No interest in 5 days - and there’s a rightmove link!

[Helpmyhouse]

Hi ladies. As the title says, no interest in 5 days, so would be grateful for your feedback. Be as honest as you like!

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/131461400#/?channel=RES_BUY

I’m a realist so will be price dropping if it hangs about, but just wondered if there’s anything ‘changeable’ that might rustle up some interest before we go down that road. Please note I can’t do anything about the size of the garden, nor will I be able to do anything big like replacing the bathroom suite, hideous as it is.

Thanks in advance.

My advice then?

take it off the market today.

spend a fortnight making it look like you cared about it and enjoyed living there. Get yourself to IKEA! Get some colour and pictures up and some nice bedding.

it doesn’t look like the vendor enjoyed living there

Photos are decent. I would not personally buy so close to the sea with coastal flooding and sea levels rising rapidly in the next 30 years.

How long did you live there for OP?

Did you like living there?

Should I take it off the market until the corrections are made??

I like the bathroom and size of bedroom 1 and 2.
I don’t like the fact it only has a courtyard and that would stop me even booking a viewing. I’m also not keen on the fact it’s a terrace. You could improve the kitchen by moving the washing machine somewhere else as it makes the room look crowded. The office is very narrow but that’s ok as an office. Remember some people may want it as a bedroom so reduce clutter to allow people to visualise a single bed in there. It will hopefully sell to the right person.

Why are people going on about the table cloth? Surely people can see past things like this?

Nothing wrong with house. Personally, I'd want parking in a lovely area, but you can't change that. Not easy to change garden, but I'd try and make that look more attractive. Some more pots with plants, especially if any have any colour. A table and chairs, might help to give people the vision of somewhere pleasant to sit out in the summer. Don't clutter it with outside toys, but if you also have any more outside play equipment that'd be a good thing to show (thinking about families looking).

Is that fake grass? That and the lack of plants in the back alone will put a lot of people off. It looks really uncivilised.

Then you have a washing machine in front of the radiator and a massive bin next to it? Screams lack of space.

Just seen your photo of the front, that's much better. If you can add anything to the back to make it look more colourful, a nice place to be, whether for photo or viewings, that'd be good.

Definitely add a pic of the lovely green front garden @Helpmyhouse

I have to agree with other posters that the rear courtyard garden appears extremely unloved and unwelcoming. As a potential buyer this would certainly discourage me from viewing especially as you're asking considerably more than you paid in 2021 when it's now a falling market.

For not a great deal of £££ you could add an outside rug, bistro set, fairy lights and lots of potted plants/small trees - all of which you'd be able to take with you to your new place.

You need to dress the space aspirationally!

In addition I'd add fresh flowers/more greenery inside and pops of colour in the form of cheap art from IKEA etc.

I'd also move the tumble dryer and bins out of the way as well as dressing bedroom 3 with a bed. These things could just be temporary for a new set of photos....speaking of which, get your EA to earn their commission by retaking all pics, preferably on a brighter day.

It's very early days re: price - I'd do the above, wait a couple of weeks then revisit the price if there's still been no viewings.

Good luck...it's a lovely house overall!

i think the photos are dark and need redoing . You also need to present the 3rd bedroom as a bedroom as at the moment it doesn’t look like you could get a bed in there . Other issue is the back yard - it doesn’t look used which will make people think it’s unusable . Look on free-cycle/ marketplace for an outside table and chairs maybe . On the whole it looks a decent sized house

Clean, good starter home. Nothing wrong with the bathroom. Kitchen looks good so is a bonus and both are spacious. Could do with a bit more colour. But whoever buys it will add there own personal touch. So sometimes neutral is good. Maybe some outdoor seating so they can see themselves sitting out there. Add some colourful bedding and cushions. I wouldn't drop the price just yet only 5 days in. If someone puts a lower offer in would you want to drop the price again to accept?

It’s what I love about Rightmove threads! This is a 2-bed being marketed as a 3-bed but, sure, it’s the tablecloth or the peace lily. Karate chop a cushion and add a jug on a shelf and buyers will overlook a lack of bedroom.

I’d be interested too oP

how long were you there for and did you enjoy living there?

Hey OP. I'm actively looking for a house in this area and my budget is 300k and I wouldn't view this property based on the

1. price
2. having lived in the area we know a lot of properties are damp. We would see your dreary photos and dreary courtyard as looking dank / dark / damp (even if it isn't!!) - so better and brighter photos are needed.

Brighten the photos and retake them on a super sunny day :)

Lovely property. I like your style x

It just needs the photos restaging to me. Create the 'ideal life-style' image for the buyers.

Get a table and chairs and nice pots out in the yard- put a little pot of lavender on the table and wine glasses, add nice colourful plants in pots round the edge of the garden.

Take that tablecloth off the dining table and have a lovely full fruit bowl.

There's a lot of stuff in the kitchen, put away the rubber gloves, cloths, washing up liquid, things stacked on the work surfaces, little ornaments etc., and instead put one big green plant in the middle of the windowsill, leaving everything else clear except for toaster and kettle.

The kid's room looks unlived in and stark- looks like it needs more storage for toys- I'd re-arrange it as I don't like furniture and beds all round the edge of a room. It also needs pictures on the walls and a colourful rug.

In the bathroom get rid of the corner unit thing with all those cheap toiletries on and instead add some beautiful glass bottles of bubble bath on the windowsill and posh soap and hand cream dispensers by the sink. Add a big tropical houseplant on the floor in the corner where the toiletries currently are.

The sitting room just needs a nice big plant in the bay window.

I think most folks haven’t looked closely and spotted it, hence the comments ro add the pic. But yes it looks fake, and it’s grubby/bit tatty too. I suspect thr op and her partner just aren’t big into maintaining outside space. Which is fine, some folks aren’t.

You would think so, but the guidance from professional house-stagers is that they can't. You have to dress the house so that it fits buyers' aspirations of how they will live there.

I am a bit puzzled. This garden picture does not resemble how it looks according to Google Earth from the street view. In that picture it looks a lot more open and newer than your picture OP.

Dress your courtyard up a bit.
painting the two walls that look a bit shabby will cost about £25.
Add some garden plants in pots, maybe borrow some from family?
Or get some garden pits and smaller pots of daffodils in flower and plant the, up.
String some lights along the wall.
Outdoor rugs —- I think Cancer UK charity shops sell them new for about £10.

It’s a lovely house, I’m sure it’ll sell.

They can't. There was another poster on here a few weeks ago who was asking why her house hadn't sold and the reasons were amazing - things that could easily be changed - at some expense in some cases like a bathroom, but very cheaply in others, like repainting the walls. It is amazing how people expect everything to be bespoke perfect for them!

I think the house is very nice and it will suit someone who doesn't like gardening!

I'd pay 20K over the odds for a decent tablecoth, no worries.

Karate chop the cushions as well and it would be "shut up and take my money".

OP it's lovely! But I agree with many of the other posters about the commonly mentioned changes that could be made to photos, etc.

I'd say mention proximity to sea and then do up the back courtyard so it has a summery, fire pit, hang out space vibe, so people could imagine themselves there on many an evening having a drink under the stars, eating out, chilling. It's a lovely space and I reckon it'd be cheap to make it look really good but right now it looks quite grim and this-is-where-we-put-our-bins-y.

It’s a lovely house with good space. I would stage the patio area more. Put a small table and a couple of chairs, some potted plants, fair lights on the fence, hanging pots on the fence.
Add some colour to it.