No views on House

[Fimilo]

First time poster long time lurker, sorry if not in the right place. We have put our house on the market, in Scotland the home report determines the market value. We have put it as offers over but £5000 under the market value.

House has been on the market for just over 2 weeks with not one viewing, last house in the street sold for £10,000 over ours current market value. They are very rarely available, ours is a blank canvas for someone to walk into and make their own.

At a loss as to why, unsure if we should reduce the price, change estate agents, take it off the market completely just now. So disheartening.

Any advice welcome

There were two styles of interior in our street, ours and the layout of the OP's. Ours was slightly more expensive at first sale, but both were marketed as 3-bed homes.

Dormer bungalows are always smaller upstairs than downstairs as the upper bedrooms are in the eaves.

My son moved into his downstairs room when he was 9. He loved his room and stayed there even when he had the chance to move upstairs as an adult.

Our house in Scotland had a bedroom downstairs. Not unusual at all. It has built in robes, of course it's a bedroom. Would be an odd shaped room to stick a dining table in. People say some stupid shit on here.

I think the rear garden needs a bit of work, whats the rough, bare area at the back?
Also street lights at back does it back onto busy road or similar?
It probably is a bit too neutral -some cushions, plants, pictures or accessories, would bring it to life and inject a bit of colour. Im not keen in very black bathroom wall
But a lot if it is just personal taste and if its right price it will sell but I think the market is very slow at moment due to economic climate so not a good time to be moving.

OP, your house is nicely presented. I wouldn’t spend anything on it, as you wouldn’t make it back.

But it’s not a 3 bedroom house. It really doesn’t matter how it was built. Most houses do not have bedrooms downstairs, unless they are clearly defined with an en-suite. Buyers will compare the price of your house with other 2 bedroom houses and find it overpriced. You street looks nice, so to sell for that price, you need the kind of buyer who specially wants to live in that location. Otherwise your house will be compared with other houses that have one extra bedroom.

It is unusual. Just because you had it, doesn’t make it the norm. The vast majority of houses do not have bedrooms downstairs unless it’s a garage conversion, most of which are not badly.

I know the area and the market Op and this is what I’d do.

1. take it off the market for a few weeks while you do this and put it back on mid August .
2. Reassess the market then and see if you need to drop price to OO 249 and try and get enough interests to go to a closing date
3. get a company in to give you advice and perhaps stage it for you, it will probably cost about £1-2k , it depends as they can’t do a full staging with you still living there
4. borrow some cushions / rugs/mirrors / lamps/ pictures / spare bedding /throws / plants from some of your most stylish friends
5. paint the sheds and fences in the back garden, beg borrow or steal some nice plants in pots and classy garden furniture
6. get someone in to clean your monoblock driveway
7. weed the circle in the middle of the front lawn and put down wood chips
8. change the warm white light bulbs in the bathroom and kitchen to cool white
9. get all the photos retaken, the ones you have now are emphasising the weak points and not the strong ones. A good home stager will give advice on this.

Yes it’s a lot of work and some money but you will get it back in increased interested in your property. It’s a slowing market Im afraid and your house is priced aggressively and needs a bit more aspirational style.

@Swrigh1234 wow thank you for your superior knowledge, may us all bow down to you 😂

@AndyMcFlurry has given some really useful advice.
I think some posters have got really bogged down with the bedrooms debate but that is missing the real issue which is very likely to be the price in the current market.

Thanks, amazing what you can learn when you listen.

@Swrigh1234 that's ok I will put my faith in the qualified independent surveyor over a random on the internet that thinks they know everything....

I think my advice was pretty much what @AndyMcFlurry said!!

Well exactly. Come and see my dining room with its built in wardrobes! 🙄What has really shocked me on this thread (apart from the usual bitchiness about the OP's personal taste and style), is that there are so many people out there who simply cannot compute the idea of a bedroom downstairs. Maybe we're just all a bit more open-minded in the west of Scotland.

Plenty of downstairs bedrooms in the east of Scotland as well...

What has struck me is the superior attitudes whilst also showing that you have no understanding of the Scottish system.

Have a look at the sold price info the the OP's street. All the lodge style houses have the third bedroom on the ground floor. It's on all the floorplans. Now look at the shape: it is obvious the ground floor space is bigger which is why the third bedroom is there.

That said, not having all the bedrooms on the same floor will put off some potential buyers.

OP I think you have over tidied and it looks a bit spartan and not homely. Kitchens and bathrooms sell houses so if they don't appeal.to people/they start pricing in replacing them to their own taste and they've been mentioned by a number of posters.

It is unusual. Just because you had it, doesn’t make it the norm. The vast majority of houses do not have bedrooms downstairs unless it’s a garage conversion, most of which are not badly.

No, it isn't. Maybe leave England once in a while.

Wait til they hear that my Scottish house has 2 bedrooms downstairs!

Downstairs bedrooms dont just exist in Scotland, chalet bugalows are all over the UK and all have downstairs bedrooms. My parents live in one in South East London

This thread is weird. Lots of people have a downstairs third bedroom. My best friend's 1970s bungalow conversion has her oldest son's room downstairs and plenty have them as a home office with sofa bed for guests who can't manage stairs.

Anyway... I work in mortgages. It's quiet in July/August across the whole UK, people are frightened of negative equity, and people don't really want to pay nearly 7% as a fixed rate. Give it time.

OP, how does the home report read? Also, does it include a mortgage valuation or not? Basically, who did it?

its a standard format. Yes it includes a mortgage valuation. It’s done by a chartered surveyor. Just google it.

Have you had a name change fail OP? Some HRs do not have a mortgage valuation as the “surveyor” is not on any panel. I was just asking as those can go against sellers. Sellers go with a cheap option that doesn't have one to save a few quid but sadly they do usually just go against them in the end. Not always a standard format so i don't need to google.

@happywotsit I can't tell if you are in Scotland or not.

In Scotland, only the seller gets a survey/home report. It covers the condition of the house (and any repairs needed) and a valuation which also includes one for mortgage purposes. Also includes the energy report.

Buyers don't get their own survey.

Have a look on Rightmove for any town in Scotland for any property and the home report will most likely be on there or a link to the estate agent that will give it out for free.