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Why isn’t my house selling?

819 replies

slithytoveisascientist · 10/02/2021 22:02

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We have been on since I think October, had only 2 viewings and one offer of £317k which was withdrawn as it was the top end of their budget - we wouldn’t have accepted anyway.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

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PickAChew · 10/02/2021 23:48

[quote slithytoveisascientist]Other houses are disappearing in days. This one for instance - www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/88446820#/[/quote]
That house is half as big again as yours and not half as much again to buy it. It has a nasty upvc door and some dodgy decor choices but the rooms look so spacious - and the photos don't look stretched out and dark. And it looks a little bit grand from the front. Your house is pretty, I'll give you that, but that house is what some estate agents would call an "executive" house (whatever that is supposed to mean!)

slithytoveisascientist · 10/02/2021 23:48

@MyDcAreMarvel of course not!

Can’t you see the branston pickle on the counter? Straight out of a jar 😂

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SonjaMorgan · 10/02/2021 23:50

The price. Based on your local area I would only pay 280-290 for it.

slithytoveisascientist · 10/02/2021 23:50

I guess from my perspective we ‘beat’ the new builds in terms of we are the ‘right’ end of Middlewich, we have a double drive off a double road and there are no estate restrictions

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slithytoveisascientist · 10/02/2021 23:53

@Runkle am I being totally dim, I can’t see a pic of a little loo

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NK346f2849X127d8bca260 · 10/02/2021 23:53

The kitchen would put me off as it is a bit dated, plus lounge paper and carpets.

Paulina23 · 10/02/2021 23:53

Clearly prospective buyers disagree.

VinylDetective · 10/02/2021 23:53

@slithytoveisascientist

Kitchen is quite dated now it’s 6 years old
The kitchen’s fine, six years is nothing. But it does need dressing for the pictures, those acres of unbroken worktop do it no favours.
wibblewombat · 10/02/2021 23:53

I was trying to sell a house a similar age to yours last year and the agents couldn't get any interest as the new-builds had lots of incentives and help with deposits. It was tired but it was also the competition.

I would definitely go with the advice to get a local agent and different pictures. I'd maybe add a bit of colour in places. I'm naturally messy and declutter ruthlessly but sometimes too much.

mathanxiety · 10/02/2021 23:55

Your decor is pretty sterile. I see your EA made you do that - I would replace your plants everywhere and your pictures too, if they're like your DR pictures.

You need new photos. The current ones are not flattering.

You also need room dimensions on your floorplans. This is extremely important.

I would redo your beige living room.
If I bought your house, the first thing I would do is take out the grey carpet from the living room/dining room. If you can't do this, then repaint the walls in a light colour - off white or pale cream.
You should find a fairly large, light coloured area rug to cover up the carpet as much as possible. I suspect it's contributing to the impression of a house without much natural light.
I would take down the short, dark curtains from the front window too. You need long ones there, in a light colour, to enhance the light and to lend an air of comfort.
The fabric couch in the living room has too many cushions on it and it is bunged into the corner. Pull it away from the corner. Lose the pink cushions. Pink is a very random colour in that room. Maybe put them on your bed? I would be tempted to get rid of the dark cushions too and replace with with light coloured ones, or something bright like coral/orange. If you were to put the long burnt orange (?) curtains from the DR into the front window you could use hints of the same colours in cushions, throw rugs.
For photo purposes I would put the ottoman in front of the fabric covered couch with a nice light coloured throw blanket folded/draped on top.
Put the coffee table in front of the other couch. Dress it up with a tray, teapot, mug, and a little stack of books. Put a candle there too.
Put a nice white or cream throw blanket on the second couch that is now returned to the living room.
I would put a tall plant in the living room, maybe in the corner where the standard lamp is now, and put the standard lamp by the couch (in the spot you will free up when you pull the couch out a bit). You could buy or borrow a nice big plant or even a silk plant for the purposes of photos.
You need newly washed plush-looking towels (the pink is nice) folded nicely on the towel rack.
Plus more photo angles in that bathroom. A nice big candle, some expensive toiletries too, as the black/white decor is a bit austere.
Take the rug out of the lilac room. Don't replace it.
Take the small white chest of drawers out of the yellow room. Put it in storage.
Replace the short grey curtains in the master bedroom with floor length white or very light cream curtains, which will suggest comfort, softness. Get a few more decorative pillows for the bed. The pink one is nice but it needs a few friends.
Your bedroom needs a few personal touches - candles, a nice plant, a picture or two on the walls, a stack of books on the bedside table.

Is that a BBQ area/ pizza oven at the bottom of the garden? If so, need photos.
I would place some nice outdoor dining furniture on the paved area after power washing the slabs.

The house is lovely, as is the garden. Very well kept.

starfishmummy · 10/02/2021 23:56

Very characterless. Maybe it looks better in real life but I wouldn't view based on the ohotos

cerealcrunch · 10/02/2021 23:57

Having looked at the pictures you've just uploaded and now done the walk through you need new pictures. The lilac colour looks awful on the pictures but can see it's really not.
I actually took my own photos for our house sale because I could take pictures on a sunny day/at the right time of day to show off how bright the house was. I also don't view houses that are open house as not had good experience in the past.
To have a not outrageous offer from just two viewings suggests the house is good in person you just need to get a larger volume of people in.

Yellow radiator is on the walkthrough video and I would paint it.

slithytoveisascientist · 11/02/2021 00:01

BBQ area and over the road of front of house

Why isn’t my house selling?
Why isn’t my house selling?
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Runkle · 11/02/2021 00:03

Here Smile

Why isn’t my house selling?
slithytoveisascientist · 11/02/2021 00:03

Math you are amazing.

Please can I have a diagram of the suggested living room ☺️

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slithytoveisascientist · 11/02/2021 00:04

Omg yes runkle

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mathanxiety · 11/02/2021 00:04

You definitely need to highlight the BBQ area.

Does your front garden have a fence or could small children possibly wander straight out onto the road?

truthisalie · 11/02/2021 00:04

I like your house. The only things which I don't like are the grey carpets (they don't look nice in the picture) and the stripey wall paper. Looks cheap. Otherwise, everything is fine.

slithytoveisascientist · 11/02/2021 00:06

My children do in fact wander out on the road. No fence We aren’t out there all that much, that was lockdown socially distant May Day celebrations

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UniversalAunt · 11/02/2021 00:07

Lights on in daytime - red flag it’s a dark house.
End of.

But it is a nice house & pristine neat.
Others have made great suggestions.

The online images are over lit so that I can read the detail of your furniture. On a bright day, either in the earlier morning or late afternoon light when the sun is lower & streams in, take another set of photos.

Omit any dark curtains or rugs. Put brighter or neutral rugs on dark floors. Take out the TVs - another black hole in the room. Reclaim the front room as a sitting/reception room - put the little sofa back in with a nice throw to brighten - as it looks like the TV room in the pix.

Good luck.

DastardlytheFriendlyMutt · 11/02/2021 00:09

Haven't read through the thread so forgive any repetitions but

-house seems very dark and no natural light. Every light and lamp is on and it still feels dark.
-Lilac bedroom is awkward shape and bed way too big for the position in the room, would put me off, as it's window and radiator then bed wall to wall. Maybe rearrange bed or swap for single in the other room which looks spacious (probably because of.the single bed). Would make me doubt they are really four double rooms as office looks quite small as well.

  • Kitchen is okay, I would fit a new one, but this wouldn't put me off the house. I'm ambivalent about the downstairs layout though, as although all the rooms are interconnected would still feel cut off while cooking in the kitchen.

Good luck OP

YouokHun · 11/02/2021 00:10

It looks lovely and neat and tidy and I like the first exterior photo, but (as others have said) it’s a real shame the first two interior shots are the worst of the lot. They are at a terrible angle and the first room pic makes the room feel as though it is windowless. I think the massive TV and the stripy wallpaper make the room look narrow. The next two photos of the room are better but I think the first two photos might switch people off.

I think I would try and lighten it up a bit in the lounge, lose the wallpaper and the dark curtains, maybe a light coloured rug. I would probably put some mirrors up. I borrowed a big mirror from a friend when I was trying to sell my flat and it made a real difference to the sense of the room being narrow. Dark coloured carpets really shrink a room too. Ceiling lights off but add light via table lamps. I agree with others, I think you’ve over decluttered in that room!

PickAChew · 11/02/2021 00:10

OK, so your 6 year old kitchen has the styling of a 16 year old one - pre- anything panelled being old hat. Our 14 year old kitchen is the now dated flat gloss door style. Yours isn't going to put people off but nor is it going to wow people (ours looked great in photos but, in person, it was clearly falling apart!)

Even in use, your lounge looks so uninviting. You need a bit of warmth in there. Some warm wood (which isn't likely as you already have blonde wood) or cosy soft pink cushions and blankets make a difference.

Staffy1 · 11/02/2021 00:12

I love the lilac room, it doesn't appear too purple to me, not sure painting it white would do anything for it. The light blue of one of the other bedrooms is lovely too. I don't suppose you know what those paint colours are called? The whole house looks really nice, the only thing that would put me off is the number of windows overlooking it, but that could probably be changed with a few tall bushes.

UniversalAunt · 11/02/2021 00:13

Also, the house is so tidy that I’d wonder if it’s a family house. A few kids toys neatly stashed would show that it’s a house that’s easy to live in.