House not selling (link included)

[Boogiebot]

So any ideas not even had one viewing so far. Reducing to 120,000 tomorrow. Desperately needing sold.

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/64148638/?search_identifier=5cf6ed05360ba992399499c99f058b272e441b5f893551e96f8a5bb506cc3fab

I’d echo Pp floor plan, desticker, paint stuff white, retake photos.

On a side note how cheap is property there? I think I might retire to Thurso in a 50k flat.

It looks very dark.
Could you paint it all the same light colour?
Agree you need a floor plan and garden picture.
Good luck

Get a picture of the garden, for me that would be key.

Agree about floor plan. And if it's larger than it looks, get sparse furniture to prove that.

I think the lack of floor plan and furniture is a problem because from the listing it doesn’t look significantly larger than the others. Seems to be some variation in price, with some 3 bed properties sold as low as £67500-80000. If you want 110, why not just put it on for 110 or 115? Have you made significant changes to it?

I agree that the listing could be better. I’m always very suspicious that the layout is weird when there is no floor plan. Also the photos could be better and should include the outside space.

OP I think I looks a little cramped - kitchen dark. Low ceilings etc.

OP, if you'd be happy with £110k take it off the market. Instruct the EA to put together a full listing (with layout, descriptions/title against the photos, and photos of the garden) and then re-list at offers over £110k. I'd be very unhappy with the minimal effort that the EA has tossed into that listing.

That sounds like a good plan @Boogiebot I am glad you are now safe to do so.

Ditch that Estate Agent though, they have done you no favours at all. With the new EA say you want to approve the photos beforehand, insist on a floor plan and check the description of the property too to make sure it is actually selling the property.

It really doesn't look massive inside it looks the opposite.

Good luck.

What’s in the home report OP? Anything of concern? 1 and 2 or any 3s?

You need a floor plan and much better photos. As others have said there are no garden shots. The house looks dark and dated but that can be overcome if everything else is in place properly.

I think it looks nice. a clean slate.
I wouldn't bother enquiring about a house with no photos of the garden.

Storage heaters are off-putting.

We want to sell and move but we can't because the interest rates would make the mortgage payments unaffordable right now. it might be that.

It's very dated. It looks like it would take a lot of work to modernise.

Be very honest here - I wouldnt even view it. It looks like it was a rental before, which I wouldnt be keen on as likely no maintenance was done, the dark wood is very dated, it would need a new kitchen and bathroom, I would want to strip everything out, flooring coverings, wallpaper etc. And it doesnt have central heating so that would be a huge negative for me and I wouldnt buy it purely because of that. The lack of floorplan is irritating too.

You need to give your agents a bit of a kick I think. Are there other firms locally? Floorplan is basic and you will not get any traffic without one. I'd ask the agent to redo the photos too though, they all make the rooms look quite poky and low ceilings.

Your EA's photographer isn't very good.

for ex: the blue room - it's a very unflattering photo with the poorly hung blue curtains, taken on the same sight line - it would have been better to have taken it on the diagonal, so you'd get a sense of light and space, rather than the weird angle.

Garden photo definitely needed.

I had no idea where it was do had a look on Google. The factbyhst there isn't a floor plan is a big negative, particularly as rooms look an unusual shape. If the shape is unusual.but people can see dimensions it might answer some of their questions. The fact that you do not have much furniture in there not picture of outside space would also.prevent me from.viewing. good luck OP

Floor plan is essential, otherwise people assume you’re hiding some sort of problem.

white paint everywhere if you can

photos aren’t doing you any favours, particularly the kitchen one which make the ceiling look very low and oppressive.

it’s a nice little house that should sell quickly with better photos and a slightly lower price

No, this is how the market works in Scotland. 95% of listings will be offers over. Putting a property on at a fixed price does happen, but is more unusual.

I would think in the OP's situation it would be a good move if she wants to get rid of it quick. Fixed price £115k and see how it goes.

Agree with everyone else that it needs a floor plan.
The pictures the estate agent has taken are awful so I’d ask for those to be redone.

It definitely needs a bit of sprucing up (it looks like there are other houses on the the market nearby for a similar price that are in better condition).
I think you might need to either spend a bit of time and money doing it up or cut the price.

The most cost-effective jobs would be:

• Repainting the living room (the paint looks really patchy). The ceilings are low so I’d paint everything the same shade of white.
• Remove all the curtains (unless you’re still living there). They don’t really fit and don’t make it look better.
• Put flooring down in both bathrooms (even if it’s cheap laminate/vinyl in a pale wood or tile effect). The grey carpet/concrete looks terrible. The areas are pretty small so it shouldn’t be too expensive and would make a massive impact.
• Paint the green bathroom. I’d paint the wood (including the beams, bath panel and sink unit) white and the walls a pale blue/grey/beige.
• Remove the wall stickers in the child’s room and repaint the walls in a pale neutral colour (if they need doing- hopefully the stickers haven’t damaged the paint). I’d consider repainting the beams/skirting boards white, but it probably wouldn’t be a priority. If you’re not living there then take out the bed.
• The silver room ideally needs a new carpet but a really good clean would probably help (and be a lot less expensive). Ideally you’d remove the wallpaper and repaint the room. If that’s too difficult (some wallpaper is really hard to remove) then I’d at least make sure that it’s stuck down properly. Is there a hole in the wall/is it a storage space? Whatever it is, I’d make sure that it’s closed. I’d definitely get rid of the curtains.
• The room with the green carpet. I’d get rid of the art on the walls, paint the whole thing white and get rid of the curtains. (Whoever buys it will probably want to get rid of the carpet but it’s expensive for you to do and it’s cheaper and quicker for you to just change the clashing wall colour and curtains).
• If it has a garden then ask the estate agent to include pictures of it (be honest with yourself about whether it needs tidying up before he takes these pictures).
• I’d try and deep clean all the carpets (hire a washer vacuum for a weekend). They all look a bit tired/stained but new flooring is too expensive for what the house is worth. It’ll also make the house smell a lot fresher (house’s tend to smell a bit musty if they’ve been empty for a while).

The kitchen and what I assume is the dining room both look good (you can’t do anything about the ceiling height and the cabinets/flooring look in good condition, they’re definitely fine for the price you’re selling for).

Other people have mentioned that it looks like a non-standard build. If people will struggle to get a mortgage on it/struggle to rent it out then it’s going to be harder to sell even if you make it look nicer.

I’m sorry you had to deal with that.

I think with minor changes and a better listing you will get the house sold. Your estate agent hasn’t done a good job at all!

Even a quick paint job will make a huge difference to how it’s presented.

Thurso is one of the most northern parts of the UK and is at a similar latitude to Oslo and Stockholm. The price will be very dependent on the Thurso housing market as Thurso is so far away from the rest of the UK.

£128,000 is the average house price (uo from £115,000 in 2019) so priced as offers above £125,000 is about average for the area.

EPC F and electric heating is particularly concerning given the climate in Thurso.

people need a floor plan to work out if they house is suitable for them. I would be suspicious of a place where someone couldn't be bothered to include a floor plan as in it needs to sell in a hurry and why!

We had to sell a property with an old kitchen and bathroom so I know how it feels. I wouldn't worry that much about these as you won't replace them now, but they need to look clean and functional. However:

• paint the walls cream or white
• paint the dark woodwork white.- it DOES make a huge difference, believe me.
• definitely a floor plan, also give dimensions for all the rooms

-tidy up the front and back gardens, and absolutely include photos with them. Put some garden furniture in the back garden if you can, if not, just make sure it doesn't look neglected ( cut the grass, tidy up the plants etc)

• mention the storage space in the garden if there is a shed etc, make sure the fences are not broken, paint them if necessary.

-mention what parking is available

• if possible, replace the dark blue carpet with a lighter one, and, in the case of the curtains, might be better just take them off altogether.
• if possible. have some new photos taken on a sunnier day - everything looks better on a sunny day!
• any old furniture left in the house, just get rid.

Make the house be "a clean blank page", someone will buy it.

Good luck!

Dark wood does not put me off.

No floorplan.

No picture of back garden.

On google street view front looks poorly tended, weed and tidy it.

Pictures are poor. The room with the light blue curtains looks like it slopes. I'm sure it doesnt but it's a terrible picture. I would paint that dark wall as it doesnt go with carpet (dislike that but not worth you replacing it) or curtains. Remove whatever is on the wall and take the picture at a lower angle to avoid showing the beams.

An all grey bedroom would depress me utterly. I'd assume the gap was a sliding door that could be closed, close it. If you have lighter curtains it would make that look less depressing.

Room with the child's bed needs the curtains drawn fully back when photographing to make it look lighter.

Kitchen looks like it is off the living area so a photo taken from a little further back would show that and make it look less dark.

The ceiling beams and electric radiators would put me off.