I can’t sell my house.

[Zooforhouse]

Been trying to sell my house since January. Have sold it three times. First buyer pulled out as change in financial circumstances, lost us our dream house. Sold again in 4 weeks, but didn’t find an onward, buyer pulled out as found something cheaper. Third time neighbour offered then withdrew quickly as decided the garden was too small (it must have got smaller).

i don’t know what to do really. The garden is too small. That’s why I want to move. Desirable location. The house is done to a high standard. It’s just on a small plot (is in town).

Do we reduce it? Forget about it for a bit? It sold at asking all 3 times. Reducing it won’t make the garden bigger. Change of agent?

Was kind of ignoring the issue but something we want has come up and it’s getting really frustrating now.

I think if you want to sell before the recession really hits you need to reduce the price. To me the garden is fine but I do not have young children.

My last house had a small garden and so many buyers were put off. I reduced the price considerably and it sold in a week.

Lawns really aren’t a hassle. You have to cut them once a week for some of the year, it would take about ten minutes max in a garden that size. Plastic grass is environmentally catastrophic, I’d really like to see it made illegal in residential properties.

I don’t think the size is that small.

it’s the fact that it’s paved that puts me off. Looks a bit bleak.

You need to lose the giraffe.

And all of the other associated stuff in the back garden. Get some of that paving up, create some lovely flower beds or even a bit of real lawn, turn it into a compact but lovely outdoor garden in the truest sense of the word, a little haven for a keen gardener who doesn't mind the lack of space because they can see how much they can still achieve in that space.

That or drop the price by around 40k. Good luck, the house itself is lovely although the family photos clogging up the landing upstairs turns me off - you need a slightly less cluttered feel there.

I think if you want to sell before the recession really hits you need to reduce the price.

That would be my main concern too.

Presentable and of a similar standard to OP’s house is not the same thing.

It needs a big extension and a reconfigure of the ground floor just to get reasonable sized kitchen, dining room, sitting room. It also needs a 4th bedroom as the tiny excuse for one on the first floor needs to be a bathroom for the 3rd bedroom.

House is lovely, but the photos really aren't doing it justice, they don't flow, are weird close ups and angles without giving a sense of the room size, stuff like having loads of bottles out in the kitchen and loads of items on shelves and surfaces makes it look like you are struggling for storage space.
Definitely lacks some green space or plants, not having a lawn at the back wouldn't put me off on its own, but in its place, I would want a lovely area for sitting out in nice weather eg pergola with sun shade, vines, potted plants, something relaxing and grown up.

Jesus, MN is extension crazy. Not everyone wants a vast kitchen and a dining room. Or umpteen bathrooms.

I would declutter a little e.g. put away the bathroom toiletries. Also I thought the main bedroom picture was lovely - looked like a peaceful space - but the next one was of a desk and lots of books which ruined the effect! Maybe the agent should reduce the amount of photos.

Re the gardens (front and rear), I think the lack of lawn is an issue. If you can, I would rip out some of the hardstanding/patio and lay lawn. I would also add more vertical planting - you have some garden wall there that is suitable for a trellis.

De-child the garden! … the AstroTurf is awful… yes to pots, beds and a small LAWN. Plus - a living / green wall will make the garden feel bigger and more like a garden than (sorry) a yard.

What a bloody lovely house though!

The outside photos don’t match the inside.
clean the driveway, get rid of the small miss matched pots, you want less and big and bold. Weed.
back garden looks miserable, take when there’s sun, weed, clean.
kitchen, I’ve no idea what the tiny gap is between end of kitchen and doors. Would have been better to swap the kitchen and dining room over.
get rid of the kitchen counter top clutter and the clutter on window silo in ensuite, it looks like you’ve got no storage when the house has tonnes!

I agree. For me a bigger garden would be more important than a vast kitchen and dining room. Other houses may not be as well finished as the OPs, but they have more outside space. Houses can be renovated and updated over time and to suit buyers tastes, but unfortuntely the OP can't change the size of their garden.

If Op wants to sell then lowering the price is the best way to do this. Especially as the house has now been on the market for quite a while, which is going to make some buyers think something is wrong, even if this isn't actually the case.

If your house was in my town I would buy it from you RIGHT NOW.

It's absolutely GORGEOUS and I don't think the garden is too small at all! It's actually four times the size of mine (also a patio) and I also have 3 storeys and 4 bedrooms.

You have simply been unlucky.

Someone WILL come along who doesn't want to faff about with a load of time consuming gardening and snatch up your absolutely beautiful house.

I'm now officially dead jealous!!!!!

Good luck!

It’s simply a question of the upgrade required to bring it in line with what the OP’s property offers. It actually works out more expensive than the OP’s even if you only spent 100k on it.

It's a gorgeous house, and actually the garden is a reasonable size for a town house. To improve the garden, I would get rid of all the child-related 'clutter' and make it more of an adult space e.g. some nice pots with flowers and small trees, a lovely table. Make the most of that beautiful wall.

I would remove the kids corner in the garden, get rid of the bamboo because it just looks messy, and paint the fences if they were mine - ask permission from the neighbours if not. And get rid of the table and chairs and invest in better garden furniture. No outside play area (I have kids, but that just makes it look cluttered and we're going towards autumn now anyway). Just concentrate on the back garden and de clutter. Maybe consider adding big feature plants in pots, lighting etc. it is the garden that lets the listing down.

Or just declutter the garden without investing in more stuff, and possibly drop the price too.

It’s simply a question of the upgrade required to bring it in line with what the OP’s property offers. It actually works out more expensive than the OP’s even if you only spent 100k on it.

Yes, and it comes with a damned sight more land!

I don't think the price is that high.

You are only asking £100K more than you paid for it 5 years ago.

That's a very small annual percentage increase when in some areas houses have gone up 10%pa.

I think there are TOO MANY PHOTOS. No one needs 30+photos of a house. main rooms, once or a couple of angles for main rooms, and not a lot more.

I found it exhausting to browse all the photos. I'd suggest maybe removing some of the coats etc and clutter in the hall and on your dressing table.

And, the overall agreement here is DO THE GARDEN. You might need to spend £1K but you'll sell the house. People often don't have any imagination over what they can do with a garden area like that. Even if you paid a designer £500 for ideas, it would be worth it.

And the front drive area which looks tatty and uncared for.

But not everyone wants that type of house or a massive garden!

Except they aren't really comparable. OP's house is a short walk to a town centre, the other house has land because it's much more towards the country and isn't town centre.

@Zooforhouse It's a lovely house and you have done it up in current style which will appeal to potential buyers. The garden lets it down a bit and could be improved even by removing toys and buying lots of pot plants.

I think you have had some bad luck but I think there has probably been a big element of market forces too. Many people are becoming increasingly worried about taking on more debt at the moment as the cost of the debt has increased (and is expected to increase much more). At the same time, the cost of essentials has risen so much and average salaries have fallen significantly.

My advice would therefore be the same as @user1471538283 'I think if you want to sell before the recession really hits you need to reduce the price.'
If I were you or anyone selling at present, particularly a 'downsizer,' I would set a lower price and work hard to push the sale through as quickly as possible.

And some more....

I thought the advice on photos was

1 Remove all family photos as they are personal (and identifying!) and buyers don't want to see who lives there. They want to imagine it's theirs.

2 Get rid of all the bottles and cooking stuff round your hob. It looks a mess. You need a clean area. Clear the worktops.

3 Look at street view and you will see the image doesn't match your house now because you have added the mismatched pots under the window.

It has a look of a 'family house' with kiddies stuff in the garden, but not a house for adults to enjoy.

@rainingsnoring Reducing the price only works if they houses they want to buy are falling in value as well.

There is no evidence it's too expensive as the increase is only £100K over 5 years since they bought it.

No one has looked at it and said it's overpriced.

If that was coming through, fair enough, but it's not.

I think the inside of the house is beautiful (especially love the kitchen, and the cupboards in the hallway), although when we were selling the agent got us to clear worktops, minimal clutter etc... for the photos. I know a house is for living in but it was about making the photos look better. We had a tiny house, so a lot of stuff ended up in the car/loft for the photos and any viewings 😂 https://www.martinco.com/news/how-to-dress-your-house

The garden could be cheered up with some plants, putting the toys away. I hate artificial grass, so that would be put off more than slabs in all honesty.

The front doesn't look very welcoming either, again can you add some plants, weed the driveway (remove the random chair?)?

I agree with PP that the photos seem quite disjointed.

I can't comment on the price as it's not an area I know particularly well.

I think you've already realised what you need to do - reduce the price. You'll widen the pool of people looking, who may be willing to compromise on the garden for the price.

Have you asked friends and family to take a walk around and give you an honest opinion on the interior?

My parents, who moved in the 2010s, ended up taking less on their house, because their kitchen was still the original one installed in the 80s when the house was built. It was perfectly functional, but obviously dated and out of fashion. They decided they couldn't be arsed with the hassle of getting a new kitchen put in while they were still living there, and accepted a slightly lower offer on the back of that.