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.

You've had three offers, only one didn't proceed as it was something to do with property/garden, but personally I wouldn't want a larger garden. It's a beautiful house so you will sell.

Jet washing the front and back is a very good idea, the house looks tidy but the front looks a little grubby. I'd also borrow some garden furniture if you can and make more of a feature of the courtyard. The iron table and chairs you've got out look pretty lost out there on their own. A nice set with a table would give the image of another eating space in nice weather.

You have seen a link??
Where is it?
I have looked at OP's posts, and can see no mention of a link unless she has redacted it?

Those grimy old larchlap fences with bits of plastic mesh over them are dire. People lack imagination.
You could turn the red brick wall into a Victorian style long pergola with wisteria / laburnum / grape vine hanging down from it and a nice table and wine bottle under it for summer evening cocktails.
You could lift some of the slabs by the wood fencing and plant delightful roses and clematis or just ivy to disguise the fence. You could take the paving up by the dead tree and plant attractive shrubs and a live tree.
You could even fit in a small sun room instead of the horrid plastic shed with some sort of stacked shelving for all the toys and call it an artist's studio.

I do quite like the paving but NOt all over.

The link is not in the OPs posts but someone else's near the start of thread

You're over priced sorry! We're very near you - 5 bed new build with much larger plot and more sq ft and had to drop to £660k to sell. The market is harder and prices are dropping in our experience.

Sorry OP the PP with the link is the house my comment is relevant to!

Ah, so there is a link! {Above}I thought it was someone asking for one.

I'm not au fait with Essex prices, but the house looks like it's a new build on an estate of similar newbuilds?

Lovely inside, and being a new build, won't have the usual issues a Victorian or Edwardian house will have.

I love the attic rooms :)

The paved 'Garden' may put people off, but they can turf it if they want.

Clear down the clutter.

Living room - You probably think that it's tidy but you need maybe 5 -10 books MAXIMUM on the book shelves. Everything else either goes into storage or into the attic space. Have a few (3 - 4 MAXIMUM) ornaments on the shelves. Done!

I agree with most things in this post above, particularly the countertops in the kitchen and the staging.

Bookshelves, though, are for books and need to be full of books (in a neat and tidy way, not scattered). It would look very odd to have a large bookshelf with a handful of token books or other items on it.

Just to add that it's a really beautiful house, and I now believe that all Mumsnet users live in houses such as these.

Agree about bookshelves being full, but neat. You don't want to look like an IKEA.

Wow, beautiful house. The only thing I can think of is that some people are a bit allergic to attic rooms with sloping ceilings, and the hallways etc seem quite dark/narrow. I would declutter the hallways to the best of your ability and take some new photos of them. I would buy it if I had the money!

Books are wonderful.
A house without books is strange.

When looking at houses, most people don't look at the decor, they look at the fabric of the house, as most people completely re~do anyway.

Look at Princess Anne's sitting room...Books everywhere, and cluttered, but one of the most desirable of houses.

When mum was looking to downsize, 8 years ago, she found the 'Empty' look of rooms, universally painted in French Grey or Chalk White , with downlighters depressingly sterile.
She bought a pretty cottage that had books aplenty in it.

Nothing at all wrong with @Zooforhouse 's interior having her things in it.

I agree that he house is lovely, but the garden needs some work.

Our garden is not much bigger, but it is very much a garden rather than a bare, functional looking back yard.

I think all that paving is what is putting people off. It makes it look unattractive and unwelcoming, especially to young families. It is also not great for the environment. This is the kind of thing that a lot of people might be looking for. Ironically, having more greenery does make the garden look and feel bigger. Also, the difference between having a small bare space and a small beautiful space would attract more buyers. Your front and back gardens scream out "I hate gardening"

I would also say that when we were selling my lates MIL's house (which was nowhere near as nice as yours) we had three sales fall through. Not being able to go back and visit to do maintenenance due to lockdowns didn't help. However, the fourth buyer really wanted the house due to its location, and we ended up gtting more for the house then we ever thought we would.

With the current uncertainties buyers are going to be cautious, if they sell their own first they can’t find a place to rent in the short term either. DIL sold theirs in March fairly quickly but then had to pay through the nose for the new place, the market is much tougher now

However be positive, you are selling and buying in the same market, whatever you buy will be similarly priced, so reduce the price and make sure you get a good deal on the new house. Personally I would sit tight until next spring.

Those bedrooms are massive!

can anyone lend me £680,000? 😀

@RampantIvy
The garden your MIL had is divine! Utterly gorgeous.

I literally don't have any advice but your home is absolutely gorgeous. Especially the kitchen 😍

Thank you @oakleaffy. It's actually my garden . Picture taken in June this year.

Were issues coming up during the valuation survey re mortgages? I only ask because we recently remortgaged and I was a bit worried as our house objectively needs a complete repaint, new bathroom, kitchen etc at some point. Surveyor couldn’t give a monkeys about condition- he was looking at land size, house size etc. it was very much about the nuts and bolts of the property, the area and land.

You have a gorgeous house inside- you’ve done it up beautifully but that might not count for as much as you’d think re valuation especially if the garden is smaller compared to other similar properties.

For me it is too expensive with the lack of outdoor space. I would rather go for this www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/126749555 and be able to choose my preferred kitchen and bathroom.

I'm tempted to say that it's a relatively modest % increase, given what's happened to property prices over the past five and a half years.

That's two less bathrooms and will cost you a shit load more to renovate.

@Manekinek0 nice find! That has loads of potential

Did you lose the 2nd sale as you didn't find an onward house? buyer got bored of waiting for you and found something else? If this is the case then its not a case that the house is unsellable. You should have sold and moved into rented and then waited to find next house.

Sounds like you have had some bad luck but when you had a buyer didn't actually sell the house!!