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Original poster

What's wrong with my friends house?

332 replies

Moonflower12 · 09/08/2023 18:12

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/134607254?utmcampaign=property-details&utmmcontent=buying&utmmedium=sharing&utmmsource=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY

This is a friend's property. She has dropped the price but still not getting any interest. She has tracked the interest in the property using the Rightmove tracker.

The most interest has been when it's been on a Facebook period property page.

She had 4 EAs value the property and took the lowest valuation.

Is the Estate Agent being crap or is there another reason?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
8
Original poster
Moonflower12 · 09/08/2023 18:58

@XVGN
She has renovated it- roof, heating, cellar, attic, windows etc.
When she bought it, it was very rundown and in need of a lot of work, which she has done.

OP posts:
Lig · 09/08/2023 18:59

It’s a stunning house.

The market right now is unstable, people are being more cautious. Although the price has been reduced, it’s still almost £600,000. The pool of potential buyers will be smaller for a house like this.

It really is gorgeous though.

Original poster
Moonflower12 · 09/08/2023 18:59

@melmos
Buy it!!

OP posts:
DonttouchthatLarry · 09/08/2023 18:59

Gorgeous house but if I was spending that amount I wouldn't buy there - too close to Whitmore Reans I'm afraid. That house is far too nice for the area.

ActDottie · 09/08/2023 19:00

RedHelenB · 09/08/2023 18:30

It's dated, although I can see beyond the paint choices and furniture.I don't like the open shelves in the kitchen so straight away I'm thinking I'll need to spend more money. Garden is great though All down to price, to me I think it's a reasonable price for the amount of house and garden but I don't know the area.

It’s not dated it just dressed sympathetically to the era of the house which is the best way.

OP the house is lovely I think it’s just the market atm nothing is selling fast and is generally reduced before selling round here atm. Your friend could lower the price and see if that gets it more interest.

Escapingtherealityoflife · 09/08/2023 19:01

Soveryunwell · 09/08/2023 18:34

It’s lovely but the thought of the heating bills, I grew up in a house lien that and it was very cold.

My first thought was also the cost to heat. It looks beautiful but I’m afraid these days practicality would win over style given the likely energy rises in the future, especially if the government wants us all on air source.

tsmainsqueeze · 09/08/2023 19:01

If that was my budget i would choose a more rural area.
Some of the colours are a bit dated and i would expect a great kitchen.
I've seen this house on rightmove before and i love it ,and the garden , i do think it has a touch of the Adams family about it , but that really appeals to me .

Original poster
Moonflower12 · 09/08/2023 19:02

@Elsiebear90
Thank you.
The neighbours' daughter actually goes to WGGS. And some of the viewings have been due to its proximity to there.

OP posts:
SuperiorM · 09/08/2023 19:03

RedHelenB · 09/08/2023 18:30

It's dated, although I can see beyond the paint choices and furniture.I don't like the open shelves in the kitchen so straight away I'm thinking I'll need to spend more money. Garden is great though All down to price, to me I think it's a reasonable price for the amount of house and garden but I don't know the area.

That’s not dated, down south we don’t want aggressively modernised houses. Classic styling with good stony colours far better. I think it’s just the falling market, people not buying.

cancan678 · 09/08/2023 19:03

The kitchen needs better photos. People expect good kitchens especially for that price.

Doggymummar · 09/08/2023 19:03

It's beautiful, but in a road where average sales prices and 200,000 cheaper. My guess would be it's not a nice area, not great schools or just not where someone with that budget wants to live, or thinks of looking

LovelyAutumndays · 09/08/2023 19:04

I think the fact that only 6 years later she is selling and wants £220,000 more would put me off. It comes across as just greed rather than it being a fair increase.
The house market is about to crash and mortgage rates are at an all time high. It would make me think that the property is overpriced and the seller is taking one last chance at a sell before it crashes.

Also the road it is on does not look too appealing. You would expect it to be surrounded by other large houses.

Danikm151 · 09/08/2023 19:04

I’d say the price is high for a house in Wolves. It’s not considered a commuter town really so those with higher budgets would be looking closer to main cities.
It also looks like it would be cold in the winter( probably not with the improvements but hard to tell from photos)
6 bedrooms would be a lot of upkeep and maintenance.

Original poster
Moonflower12 · 09/08/2023 19:06

@cancan678
Thank you for that, she was wondering about the kitchen. She can't afford to replace it, so is having it repainted in a more neutral colour and the woodwork redone in the hope it looks fresher.

OP posts:
SuperiorM · 09/08/2023 19:06

AgathaMillersGoneMissing · 09/08/2023 18:45

For the same price, you can get this. I know nothing about Wolverhampton, but I'm guessing this is in a much more desirable street as it's greener and doesn't have unkempt buildings on the same street or flats with a number painted on the wall a few houses down.

The house isn't as grand looking, but you can't change the location of your friends house.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/127622948#/?channel=RES_BUY

Not as nice as the house in the OPs post

SuperiorM · 09/08/2023 19:06

Moonflower12 · 09/08/2023 19:06

@cancan678
Thank you for that, she was wondering about the kitchen. She can't afford to replace it, so is having it repainted in a more neutral colour and the woodwork redone in the hope it looks fresher.

I thought the kitchen was one of the best things

KievLoverTwo · 09/08/2023 19:07

It's a poor EPC for a house of that size. See the estimated annual running cost of more than 7k? Double or triple that. They are always wildly inaccurate.

It would pay her to make some of the improvements the EPC suggests and try to get it up to at least a D. Then get a new EPC done, drop the price a bit and see how it goes from there.

The rentals I am seeing hanging around for the longest periods of time right now are often 1500-3500 sq ft with EPCs of E.

SuperiorM · 09/08/2023 19:09

Busubaba · 09/08/2023 18:57

Nice house but I personally hate those coloured walls and would paint all neutral if selling.

Interesting, I’d have thought that would bring the price down as neutral is not in

dinoice · 09/08/2023 19:10

@patterpittercake ? I don’t follow. Yes it’s an advert asking for advice?

it’s a lovely house. Just location and price I think.

ZeldaWillTellYourFortune · 09/08/2023 19:11

SkipHopJumpSplatWallop · 09/08/2023 18:50

It’s a nice house. The outside is stunning (garden and building). For me, what I’m seeing on the inside isn’t matching up with how it looks from the outside. The inside looks a bit ordinary and dated. To change it would probably cost a fortune and winter fuel bills will be large. So that could be what is putting people off.

Really? I think the inside is classic and very nice. Green with envy!

I'd stain or paint the pine doors, though, they are too rustic. And while I'd be happy with the kitchen, it's not as posh as some might expect. Open shelving is such a dust catcher.

travelogue · 09/08/2023 19:11

No idea about relative prices in the area but purely on the house itself I would say the kitchen is a bit basic / short on units (and the floor looks knackered) and it's a bathroom short upstairs. In other words if I wanted a stylish period 6 bed house for a large family I'd be thinking I would have to do work. Other than that it's absolutely gorgeous!

Rainbowsandrainclouds1 · 09/08/2023 19:13

Its a beautiful house with lots of potential.

However, as someone who loves relativly locally and is casually looking for something in the area in that type of price range, I would say:

  • I wouldnt pay that much for a property with on road parking
  • the area isn't at all good and the house doesnt fit the area
  • there is no frontage
  • it's a big and beautiful period house which means it will be hugely expensive to maintain

None of this is something your friend can change. A house is only worth what someone is prepared to pay, so despite what the EA sat, it clearly isn't worth that much.

The other option would be to try and attrat an investor who wants to turn it into a HMO or flats.

ZeldaWillTellYourFortune · 09/08/2023 19:13

Would the school buy it as an executive residence/conference space, i wonder?

SleepyHedgehog · 09/08/2023 19:16

I love that house. Being straight onto the street would be a compromise, but I could live with it. The location I could not live with and would feel disappointed as I scroll on to the next house in the list..... sorry the issue is the price to area ratio, no house improvements would justify the price to me.

Crikeyalmighty · 09/08/2023 19:16

I used to live in Wolverhampton many years ago - the problem is there is a limit to who wants an amazingly lovely house (and it is) in a rather unamazing area. You have to drop on the odd person looking for a huge house - where size is everything. - and that's luck and timing- and it's not a city where relocaters from the south would tend to go either