Help! What are we missing with our house sale?

[GXDavid]

Hi Everyone,

We had sold our house but then got dropped three weeks before exchange. We have had some viewers and a lowball offer but haven't found that right buyer yet.

Our house is a 1928 Arts & Crafts style house in a private estate, ten minutes from the station/ shops and with a good selection of local private and public schools included a coveted catchment and distance to Dr Challoners grammar schools. The house is fully modernised (wiring, plumbing, heating, windows, kitchen and bathrooms) and is neutrally decorated apart from the kitchen/ dining room which is big enough to take quite a bold maroon colour that offsets the modern kitchen and flooring. For the local market we are on point re pricing , if not a little cheap. So my question is what are we missing?

If you look at the details - what is there that might put you off? Any comments very gratefully received as we feel like we have done everything we can to present the house but wonder if we are missing anything?

www.frostweb.co.uk/property-details/375332/buckinghamshire/gerrards-cross/the-queensway-1

Thanks and regards,

David

Good luck David. Staging and good photos will make a huge difference.

And top marks for your stunt pineapple 🍍

OP - your house is gorgeous outside and I love the windows and doors. I also think your bathroom's fine and don't see anything much wrong with your garden (well I'd add some colourful pots and shrubs and a luxurious seating area but that's easy enough for a buyer to do).

I think your decor is generally easy/neutral enough to imagine living with imo. The only thing I'm not keen on is the kitchen - it doesn't seem to match the style of house (I'd expect a bespoke inframe wooden/painted wood kitchen to "fit" with the exterior/original features) but there's nothing you can easily do about that. Maybe at least repaint the walls a lighter or more muted colour to help soften the gloss units?

I agree with pp that at that price I'd expect better photos - one of each of the main rooms and bathrooms, and a couple more focused on highlighting the original features.

I think I would probably remove arts and crafts from the description because that is clearly contentious for some people. The house isn’t filled with A&C features, which is detracting a little. I would rearrange the furniture in the lounge, just for the photos, bringing the sofa out of the bay, and making the other more central, in front of the room dividing doors if possible, reducing the ‘corridor’ feel. I would add some personal Knick knacks in all round, more flowers/plants around the place and some colours with some cushions/throws. Towels in the bathrooms to soften a little. Set the dining table, or just have something on there, flowers, a couple of magazines perhaps. Then just lots more photos, all of the bedrooms. Photos of the study - wfh is so important right now and you actually have two potential work spaces. The pool table is a pain, but we have one of those rooms also, ours houses a piano, desk and small sofa. It’s a bit of a nothing room because we have more space than we need. Garden photo across the table, maybe with some glasses on. You’ve had very honest feedback here, which has mostly been fair, but I think the central theme is that the photos are rubbish and the agent has done a poor job. At this price point you’re selling a lifestyle, so some of the arty shots are justified.

@GXDavid

I think some of these posts are getting a bit snipey and nasty but thank you for all the more constructive replies. All the original features were retained apart from the Crittal windows which were drafty as hell. As a 1928 house it was designed in an Arts and crafts style with beams over some of the windows, simple skirting, a decorative oak door, black external beams and trims, tiled window sills, etc. but it was built a bit too late to have some of the other features that the earlier houses had. I do appreciate some of the dressing suggestions and have spoken with the agent about refreshing some of the pictures plus putting some feature pictures on the site. I am not sure why it is not showing on Rightmove.

Thanks again everyone.

Cheers,

David

Welcome to MN. It is a bit snipey and nasty at times, but it’s also great for honest feedback.

Up the thread a link has been posted to the zoopla listing. It looks much nicer in those photos. Better angles and the upstairs landing should definitely be in the photo library.

I’m sure that if you follow the advice on here you will get a buyer soon.

I'm not going to repeat what everyone else has said as I think there has been some great feedback here. I would love to know who did your replacement crittal windows though as ours are old and draughty too! Would you be able to share the details?

I would echo everyone's concerns about the photos and the poor description.

The beautiful A&C house linked at the start is the kind of interior I would expect from the frontage of your house. However local comments suggest your interior is what GX buyers look for.

Some thoughts. If your renovations include aspirational brands why not get that included in the particulars e.g. kitchen features brand units. brand flooring etc

It might be worth getting a landscaper to do some costed sketches of what could be done with the garden so buyers could see what could be achieved.

Can you move the pool table out of the way for new photos? You can move it back after the photographer has left.

If the local market isn't interested in period features don't bother getting them featured in new photos. Downplay the remaining original features to focus on what does appeal to the market. For argument's sake highlight possible alternative uses for some rooms - is there potential for perhaps a cinema room? Desk space in children's bedrooms.

For and arts and crafts house you have completely removed the arts and crafts from it. That would put me off. If I was buying an arts and crafts house I'd want to be able to see some of those original features for that price.

*Hathertonhariden Mon 15-Feb-21 22:46:10
I would echo everyone's concerns about the photos and the poor description.

The beautiful A&C house linked at the start is the kind of interior I would expect from the frontage of your house. However local comments suggest your interior is what GX buyers look for.*

I have been looking in GX for a house for some time and count as a buyer, if only I could find a house. I would expect the original Arts & Crafts features if it was being sold as Arts & Crafts. There are some lovely properties there. I wouldn't buy that house.

I had a beautiful Arts & Crafts house, absolutely loved it and have never found another that hadn't been either ruined by modernising it or was in an unsuitable location. It also had a good sized garden which is essential for many people.

@Flamingolingo
This house was built in 1928. It’s in a conservation area of Arts and Crafts STYLE houses. It’s clearly not an early example and therefore would not have the distinct features. Don’t forget other people have owned it since 1928 so they might have changed it too. It does need more nods to its heritage but not the full blown Liberty or William Morris. However fabrics and ideas from their designs could be used. Often old fireplaces were long gone by 1980. The 1960s snd 70s destroyed many features in houses. The op has some and they should be enhanced. It does need more period features but at the right price, a new buyer could put these back.

@PresentingPercy I well understand that (I also own an A&C period house, also in a conservation area, which has also sadly lost most of its fireplaces (but does retain several rather lovely features). A neighbour’s house has many more A&C features though, and across the road every bedroom has a beautiful fireplace. But I suggested removing the A&C statement because this thread highlights that what is seen on RightMove doesn’t reflect what people expect when they see the words A&C. And to be fair, the house is towards the end of the period, probably sliding into Deco.

What the house does have is lovely light, bright rooms, and a modern total refurb, tons of space. The upstairs landing (viewed from Zoopla) is beautiful. So for the right person, who wants a house that’s been near completely modernised it’s perfect. For someone looking for tons of ‘character’ it’s not the right house. There is one of these on our street too. It’s a lovely house, big and bright, but it underwent extensive refurbishment and has lost some of its charm. It feels like a new build inside, with perfectly flat walls and modern floors. Nice house but not the same character as the one next door to it. Ours is somewhere in between.

I agree with Flamingolingo.

It's a big modern house that doesn't appeal to me but will have a big market. But the mention of it being A&C sets up an expectation that it can't match. Remove that from the listing and you then remove the discrepancy between the named style and the interior which will then cause far less disappointment for many viewers and you are more likely to get the right ones.

I’ve just looked at the pictures on zoopla and they’re like a different house - a hundred times better.

Could you get another estate agent on board with better photos and revise the price. Ask the existing agents if they would honour the same commission with a new agent (we did this). They can then relaunch on Rightmove. When I look at houses I’m not looking at the decor as that can be changed, I’m looking for rooms sizes, size of garden, etc.

It just doesn't feel like you are showing the house off to it's best. Lack of photos, lack of "dressing" etc.

It's very expensive so it needs to look expensive.

You are missing the point that a semi in the road is for sale for £900,000. For GX, £1.5m (offers over?) is not very expensive. There are houses that are owned by older people that are not modernised and don’t necessarily have great features which are more than this. The location will appeal and the character can be added with furnishings and design skills by a buyer.

Hi David, I think you have a lovely home. However, I think you are not presenting it in the best possible way.
Like others have posted, you need to add some large flower pots in both front and rear gardens to add some colour. Tidy up the hedge and the area next to your front door. This is the first impression a prospective buyer will see.
I like the kitchen. It is a real chef's kitchen with the bank of ovens on the wall. Paint the kitchen walls. I would remove the fruit bowl and flowers and place a modern pot with a green leafy plant inside.
In the pool room, take the covering off of the sofa and place some throw cushions on it. The cover is too distracting.
In your bedroom, get a beautiful duvet cover with coordinating pillows and a beautiful blanket to place on the end of the bed.
I think when buyers are looking for a home, especially in your price range, they want to be transported to somewhere special and luxurious
and not somewhere ordinary.
Finally get some new photos taken.
Good luck

Did you change estate agents? The photos on the zoopla archive are so much better and show the house in a much better light. You see one of the other bedrooms and the main bathroom rather than the shower room.

I think the estate agent is your problem.

@PresentingPercy

You are missing the point that a semi in the road is for sale for £900,000. For GX, £1.5m (offers over?) is not very expensive. There are houses that are owned by older people that are not modernised and don’t necessarily have great features which are more than this. The location will appeal and the character can be added with furnishings and design skills by a buyer.

That as might be, but expecting 1.5m plus for a home yet not even showing a photograph of each bedroom is ridiculous, no matter where the location is.

It's a pretty house but the price bracket is problematic for the times we are in.

The photos on the zoopla archive are so much better and show the house in a much better light.
I just found these and they really are so much better. The lounge right away looks like a far more welcoming space and you can see that the floor is proper wood. Still a bit light on the number of bedrooms included in pictures but the ones that are there are far more appealing that the current ones.

There is nothing wrong with your home, but the estate agent needs sacking. Do houses usually sell themselves in GX because their efforts are shoddy. What a weird angle to take the pool table from, the bedroom too. I agree the sofa could be used to divide the living space and why are they not showing the study looking out on to the garden for example and where are the other bedrooms? And that landing, surely they could get a great photo of that, I also spied an outdoor building / workshop / shed but no mention of it?

New estate agent, some staging and a good video will make the difference.

Those Zoopla pics look like a different house!

@GXDavid we live in an Edwardian Arts and Crafts house with many original features. I haven't read all the responses you've had, so apologies if I re-state what others have posted, but the few photos don't show it to be an arts and crafts house. Particularly on a phone, the photos seem to emphasise large rooms, but they don't seem focussed on what people want to see which is a good impression of size and how the rooms flow round the house. It all looks a bit vast and featureless. The one fireplace I can see is art deco in style.

There are too few photos for a house that size and price. The best advice I can give you is to look critically at the listing for your house and compare it with the competition locally. If you went on the market at the same time as another house which is now SSTC, why did the buyer choose that house over yours? I know you can't really answer that question, but if you mull over what are the differences does anything come to mind? If the same people have viewed your house and others, what was the feedback they gave the estate agents?

The house is small, it isn’t worth that much money. You’re going to struggle to find a buyer.

It's a pretty house but the price bracket is problematic for the times we are in

It really isn't, there are plenty of people with that sort of budget, as evidenced by the other similarly priced houses that are under offer.

Those Zoopla pics look like a different house

Yep, the other agent's photos are far better. Why have you parted company with them?