Why is this house so cheap/not selling?

[mumarooni]

I've been keeping my eye on houses in this area for a little while, and this one seems like an outlier. Other 3 beds of similar stamp/condition seem more like 350-400. I can see the rooms aren't huge, but still can't quite understand why it didn't sell at 335 and has had a series of reductions. I'm new to houses though...anyone see what I'm missing? I'd be fascinated to hear your thoughts! Ta www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/61485157/?search_identifier=b43641523cafb99b48903e150f486393

There’s 2 parking spots just at the end of the extension to the right.

I live just under 20 miles away from this property. If you don’t know Winkleigh, it is a very very quiet isolated area. There could be structural issues given it looks like a very old property. The thatched roof does pose to me as an immediate concern though.
Have you considered other areas of North Devon? Some areas of Barnstaple are nice. Torrington is similar but still quiet.

The people suggesting it’s difficult to get a mortgage on a thatched property don’t know what those talking about 😂

We've bought two thatches in the past, no issues what so ever! In the area we live in, a lot of houses are thatched so if you discount them, it really reduces what you can buy. I would have no problem buying another thatch in future. I would never buy a listed house though, unless absolutely nothing needs doing to it.

At a quick glance things that put me off are
Thatch would put insurance up or unattainable ( plus mortgage )
listed
awkward layout
very close to road
low ugly ceilings / beams
looks like tiny and some are odd shaped rooms
generally Unattractive

It looks lovely!

I would be concerned about those steps up to the garden and whether the land is due to be built on.

Pp's have all given logical and sensible reasons why it isn't desirable / hasn't sold.

I think it looks charming. If I were you I'd go and view it and if you like it, do some calculations and put in an offer. If you get it for such a large amount under what you'd be paying for another property you'd have enough to start a roof fund and do other things that need done to make it how you want it.

Buying this is just buying a liability. If someone wants to live in the countryside then they can do better.

The thatch looks to be in reasonable nick. Just needs the moss tidying off which is usually done when re-ridge is done (7-10 years). It seems a quiet village/area which maybe too rural for most. Decent number of rooms for a 3 bed. Might be small, but the price reflects that.
New fencing is surely to allow access to stableblock(?) behind driveway.
Plus thatch actually keeps a house warm and toasty. Listing can be more problematic but this house looks to have had recent works so any vendor should check permissions.
Insurance for both thatch and listed buildings come from specialist insurers but not normally difficult or costly to acquire.

I love it, wish I could live there I think it’s charming

I would never want a house with a thatched roof and a lot of people obviously feel the same way. In addition to the huge expense of rethatching the roof every 25 years, thatched roofs are often home to all kinds of wildlife and are a fire hazard.

It's only 85 sqm. The area totally overcooked during the last 2 years and now the heat has come off, so there are 10 to 15 percent price gaps between properties on market now and those sold last year. Mid Devon sees loads of new built estates in Exeter, Tiverton and Cullompton area, so with heating costs going up, people have many modern alternatives that have come onto the market in 100s just as the market is cooling off. It's a typical Devon cottage, I would prefer it to a newbury, and even if the thatch needs repairing, it's still good value compared to a semi new built 3bed in the area at around 320k. Mid Devon has loads of thatchers and builders used to working with lime and cobb, so relatively easy to repair a house like this, but of vourse, it will be more expensive in maintenance than a new built.

Over 100k people moved into Devon during the last 2 years, which drove recent prices up dramatically. That goes into reverse now with some people moving back out. Winckleigh is almost in Cornwall, but not close to the coast, so a rather quiet, very rural, if lovely, area. Small lanes that make driving into Exeter a bit of a track.

Thanks so much for all your input. I really do appreciate it. I have learned a lot! I thinks it's beautiful and have no qualms about rurality, but if I found there were plans for building on the field behind that would be an absolute no-go. And I'd need to be able to do something to make the kitchen a bigger/more sociable space which may not be possible. Cold/pokey rooms not a problem, I currently live on a boat, which was an upgrade from a treehouse. So interesting to hear everyone's varied thoughts on thatch...lots not at all keen, which is interesting to know re any future resale, I genuinely had no idea it was such a put off. I like the look of thatch and am not put off by the possibility of pesky wildlife, and itseems to me I could rethatch this immediately and possibly still be equivalent cost to other houses that I like less. But on the other hand, I'd love to buy a house with the potential to work towards being energy efficient,solar panels etc. And that's not gonna work on a listed, thatched building. And I'd love to buy something with the potential to improve a few years down the line, which would be tricky here with the listed status. I'm not quite ready to visit anything yet, so will see if it sticks around a bit longer then might go and see. I want green views and 3 beds, commute to Exeter, with a budget that doesn't quite match that aim, so something has to give! Thanks for all the input, it's helped me sharpen my eye for other houses too.

@mumarooni - If you want the commute to Exeter would you not consider South Molton or Tiverton?

@good96 Yes definitely would consider Tiverton, thanks for the tip of South Molton, hadn't seen anything there yet but will keep a look out, and also we have been recommended Crediton. But I am trying to be flexible about as much as possible, including area, as there are some things that we are picky about - we wont live in anything 'built up' - I put it in scare quotes because I mean, by our ridiculous standards of what counts as built up - which means houses instead of fields out of the windows, and/or having to walk more than 3 minutes before feeling that you are out in nature. So this means way less available options, especially within our price limit (up to about 350k). So trying to be super flexible about area, layout, etc or it just isn't going to add up, I think!

Our last-but-one house was a Georgian end of terrace thatched. It was larger than the one you're considering @mumarooni and had a third of an acre garden (the reason we bought it - I really didn't want a thatch!). It had been re-thatched about four years before we bought it, we were there 3.5 years and it's now more than eight years since we sold. Looking at streetview I think the ridge needs doing.

It wasn't listed though which made things easier when we wanted to extend, although we restored it sympathetically putting in timber DG sash windows for example.

Whilst living there we had a chimney fire which was scary, plus some idiot lit a fire in the skip we had on our drive! Fortunately no serious damage occurred. Insurance was fairly high, but we found a specialist thatched house insurer after NFU - who the previous owners had used - refused to continue insuring the property.

Our house was on the A30 in Wiltshire (close to the Dorset border) and traffic noise was awful even after having the DG fitted...plus it had acoustic glass which made very little difference. Although we had a deep pavement (no front garden) and a lay by between us and the road, the house - which was three storeys high with tall ceilings for a 'cottage' - regularly shook when heavy traffic rumbled past.

We had no trouble selling back in late 2014 (we accepted an offer within five weeks and the sale progressed very quickly) and had no issues with our buyers who were getting a mortgage (we'd been cash buyers). No survey problems either.

But....despite loving the character, I definitely wouldn't want another thatch as I spent my whole time there worrying about fires...and if it was listed as well, plus on a main road I'd be running a mile.

Sorry, to clarify I meant the ridge of our old house not the one that @mumarooni is looking at, which appears to need a complete re-thatch imho.

Looking at the photo, it would make a great pub!

If you want proper rural, you are likely to need to consider listed properties that need work. From experience with Devonian conservation officers, I wouldn't be too worried about that. There are always ways to convert attics/outbuildings/improve main house as long as you are happy to use traditional materials. For extensions, they often like to see a clear break between old and new, so e.g. a thatched cottage with a glass or wood and tile extension would very often get permission. A lot of old houses here and people do usually realise that people need to live in them or they fall to pieces.

Have you looked and land and build yourself a house?

Some are even flat packed and can be built in 3 days and cheaper than buying a run down cottage with little space.

@GoldilockMom Thanks for that idea, we had thought about it in the most abstract terms we would be up for it, the problem is when I started looking into it land was so expensive it didn't seem feasible. It looks to me like land to build on itself costs at least 300k - or at anyrate, I can't find anything cheaper, maybe I don't know the right places to look?

@GoldilockMom land with planning in place is crazily expensive ime. We're considering doing this - looking across several counties - and you need to budget at least £300k for the land or it's not possible.

Maybe it’s the underage anime girl posters?

It looks like there is no staircase up to the attic room. Only a ladder?

I see the house is still up for sale OP

Guessing it’s not selling as there are roads either side (appreciate it’s not busy)and very close to three sides of the property?
It feels like it’s on an island.
Plus the only garden seems to be overlooked by two rather ugly bungalows sharing the same access.

Have you found anything yet.