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.

love this, where are the pics from?

sorry, massive fail, @Heronwatcher where are the pics from?Ta

I think you’ve been unlucky sadly…your house is beautiful.

But, personally, your garden would put me off completely. You need to make it more green, give it some TLC, flowers / planters etc. to make it more appealable.

Good luck!

The sold prices might be out of date and completely different style of houses though

Think you need to make the garden a bit nicer. Get rid of the kids stuff and make it look more appealing for hosting dinner parties!

I think it's lovely but I would be very put off by the lack of lawn or anything growing in the garden. I wouldn't mind the fact it's small.

In this case, it isn't the price. Three buyers have offered full price. You've just been so unlucky. I'd put it back on at same price for at least a month and then if you get no takers, reduce.

Gorgeous house OP. Love your style.

You're right in that the garden is the issue. Compared to the house, it's a huge let down, as is the bit at the front of the house. I know you've said you use it for parking, but with such a small back garden, I think you need to make the most of the space out the front too.

Outside the front door, you need some colourful planted up pots, hanging baskets etc, to create a little oasis of greenery. I'd also put a big rectangular planter under the bay window at the front, again, filled with lots of colourful plants, just to give the outside a bit of a lift. On street view your frontage looks barren compared with the lovely green lawn and beautiful magnolia of your next door neighbour. As the bricks of your house are still very raw and new looking, the whole impression is quite stark and cold - a bit half-built housing estate.

As others have said, the inside of your house is so immaculate, the garden feels like a total let down. It's all very half hearted and there's no sense of 'lifestyle'. For families the teeny tiny bit of grass with some slides squeezed onto it just emphasises how non-child friendly the garden is. It actually makes it look smaller than it really is, having that little splodge of grass. The mismatched garden tables, the randomly placed bench - it makes the garden look like a dumping ground for spare furniture rather than a lovely space to relax. I don't actually think the size is that much of an issue - plenty of people don't want a big garden as the maintenance is a PITA - and lots of people with older children won't mind a smaller garden as the kids will prefer to go to the park to kick a ball around anyway, so the garden can be largely a space for socialising and relaxing rather than playing.

In order to make the garden just as wow as the house, you need to invest in some decent garden furniture, fairy lights etc and set it up as a real tranquil oasis. A PP has posted some great photos of what it could look like. Get rid of the kiddie toys and get some grass down and plant up your pots with established, colourful plants/flowers. You might need to spend a couple of grand, but if you use pots, you can take everything with you when you move anyway, so you won't be losing any money.

It might help to have the photos redone. There are lots and with the lights blazing in each one all it made me think was the house must be dark without them on.

Your house is gorgeous though and would be well suited to a family with older children who don’t want a garden to play in. I’d maybe take the kids toys out for the photos and make it a sophisticated grown up dining space to appeal more.

Oh and if it’s been on the market since January and the agent hasn’t completed the description of the ground floor, I’d find that irritating as well. I’d get them to finish that off. They’ve done the upstairs but haven’t described the ground floor.

I love the house and all the personal bits and bobs, proof that it can be a home.
However, I agree with the other posters, the gardens need work. The front needs a good wash down and more greenery. I appreciate it might be used as parking, but it can look pretty too. The others have advised about the back already (it does look like a backyard, rather than a garden, unfortunately) also, what are the buildings/walls to the side? Could that perhaps be painted or is it not your property?

If families with young children are looking then there’s

no proper shut the door at the end of the day play space for plastic tat
back garden especially no lawn

Young children / babies sleeping on a separate floor

no utility and very open plan which means washer noise etc spoils second living area of kitchen / diner

the hallway eats up a lot of space too

look et it without your lovely furniture / styling in and for some buyers the allocation of space to function might not work.

I don’t know the area so can’t comment on price. It’s a very smart house though

Definitely add more greenery to the garden either turf some/ add planters with trees and pots with flowers, possibly water feature. If the gardens small it should have a wow factor. This is because the interior is stunning and then the garden is just an afterthought - it would put me off.

Also why haven't you got any lawn?

Can you get a mug tree? Maybe grow one in the garden .....

Love your kitchen but the sitting room looks like it's a completely different house!
I would seriously look onto landscaping your back patio. It's small but there's so much that can be done.

As many others have said it's a beautiful house. The inside is amazing but I'm shocked how much small clutter is on most of the surfaces. Clear off those kitchen worktops of all the bottles/utensils etc. Ditto the sideboards & dressing table. The front and back gardens need the same sort of thoughtful loving attention the inside has had. They look like they've been scraped bare of any 'garden' at all because the owners can't be arsed with maintenance. Clear out everything from the back garden and have a landscaper create a beautiful mini paradise & an appealing front.

I’m confused! I can’t see the link! ☹️

As others have said, you're a bit unlucky that the sale has fallen through three times. And definitely take it of the market, wait a few weeks and relist. If I see something on Rightmove that's been listed for months, my first thought isn't necessarily that there's something wrong with it, more that it must be overpriced otherwise someone would have snapped it up by now. But the reason yours has been listed so long is because of the repeated buyers pulling out, rather than being overpriced.

The other reason to pull it and relist is that a lot of people using Rightmove website sort by newest first, so yours is going to go right down near the bottom of the search results. I don't know the market by you at all, but it does seem to be softening all over the country. So even though it wasn't overpriced when you first listed it, it may start to look that way in the current climate. You may need to reduce the price when you relist (ask the agents advice on that), and that's another reason to pull and relist - you don't want the green 'reduced' label to show next to it on rightmove either.

It doesn’t sound like your issue is getting offers so a drastic price drop is probably not worth it unless you are desperate to sell. You seem to have suffered from the logistical nightmare of the UK’s archaic system that has you at the mercy of chains of people making bids they may or may not complete on.

When did it last fall through? Are you getting any viewings anymore? If not a switch in estate agent might help, and a very slight drop in price along with new photos (maybe paint the front door a different colour first and move the furniture around) so people don’t automatically register that they’ve seen it before and so discount it.

You might also want to consider whether you’d be prepared to move into a rental so you can be the end of the chain and give preference to anyone who doesn’t have their own chain.

I agree re the garden - the house looks crammed in on the street adding to the feel that there's little outdoor space I also think the house looks very done up- eg can anyone add value,
But for me- and i don't know the area at all- when i went on right move at looked at the area I could immediately find houses in the area that were bigger, had more outside space and more opportunity to add value for quite a bit less price wise

So is there just one bathroom other than the en suite with the top floor having to come downstairs for a shower?

Can't see the utility room on the floor plan, is the washing machine in the kitchen?

The garden is tiny, but maybe if you took up all those slabs and made a garden it wouldn't look so bleak

@Zooforhouse if I was a potential buyer I would think- great inside- just lovely. Needs more nature front and back- imo no fake grass it makes me sad, and I would banish the children's toys from the garden especially. There is a lot of “hardness” overall, and I think that only really works if you are going quite minimal. The garden, though small, could probably be made to feel like a sanctuary quite quickly in the right hands. I might go for a cheerier colour on the front door too. You want people to get a warm fuzzy feeling as they approach (no cars in driveway if possible- and more nature). In as far as is possible it needs to be spotless, decluttered, but homely when being viewed.
mainly I think you’ve just had bad luck but “the market” gets suspicious so relisting and dropping the price is prob the way to go- you are not likely to get more for it this time next year if forecasts are to be believed. Good luck!

Came on to give advice but @EnidSpyton beat me to it.

yes yes yes to working it the front. Why is there a folding chair by the front door?!

weirdly, I’ve not yet found an agent that can decent pics. We always take our own. Stand on ladders if you need to to get the whole room in. The picture should tell the story of the house. I don’t want to see an oven close up or half a bed. The picture are appalling when it’s such a nice house.

definitely sort the garden and de clutter the house. The nursery is sweet but everything was against the wall and weird looking.

good luck!

The house is lovely and I think you’ve just been unlucky.

I would speak to a garden landscaper and do something with the front garden and add plants (real) and a pergola (or something) to the back.

The inside of the house looks so inviting and well finished and the outside looks forgotten.