No offers on our house

[housetales]

Our house has been on the market for 2 months - launching as the school holidays started which I think was a huge mistake - with what I'd describe as a handful of viewings (mostly right as it went live).

The price it's been listed at was the agent's price, not ours, and when compared with others locally, doesn't seem OTT. All the agents who came round gave similar valuations too. No viewers have said upon viewing it that it is overpriced either.

We had only one bit of negative feedback and it was only from a couple of viewers, not all - that we are overlooked from the side of our property - so we purchased some 10ft trees to allay that concern.

I'm putting myself out there with a link to see what you guys think so be gentle! Should we stay on the market or take it off for now? I should say we only went on the market as we fancied a project for our forever home and were told there was a massive opportunity in our price range as there is such limited supply.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/110082437#/?channel=RES_BUY

@Bibliophile001

Hi I decided to read all the comments before looking at the house pictures. I don’t know the area but I LOVE the house, can’t see how it could be called dated or any of the other comments. It’s gorgeous and I hope you sell soon. Best wishes Rosie

Thank you Rosie. A few comments like this stop me getting too demoralised! Someone likes it!

I'm not understanding the kitchen comments. I've been sitting looking at it drooling with desire. You should see mine! (Can't really comment properly otherwise as have recently moved to a tiny bungalow on a European island! But it does have a rather lovely swimming pool where the garden should be!)

@housetales We've sold a couple of our holiday homes, one 600k (asking price) within a month, one 2.5mil (asking price 2.7) within 4 years, then our residential home as we moved area for 1.2mil (asking price 1.3mil) working 4 months,

and we've had rental properties over the years between 200-400k that have sold within 3 months

In my experience anything over a mil takes a lot longer to sell.

Lower the price if you're in a rush

@SloopB

People love to tear down an expensive house. It's almost a sport on Mumsnet. Don't take it personally OP. Take the constructive criticism and leave the arseholes to themselves.

Husband said the same. I came back from the school run all dejected. I am building myself up now to show some good humour again.

Wealthy? I wouldn't say so.

You really are. You own this whopper and the house next door! Maybe living in Sutton Coldfield distorts your perspective but you must know you're wealthy. You even said you bought this place in your twenties! I'm sure the person who posted who was in a small council flat nearby is hard-working too, but assets aren't always linked to effort as a long thread attested recently.

Not having a go, just a little agog at that assertion.

Sorry you're having a hard time today and agree some comments are needlessly harsher. You've got the message already so hope you can ignore anything too brutal. It's a great house for your family and you're clearly happy there so that is very much the main thing, esp as you may stay anyway.

One thing I will mention OP, maybe too many photos especially of the same thing 😂 like I did get bored after the 10th photo 😂

@Jconnais1chansonquivavsenerver

I'm not understanding the kitchen comments. I've been sitting looking at it drooling with desire. You should see mine! (Can't really comment properly otherwise as have recently moved to a tiny bungalow on a European island! But it does have a rather lovely swimming pool where the garden should be!)

You are literally the only person drooling with desire!

@Secretroses

I haven't read all the comments but I did a search on schools. The nearest state secondary is rated 'requires improvement' and although there are other secondaries a bit further away with better ofsted ratings, they are oversubscribed. This may be putting some people off maybe?

It’s a private school area. The school ratings are irrelevant

Buy 20 plants for inside the house
Get some planters / plants going on the patios, the outside looks dreary
Make the teenager's room look like a teenager's room
Get rid of the AWFUL blinds and cushions in the living room
Rug and better furniture layout and some bits and pieces in the baby's room
Kitchen cabinets sprayed, new handles, new worktops, new tiles, cookbooks, trays, nice bits and pieces
The house is generally under-furnished - I want to see bookcases, occasional tables, nice feature chairs, BEDSIDE TABLES!!
Make beds perfectly
Plush towels and attractive toiletries in bathrooms, untangle the shower hose
Wipe everything immediately before it's photographed
Vacuum carpet immediately before photographing
Delete lifestyle-type photos. I don't need several views of your piano, house name or champagne.

It's basically not crisp and fresh-looking, all looks a bit meh for the money!

You are being very brave OP. You have done a great job of decluttering but I think the problem for me is that it has not got the wow factor. I think it is in the awkward position of being nicely presented so as to put off renovators but also lacking a real wow that a house in its price bracket generally would have to attract more buyers.

For example comparing it to the £1.4m house you linked to I would feel yours needs another £100 to £200k spent on getting it to a higher spec to compete
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/113322887#/floorplan?activePlan=1&channel=RES_BUY

To compare
a) That one has the wow kitchen. You would need an extension to achieve this. that one is 37' x 19' whereas yours is 24' x 13'. That one has bifolds, a big island, a dining and seating area and would work so much better with children.
b) The other one has a attractive landscaped and secluded garden with lots of mature trees whereas yours feels very overlooked.
c) The other one has a real wow factor upstairs as well. A bit vaulted ceiling in the bedroom. A walk in dressing room for 2 of the bedrooms. All the bathrooms are to a higher spec, each of yours would need £10k spent on them to compete.
d) The floor area in the other one is much larger 3500 sqft compared to 2800 sqft

I see your point that the other one is on a busy A road but for me all the above would make it a more attractive proposition.

[quote Champersandchocolate]@housetales We've sold a couple of our holiday homes, one 600k (asking price) within a month, one 2.5mil (asking price 2.7) within 4 years, then our residential home as we moved area for 1.2mil (asking price 1.3mil) working 4 months,

and we've had rental properties over the years between 200-400k that have sold within 3 months

In my experience anything over a mil takes a lot longer to sell.

Lower the price if you're in a rush [/quote]
No rush here. We have sold BTL properties similar scale to yours and experienced similar timelines so perhaps you are right that this is just the natural rhythm of a 7 figure sale. Really appreciate you sharing your experiences.

If I was to purchase..:

Landscape the rear garden
Replace and reconfigure kitchen and redesign/replace bathrooms

If I was to do that plus all the other minor redecorations to my taste then it would cost maybe 100-150k.

Could you knock that off the price?

Hi OP. I've read your posts but not every one as there are so many! I am a period lover rather than new build so bear that in mind when choosing whether to pay any attention to my response. Largely I don't think I have anything new to add. It does look over-decluttered to me and, especially in a new build, that can come across as quite soleless. I do think the kitchen shows it's age but I'm never sure whether spending loads on a replacement is really a good idea. Someone here posted a link to a house in your area which had a massive, massive kitchen. But it was white gloss, which I hate, so regardless of how new it was, I would want to replace it.

Such a small point, but the pelmets on the lounge curtain look really dated IMHO. The problem with one prominent feature which looks so dated, is that it gives an impression which leads you to expect the house to be very dated in other areas too. This changes the 'feel' you have when you look at other pictures. The room overall is nice though I'd perhaps add in another colour rather than just the yellow (a little bit, not too much).

The photo I absolutely hated was the champagne one. These kind of 'lifestyle' photos are awful, just awful. No-one is going to buy a house because there is a bottle of champagne temporarily in your garden. I think people have been around this sort of spin to see through it now and all it does is have the effect of making you distrust the agent and possibly the buyer. You wonder what they are covering up if the house can't speak for itself. I would be wary of getting involved with any EA which recommends such things.

One final small point. I'm sure there is a fridge in the kitchen but at the moment it looks like there is only one in your utility room. Perhaps a pic of the one integrated into the kitchen would be helpful?

The house is very neat and clean with big rooms so I'm sure the right buyer will come along. 2 months doesn't seem that long really.

@Pinkdelight3

Wealthy? I wouldn't say so.

You really are. You own this whopper and the house next door! Maybe living in Sutton Coldfield distorts your perspective but you must know you're wealthy. You even said you bought this place in your twenties! I'm sure the person who posted who was in a small council flat nearby is hard-working too, but assets aren't always linked to effort as a long thread attested recently.

Not having a go, just a little agog at that assertion.

Sorry you're having a hard time today and agree some comments are needlessly harsher. You've got the message already so hope you can ignore anything too brutal. It's a great house for your family and you're clearly happy there so that is very much the main thing, esp as you may stay anyway.

I'm not being facetious, I just baulk at saying that because if I say yeah we are, well we are dickish then! Round here, there's some serious wealth and I totally maintain my imposter syndrome! I am not one of these proper successful people. I'm just taking little steps forward everyday. Hope that makes sense.

If a place isn’t selling, it’s the price.

It also helps if it’s still listed and unfortunately this place came up as “this has been removed by the agents” when I clicked on the right move link.

I wonder whether it's perhaps in an awkward price:type bracket — it's obviously a family home, but the price means it probably isn't the first house you'd buy. But if people are a bit older with the budget for it they might have older children and be settled with schools etc?

I think unfortunately you're probably targeting a relatively small group of buyers, so if one is put off by the garden, and another by the kitchen and another by the floorplan etc you soon run out of people!

@VerveClique

Buy 20 plants for inside the house Get some planters / plants going on the patios, the outside looks dreary Make the teenager's room look like a teenager's room Get rid of the AWFUL blinds and cushions in the living room Rug and better furniture layout and some bits and pieces in the baby's room Kitchen cabinets sprayed, new handles, new worktops, new tiles, cookbooks, trays, nice bits and pieces The house is generally under-furnished - I want to see bookcases, occasional tables, nice feature chairs, BEDSIDE TABLES!! Make beds perfectly Plush towels and attractive toiletries in bathrooms, untangle the shower hose Wipe everything immediately before it's photographed Vacuum carpet immediately before photographing Delete lifestyle-type photos. I don't need several views of your piano, house name or champagne.

It's basically not crisp and fresh-looking, all looks a bit meh for the money!

That's a really good crib sheet of things to do. Thank you for taking the time x

Also - your furniture is the wrong way around in your living room. The fireplace is the focal point so you should sit where you can see that, also put the TV within the eyeline of the rearranged seating area.

Move the piano to the front.

Make one of the bedrooms into an office and set up the office as a high-end, grown-up snug. There's only one comfortable seating area in the whole house.

@Atalune

If I was to purchase..:

Landscape the rear garden
Replace and reconfigure kitchen and redesign/replace bathrooms

If I was to do that plus all the other minor redecorations to my taste then it would cost maybe 100-150k.

Could you knock that off the price?

I could, but then I wouldn't be able to trade up to what we're looking at for our next and hopefully final move. So I'd just stay, improve and enjoy living here.

Timescales over a million depends entirely on location.

In London a 1.3m property could sell next day, or before it even hits the market.

No offers at all in 2 months in the current feverous market - where people are specifically moving out of cities for space & gardens etc, and this is an ideal location near Birmingham - suggests there is something wrong somewhere.

@TheWeatherWitch

If a place isn’t selling, it’s the price.

It also helps if it’s still listed and unfortunately this place came up as “this has been removed by the agents” when I clicked on the right move link.

Based on the feedback we have had from all you Mumsnetters, we've come off so we can start to make improvements as recommended xx

If a house isn’t selling it is always the price that is the issue. Any house will sell if it’s the right price.

Also, OP you don’t need planters, rugs, blinds, towels, bookcases, nicknacks - all of this is a complete waste of money.

Respraying a dated kitchen that the buyer will replace anyway is a complete waste of time and money.

None of this is why it is not selling.

As for moving the piano and furniture, seriously? That isn’t suddenly going to make someone think it’s worth buying. The price is the issue, pure and simple.

Hi OP, I hope my comments did not upset you, and reading back my post I see I did not focus as much the many positives your home has. I would sum it up by saying I would definitely arrange a viewing and consider an offer, and I think it offers a wonderful space for a family. On a side note, you mention you read a lot and have many books, I think it would look amazing if you could create somewhere a little library space, the books snowing, a nice comfy armchair with a floor lamp, - though I am saying this less for the sale and more because I'd personally love to have something like this! A lot of it comes down to personal preferences, and so you can take many of the posts (including mine!) with a pinch of salt, but ultimately a lot of the decor and whether the kitchen needs updating etc is not what really matters when someone is buying a property. I have no doubt that your home will sell sooner or later, most of us would be lucky to get to live in a place like this.