The comparisons to number 30 are very interesting. Have you noticed that it has the same agent selling it? Of the 26 photos, 12 of those are outside. The target market for it is someone who needs the concrete yard and outside sheds. We have had some of the same viewers despite the price difference.
To answer some other questions - yes, it really was built in 2007 and it was bought as a shell for £400k by the previous owners. They put in the black kitchen and bathroom. I expected to rip them out as they weren’t my taste but I don’t have the money, and they’ve oddly grown on me over the six years that we’ve lived here. This is despite many hours spent googling whether I could paint bathroom tiles (and similarly the window frames)!
I almost didn’t view the property myself because of the exterior. It really put me off then, but once I arrived the view and the peacefulness won me over. There’s no road noise. Like I said, I’ve looked into having the exterior painted and been told that I shouldn’t. The best option is to have it re-rendered but that is not an affordable option. If we were staying, I’d consider it in the long term if we built up enough money for it.
This house was expected to be my forever home, which is why it’s still not quite finished. Well, that and having three kids since we bought here! We are moving because a house finally came up in the village that I grew up in, and that my siblings and my parents live in. Before covid, it wasn’t an option to move there, but now that I can permanently work from home, it means we can go. I’ve watched houses on the market in that area for a few years and this is the first time an appropriate one has come up. It means that out of nowhere, we suddenly got our house on the market so that we could make an offer on the new one. We were sale agreed within 8 days first time, and then they pulled out after three months.
I know how divisive statement wallpapers are! It’s interesting that one poster thinks there’s only one bedroom that doesn’t have wallpaper. There are four bedrooms (one is used as the study) and one of them has wallpaper but the other three don’t. Having statement wallpaper downstairs must have an impact on the perception of there being more in the bedrooms too.
Soft furnishings - the ones we do have are very child-friendly so they were shoved out of the way for the photos. I felt worried about the lack of curtains but was reassured that they wouldn’t make enough of a difference.
Our garden furniture lives in the garage. I don’t have fancy enough stuff that I’d want to keep it outside, particularly during winter. There is a patio area at the back, along with vegetable patches. It doesn’t match the glossy interior though. Much more rustic!
We do have trees at the bottom of the garden, but they look so bleak now with no leaves.
I’m amused by how hated the green door is. The two neighbours also have green doors! It was green originally, then painted black when the previous owners were selling, and we got it painted green again. Admittedly, that was not the shade of green I wanted but it was done and I didn’t expect that I would be selling the house and having it on show so I wasn’t too bothered. I can go back to black if that will help.