Want my house solddd

[PC96]

Hello,

im looking for some help in regards to selling my house. It’s been on the market now for nearly 2 months, we have had viewings but not as many as I would have hoped and still had no offers. I’m really wanting to sell so we can move closer to family as we have none around. I will link the add of the house. We don’t really want to lower the price anymore than we have due to needing a bigger house for my disabled son. but if anyone could give us some advice that would be great.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/137440307

Most people in the UK will say anything to avoid confrontation or offending anyone, a random person viewing your house will most likely just agree with you that it is priced correctly to avoid causing offence and making the viewing "weird", maybe later they discussed how much they could actually afford or their bank did a "desktop valuation" and it became apparent that it wasn`t actually priced correctly, also some people view loads of houses with a view to coming back to them if the price drops, and many people make offers (well they used to) that are wildly out of step with what their lender will actually give them when the house gets valued.

Well the kids are back in school now? Has anyone notified a sudden rush of new buyers to the market? Or indeed a sudden rush of new properties to market? Or was “summer holidays “ just another EA excuse to explain a stagnant market?

You're not far from me, OP, I know the market well there.

I know it's crap to hear, but it's the price. There are lots of positives but the area as you know isn't exactly sought after, and commuting into or through the centre is a pain from that side of the river - you can buy as big a house for the same money in a better area.

It needs to be a really good price for offers, buyers are being VERY picky at the moment.

What in your opinion is a realistic price for this house?

Your estate agent should be working to get this house sold and yours isn’t.

• He/she didn’t tell you to get a small tree with flowers into that front garden. Currently it looks like a breeze block.
• He put up your listing with a picture of the bog first! Of all things. Who does that?
• Your spare room needs an identity. It may have its faults but it is a good size. Show off the options available. Your agent thinks a photo of the fridge and all your coats is a selling point.
• Better photos with varying angles of all rooms.
• Realistic pricing.

Go through every other local agent’s listing and find someone with houses offered realistic in price, decent photos and in a proper order. You want an agent that takes proper care and attention. Someone who takes pride in their marketing.

Spend some time taking photos yourself from all angles then rearrange the furniture and take more photos. Then you can be more forceful in your discussions. Have you visited other houses, your direct competition, and seen how their photos relate to the actual rooms?

And I think you need a pot plant or two to soften your rooms.

I would definitely start with some curb appeal. I'd paint the fence panel at the front and would ad some pots with plants/flowers around the door and maybe along the drive at the edge of the graveled area. Maybe a bench under the window in the front. Also I agree with @TheSandgroper and other posters about the photo's taken. They need to be taken on a brighter day and better ones at that. And a few pot plants here and there in the house will give it a softer look.

You have a lovely house it's just not photographed to sell and your back garden is fab.

My house was up for sale last year and it had to asking price offers from the pics alone before anyone came to view it.

Time for EA`s to be more realistic with people? The problem is many of them (most?) make money from gouging landlords and their tenants as well so can still stay afloat with smaller sales numbers going through?

My house was up for sale last year and it had to asking price offers from the pics alone before anyone came to view it.

I think 'last year' is the key point in there, not like the market has changed or anything has it.

Just seems silly to me, (virtually) everyone here has said after viewing the listing, it's something to do with the price.

Hundreds of people who have viewed the ad have declined to go for a viewing and presumably bought somewhere else because it offered better value for money overall.

The few viewers that did view it did not make offers, so presumably they did not think it was worth the price as well.

But just because one person made a comment that may or may not be true about it being priced right, we think that they are right and everyone else is wrong, and putting pot plants with sticks in every room will make someone suddenly want to pay £30k more than they otherwise would.

Hope is a bit of a poor strategy in the current market, of course you could get lucky. But I doubt you would pay more than 2021 peak prices for a property that nothing was done to, so why expect someone to do it for yours.

I think a lovely house and yes you can tart up the front garden a bit - but I suspect the real reason it isn't selling is the price ( and a poster said before - no-one cares what price you need to move - they only care about what they can afford. ) If someone said the price is right but did not come back - ask the Ea to ask them again what put them off. I do think it is a nice house but you need better feedback from the EA. Or decide what offers you would take.

I’ve had a conversation with my husband about it and I agree with you all and I would be happy to take in excess of out/ change the pictures and even drop the price but my husband is so against dropping the price and I can’t do it without him being happy as well. We have another viewing next week so after that viewing we will have another talk but although inside the house we haven’t done much apart from cosmetic things we have spent around 20k re doing the whole garden as it was a really bad garden and adding a big shed to the side of the house which I know people still won’t care about regarding the price. I personally would just like to now get the lower end of our valuation which I still think will be a huge log shot but if we have to stay on the market for a while then I guess so be it. This was our first house which we brought to get onto the housing market being young and not wanting to waste the money but we shall see what happens. I do really appreciate everyone’s comments though it has really made me think and given me a in-site on what really is happening with the market at the moment

I would agree with everything there, except I wouldn`t assume the viewers bought somewhere else, there is very little on the market just now priced to make sense of the new (old) interest rate world we are in, the recent figures for mortgage applications and sales are telling us that more and more people are just staying where they are and not buying.

If that big room on the side is also being used as a home office and kids play room space then I think the photos need to show this. At the moment it looks like a giant utility room / garage space. Could you use furniture or shelving somehow to sub divide that space? The conservatory could also do with a "purpose".

Best to let people viewing visualise their own "purpose" IMO, initially they are just looking at size, location and as mentioned many times....price.

Glad you had the conversation, that's at least the first hurdle out of the way. I looked in your area in your sort of bracket briefly yesterday. There are a lot of similarly priced properties that are either reducing by tiny amounts and not selling, or just not selling.

If you get to the stage where the next viewer doesn't make an offer, I recommend you and your husband drop the price immediately to the lowest possible amount you can afford to take and still put a roof over your head.

A couple of things to note with this strategy:

Don't confuse what you want with what you need, they will be very different figures.

The 'slow bleed' tactic of a 2k reduction here and a 5k reduction there simply isn't working in this market, the reduction really has to stand out; I saw a house go from 325 to 290 last week and my immediate reaction was 'okay, now they're really serious about selling, I should give this property consideration again.'

You don't HAVE to accept any offers, but what it will do is get a ton more people through the door than it has before now, because you will be making the most substantial reduction in the area; it tells buyers you are SERIOUS about moving.

If you have a good agent, they should be able to play one offer off against the next offer and get you somewhere closer to what you want rather than what you need.

Don't always accept the highest £ offer; consideration needs to be given to a) how proceedable they are b) how good their finances are and c) your gut feeling on whether you trust them; lots and lots of chains are breaking down; if you sit in a chain that breaks down, in three months time your house might be worth 6% less - so, weigh up the money amount against how you and the agent feel about the buyer.

Do not, under any circumstances be tempted by your agent offering to sell your house 'quickly' by Modern Method of Auction. It's very scammy; the seller ends up with far lower than the house is worth, the buyer has to pay absolutely extortionate and unrecoverable fees, most of whom won't even do it anyway, the only people winning are the estate agents, auction houses and lawyers.

Buy some large potted trees 🌳 to put by the front door and various other potted plants 🪴 because the front looks cold an uninviting

It is purely the price. Definitely not my taste or location though x

@PC96 definitely get the garden redevelopment added to the Right Move advert text.

The thing is most viewers who have some brains can Google and see what the garden was like before, and it wasn't terrible really, just unkept.

Some people don't care and prefer the blank canvas because then they can do it how they want. For instance, some people may hate artificial grass so will take it out. Others might dislike so much decking and just want a real lawn.

I think the husband has fallen into the trap of 'I have spent £20k on the garden therefore the value must have risen by £20k'. But it doesn't work like that at all.
You might think your alterations are very valuable because they are exactly to your taste and your lifestyle. But a viewer might see the before and after pics and only rate putting in decking at a few £k because they don't value it as highly.

Ultimately it is the viewers opinion that makes the price though. And of course like I said before you might get lucky and for one viewer the house will be exactly what they what at the right price. But the longer it goes on, the less likely it is that person exists.

If you're keen to sell I think you have to be honest, look at the rest of the competition and ensure you're the best value out of everything. That's not just fellow 3 beds but the trade up to 4 beds as well. It just seems there are a lot of houses up for sale, going unsold.

Sorry to say, this poster is correct. I fall into the 'don't want any of that' camp. I would buy your house because it's a nice house but I would have to wipe all the garden changes and additions out and start from scratch.

I guess it's only wise to drop serious money on a house if you know you will be there a long time, so the value for money comes from the length of time you get to enjoy it for.

A nice photo of the outside on a sunny day would bring people into the listing, and something pretty in a pot just to make it more welcoming.

inside is for the most part a blank canvas, but a bit soulless. Some coloured throws/cushions about the place and if you’re able to pop something on the walls?

The utility I agree needs a declutter. Everywhere else is so clear.

I don't know the area at all but otherwise I think it's a lovely house and it will sell easily at the right price. The lack of viewers suggest it's overpriced.

Things I assume about your house from the photos:
The weather is always grim and cloudy (I know it's not but that's the impression photo 1 gives).
You have no shower.
The third bedroom is teeny tiny.
You have a big room downstairs that has no discernible use and no storage.

The kitchen and living room are nice.

*That should read lack of offers and less viewings than hoped for

I would say the front of the house looks dull-some tubs or hanging baskets or something- also I would pretty up the walls a bit with some modern art- it looks a bit rented house/bare - our house is rented but looks way more like a home.

That's not to say it's not nice- the bones are lovely and you have nice taste!!

@PC96 sorry forgot to say- I appreciate what you are saying about price- but that's irrelevant to a buyer. The market on average is down about 8% from 2022 , so around what you paid us more realistic- but same is true of what you might want to buy