people.
I don’t think there is anything “wrong” with your house, it is just a case of trying to make it as easy as possible for as many people as possible to imagine themselves living happily in there.

mrsbyers · 22/08/2020 23:00

Take the rugs up in the front room and it will look a lot bigger , take up the kids floor tiles in conservatory , get some photos taken with the beds made properly and paint the garden fence

BalletShoe · 22/08/2020 23:06

Make your beds properly and tidy up.

Jaxhog · 22/08/2020 23:34

Didn't notice the guide price, I find guide prices very off putting

That would put me off too, as it always looks like you want more than the asking price. The house itself looks fine. Better frontage picture would help though.

Fairymaryprincess · 22/08/2020 23:39

Definitely get the pics and name things down with your daughter on.
The pic from the front I would want closer it looks a bit wide scaled and shows neighbours on each side, also close your upstairs windows.

For the lounge I would get a new rug and some new cushions, move the sofa from under the window to facing the window as a divider, then bring in the table from the conservatory and create a dining area, get rid of the table cloth and put flowers on or a centre piece, paint the double doors white with satinwood or eggshell, also paint all the kitchen cupboards or wrap them with fablon, you can use a hair dryer to help you get into the grooves, then get another sofa for the conservatory, some nice units or a large free standing lamp perhaps.

Upstairs, the bathroom looks a bit bland, not sure why there is photos of the window that's definitely not a necessary picture, you could get some plants and make it look a little more relaxing and calm, all 3 bedrooms are quite small, you can't do anything about the actual size but they look a little cramped, get rid of the chairs in bedrooms, what are the cupboards in the boys room? They look like kitchen units, you could get new door fronts just flat ones, tuck in all your bedding, get or make a headboard for the main bedroom, make sure that you plump the cushions and that they are well placed, ohh also have your TV wires put into the walls, generally take out everything, the fan the clothes or coats hanging next to them etc.
Into the garden, paint or stain the fences, shed and decked areas, get some feed and seed for your grass as it looks a bit sparse, move the slide, football table and little pink table and chairs into the shed if they fit if not just move them elsewhere for the pictures, get some hanging baskets full of colour, and some nice pots, hanging baskets could be good for the front area too. Not sure about the parasol being up, perhaps take a picture without it and see what you think, take down the washing line too, then get a different agent to take photos pick 1 from outside the front, one from the middle of the lounge either way to lounge area and then dining area, one of the conservatory, one of the kitchen from the best angle even if that isn't the edge of the room with it being so long, one of the bathroom and one of each bedroom, then 2 from the garden, perhaps one from the car park area too, but don't say there always seems to be spaces.
I know it seems a lot but it's mostly superficial things to change, a couple of days painting, some new accessories and things will look much more flowing.

StatisticallyChallenged · 22/08/2020 23:42

You’d be surprised how many people don’t have any imagination and concentrate on irrelevant things when viewing, or deciding what to view.

^This is very true IMO. I took MIL to look at houses and she couldn't see past even minor things - in one there was a lovely open plan space which was effectively dining room leading to kitchen, but they didn't have a dining table and instead had it set up as a sitting area. She couldn't see past this. To her mind there was no dining space no matter how often it was highlighted. She rejected places because she didn't like the wardrobes, the decor...

I've just sold my own place. Decor is not neutral (my front door is magenta!) but it was very well staged, every room laid out well and properly presented and it sold in days. It's not necessarily about loving every element, but about people walking in (or looking at photos) and getting a good warm feel that is somewhere they could make home and being able to see how the space can work. I think this is where folk struggle more - less about colour and more "where would I put an x, how would we fit everything in, where do we eat, where can I work"

Personally I'd consider the following:

Get the EA to put the dimensions ON the floor plan. Flicking between description and floor plan is annoying! And a wide angle lense would help - I can take better photos on my phone!

You want to play down the length of your sitting room (mine is similar size). I'd lift the second rug I think as it seems to emphasise "this room is loooong, look it even needs two rugs"

There's no eating area in your kitchen and the photos look like it couldn't fit a table even though it almost certainly can. Many people wouldn't want to carry plates of food from the kitchen, through the living room, to the extension. I'd get a small table in at least. I'd agree with the suggestion to consider painting the kitchen units a lighter colour.

Get the main front door on the floor plan, and get the coats out of the kitchen. Viewers should enter in to the hallway and the kitchen should be a defined living space not an entrance corridor

Tidy up the extension and get a better photo - I think it's much bigger than it looks? If you are using it as a dual purpose playroom/dining room that's ok, but in that case I'd rotate the dining table and then create a defined play space at the other end (Outside the kitchen window) with neat toys, kiddy sized table and chairs, something like that. The space looks unloved just now

Master bedroom - I'd suggest a photo taken from the door towards the bed and window. Your TV is not a feature! Get some curtains up in the same colour as the bedding, make the bed properly, add some extra cushions. Get rid of all the clutter in the corners. Couple of lamps on the bedsides, take down the (oddly small and high up) picture above the bed and maybe put a nice print above the bed instead, or get a headboard!

Boys bedroom - make the bed, lose the gaming chair, sort the curtains, take all the little stickers down. The bigger decals are ok IMO, but the wee round stickers screams "my kids get let loose at the walls and they've probably crayoned everywhere too"

Pink pedroom - lose the chair and fan, and the box of stuff under the desk. With the chair out you could probably pop in some sort of neat storage for the contents to go in, a small chest of drawers or something.

Gardens - cut the bushes and get a few nice planters with some colourful flowers out the back. It doesn't need to be much but it will make it look much more inviting. Sort the bottom of the shed. Move the slide to the back of the garden beside the shed so it's not so dominant in the photo. I'd actually probably delete some of the garden photos too, I think the angles of 23 and 24, and maybe one looking back at the house, is enough.

Chicchicchicchiclana · 22/08/2020 23:45

I haven't read anyone elses's comments.

The photos are terrible, without exception. A professional house photographer, or even a keen amateur could have done a better job with ever single image.

Your living room is exceptionally narrow, perhaps people are coming to view and hoping it will somehow be wider than in the pictures?

LuluJakey1 · 23/08/2020 00:07

I look at:
Space
Potential for to create space
Flow

For me the rooms are narrow - so you need to try to address that by making them look wider and other people have made some good suggestions about decluttering for that.

The kitchen and dining room would be my main concern. The kitchen is large but problematic. It has 4 doors into it. I would get rid of the door at the front - there is a door next to it into the hall. That would create an area where a table and chairs could go, even something small to show it's possible. Or move that huge fridge up to that corner and put a table where the fridge is. It needs a new kitchen and a re-design to make better use of the space but in the meantime perhaps you could have the units painted.
I would also think opening it up to the dining room would be a good idea - I don't like the way the kitchen window looks into the dining room. Not for you to do- too expensive but just saying a buyer might want to.

The back garden looks badly maintained - paint the decking and shed, add a few plants.

sanityisamyth · 23/08/2020 07:47

I lost the will to live after the first few photos - they're basically the same over and over again. Just one good photo of each room will do.

Bluesheep8 · 23/08/2020 07:49

Sorry for derailing the thread but where is the lovely blue and white rug in your living room from? It's EXACTLY what I'm looking for!

Namechangr9000 · 23/08/2020 08:00

Nearly every house listed on rightmove where I am says guide price.

DianaT1969 · 23/08/2020 08:28

No shower or even shower hose from the taps? I would expect it for the price. If I were buying your home I'd be planning to upgrade the kitchen units and install a shower. Is it priced for that?

Jennygentle · 23/08/2020 08:35

It’s a good house, OP, but you need to give it some oomph and have the photos redone.
It needs a little colour and style.
Change the wording of the price so it’s clear to potential buyers.
Change the wording about parking as it’s wishy-washy and would put me off.

Jennygentle · 23/08/2020 08:36

..also be really honest about the asking price.

Fiftysixthnamechange · 23/08/2020 08:48

Probably parroting here but for me: you have some enirmoys furniture that swamps the rooms making them look small and cramped, particularly the sofas in the lounge and the chest of drawers in the bedroom. There should be no photos that show ceilings, it makes them look so low its like you live in a caravan!
Everywhere looks cluttered, fans, clothes hanging off wardrobes, pictures not hung but on the floor instead. Empty plant pots in the garden, the whole place looks unloved, and if you don't love it how can you expect anyone else to?!
Scruffy garden, paint the decking, water the grass, bedding plants in the troughs, people buy into a lifestyle, they want to imagine themselves in a home.
New kitchen and bathroom needed but I imagine it's priced to reflect that but that will put some buyers off who don't have the money for those improvements.

AlwaysLatte · 23/08/2020 08:59

For me it would be too much work unless the price really reflected that - I'd want to switch the kitchen (dated, sorry) to where the dining room is then knock through to make a much larger room for kitchen/dining, and a smaller cosier living room - this one doesn't look cosy as it's long and quite narrow. I'd be thinking architect, time, mess and cost. If there are others with better layouts then they might get the buyers.

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