Advice on selling - Rightmove link included

[PumpkinChai]

Hello

We put our house on the market a few days ago. This is our first time selling so have very much gone on all the advice from the estate agent but I'm having a wobble.

Mainly because there is so much competition on our estate and we are looking for a reasonably quick sell (we are selling because we are worried about not being able to afford to stay here much longer).

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-98778998.html

Thats our Rightmove link. We have been advised to do nothing to the property and save money for new house by the EA.

Anyway, please do be honest.

Had a quick flick through of your pictures and my immediate thoughts are that it needs a new bathroom and whether there is enough space for a second sofa.

The bathroom would be too expensive to do but can you get an extra chair or something in the living room?

The sitting room looks rather cluttered. I would have put the baby stuff in the car for photos and viewings. Fewer cushions on the sofa. Pull up the weeds on the patio. The picture of the study looks weird with just a door and vacuum marks plus some clutter. Declutter it and get a photo of the actual room.

My first reaction is the living room looks small but I think that’s due to the position of the sofa? I would want another picture with that moved back, move the play gum for the pic and have another pic of garden on sunny day.

*play gym

It looks good to me. The living room looks cluttered though and like there isn’t much space. I’d move the baby bouncer out for the photos and also those white tables . I think it’s maybe the angle of the photos too.
If you want a quick sale then you need to price accordingly so it looks like great value compared to others.

The photos look fine to me. I think it will come down to price. Is the increase from £257k in 2018 warranted? Have you done anything to improve the property since you moved in and how has the local market performed?

There does look to be more competatively priced properties available locally but I don't know the local area. Do you think the estate agent suggested a high price to get you to sign up?

Quick view and I'd say

Do more with your lounge area, looks large in the plan but small and cluttered the way you've laid it out. I'd be inclined to get rid of the baby stuff for photographs too

The patio needs attention, get rid of the weeds. Can you get some colour out there even if it's some pots with winter colours in - don't spend lots though.

Make sure your box room looks uncluttered too, you need to make it look like it can act as a bedroom

Weed the patio, remove toys from behind the sofa and push the sofa back against the wall to make more room?

My main issue is why you've chosen purple bricks? Have you read the reviews?

The bathroom looks fine to me.

push the sofa back to the wall, as it makes the front room look tiny at the moment. clear all the clutter in the living room.

weed the patio.

try not to have clashing colours too (table cloth)

I think that's good money for Colchester, but do you happen to know what the average sold price is for your post code for comparative properties are? Look at the last 6 months to a year (I know it'll be tricky because of covid).

I'd also suggest leaving as it is.

Nothing fundamentally wrong with the house but a few of the photos could be retaken with some tweaks.

Living room- what’s all the stuff behind the sofa? I’d move that, and the baby items - bouncer and baby gym. (car/garage for temp storage). Is it possible to move the sofa so it’s at right angles to where it is now and divide up the room into living and dining areas?

Kitchen- fine. Put the mixer away in the cupboard and brighten up with bunch of flowers/fruit bowl.

Bathroom- do you have a shower? Nothing you can do about that now, but show it if you do? Move the clutter off the window sill as put nice plant there instead.

Spare room/office - looks tiny. Move the clutter off the wall and stage just as a home office. Lots of people home working now obviously. It makes it look like there’s not enough storage to have everything on the wall in that photo.

All looks fine to me apart from the living room. This needs decluttering. I'd get rid of the baby bouncer, playmat and white tables. Can you move the couch to the wall and put another chair in front of the window? The bathroom could do with updating but as long as it's usuable it wouldn't put me off. I would possibly choose a different table cloth as well. The bedrooms look nice and tidy, I think the living room just needs to be presented to the same standard. Good luck

Your kitchen and garden are great. I doubt normally like updated kitchens but I think you choose well and it would be easy to move into.

The bathroom looks crowded and needs a refurb but your price can reflect that.

The arrangement of your lounge dinner needs a lot of work, but then you could take new pics for the website. That shape is hard and potential buyers who don't know how to arrange their furniture there might be put off. Have a look on pinterest for ideas.

It's hard to live in a home and sell it, but I'd simplify the bedrooms and office for the pics too.

Good luck op!

Pictures 5 ,6 and 9 could be better.
Could you move the sofa against the back wall so it's not too close to the tv? The room looks narrow in the photo.
Yes get rid of the baby paraphernalia and the things on the right in the small bedroom.
Also the table cloth doesn't really go.

Considering putting the price at 288k

Thank you everyone, knew this would be beneficial!

We used to gave 2 sofas in the living room but with Covid we rearranged it to suit the kids playing and I realise now we haven't thought how that translates to selling!

The table, I'm planning on painting white actually so I'll do that ASAP.

There is a downstairs shower and loo, haven't a photo of it, worth taking one? Its pretty small though. Upstairs bathroom does have a shower over the bath, agree with the comments saying it looks dated - always thought that myself.

Regarding the price, there is a lush one round the corner for £280 and our direct neighbours are selling for £270! So I do worry we are high but EA said its worth it for the kitchen?

(We went with purple bricks as recommended by my 5 friends who recently sold through them)

The only thing I would query is price. Has it really gone up by so much in such a short space of time?

I would possibly declutter a bit more for the photos - just cushions, baby stuff and back of the door. Extra photo of the garden without the looming wall. On paper though, it looks like a smashing family house and I would definitely book a viewing. Although, I must point out, the only three houses in my area that are not sold, are Purple Bricks. Everything else in my area is sold - including my house - my local agent achieved a record price for my side of the street. I've booked a PB viewing after contacting the PB agent - first impression - they are shit. Actually, it's the third impression. First was when I asked for a valuation 3 years ago. I'm still waiting for the 'agent' to get back to me. Must have been a long holiday - and this was after a long chat on the phone with him.
My advice if you want to sell - get a proper agent.

It looks good but why is there no picture of the 3rd bedroom? That would put me off asking for a viewing as I would assume it is too awful to show.

I don't think you need to do much to it. I don't think you are doing yourself any favours with the round dining table which takes up a lot of space and makes the room seem smaller but I am not sure it would be worthwhile to replace it.

What it comes down to is price. Imagine yourself on Rightmove looking for properties to view within a 1 mile radius of you in a budget range that is from 20k below to 20k above your asking price. For a quick sale you want to look just as nice as the properties that are more expensive, much nicer than the other properties at the same price point and completely out of the league of the cheaper properties. In fact the nearby cheaper properties are plentiful and just as nice as yours so people will choose to view those. I think £270k would be a better price point to advertise at. Your house is a bit nicer than the one being advertised at £260k but only a bit, and there are loads of decent ones at £275k-£280k which are totally comparable to yours and you don't really have an edge on them.

Ah, you updated while I wrote . How long did it take for the other PB properties to sell. Maybe your PB agent is a good one.

If I was being picky, I would put a splash of colour in the kitchen, big white bowl of stunt lemons? Don't cram another sofa in, it will look small. Borrow a small coffee table? But your house has kerb appeal and is generally very attractive. You will get viewings and it is a bit of a numbers game.

Agree with PP about the living room, wouldn’t take much to adjust and as you say there’s a lot of competition.

Hopefully I can offer a slightly different perspective as I know the area very well. I think you’re over priced, but I think you’d realistically be accepting offers in the region of 275 perhaps even a bit less. There are houses near yours for sale for less that have drive ways/bigger bedrooms and are more polished in terms of presentation. Sorry if that isn’t what you wanted to hear!

Hope you get as quick sale!

Yeh my thoughts are cluttered living room and slightly overpriced by about c.20-30k
Gorgeous kitchen agreed!!!!

Do you mean the one on Weyland Drive? Not sure if that's close but it's far superior to yours, sorry! I'd bet their estate agent around as they're local to get their opinion and valuation. I'd certainly go for that one as a first choice providing the location is equal.

Regarding price, when we bought for £257k it was in a pretty bad state but I guess no one would know that? The whole place was smoke stained, poor plastering work and tonnes of thick and peeling wallpaper, some poor flooring. Although I guess nothing major. Just time consuming.

Does the green wall in the master bedroom offend anyone? I've had a few friends said it looked hideous, so I suppose I should paint that.

I'll declarer, rearrange and get new photos