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#/

FleeceNavidadToEwe I'm a lawyer. The right of way over a wide short passage way is unimpeachable and very broad. I have all the original deeds from the time of the creation of the right in 1898. Definitely no problems there. The right of access is exactly equal between the next door house and our own although I can see why one might be initially wary. That's one thing where there's fortunately no cause at all for concern.

Oh it's beautiful!!!!

Yes as others have said, the room with the 3 beds looks like a holiday let, can you reconfigure that room completely into a lovely bedroom?

Also agree that the big table makes the kitchen look very cramped so remove it/replace with much smaller.

It's a dream home for somebody!

Maybe amend the wording slightly to clarify? At face value, it sounds as if you have to go through a garden. A photo might help?

Misandrylovescompany completely fair point about three/ four beds. My family is unusual, granted, and the extension was created specifically as a bedroom for three of my DC and the insurance company insist it is indeed a four bed. But I can equally see that some might see it as a three bed with a disproportionate amount of living space. I don't think in the village the price would vary.

I know it's tedious when posters who've asked for help get defensive - and I'm not intending to be defensive - but the outside has just been painted recently and the paintwork is flawless, so I'm wondering where you think it looks tatty? One of my dogs has jumped against the wall so perhaps that's what you mean, but generally it's brand new.

Totally get the point about the bathroom but when my mother bought the three cottages forty years ago she was determined to have a large bathroom not a small one at the back, and that's where the plumbing is. It would be a massive job to reverse that - just huge.

It is lovely, and very clean, tidy and tasteful so nothing obvious to change apart from what's already been suggested re: the extension and the kitchen table. I wondered about perhaps prettying up the bare wall of the extension outside with a garden bench - but perhaps there is less room there than the photo implies. And whether the raised area in the extension could be styled as a study area with a desk to give it a 'purpose'.

Yes could easily do a photo FleeceNavidadToEwe.Thanks.

All we can do is to tell you what we would be thinking as we scrolled the listing if we were prospective buyers, OP. Without wishing to be rude, I’m not an actual prospective buyer so it doesn’t really matter what the explanation is for any particular aspect - it’s just stuff for you to think about in terms of your decisions about the presentation etc.

Re: the external paint - to my first glance, it looked like an old coat of whitewash had partly flaked off / weathered and needed re-doing. Is the patchy grey and white effect deliberate? As a prospective buyer I probably wouldn’t know that.

Anyway ok, points all taken on board. As soon as my uni DC have returned to uni later in Jan I shall set to work in the extension and trying to sell the kitchen table and replace it with my much smaller one.

Am buoyed by the positive comments as well as grateful for the constructive criticism. Fingers crossed!

The grey and white on the Front elevation is unpainted stone. The extension is brickwork painted with F&B 'Pointing'. I hope that's where the confusion lies Misandrylovescompany. The windows and doors are all newly painted too (all done at the same time - I do it every three years).

Yes quite about not being a prospective buyer - just trying to understand where I might be missing something about the paint, that's all. Grateful for comments and the time taken to make them, as I've said.

The things that stood out for me (in a negative way) were the high backed chairs in the kitchen - can you take them out (or most of them) for the photo/viewings

Im sure somebody who has the means to purchase a £650k house has the mental faculty to imagine one of the rooms without chairs.

OP, lovely place and I agree with the agent it just needs the right person to come along and pay the asking.

That's very reassuring Coriandersucks.

How far from the beach are you as the crow flies? Could people be wary of cliff erosion?

Dawnlassie thanks for that - although at this stage I'm more than willing to shift chairsand get a few bob for the table (and make floor washing that much easier - win win!). Tbh I don't want a reduced flag on the marketing so I'm happy not to pressure the agent to reduce price, but I'd seriously consider any offer which wasn't a complete and utter joke. That's how I've left it with the agent.

This house is beautiful! I can see it going as a primary home, a holiday home or a buy-to-let.
Why I am tied to the South East?!!

Oh right! I’m not meaning to be nasty OP, it just didn’t look like stone to me. I’m sure all its benefits will attract a buyer when the spring selling season starts up in earnest. As I say, I’m just giving you my ‘if I were a buyer’ stream-of-consciousness first thoughts in case it’s any use.

Exactly half a mile SquishSquashSqueeze. There's the central part of the village which we're in, then a ten minute level walk through fields, on a gravelled path, then the beach. The cliffs are on either side of the valley, so no cliff erosion to worry about. Although erosion is a major factor in the next town down, so I see why you'd say that.

I just bought a house with no parking. Not very sensible, the street gets busy with parked cars during the week (v annoying) but the house itself was exactly what we needed and there were no alternatives in the exact area we needed for the budget to had.

It had been on the market quite a while. I can see why others wouldn't be interested, but it was just what we wanted. We would never been able to afford it in the area if it had a driveway anyway. Hang in there for a while!!

I didn't think you were Misandrylovescompany and streams-of -consciousness are extremely welcome. I've held off posting a thread for ages and the replies are just what I need to make me question what the house looks like to others.

I don't have anything constructive to add OP, just dropping by to say that it's absolutely beautiful, and I love the house's 'eyelashes' above the lower windows at the back!

Best of luck with the sale.

It's a very nice house inside. The only drawback is the way the extension has been designed. I thought at first it was an outbuilding.

It's. dry obviously unpainted stone @goodbyestranger

Your house is beautiful with phenomenal views. Apart from the triple room, I don't think you need to change much

If it was me, I would stage the extension as the master bedroom, with garden access I think that would be a lovely feature. It's hard to tell but it looks like with some rearranging the lounge could also fit the dining table? Or at least a smaller one. I also think the photos are terrible, a house at that price point here would have a lot of well presented photos showing the best of the rooms, yes home staging can be a bit naff but all that catches my eye in those photos is the furniture, I don't see the features of the house and I think people would miss the potential. It's a stunning property but could be marketed a lot better.

You noticed the eyelashes!

And thanks.

Sorry that sounded harsh but I wrote far too much and tried to cut it down!