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#/

It’s a lovely house and will sell to the right person.
I agree though the kitchen table that you mention has been changed and the “boys” bedroom needs a complete revamp. Either as another family room or a lovely bedroom with the raised area with dressing table etc. I too would have valences on the beds and dress the beds more.

The outside is a delight and I would also show your studio/summer house. New photos of the changes etc.

I’m not a fan of Humberts but that was a different area. Good luck more buyers will come on the market in the new year and there will be one who loves it and accepts lack of parking as the compromise.

Are you getting many viewings? If not, it’s probably the photos. If you are but it’s going nowhere, it might be the price. In both cases, shifting furniture and making it look less like a youth hostel might work.

Beautiful house OP. I agree about changing the table in the kitchen - i think the extension would make a lovely formal dining room if you could manage to do that but i think someone will fall in love with it and make it work for them.

The property market is strange at the moment due to covid and brexit so you might eventually have to drop the price. I dont know if you have a bottom line on what you would be prepared to agree to but if, for example, you would accept £625,000 i think i would lower the price to £630,000 in the new year. There are a lot if people who wouldnt look on rightmove up to 650 if their top price is 630.

Good luck selling.

Picture 5 of 16 makes it look like a youth hostel, sorry. The bed in picture 11 of 16 is set out the best of the lot, but making the duvet edges straight & coming down to cover the side of the mattress on the other pictures would be a big improvement. The extension would be exactly what we'd look for as a self-contained flat for visitors/holiday b&b, with a double bed & sofa downstairs and a tiny kitchen outside the mezzanine bathroom, but for selling it I'd just get rid of the table in the centre of the mezzanine (put it against a wall as a WFH area?) and display the space up there. You've already addressed the kitchen table problem, so that should be fine.

The beds looking untidy shouldn't put anyone off buying the place, but it adds an unkempt look to the house which makes you wonder what else has not been cared for. It is a lovely house though, but I'd definitely take down picture 5 until you can stage the area better.

Actually, having looked back at the photos I think they are very weird! You can see the edge of a wood burner in the living room, but not the whole thing, and you can’t get a good idea of the garden, and there ought to be a picture looking out of the French doors from the stairs in the extension. I agree with the person who said that they’ve focused on your furniture rather than the actual room.

I left the photographer to it, and it hadn't registered about furniture v space, but that makes sense on looking over the photos again.

We've had six viewings and six appointments which were cancelled at the last minute (annoying). So I'd say that was very few viewings indeed, probably - not sure.

Did you get any feedback from the people who viewed?

First lady was single, adult children, loved the place (she said) but couldn't get her head around parking as she had three cars incl a classic car.
Second couple wanted to start a new life running a B&B for which the house clearly isn't suitable.
Third person was a friend of someone who has just bought a holiday house in the village and I strongly, strongly suspect wanted a nosy for the friend (who came along too). She made lots of nice noises about the house though.
Fourth family came from Nottingham and wanted bedrooms of equal size so their two DC didn't quarrel about one having a smaller room than the other. Again, said the house was immaculate, beautiful etc.
Fifth couple wanted an investment holiday property to let but opted for somewhere larger on Dartmoor. Not much comment. Agent thought they were really comparing size/ location for the same sort of price.
Sixth lady said she didn't like the outside of the extension; wanted a chocolate box Devon cottage.

I guess you can't ever be sure what people really think. The first three viewings I did myself, the last three I wasn't here for.

The other thing to remember is that you put it up for sale at a notoriously slow time of the year. Most people aren’t house hunting in the run up to Christmas apart from major cities.

The New Year will bring more buyers out. Plus if you make some of the easy changes suggested. For instance making a lovely master bedroom out of the 3 bed room you just push two of the beds together and dress well with great super king bed linen lots of pillows nice throws etc. Pick up a dressing table and make that area the dressing room area.

Change your studio back to a working office area. You’ve got lovely taste in the main sitting room so you can easily do a bit of transformation required. At the end of the day once sold your children won’t be needing all their old beds anyway. You might have needed all these beds but your prospective buyers don’t.

If you want to keep beds for when the DC stay, these air beds are very comfortable (we have the twin beds), are inflated and deflated electrically and can be hidden away when not in use.

www.aerobed.com/airbeds.html

I think it's a lovely house but the kitchen is letting it down as it's too small for a table in the middle of the room. Really I think you have a lovely 3 bed house. However, there is a 5-bed way more spacious period property in the same village for sale at the same price and it says it has off road parking. Are you sure it's priced correctly?

Given that working from home seems set to be a long term reality, meaning that many people have more freedom to live outwith cities, I’d market the extension as a home office.

Beautiful house OP. I don’t think you have enough photos of the actual property though - especially at this time when they are everything to entice a buyer right now. I develop properties and also stage them for sale so there are a couple of tricks you can try. You do need to ‘sell the sizzle not the sausage’ You don’t need to spend a fortune - ebay and FB marketplace are your friend here. Firstly, get a storage unit and send the excess/outsized furniture there to create space. Personally I’d stage the extension as a master suite. Use the mezzanine as a reading nook with a chair lamp and small side table - transfer the table that is currently there to the kitchen. Whilst I’m sure the print on the curtains and headboards is lovely IRL, it does look very dominant in the photos. Houses sell better when there is a theme/colour scheme that Is harmonious throughout the property and You have some lovely soft plaid colours in the lounge which would be perfect to replicate in the master suite. Beds should be made with the pillows on top of the duvet (they photograph better and look less like you are hiding something in it!) then add some occasional cushions in front of those. Use a box valance to cover the divan bases. Consider the position you have hung pictures - there is a random picture hung in the extension and one off-centre in one of the bedrooms. IKEA does a great range of inexpensive frames. Take towels off the rads for photos and get rid of the excess Victorian China in the bathroom. This property has two potential markets - someone looking for a turnkey holiday home or someone looking for a great family home. Don’t put off either. Replace the the beds in the smaller bedrooms with a set of white bunk beds and twin beds (use the ones you already have) leaving two rooms with two doubles. Add a sofa bed to the master suite (IKEA do them for £250 and you can pick them up on eBay for less and replace the loose covers) . Establish what the property would generate as a sleeps 8/10 in high season and add that to the blurb. Stage the summer house as a WFH office and see if you can ‘zone’ the lounge to maybe get a larger dining table into it. Personally unless you are legally required to disclose in the particulars, I’d remove the right of way reference. Once a buyer is hooked they can decide if it is an issue or not. I’d also add ‘available for sale for the first time in x years’ to show to buyers this is a unique opportunity to buy it.
Only question I have is (and please don’t feel the need to answer) do you really need to sell? Is this your main home? Where will you move to that will accommodate a family of 9? Whilst I’m sure your children will be very appreciative of financial assistance for house deposits, it looks like such a special home, they might not want you to sell it! Best of luck selling. As a PP said, it is a difficult time to put a house on the market and with no video, the agent is really not doing their best either!!

It always comes down to price.

There is this 5 bed detached nearby which is also selling at £650k. This also seems lovely and has parking, although garden is not great. It looks to be having difficulty selling (it has been on since June)., so it could also be down to the time of year.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/67929588#/

Could you reasonably reduce to £610k and hope to secure £600k?

Firstly your home is beautiful. The garden and the short walk to the beach are my dream.

Sorry I can’t move to Devon!

As pp said - price will always be a factor. And with something so unique I guess you need to have a really good feel for what else is available in the same price range.

If you aren’t desperate to sell. I would hang on and see what the new year brings. I think Jan is a much busier time than December.

Haven’t read all messages but if I was looking for a 4 bed house and then I came across yours then I’d immediately discount it because it’s not really a 4 bed. It’s a 3 bed with a downstairs extension. OR like a pp has said, 3 beds plus a separate holiday let annex/small studio. The pricing may not vary but you will have people putting those search details into Rightmove so if they are putting on a 4 bed then they want 3 proper bedrooms. Especially with the third bedroom being small, £650k is a big price tag and people will have high expectations even if it is worth it according to the market and the agent etc. Some people will see it as a big 2 bed even.

I’d change the marketing to 3 bed plus potential for small holiday annex. Not 4 bed family home. It’s just not big enough.

We are in the process of moving at the moment too OP.

Your house is lovely, but some of the pictures don’t do it justice IMHO.

To remove the dining table in the kitchen will make the kitchen look spacious and welcoming for viewers to walk in.

I would ask the Estate Agent to remove the picture of the room with the three beds.

The upstairs mezzanine? With the round table looks a bit impractical, could the space be utilised better?

The lack of parking may be an issue for potential purchasers, is there another way round this, would any neighbours be interested in renting out their garages that are nearby perhaps?

It’s unusual for an EA to not want a vendor to reduce the price in my experience. But it’s your property if you think a reduction could generate more interest I would instruct them to do so.

Good luck OP.

Is it possible to see the outside of the extension? Does it look really bad from certain angles?

The house is beautiful, but I only realised how beautiful because as I read the thread, I kept popping back to look again. On my first look, I didn’t even realise there was a summer house, didn’t appreciate the garden properly and thought the kitchen looked impossible to use...

I can’t add much to some of the great suggestions, and I’m not an expert on anything to do with houses, but I would consider it a three bedroom with lots of lovely living space. It looks like a rather cramped 4 bed in the photos. Open up the kitchen, turn the extension into a playroom or a dining room, the summerhouse into an office. I’d love to see the stairs and fireplace too!

Good luck!

Keep the extension and explain why it is like it is to viewers. I personally like it because I like quirky. But I would market ig as a 3 bed rather than 4 and move the table. I could imagine working and seeing that view! I would also drop the price

I’d certainly not turn the fourth bedroom into a dining room or anything else for selling.

Firstly no one wants to walk that far for a dining room, it’s impractical. Secondly if it’s used for a different purpose no one will be able to visualise it as a bedroom as it’s so awkward. So it would be perceived as a three bed.

I’d paint it. A nice olive green or dark blue. Something darker and more atmospheric, stopping it looking like a new build. Put a double bed in facing the garden. Turn the upper mezzanine into a dressing area. Dressing table, mirror, chair.

None of this has to cost any more than the paint. Get the kids down to help. The two single beds can be pushed together, and bits of furniture can be stolen from other parts of the house, as those look like the rooms they are so can take being a bit emptier.

Then outside, some trellis on the outside wall, and some pots growing climbers. Honeysuckle, wisteria, something to soften it and stop it having that new build look

It can look beautiful inside, but right now it looks a bit soul less, and that’s easily enough resolved.

I think the thing is it's quite an unusual house that is going to have a limited number of prospective buyers so it will take longer to sell. £650,000 for what feels more like a 3 bed house, 1 bath and limited parking is a lot of money, whilst I don't dispute the value it will take longer to find a buyer with that money willing to look over those flaws I feel, perhaps not a family, it'll be someone who falls in love with the feel of the house.

It's such a lovely home. I think the extension makes it really versatile. I'd have it as a day room with sofa beds in for when we have lots of guests.

Gosh well thank you again people for all the time you're taking to write these responses. They're invaluable and some are so detailed - much appreciated. If you could see the place now, full of DC and the clutter of Christmas!

The house linked to is down in the Square, a minute's walk away. No views because it's low lying. I know it very well. I probably can't write on MN what the issues are there but it started off at £700k and was first put on the market in July 2019, but it's stuck.