Are buyers expecting pristine houses?

[Lofu]

Our house has been on the market since Dec at £280k. 3 bed extended detached in a desirable area. Garden, drive for two cars, garage.

It's a 1970s house so not attractive from the outside, we know this. Neighbours houses which are smaller but older and more attractive have sold recently for £325k. So I think we are priced accordingly.

We've had 7 viewings so far and each one has said the same thing- the house needs a bit more work than we anticipated.

The only thing I think needs doing is the bathroom which is serviceable but about 10 years old and not on trend. Again estate agent said this is reflected in the price. Everything else in the house is done.

I can't think what people mean. Our house isn't show home standard but I would say appropriately done up for a house of its age.

I thought it was normal to expect to do a few bits in an older house. Is anyone else finding that viewers are being very fussy about how houses are decorated?

[quote Bluntness100]Op the old pics are on line,,,

www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/detailMatching.html?prop=50517070&sale=59760378&country=england[/quote]
OP you mentioned a new kitchen upthread, but from the pics did you actually do a refurb and reuse the existing units and doors? If so - how well painted are they? I've seen a few painted up kitchens which look good in pictures but somehow don't quite work in real life.

Apologies if not, just noticed that the layout and the door style are really similar!

I think first impression isn’t one to make you smile. It looks stark. Get a decent sized planter and some colour at the entrance - on the raised area beside the front door.
Make it looked loved. It is characterless and doesn’t offer a sense of aspiration and lifestyle.
Jetwash the path.
Hem your dining room curtains so that they are the right length. They look thrown up rather than carefully chosen. Love the chapel chairs. Briwax them.
Sitting room looks cold and uninviting. Do you have a rug to add warmth? Could you remove toy clutter to a lidded box and put some lifestyle items in the cupboard, if the are on view? Some nice glasses and a bottle of decent gin, perhaps.
Rear garden is also unappealing and impacts on view from dining room. It needs some work. Cut the grass. Add something for adults - maybe move slide and sandpit to a children’s area ( maybe a dwarf fence even). Then adult up the decking; buyers might like to think about outdoor entertaining. A cheap table and chairs, a storm lantern, an umbrella that hints of sunny evenings. If you can afford outdoor mirrors to enlarge the garden visually, so much the better.
Pillowcase open end should be away from entrance to the room. Bed needs making properly in photos.
The nursery is sweet.
Get some more fresh flowers in a couple of vases. Go for natural colours rather than bright dyed flowers.
I think it might be quite echoing with bare floors throughout. It might make it feel less substantial than it is. Can you use curtains or rugs to soften noise?

Mainly though people by on location and price.

@StatisticallyChallenged ha I had fun looking through those old pics! I was mistaken the garden did have fences, but they were really old and hanging on my a thread and blew down the week after we moved in.

Entirely new kitchen. It had to be rewired, new cooker and extractor, all new cupboards, replaced the sink, worktops. Kept the stone floor.

It looks nice although you do have wallpaper in most rooms maybe this is not to others taste so they are thinking they would need to redo these?
Have you thought about maybe putting a few potted plants in the front yard to make the concrete drive look more homely?

To those saying it looks bland, you should know that I removed my pink and white chevron wallpaper that I loved from the living room to make it more neutral and appealing to buyers. I now feel very bitter.

I have not been allowed to put up the octopuss wallpaper in the hallway. I've got to save it for the new house.

The advantage of a detached house even if gap on one side is only 12" is noise there is no party wall you will never hear their TV or their baby crying in the night etc that is why although the semi bluntness showed are nice and even perhaps bigger inside they are not detached I and many others will pay extra to be detached, the first has a shared drive and you can't see if it has a garage the second doesn't have a garage
but I think OP would do better at 265K

Im currently looking for a 3 bed at £230k I'm not looking for perfect just livable. I certainly don't give two hoots if it's cluttered because I'm looking at wall to wall. I'm not buying the persons stuff after all!

I'm wondering if it's obvious enough that it is open plan downstairs? I would buy your house happily if it wasn't open plan, everything else about it seems fine.

I think your current house is lovely. Someone will snap it up soon.

It looks nice to me but if I had a choice of two similar houses and one didn't have wallpaper that needed stripping, I'd go for that one. A really minor thing though!

I think the problem here really is your competition—the links others have posted for houses near you in same price bracket are just gorgeous and beautifully done, with a sense of interior design flair and nice finishes. I think this is what buyers mean—if they are choosing between 2 houses of equal sizes but one is pristine with a luxury bathroom already fitted, then yours is more work. You have to undercut on price, so yours would be same price as theirs if you added on costs of finishing it like that.

I think it looks nice - far rather that than wall to wall grey.

I think it’s seriously overpriced. Think about who your buyers are. A young couple buying for the first time. Could they afford this home? A deposit of £50-60k and a joint income of £60k+. Do they exist in your area? Otherwise it’s a retired couple or downsizers. They won’t want the open plan layout but would want a garden.

The main issues with the house are that it doesn’t appear to have master bedroom. The current one just about fits a bed. The second bedroom is a nursery and the third a study. At least represent the study as bedroom you can work in.

The downstairs open plan layout isn’t working. . It’s got a huge dead space. I am assuming that’s where the toys are. If so you have nowhere for adults to relax. Closing off the lounge and creating a kitchen / family room would make it a more liveable home. You could do this by moving the dining table to the dead area and having the space by the kitchen as the family play area

I hate to say it but you have made a 3 bed look outlived by a family of 3.

I have no idea why that is struggling to shift! I’ve seen semis go for £230k in less than a week in Sutton in Ashfield!!
It makes me wonder what the problem is with detached properties when semis are going like hot cakes for what I think are crazy prices!! I’ve a friend who just bought a decent detached not unlike yours for £190k in Kirkby - 40k less than a semi 2 miles down the road??? It’s mind boggling!!!

[quote Lofu]@StatisticallyChallenged ha I had fun looking through those old pics! I was mistaken the garden did have fences, but they were really old and hanging on my a thread and blew down the week after we moved in.

Entirely new kitchen. It had to be rewired, new cooker and extractor, all new cupboards, replaced the sink, worktops. Kept the stone floor.[/quote]
From looking at the old pictures, it's not all that obvious that you've done loads of work - so it looks like the 55% increase in price is not all that justified no matter how much prices have gone up locally.

I have a friend in a very similar position OP. Her house is on the market for 325k, and she has had several viewers, all saying the same, that the house needs too much work done. She isn’t very creative with the decor. Not a lot matches. The bathroom suite is the same one she moved in with 12 years ago. Three of the buyers have remarked there’s no decking in the garden (just has flags and lawn), which they had wanted. I was wondering whether it’s because people buying at the top end of the market (we live in Yorkshire where this sort of property is towards the top end in this area), look for near perfection in how the house is presented as that’s what they expect for the money they’re paying.

It’s nice. Seems like picky buyers. I’d pressure wash the front. Resand if necessary. Couple of nice pots. Can’t remember if you have seating in the back garden? I’d put that out and declutter the office/ baby room.

I think its the cost of changing the layout. People now seem to prefer a smaller closed living room, then a large kitchen/diner/family room

Can I ask why this one went for so little because it looks immaculate and has a bigger garden and was £55k less than another one that looked like yours that was sold at the same time.

www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/detailMatching.html?prop=98184251&sale=90147906&country=england

It's lovely op and well presented.

@LemonTT

I think it’s seriously overpriced. Think about who your buyers are. A young couple buying for the first time. Could they afford this home? A deposit of £50-60k and a joint income of £60k+. Do they exist in your area? Otherwise it’s a retired couple or downsizers. They won’t want the open plan layout but would want a garden.

The main issues with the house are that it doesn’t appear to have master bedroom. The current one just about fits a bed. The second bedroom is a nursery and the third a study. At least represent the study as bedroom you can work in.

The downstairs open plan layout isn’t working. . It’s got a huge dead space. I am assuming that’s where the toys are. If so you have nowhere for adults to relax. Closing off the lounge and creating a kitchen / family room would make it a more liveable home. You could do this by moving the dining table to the dead area and having the space by the kitchen as the family play area

I hate to say it but you have made a 3 bed look outlived by a family of 3.

Yeah the middle space downstairs is essentially a play room. We actually did have it the other way around with the dining room in the middle and the toys at the end but were advised to swap so you can imagine eating with the french doors thrown open in the summer.

[quote Bythemillpond]Can I ask why this one went for so little because it looks immaculate and has a bigger garden and was £55k less than another one that looked like yours that was sold at the same time.

www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/detailMatching.html?prop=98184251&sale=90147906&country=england[/quote]
That went for over 320k a few months ago.

The price stated there is what the current sellers paid for it when they bought it. It was standing empty for years, completely gutted. They've made an absolutely beautiful job of it inside.

I think its the cost of changing the layout. People now seem to prefer a smaller closed living room, then a large kitchen/diner/family room

They is what we were told by loads of agents. The people buying our house want to extend and incorporate another room to make a massive kitchen/dining/living room.

I was expecting something much worse! I think the garden is the only bit that really lets it down. It is a really nice house. Make sure you present it like the photos, I really cannot see why it isn't selling.

They've made an absolutely beautiful job of it inside

I disagree. It’s been Hinched within an inch of its life. I’d rather have yours.