No viewings - please tell me what I need to change in house!

[Whywontitsell]

Desperately trying to sell a house that we've never lived in and is nowhere near where we're currently living. We move around with DH's job and have accommodation provided with that, so we bought the house 6 years ago to keep us on the ladder.

We've already dropped the price from £500k to £490k to now £475k, but there's just zero interest. It's definitely not looking its best having had (good) tenants in for the past few years - some dodgy curtains left up and some hanging off the track! So the pics definitely aren't selling it well.

We live about a 3 hour drive away but I have a week off soon. If I go through there to do some work - what would I be best to focus on? The showhome pics make it look so nice - I presume you can't add a link to these on the Rightmove ad? An empty house is just so unappealing...

I would really appreciate any advice...

House:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/143709212#/?channel=RES_BUY

it looks cosmetically awful

it needs to be described as a cosmetic reno project with loads of potential

the en-suite looks… cosy

what’s in it?

Can you stage it, hire furniture to make it look like a home. Without furniture and an outdoor setting it looks a bit blah, and considering the location isn’t fantastic ( for me I need walkability to amenities) then you need it to look like a fantastic warm family home

It just needs updating, at the moment it looks a bit bleugh and that's not catching the eye.

I know you're supposed to be able to envision your own furniture, but I just struggle to get a sense of room size when they're so blank.

The second and third pics aren’t the most inviting as the carpet looks stained .
i know buyers should be able to see beyond decor but most can’t .

aside from that unit just too overpriced for the area because it got decent sized rooms and enough toilets . So must be price or something nearby putting people off

Many people have no imagination. I think you need to stage it.

What a gorgeous house. I would ask for the images to be remembered eg put image 5 as image 2 and so on. Straighten up the curtains for new images and put a decent bulb in that en suite wc.

Do you have any old photos with furniture in??
Yep those curtains need fixing
Maybe clean the carpets to fix the furniture shadows

Can you get a company in to stage it? Hard to get a good idea of room sizes when they're empty. Also a lot of people are very influenced by decor/a house looking stylish as they aren't able to picture it accurately with their own stuff. My DH is like this, can't look past the decoration at all as he just hasn't got a good visual imagination.

I'd maybe wet wash the carpets but it looks fine to me. I think it's the market - awful for selling. But you only need one buyer. Is the agent really really good? You don't need a lacklustre agent right now

how long on market

fundamentally it is a bit tatty and run down

so “staging it” is going to do bugger all aside from give better photos that in RL is irrelevant as the tattiness is seen in person

reword the spec to include “cosmetic reno” and “potential” and it will get interest

don’t waste money on staging

The pictures aren’t very flattering so I would get them retaken especially the one where it looks like you have a toilet in a cupboard.

it also looks over priced similar properties in your area are on for 25k less

Compare your price with recent sales locally. The market isn't what it was. Get onto your Estate Agent and ask for Frank feedback. They'll want the sale as much as you do.

I live in Dorset (Purbecks) and know where this development is / I've driven past a few times. Is there any way you can continue to rent it out until the full development is finished off as that may put people off? Rentals are in shortage here at the moment so you can get a great monthly income on it still. If definitely needing to sell then you need to stage it to look homely. New builds have a reputation for being soulless and not homely. I say this living in a new build! Lots of soft furnishings (and furniture!!) And also put some attention into the garden as a space that can be used. The weather here is lovely and lots of people spend most of the year outside, try make the garden an extension of the house. When you sell a house you're generally selling a lifestyle that people are seeking - give it some life and a personality. For what it's worth, I'd view this house if the development was finished even if the inside wasn't 'done' as I know that to get an affordable house round here you need to go new build and put your own stamp on it. And it's a good size and nice looking house on the outside. Also in a useful area for commuting out. Good luck x

I like it and would happily move in. Something like that here would be over a million. However if that is towards the top of what people will pay for that size house, it really needs to look immaculate and people need to visualise living there. I think either drop the price or stage it with furniture.

The photos are dreadful. I think it could be worth getting a staging company in.

It’s lovely from the outside but looks drab inside, the carpets are gross and there’s nothing to catch your eye. Also seems overpriced but I don’t know the area

I would make sure the room sizes are on the floor plan -

It's also possibly slightly overpriced if similar are up for less

The photos aren't the best for showing it off- it has a walk in wardrobe- that's really useful so show it

Lovely house in a very nice area, it 'should' go

Nothing particularly wrong with the house. I can see it needs new carpets and fresh paint etc, but it's not enough work required to stop it selling. No kitchens or bathrooms required!

However, when you look at the market it's about £100k more than other 3beds currently available.

Yes, it's larger than many of those, but is it really going to attract people who want a 3 bed home if they can have £100k less on their mortgage?

Perhaps look at how it's marketed? Three bed, ideal for walking to the park and ride into Salisbury, then xx minutes to central London or something?

Street view shows it as part of a new build development with construction work still ongoing all around it - I assume that's finished now? Might be worth adding that the development was completed in xxxx (year) to avoid that misunderstanding.

Otherwise it just needs a spot of refreshing of the falling down curtains etc, and better photos taken.

Not sure what you can do!

The ensuite looks a bit grim tbh. That photo is not doing it (or the bedroom) any favours. I would have taken it with the door shut.

I would probably fix/remove the hanging curtain.

Then I would put a small round white table in the kitchen and chairs so you can see how you might eat in there. It would make that room more complete (and actually, bigger).

I might possibly put a large neutral rug in the first room pictured (lounge?) with the brown carpet as in the pics the carpet cleaner lines give it a worn and grubby look.

I don't think you need to put furniture in the rest because too little and it would just look lost and a bit sparse.

It looks really nice from the outside so I think it will be price.

The carpets look dirty and it has no soul. Nobody is going to walk in and love it. Stage it or replace the carpets and paint the walls to brighten it up. It’s lovely looking from the front.

It's a fabulous house but the photos are so half arsed. Can you take a step ladder with you and take pics yourself (you need to get up high). I imagine these pics will look at least 80% better!
Also part of the issue is the decor is so similar throughout it's hard to tell which room you are looking at.

Yes, that pic looks awful! I can't remember the ensuite, but I don't remember it being so tiny. I believe it has the usual - loo, basin and shower.

@forrestgreen I've only been in the house once, when we viewed it, so unfortunately no pics with furniture. We have a lot of (quite nice) furniture - I did think about hiring a van and driving as much as I can over to at least make the living room and master bedroom look nice, but it'll be a lot of upheaval as we're moving to a completely different area to both the house and where we are at the mo.