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

Some droopy curtains wouldn't put me off buying this house. I think it is lovely. Detached = dreamy for a start.

You’re asking too much. There’s a house up the road which is much nicer and also 3 beds and on for £450k. There are multiple houses in the town which are smaller but much nicer and characterful and far less money. Drop your price to £395k and you might get some viewings. Otherwise spend a few grand getting if staged and decorated. I would say that is more than you can do alone in a week if you want the price you’re asking.

Square footage is one of the first things I look at. I find it incredibly annoying when there aren’t proper floor plans. It’s a good indication to get a real idea of size compared to photos, which don’t always reflect true size.
when you are selling your own home i find it a really good comparison tool as you know your current home really well and puts the ‘new’ house into perspective

Take the curtains down and give the carpets a quick clean. I do think the biggest issue is the poor photos. We have two estate agents locally and when they are selling the same house the difference in photos is crazy. One uses a professional photographer and the lighting, angle etc makes all the difference.

Lovely house, hope u get it sold soon 🤞🏻

We just sold a house where tenant left. Awful agent and we changed. They said to hire furniture but that was really expensive. The agent then without us even knowing sent us the pictures for approval and lots of lovely furniture was digitally inserted and we got lots of viewings and an offer after the second one. They were pro—active and a breath of fresh air!!

When you get new photos, make sure there are shots of the understairs storage, the utility room, the cloakroom, and the walk in closet. At present, the en suite looks like a loo in a cupboard so you need a photo or a couple of photos showing its features, taken from inside it.

I agree you could get AI generated photos with furniture and nice curtains and hints of lifestyle (flowers, plants, bowls of fruit, etc).

Looking at the current photos again, they're truly bad.

I don't think Salisbury is a very expensive area (used to live nearby) I think the house is overpriced, but would say that presentation is everything when selling a house, you want it to look like it's lived in & so I'd definitely put furniture in it & paint it, might really help. Also shows some better pictures of the garden

Yeah - substandard agent and 'overpriced'. Nothing m the decor,would put ,e off

Hmm I don't know, a blank canvas, is great for when you want to move into a house.
It looks like a nice house, do you know what other houses in the area, similar in size are going for? Could it be on for too much.

You definitely need to hang the curtains properly, photograph the ensuite and also take one of the back garden from the house so buyers can see the whole thing.

I'm sure it will sell, just a bad time of year.......

Make sure it is spotlessly clean. Put up new curtains. Make sure it smells nice - use plug in air fresheners. Adjust price as may be that that is putting people off. If that fails then you should dress it with hired furniture for another set of photos. It looks a lovely house to me. I’d buy it if I wanted to live in the area.

I'm guessing the problem is the price.

Get another agent in to asses and maybe take over the sale.
Your agent should be working for their money - this one has obviously done nothing. Have they actively been calling their client base? What feedback has the agent given you?
They havent even put dimensions or placed the kitchen/bathroom details in the floorplan.
The photos with the curtains could have been done much better by drawing the curtains back to ket in the light and the one with the dodgy curtain needs attention and that photo with the loo in the bedroom? Get rid.

I've never understood this idea that a house has to be tarted up for viewing. Are buyers THAT shallow and unimaginative? Anyone who really cares about decor is going to rip yours out anyway! Isn't it really all about location, size and structure?
The only reason a house doesn't sell is that it's overpriced for the prevailing market.

The bedroom curtains are too short and falling off the tracks. Surely you can get some proper fitting curtains. It looks very bland. A few green plants and clean the carpets.

My sister was looking at 3 BR properties in Salisbury a few months ago (autumn 2023). The one she bought was £475k but it’s smaller than OP’s, and walkable from Cathedral. If no viewings at all since Oct though then sadly it seems price is the issue. Plus the EA’s listing is very lazy. Poor photos/ diagram & the text does not sell the property at all. I’d speak to other EAs about price, options for staging etc & switch agents. Good luck OP

I think it's a great house very traditional looking. I don't know the are so unsure if it's priced correctly. I wouldn't throw any money at it because its likely the new owners would change things. I think the housing market is a bit slow ad people are waiting to see what happens with the mortgage rates. I reckon it will sell in tje next few weeks.

Looks nice from the street. The p-poor standard of photos and advert blurb screams lazy, can't be arsed agent. How much longer are you committed to this agent for? I'd not renew listing with them and look to go with someone else. Advert could perhaps state that Google Maps is old.

@exaltedwombat its odd but it’s true. Tarting up a house will make it more sellable. Not necessarily up the price but will make it move faster. We’ve sold four in the last six years (move ALOT!) and we always buy tired houses that look unloved because people don’t want them. It’s amazing how fast a house can sell once it’s had fresh paint.

I haven’t red through all posts, so it may of already been mentioned.
it may be worth removing it from Rightmove for a week or so then adding it again, either through the same or a different agent.

I would try that before staging, as you’re saying your not even getting viewings at the moment.
Mortgage rates are starting to lower/stabilise so ‘buyers’ should start popping up a little more

The house looks new on the outside, the floor plans look good (except missing size) - personally I would ditch the inside photos and hope people will come based on the outside and floor plan.

This is exactly how I’ve been thinking about the price. No matter how low I put it, people will want to offer below.

There are no measurements on the floor plan, impossible to know what the total size is

Some great points on here which will definitely help but I would say price, if that’s not right and in line with similar properties in the area then that will do it every time. Is it overpriced maybe? Has estate agent recommended reducing but you just don’t want to?

It's detached but it doesn't look like you can walk all the way round it as it looks to be built right on the borderline, that cannot be changed. That to me makes it less appealing than the general decoration it needs. I would expect the price to be less because of this