Hmm - why hasn't this sold?

[Flowergirl55]

Overpriced or just the current market?

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/128055620#/?channel=RES_BUY

Had my eye on this house for a while now - unfortunately it's over my budget by around 20k. It would be perfect for me as I'm buying alone, plus it has parking and is in a desirable and safe location.

The only thing that puts me off slightly is the living/kitchen space - looks very small. No idea if it was always open plan or if new owners changed it. Looks like they bought it early last year for 114k but have done a lot of work.

I'm surprised it hasn't sold given it's in such a desirable location. It's always the price though isn't it?

Looks like the renovators were scared of electric.

The big off putting things for me are, no downstairs loo, lack of private garden, single glazed windows, small, shed looks very tatty too. I would also worry about the slope of the communal gardens and the water will run down etc. but even given all that, price is usually why a property doesn’t sell.

Looks like a communal garden. Neighbours partying/BBQing/kids playing at the side of my house all summer long? No chance!

I once had a house where another houses carpark space was outside my front door like that and mine was somewhere else. I can't begin to tell you the problems it caused.

They could fill that whole space right outside your house with whatever they wanted.

It was listed in March 2022 at £95,000.
It has had a 'make over' since then but probably not justify a £65,000 increase.

www.zoopla.co.uk/property/uprn/100100444791/

Too expensive for what it is. It's clearly been recently renovated but badly, and all that grey...! Would need to strip it all back and start again

What everybody else has said. There are no wardrobes in the house. This would reduce your space considerably, and looks like they have re-plastered and not bothered putting any curtain rails/blinds back up. That open plan would be a nightmare to heat too, as the heat goes straight up the stairs. DM had a house with similar layout. Twas always cold for this reason. A garden on a slope will always have limited options, even without Treegate which would need investigating here. No one has lived here under its current cheapo rennovation. Imagine it with all your stuff in. Much less space, unless you are a minimalist.

In the first house there is no fridge in the “display kitchen”, which will take up space, and only plumbing for one appliance, so you would struggle to fit in a tumble dryer or dishwasher in addition to a washing machine. The orientation of the sitting room is also tricky - no space for a tv. It’s just too small for most buyers.

There’s three beds within a mile radius for £120k… it’s the price

Agree with all of the above - no chests of drawers or wardrobes.

Another point - I’m not sure a house like that complies with building regs. AFAIK you have to have a door between the kitchen and the stair to stop rapid fire spread upstairs and this totally open plan layout doesn’t achieve this. It would fail. Also, is the boiler in an airing cupboard off the main bedroom and is it a gas boiler? Dangerous for carbon monoxide. I bet it’s not new either.

Storage - there isn’t even a cupboard you could shove a Hoover or a mop and bucket.

@MadeInChorley , I used to live in a similar sort of house, and it had an open plan downstairs, with stairs in the living area. There wasn't a door in between.

Absolutely no kerb appeal and the open plan is awful. Seems to be pretty overpriced, too. Think a builder has bodged it on the cheap, hoping to make a silly profit.

In addition to what everyone else has said - sometimes these 'flipped' houses have been done on the cheap and it really shows in person, but not so much on Rightmove.

I viewed this one around this time last year, when the property market was very buoyant. Upon viewing it became evident that there was no underlay underneath the(obviously cheap) carpet, those kitchen floor tiles were dangerously slippy even when dry, there was no plumbing for a washing machine, and so it went on. Told the agent at the viewing why we weren't interested and she said everyone else had said the same thing. It's still unsold a year down the line and they're on at least their third set of agents at a price that's thoroughly unrealistic.
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/129138449

Ooo that’s bad!

Run off rain water from that hill - it will 💯 have rising damp.

@Yesthatismychildsigh , that kitchen is hideous

Just gone back and checked that one. First listed in its current condition in September 2020 for £290k. It has been on the market for 2.5 years, Liz Truss happened, and now they want £325k!

Fire regs for totally open plan are quite complex. Im guessing the developers haven’t installed a domestic fire suppression system with misting sprays, which is one way of complying.

Compliance for building regs and totally open plan depends on fire barriers and escape routes. There’s only one exit via the front door in this property - no back door and no door at the top of the stair - and so I’d be cautious. I don’t think it complies.

I agree with storage.

It sounds daft but one of my questions when looking for a house was where will I keep the mop/vacuum cleaner/ironing board. Stuff that you don’t want on display but you need frequent access to.

The house I lived in had only one door, and no misting system.
A friend lived in a quadrant house and that was open plan with no door between the kitchen and stairs,and no misting system. That too had only one exterior door.

Scruffy next door and open plan living (glorified studio flat downstairs basically).

Loads of houses wouldn’t meet current regulations but it doesn’t matter IF the house was built pre-regs. Think of ceiling heights in old cottages for example. It only matters if you make structural changes to that particular room and those then have to meet regs. Or if it’s unsafe.

Our last house had all the exits off the kitchen, which didn’t meet regs but dated from 1780. We changed a downstairs bedroom window to one that could be used as a fire escape due to safety concerns for children & elderly visitors (how would you get out if there was a fire in the kitchen?).

With OP's original house, access to the two rear houses of the quad appears to be via the path that runs across the front and side of the for sale house. Not ideal if that's the case.

With OP's original house, access to the two rear houses of the quad appears to be via the path that runs across the front and side of the for sale house. Not ideal if that's the case.

Oh I like this one!