Advice Welcomed on Sale of My House

[goodbyestranger]

I get on well with the agent who says he doesn't think a price reduction is a good idea; that the price is right. His view seems to be that the house may take a while to sell because I just need 'the right person'. The obvious problem is no on site parking but there's plenty on street parking nearby: I've parked on the street opposite for forty years (for the last twenty with a large VW nine seat people carrier) and there are a number of other spaces just a few steps up the road. A similar house with parking sold for £200k more a couple of years ago and another where parking could be created, assuming planning permission and c. £20k to create, sold for £50k more this summer. A smaller house with a small garden and no comparable views and no parking and much, much further from the beach sold for £125 less a few weeks ago. It's a ten minute flat walk along a National Trust path to the incredibly beautiful beach and the buses to both local schools (one a comp, the other a top co-ed grammar) stop at the door. I've brought my eight DC up in this house - admittedly a bit of a squash, but they love the house even so. I can't create any on-site parking, it just isn't there. The other possible issue is the extension I had to build in 2006 to accommodate the family as they grew. It's not the best looking extension ever but all that could be done within the confines of very strict planning controls in the area (AONB - Jurassic Coast) and is a really lovely room inside. The village community is vibrant and welcoming. Advice on how to proceed welcomed.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/73186305#/

That's my dream house, it's perfect! Location is ideal. It's just you're selling 4 years too early for us sorry....

I'd say get rid of the huge dining table as it's not a big kitchen.
I'm not keen on raised beds out in the garden- they would put me off as a parent with young kids.
The 3 bed room looks odd- maybe turn it into something else?
Good luck.

I love the big table too but I wouldn't want to carry food downstairs to a dining room.

I agree with a pp who suggested that the table would be better placed in the living room which is next to the kitchen. That room is spacious enough for a table and comfortable seating as a living room/diner.

The extension would be a lovely summer living-room with the doors opening out to the garden.

Good luck, OP. I hope whatever changes you make help you sell it quickly!

It is a gorgeous home, oh my!
I agree with previous comments, just the extension needs to be staged a bit differently and the kitchen table to be moved elsewhere.

Thanks for the recent comments. Maybe it will still be here in four years' time motherofawhirlwind.... I have to say anyone viewing it now would find the winter garden very tatty compared to the one in the photos, which could be a problem. Each passing storm decimates the place.

I wouldn't worry about the garden. People know if they're buying in winter gardens always look tatty. The outside space is great, and the photos show what it will look like in spring. It's a garden I'd be excited about getting stuck into.

That's cheering Candleabra. I just try to keep it neat, given that I'm not an able gardener but even neat is currently a bit of an ask!

Oh definitely! My garden is lovely in the summer but currently resembles a very bleak swamp. People who are keen gardeners will see the potential, and those who aren't won't care.

If anyone is interested - and I appreciate everyone is probably done with this, after 230+ messages - the agent has put up more photos as requested (although he can't re-do the kitchen and extension until I've done my own bit). Anyhow, just in case etc :)

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/73186305#/

The current 3 bed extension IMHO is crying out to be a library and cosy snug on the upper and huge lounge on the main floor doubling up as guest room with amazing sofa beds.

The other reception room as family/dining/games room as it has the stairs in it.

Wish I could afford it.

It is really FLEXIBLE accommodation and the description needs to say that.

Your house is beautiful and I would buy it in a heartbeat. I don't think it's overpriced, and neither does the stonework need painting . That said, some of the photos don't do it justice:

5 - can the large table be removed for the photo?
7 - can the sheets be pulled tighter on the bed? It looks like you are hiding stuff under the blankets (which is exactly the stunt I pull when selling )
8 - same comment as 5. Can some of the bottles, tins and small appliances be put away so the counters look clearer?
11 - the set up with three chairs looks a bit Goldilocks-esque. Could the table be set up as a WFH space instead, with just one chair? Or replaced with a chest of drawers so it looks more like a bedroom.
15 and 16 - put some of the chinaware and all of the bottles out of shot

Good luck - it will sell soon I am sure. My comments are nitpicky as I'm sure most potential buyers will be able to see past the things noted.

Any of your kids have a camera drone can fly to the top of the hill, and swoop over the house to grab a great photo? Agree not enough photos of the view - I'd like to see a labelled photo 'view from lounge' or 'view from master bedroom'

Definitely the wording re the extension needs to point out it could be reconfigured (kitchenette added) as a holiday let annex.

Re the parking, another thought, given likely you'll know who owns it, but the field the other side of the road, any chance of buying it (and creating parking in the nearest bit) or buying a small section and digging out your own little gated parking space? As agricultural land I doubt it's very expensive as such, so you potentially could buy it at agricultural/grazing land price with uplift clause (so if later you sold it for building the original owner gets a huge chunk).

Definitely needs mentioning that 'on-street parking is readily available in x road' Or a photo of road side from front showing parking.

A cunning plan on the parking front. In fact my neighbour has a dream spot for parking directly adjacent to the house but has declined an offer (I only asked because of the sale - haven't asked in the forty years prior because parking hasn't been an issue for us at all). She said not for the moment, for very good reasons of her own, but also said that didn't mean not ever. The field opposite would require planning permission and so that would be quite a long rabbit hole to go down, but again possibly possible for a new owner. I think Very creative ideas coming through here, especially given that people don't know the place on the ground. I'm super impressed.

Also, nitpicky is good! I'm very glad of micro advice as well as macro. Eg chamber pot is gone :) (not in the photos obv).

The particulars do now say something about parking, have lost the piece about pedestrian right of way, and include the fact that school transport picks up and drops off to both the grammar and the comp.

I know you are still working on it but those additional photos really do help. The sitting room now shows the lovely fireplace. The garden studio photo. The upstairs landing. The wonderful size of the bathroom.

I’m actually surprised these weren’t included before but these already make a difference. It’s a good starting point for the New Year.

Is it worth asking the pub if they would rent out a car parking space?

The pub does have a large car park nearby and my godbrother used to own it and always said I could park there if I liked, but I never did - no need. The pub is now owned by a brewery so it's a lot less personal. My view has been that as soon as I start asking for rented spaces etc for the sale, it will make prospective buyers think it's a major difficulty finding space - when it isn't. But you're right that there are potential additional avenues to pursue, if a buyer has a need for lots of parking.

I guess I'm also wary of asking to rent a space and finding the sale is conditional on that and then finding that the agreement is reneged on. It could make a sale even more tenuous than a straightforward sale can be. I have done the standard lying awake at night kind of thing and keep coming back to the principle of keeping things simple.

I agree. A house that comes with a rental fee for a parking space that isn't even on the property, is less attractive than a house that simply doesn't have parking.

Those pictures make a huge difference op, it looks fantastic...

Those photos help enormously. You get a much better sense of the size and flow of the rooms now.

The new pictures make a huge difference, I can't believe that beautiful fireplace didn't feature in the earlier photos.

It really is lovely.

Can the table and chairs from the summerhouse go in the kitchen?