Why isn’t my house selling?

[slithytoveisascientist]

Please can you help?

We have been on since I think October, had only 2 viewings and one offer of £317k which was withdrawn as it was the top end of their budget - we wouldn’t have accepted anyway.

Most other houses locally seem to be moving really fast. Would appreciate guidance.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/88479571#/

Sorry not RTFT (600 posts!!) but read all the OPs. You’re right about the photos and changing agents - the pics you’ve posted give a much better idea of space. You need a much better photographer in.

If I were looking I would use the layout as you do - using the extension as a playroom/ family room to sit and look at the garden.
You definitely need something in the bay of the lounge, ideally a chair/ sofa.

I wouldn’t suggest changing/ painting the kitchen or doing anything to your furniture as that’s all personal taste. More important to me to see what can fit in a space. Your kitchen isn’t dated in style IMO, it’s just that painted seems more on trend. However no point you spending money to paint it eg white when buyers may prefer wood/ cream/ blue etc. Just leave it for them to do if they want.

A good agent should be able to tell you what works best for your area though.

but I can’t believe someone dares to even sell these, even ikea has better kitchens than this

Presumably because people like them and they sell a lot of them.

@slithytoveisascientist

Spoke to I think 5 agents

The estates are largely the ‘wrong’ end of Middlewich and hugely cramped.

Regarding that house in particular there is no floor plan to check but I’d wager it is 3.5 beds as the 4th won’t fit a double

To be fair OP the lilac room although large is oddly shaped and can't fit a double so your house by that logic is also 3.5 beds. I'd say it's more off-putting to have a large room that can't fit a double bed than a small room as you know what you are getting

Well the op said the lilac room has a double bed in it. The photos just don’t make that clear.

@Mummyoflittledragon I went to view that house

Needs a full overhaul
Floors are spongy
Plaster cracking
Hugely loud for traffic
Garden a swamp
Loft hatch lets in loads of light in master bedroom
And every single room is smaller than ours

Yes it has a double bed in it but the bed is right against the radiator on the wall and then wall to wall with no room to walk around the bed. That's not "fitting a double bed". It would be off putting to me as a buyer, even more so that the room is quite large. If you oriented the bed with the headboard in front of the window it would fit better but you obstruct a window and a radiator. I would personally be put off as the only bed that works in that room is a single bed. I'd rather buy a house with a single room as a 4th bedroom not a room that claims to be a double bedroom but is technically a very large oddly shaped single

It does fit a double?

Fits a king as well

It’s not against the radiator there is at least a foot maybe more

Oh my goodness the Red House is awful. OP's house is way better.

Can just say I’ve said throughout I’ll drop the price.

It looks like a lovely house. I wouldn't do anything drastic right now like decorating. I'd put it up for sale with a recommended estate agent in your area.

Things you can't change - garden is very overlooked

Things you can - it looks very bland, maybe because you tidied so much for the pics. Which is fine, but people also have to be able to imagine that it feels homely and comfortable to live in. I'd get new pics with more house plants, cushions, throws - that sort of thing. Props, basically.

It's the Celtic top on the wall OP, get rid of that, you'll be laughing

Fair and fine a foot between the radiator but it's still end to end for the length of the bed. That would put me off. Still consider a large oddly shaped single - some people wouldn't mind, I definitely would and it would put me off an otherwise perfect well maintained beautiful home.

Your house is great OP and should sell. Everything is cosmetic and to personal tastes and I don't think you have to do much beyond wait as you have said it's priced correctly .

The rooms all look very small and dark, could better photos be taken?

It doesn't look homely or welcoming at all, it's quite bland and the kitchen, for example, with nothing on the work surfaces, just looks empty.

I don't know the area at all, is the price a fair one?

I haven’t said that tbf, I said I followed the advice and have explained the benefits of my house in terms of location. I’ve said I’ll drop the price when it goes back on with new pics and a new agent

There are lots of benefits that aren’t mentioned

Like the new windows and external doors with transferable warranty

Or the garden has drench drainage which means unlike every other garden it’s useable year round and doesn’t go swampy

@unkindnessofravens😂 that wall is dedicated to Celtic it’s terrible

Great house - terrible photos. I initially wondered if it was over priced but recent sales in your street showed that’s the price is good.

To be honest, it’s a terrible time to sell. Everything went crazy last autumn to get sold before the stamp duty deadline and all the Buyers who didn’t get anything are now waiting and hoping for the market to crash.

On the bright side - you only had 2 viewings and got an offer. I had LOADS (upwards of 30) and dropped my price twice before finally selling.

Get better pictures to get people through the door and the psych up for the long haul.

Personally the decor wouldn’t bother me - everybody redecorates and it’s more about the spaces.

Don’t drop your price yet, your early post about the agents being bonkers and removing pictures and plants makes it look bare.
For me the thing you can’t change is the old fashioned kitchen/dining room layout. Move it back to having the dining room nearer the kitchen.

Oh, and I’d be worried about the BBQ, in the picture it looks like you’ve set fire to the top of the fence/it’s black/has ash on it??
Also you’re living room carpet in one photo looks unattached/wrinkly by the sofa.

@Handsoffstrikesagain

I agree DN I think unfortunately some people don’t ‘get’ the point of home staging and why dressing a house well is so important. All I can say is, the figures speak for themselves. I’ve known houses on the market for 12-18 months plus. We’ve gone in, staged them for around 2-2.5k average (this more often than not includes a kitchen repaint where needed!) and they’ve then sold with offers close to, on or even above asking price within less than a fortnight. We’ve also had estate agents back in after staging and they’ve valued properties at a higher price than their initial valuations. It really does work but I completely understand why people might be confused by it at first.

Yes and I was glad to see your post as I like to keep on top of trends myself. I feel like when a home isn't dressed and just shades of beige it looks a bit like a rental, uncared for and even like it's been repossessed if it looks "too empty". Sometimes people have this massive clear out for the Estate Agent's photos, but because they remove everything it just looks strange, not homely. I can also understand why people might be confused by it at first, but I'd definitely say it works. It's not my line of work, but fab for you that it is! It must be such a rewarding job!

The house looks amazing. I love it all. I don’t where all these people live when they say this is wrong, this too etc.
They must all haul from castles and palaces by the sound of it!
I would be extremely grateful for a house like that.
I can’t see anything dated or bad, it’s just very lovely kept house.