RM link... help me sell my house for the 5th time!

[ThisMustBeMyDream]

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/132973085#/?channel=RES_BUY

This is my house. My poor house has been through the mill with buyers. Originally went on the market March 22. Got 2 offers above asking within days of being on the market.
Buyer then pulled out 2 weeks later due to school and childcare issues that she hadn't forseen.
Second buyer agreed, again had multiple offers. 8 weeks later they pulled out after taking 5 weeks to sell their own house. One of the couple became seriously ill and couldn't return to work.
So off we go back on the market. Another sale agreed with 2 offers within days. This time the buyers started messing me around trying to renegotiate and I called their bluff. The agents then went back to the other offer and he met their offer (13k over asking).
So that is where we were at by October. Long story short, the chain (of 3) collapsed when my seller refused to move out after an issue with probate in their purchase (they had agreed to break chain and move out, then changed their minds). This then caused my buyer to pull out. Me and my buyer were all packed up and exchange was about to happen when all this came to light. So it has been a torrid time as you can imagine.

After a few weeks of unpacking and titivating/doing little jobs, I decided to go back on the market and try once again.

This time the market is very obviously different. Been on for 3 weeks. 8 viewing requests in that time. 1 was a no show (which is not a surprise as lots of this in previous rounds too), 1 cancelled last min and didn't rearrange, 1 I cancelled as it was obvious from their messaging that they were a timewaster. 5 viewings have gone ahead, and of those 5 only 2 have given feedback. One to say they loved it, price was great, location great, but downstairs space didn't work for them. The other said similar about price, location and the house, but said they had other properties to view before making a decision.

I did two of the viewings on Friday and today asked the EA to ring for feedback as none yet received. They got hold of one who again said the same, they are considering an offer but viewing other houses.

The house is priced as offers over £180,000. It was achieving £193/195 last year so I feel that it is priced well and have compared it to other similar properties in the area. It was valued in October at £185k by my buyers mortgage company (well, the chartered surveyor did!).

Any advice other than lowering price? A lower price means we can't move, so no point in doing that. We need £185k to get to the next rung on the ladder for us which means we stay put until an unknown time.

I like your wallpaper, but I wouldn’t keep it and I tend to assume houses with wallpaper will need a reskim. It doesn’t matter that people who’ve viewed like the wallpaper, you need to attract the people who don’t. If you’re sure the walls are good I would consider stripping it.

I’d also consider changing the handles in the kitchen. They date it a bit and I’d be thinking maybe it’s of the same era as the shell bathroom and will need replacing soon.

But I do think you’ve just been unlucky and you will probably sell again without doing anything.

If I was really picking holes then there are two things that would bother me as they give an impression of lack of space/storage.

First is the coats in the hallway...i'd move them elsewhere (under the stairs?).

Second is the bed blocking part of the window in the rainbow room. It always really bothers me as it makes it seem as though there's lack of space to put the bed elsewhere...although I see it so often I think it's more of a personal preference maybe.

Overall it's lovely though and I like your decor, so much nicer than permanent washed out grey that I still see everywhere.

I don't know the area so can't advise on price but just wanted to say I love this house - it really is lovely. Yes the scallops in the bathroom are a bit dated and yes people may think I'm going to have to do a whole decoration job but I love it!

It's lovely and as you are getting viewings I am not sure there's lots you need to sort.

I think you could do with better pictures of the kitchen.

And maybe lose some of the plastic slides and bits from the garden.

But otherwise I think it will be price /timing , as clearly you are getting people through the door

It is upside down compared to other adverts.

@PotteringAlonggotkickedoutandhadtoreregister i agree!
Unfortunately I’d assume there was a reason the sale kept falling through. Maybe something structural. Hopefully fresh eyes see it soon and don’t have any of these unfounded thoughts.

I don’t think you need to change anything really.

I’m guessing you are using a wide-lens when you are taking the photos because the smallest bedroom is only 4 sqm which is absolutely tiny, but in the picture it looks small but not as small as it really is. Making rooms look bigger than they are just leads to people feeling deflated when they come to view as they will realise that the only thing you can fit in there is a single bed and once you open the door there is about 0.5 sqm of floor space left. I think providing more realistic pictures would save you from having to prep the house for lots of viewings which aren’t going to lead anywhere.

Offers over is a waste of time. I’d be offering below £180. Probably start as low as £165.

also the loud rooms would put a lot of people off.

but the biggest issue for me is the agent I would even look at a house listed via that agent after previous issues.

The house itself is lovely, but honestly the wallpaper isn't nice imo. Maybe others think the same so paint it a neutral maybe so others can imagine it being their home x

I think you've just had a run of bad luck, I'm in a similar situation 😬.
I'm on my fourth buyer, seven offers,on and off over two years, don't ask 🙄. Probably only nine viewer's in that time, first got to exchange, I lost my onward.
Decided to buy without selling, back on four viewers three offers, might of got my numbers mixed up I do apologise it's been a badger, if this gets to completion I'm booking a holiday that I haven't had since lockdown.

Re price though op - you said it was achieving £193k last year and you'd accepted an offer £13k over asking price.

Does that mean it's on for £180k now...the same as a year ago?

If so I think there's a possibility it's overvalued in a now falling market. I don't think you can consider the ridiculous amounts people were offering over the valuation price a year or two ago. If it was valued and put on the market at £180k a year ago then I think you'll struggle to get that now.

It's a lovely house. Very fresh and well presented. If I were a house hunter I'd be wary of a house that had gone on/ come off the market so many times. I also don't trust estate agents- so wouldn't feel their were giving me an honest answer.

I think the house looks lovely, the wallpaper would put me off as it took me ages to strip my current house. I also noticed the missing total square footage from the floor plan and the garden looks a bit cluttered.

I think you need to revisit your price, you’re unlikely to get offers over in the current climate if you really need £185 then you’d probably need to list at more like £190 in order to give room for negotiation but that would then make your property feel expensive. The estate agent you’re using would put me off.

I cannot see any problems at all. It looks clean and well presented. I don't know the area at all so I cannot comment on the price. I wouldn't change anything or spend more money on your house but consider lowering the price if you need a quick sale.

The offers over always puts me off , it’s to invite a bidding war but the market has moved on and I would change to a fixed price or OIRO 180k

Agree with that. I hate sealed bids. I've done them for a house I have wanted enough, but I would always avoid where possible.

Like everyone else, I think you've done a stonking job on the house, OP, and there's not much to improve. I'm torn on the wallpaper - I'm not a wallpaper person myself, but it wouldn't put me off buying as you have done it so well. However, I do wonder if it might be worth painting the living room a neutral colour, as I think the wallpaper makes the room look smaller and too busy.

I love the wallpaper!

Could the bathroom do with changing? Is that reflected in the price?

Change agents. Strike are a terrible agent to deal with and probably why your sales keep falling through.

I wonder if the value has gone down generally

Side bar - what happens about your costs with people pulling out so many times?

Your house is absolutely lovely and I would buy it if I didn’t live the other end of the country. Although I noticed the windows look warped because of camera distortion, which would make me wonder whether the rooms are much smaller in real life. But I can’t think of anything to suggest really as it’s immaculate yet very homely, I think it’s just a weird market at the moment

Well, in the time it has taken to do bedtime and come back here, I've had another viewing request - hoorah. So that's a positive.
With regards to the agents - I've changed agents each time so it would be a fresh listing on RM. I was with Strike for the first listing and to be fair, they were really good. I haven't had any issue with them, nor had anyone I personally known who habe bought or sold through them.
The floor plan is done by them, I didn't get any input in how it was done or putting the square footage on. Likewise adding the garden footage on. I did ask for that as it something I want when I'm looking as garden size is one of my top requirements but the agents recommended against it 🤷‍♀️ (all of them, not just Strike).
Most recent sale on the road for something similar was 200k with the sale completed a year ago but price agreed upon 20 months prior. That had an extension to the rear and side, but not much bigger than my house over all. There are 2 other comparable properties for sale, one stc which is a dooer upper and it was on for 180, although it has attached garage. The other was on for 225k, reduced to 215k still not sold. It is definitely overpriced. It has a separate garage and a small rear extension.
As for direction, it is a North facing garden, well, north west. But it gets loads of sun, and that can be seen when I do viewings. The only area in shade is the patio area with the sofa which I've shown in photos. The patio area with the table gets sun all day long thanks to the side return and not being overlooked too closely at the back. Some agents have put the compass on, some haven't.

In the area it doesn't seem that prices are reducing as such. What seems to be happening is stagnation. I've been on RM every day for 2 years watching prices. It seems most houses come on about 20k higher than they would have been this time last year. Then they get reduced after a month. They get reduced to what they would have been this time last year. I've been looking for a 260k house, and am still finding I can get the same as I could last year for 260k, but they come on the market at 280!
We have lost money for the chain collapse with solicitors- about £750. But not for any of the other sales as none progessed far enough.

The room is small, but it looks the same as it does in the photo. Not used wide angle, just my mobile phone. No one has commented about the room being smaller than the photo. You've just reminded me, quite a few comments have been how the house is so much bigger than in the photos, which sureprised me, but there you go! I think the high ceilings help with that though!

You’ve done a great job especially having it all so tidy - that’s not easy when you’ve got little uns! You’ve clearly had some rotten luck with buyers.

It’s sounds like it’s the market rather than you but if you want some ruthless advice - ditch the agent.

• Rightmove prioritises recent listings and I hear (no idea if this is right or wrong) that agents can’t/don’t like/costs? to remove and relist so put it on with another agent to get round this and sale history availability. I’d be assuming the issue was the house rather than the buyers if it’s been hanging around on the market.

• The blurb needs to be better written with shorter paras - people don’t read massive blocks of text online

• You need total area indicated on the layout. Better still a layout that indicates garden space too. (Nice garden btw)

• Photos could be better angle wise - your fridge looks weirdly huge but I’m pretty sure it’s a standard size. Says pants photography to me. New agent = New pics.

• The wallpaper is marmite. I do think you need to think about getting rid, sorry. (I actually really like your style but it is very much a style and boring is better 9/10 times with selling houses.) I’d strip the wallpaper out of the lounge/diner and paint something suitably blank canvas e.g. warm calico/beige. Consider taking the same approach for the hallway. Bedroom paper is definitely more mainstream/neutral with the leaf motif.

• Try a plain duvet against the wallpaper in the bedroom when you’re styling that room - it would make the room look a bit bigger - and see if you can loose more stuff from the box room to make the most of it on photos and viewings.

Good luck whatever you choose to do. Looks like a lovely home. Sorry to hear you’ve had such a rubbish experience so far. Fingers crossed for you.

I'd also like to say what a nice job you've done with the house. It's smart to keep it tidy for photos, and as you're looking to appeal to first time buyers the use of those square IKEA units is clever as it will really speak to them.

The striped wallpaper is a little much, I think, though. You could consider painting over that. I love your mid-century style wallpaper in the downstairs rooms; it certainly wouldn't put me off.

I'd also try a better agent than Strike. A good local one will be worth its weight in gold; I never look at houses on the market with Strike or Purple Bricks as I assume the sellers are going to be difficult to deal with (which may be unfair) based on their decision to cut corners with the agency.

I'm sorry you've had such a run of bad luck but the previous interest you've had certainly shows that your house is definitely sell-able!

All the best.

Can't help OP, but I just wanted to say I've been planning a rainbow themed bedroom with the IKEA Kura bunk bed hack for my boys. Love what you've done! And beautiful house too - I hope you have a bit more luck selling going forward.