What constitutes a quirky house and what about selling it on?

[Sellingstress]

Hoping for some advice. Been on the market since October last year with only 6 viewings to date. Everyone SEEMS to have loved the actual house (well maintained with good proportions) but negative feedback has generally been;

Garden too small
Lack of private driveway
Lack of formal front door (entrance is accessed via the back of the house, through the garden)

We went for the cheapest valuation with a local estate agent. He felt the price was very competitive for what he considers a lovely house (semi detached period cottage) but conceded may take a little longer to sell on account of the ‘quirks’ which were lack of front door and small garden. He felt marketed at a couple or single person, the right buyer would come along. And still does with no suggestions of dropping the price.

My question is would these issues put you off? And is it just a matter of waiting for the right buyer or is a price drop the only way to go.

Houses around here (village on Bedfordshire/Cambridgeshire border) haven’t been flying off the shelves of late unless very well priced although we are in a good catchment for schools and good links.

Will post link when feeling braver/any responses!

I'm not keen on Grade 2 listing and also cant work out how you access the house?
Its nicely done but I woudl be concerned about parking to - maybe add something in teh description or a photo of the driveway

I think the access is a problem. You haven't addressed it in the blurb which looks as if you are hiding something.
Do you have right of way over the drive? Who is responsible for upkeep? What happens if you fall out with the neighbours?

The shady picture of the garden is not good. You want it in full sun, like the picture of the back of the house.

I love it ❤

The kitchen table is fabulous 😍

The only thing that would put me off is lack of parking, but wouldn't be a deal breaker

The first thought I had was where would you park? Leaving the garden gates open doesn’t seem ideal and I can’t see how you can get in, is it via the double french dooors at the back?

I think the house is nice, but these things would put me off. I’m sorry. If can’t work out how to park or get in, it would be problematic for me.

It is lovely.

The parking needs to be mentioned on the listing, even if future owners park out the front, it is good to know there is vehicular access/can drive into garden.

Op is there a bathroom upstairs? The floor plan indicates it’s at the behind the utility room down stairs? Is something missing on the floor plan?

Sorry op, just saw it bathroom upstairs..

Could you rearrange the furniture in the living room so the sofas are facing each other? I think it would look more cosy if they weren't both back to the same wall.

@Sellingstress

Oh and on street parking at front which is never a problem. There is room in the garden to park the car - paved area towards back fence but such a faff I’ve never bothered and it’s never been convincing enough to pitch it as an actual space.

That would make all the difference

I would buy it

Are the ceilings very low throughout? I would rule this property out from the photographs as DH is tall but it could just be the way the shots have been taken.

@cariaaad

Could you rearrange the furniture in the living room so the sofas are facing each other? I think it would look more cosy if they weren't both back to the same wall.

This is a good idea, it’s kinda odd to habe them lined up like that. And ones even blocking the side board. Facing each other would be lovely.

It is lovely! Just my type of house and very like the house I used to live in.

Two things would put me off. One you can change and one you can't.

The garden isn't tiny at all, and could be glorious. But it looks like a new build garden, so bare and characterless. It should be a county cottage garden- imagine walking out of your lovely kitchen into a garden that would match it.

You need to sell a lifestyle. So get as many pots as you can and plant them up with some wafty plants. You can take them with you when you move. Get some nice garden furniture- again you can take it with you.

The other thing I don't like is the bathroom which doesn't really match the rest of the house. I would want to get rid of that!

I can't work out how you get in the house

Came on here to say exactly the same as @Movinghouseatlast - definitely make more of the garden.
I think your house is lovely other than that, well presented and ready to move into. Good luck!

It's lovely! Garden not massive but suits a cottage. Can I ask about the Grade 2 listed? What does it mean? What can you can't you do? The quirky one we are looking at is very like yours and is also grade 2 listed. I'm assuming you can't knock down walls etc

Op you can easily make the bathroom grey and the rooms lighter and brighter.

I think the bathroom actually looks worse in the lightened photo. The gleam makes it even starker. The black is stark but the greyer version is blinding me!

Also, if the right people come along they don't care about parking. Those who want a driveway aren't interested, but there are lots of people who prioritise a lovely old cottage over parking!

We sold our house twice to people who just didn't care about access or parking, so don't worry. You just need the right buyer.

For the person who asked- Grade 2 listed doesn't necessarily mean you can't take walls down, you just need planning permission. But you can't bugger about too much with a listed building. This sometimes means you are forced to keep features that were there when the house was listed- usually in the 60's.

It's lovely but I would never buy a house with no private parking.
Someone definitely will though, it just might take a bit longer.

What a lovely cute cottage - I would buy it! My parents lived in a 300 year old very quirky detached cottage, built directly on clay. They lived in it for 20+ years, absolutely loved it but eventually had to sell due to their advancing years. Amazing garden (been in magazines) but odd layout - downstair bathroom, bolted on entrance directly into dining area.. 2 bedrooms in the eaves. Anyway, it was on the market for ages and multiple viewers and they took a hit on it to sell , this was 2011. It just sold last year without even being advertised, the new vendors had done very little to update it and the garden had really gone to rack and ruin but... just takes on person to fall in love with a property. Sometimes you are lucky, sometimes you are not eh. Good luck selling your very lovely home.

We have a grade II listed and it means we have to apply for permission for alterations so when we needed the thatched roof redone we needed listed buildings consent - free to apply and took around a month. We are in a conservation area which is quite common with grade II listed so worth checking - that means if we want to prune trees we need to get permission and best to use a specialist - again free and took around a month.

Where it is more complicated is if you are doing something not like-for-like - we wanted to put the botched chimney back to its original state and that took 8 months and £400 for approval. With ours you definitely wouldn't be allowed to knock down walls but depends on house. Generally with grade II I would only buy if you are happy with layout as it is. Internal work doesn't always require permission - like for like changing the kitchen wouldn't but if you change layout it may do. It's best to apply for permission before you need it - think it lasts 2 years or so.

I would agree with the garden comments - when we bought ours our house internally wasn't disimilar and similar number of quirks but it did have lots of flowers in the garden, quite a few where in pots which did give it the chocolate box cottage feel. Obviously February isn't the easiest month for gardening but that would help. Bathroom is the only room in the house I dislike but often with cottages the bathrooms aren't always as you would want them and its functional and clean so wouldn't bother me that much.

Thank you so much for everyone’s lovely, practical and sensible comments! I was feeling at a total loss this afternoon before posting and feel a bit more empowered. I appreciate every one. I will have a good look at this later and see what I can do with everything suggested. One thing. Does anyone have an opinion whether going multi agent is a worthwhile thing? I’m very pleased with our local agent but wondered if having an agency with a presence, say in north London/herts would be worthwhile? Or does everyone go onto rightmove anyway? And worse, it has the whiff of desperation

I wouldn't go multi-agent as it costs more, looks desperate and everyone looks on Rightmove.

I think if lockdown eases you may get more people travelling out of area to look at houses than now although it is allowed already.

I am not sure the additional £30k is justified over this semi opposite
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/72404301#/
Your room sizes are better but the more modern semi has an off street parking space, walled garden and the benefit of not being listed and more space and light on the non attached side.

I would be put off by the artex ceilings and pipework that is not concealed as to justify the extra I would want a perfect finish.

It's listed, which will put a lot of people off. The inside looks great.

I really like it.

How do you get in?