Why hasn't this house sold?

[Wherehaveallthepopchipsgone]

Can anyone have a look and see why they think this property hasn't sold, it's been on Rightmove for a year, it's on a really popular street where things usually get snapped up, so even though it needs work you would think someone would have gone for it!

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/122354906

I'd buy it, barring any major issues in the surgery and ensuring the price was right. To me it pretty much needs gutting and re doing throughout - certainly new kitchen, bathrooms, floors need sorting (they look very worn) and redecorating all through. The layout appeals to me as I'm anticipating the need for a granny annexe at some point in the next 10-15 years so if I was looking this is the sort of thing I'd consider. Therefore it's either:

-price
-issues coming up in surveys
-unreasonable/weird owners

We looked at a house in a similar situation. No chain, but clearly a very reluctant seller (it looked like a split marriage) who refused to sell for anything less than asking price, despite the asking price being about £75,000 over what it was worth.

It was a waste of everyone's time and 3 months later the property disappeared off the market and has never sold since!

The layout is what will be putting most people off on this one. If you don't need three separate properties, if you've got a large family that would use each part, it would be a pain to have to go between the separate parts, especially in the cold or rain.

It would be worth considering where the adjoining walls are and how easy it would be to merge it all back together, or keep part of it as an annexe still, but I suspect that will all cost quite a bit of money, especially as there are costs to incur already with kitchens and bathrooms, etc, needing updating.

Let us know how you get on!

Flood risk maps are on here check-long-term-flood-risk.service.gov.uk/map?easting=357186&northing=418315&map=SurfaceWater

I love it. It's got warmth and character. I'd update the kitchen but leave the wood paneling and bathroom. Lots of the house will look more modern once the furniture is out and small things like curtains are updated. Even just the built ins will look much nicer with new handles.

OP we viewed a property in Dec that had been hanging around on the market for about 8 months by that stage, in an area where almost everything was selling v fast. We asked the EA at the viewing why it hasn't sold and he openly said the upstairs layout (small rooms) was putting people off. It was also clear from the viewing that it was right on a road junction with a beeping pedestrian crossing which would have driven me mad if WFH with windows open!

So worth asking EA although they may not give you the full story!

Good luck!

I actually think it's got potential if you're prepared to do some updating and reconfirming. It might work well for a small family with both parents WFH, for instance. Or if you need a granny annexe.

But I don't know if it's priced to take into account needing that work?!

Seems pricey, I’m not kern in the layout, I hate all the greenery growing up the outside, don’t like the dark wood and would need to replace the kitchen at the very least. Just not to my taste and too much to do for the asking price imho.

We spent a long time viewing houses with that square footage or above. Different area so can’t speak to price. My initial reactions are

• poor use of the square footage.


• no internal connection to annex an issue


• Would require a LOT of updating. I bet wiring and central heating is old, possibly with a more modern boiler


• to get it to what we would want I would reckon would cost 150k


• on the market for a long time with no price adjustment likely challenging sellers who are unrealistic about market price

would help to have room measurements on floor plan

There might be issues that come up in the survey, but the answer always comes down to price.

"designed by the owner" = emotional attachment to their own perception of value. They probably believe the "right buyer" will come along and see the house exactly they way they do, and value it similarly.

Mess of a layout.

The layout is odd, and from the photos the house looks very shabby and dated and needs a huge amount of work - I'd want to more or less gut it. I suspect that 'in the flesh' it will be apparent it needs even more work than the photos suggest. At the moment it'll be difficult and expensive to find tradespeople to do the work.

It says the property is chain free, so presumably it hasn't been lingering on the market because the owner can't find somewherelse to move to. I wonder if anyone is still living there, or if it's a probate property/owners are in a care home.

Let us know how you get on with the viewing.

I love it, but we want a house we can completely redo to our own taste. It would be a lot of decorating which I know would put people I know off

I think you get to bedroom 5 via a staircase from the small hall off the dining room.

I can't see how 3 families could live there as only 2 kitchens.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/118565510#/?channel=RES_BUY

But that’s just sold on the same street for the same price...

People don’t mind having stuff to do, as long as the price is lower because of it.

That's gorgeous.

Thats awful though. A souless grey box cheaply done.

I think it's priced too high for a house that needs a full refurb (very dated, as PPs have said, with the wood panelling and red walls etc.).

I also think the kitchen is really small, the layout is strange, and the garden is proportionately small.

It's just a really odd house

It might be that the house was originally put on the market as the owner needed to go into care, has subsequently died and therefore probate is now needed before it can be sold. The probate office is grinding quite slowly at the moment so a year or so on the market would be quite realistic.

I’m not saying it’s done well or badly - but it doesn’t need a refurb, just normal decoration you could do after you’d moved in to suit your taste and it’s got a more useful layout.

They shouldn’t be the same price was my point.

The more I look at that first house, the more it brings back painful memories of selling my DPs' place. No, you can't price it the same as No15, because they've just spent a year renovating it. Yes, it is normal to decorate more than once every twenty five years. No, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with your house. Yes, I am saying there are now regulations about wiring and smoke alarms. No, it is not the fault of the EU. Yes, it is called the EU, not the EEC any more. No, getting a cleaner is not a sign of weakness. Or a gardener, for that matter. Yes, I am worried about you falling down the stairs where you've put that rug to hide the portal into Hades, etc, etc.

Oh that posted grey house is a million times better , the sellers are obviously delusional about the price let us know about the update op.

@Mummyford love those ideas! I'm now wondering if the owner will insist on being there for the viewings.

I'll definitely update you all tomorrow!

The layout is peculiar. I would want to make a door between the annex and the main house for a start.

I don't agree. To my mind it would need new bathrooms, new kitchen, the awful sliderobes torn out, new flooring and full paint job throughout

Someone paid £700+k to live on Merefield?!! Strewth! The world has gone completely mad!! No way would I pay that kind of money to live in Astley Village. That's just bonkers. (I grew up in the area). There are much nicer properties in villages around Chorley for that money. Much, much nicer (although everything is selling fast right now).