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

The living room carpet - No I wouldn't replace it.

For 2 reasons - firstly you just know it's going to be the wrong one :) it's either going to be a colour the new family don't want or like, or it's just not going to be quality enough as you are not going to spend the amount you could / would do if it was about to be your forever home.

It looks like you may need to reduce the price of the house ? if you don't replace the carpet then the new buyer is going to make an offer anyway probably taking into account they may replace the carpet.

If you are able to get up there on your week off, then you will see for yourself what you think. It could be the photos ? or a good clean may sort it. Or indeed a good hoover may make all the difference.
It may be worthwhile getting it professionally cleaned ? or of course you can hire carpet cleaning machines and do it yourself.

I personally wouldn't spend a lot as I believe buyers make offers.

Also if you do go up, see if you can get a viewing for the other properties for sale, in say .25 of a mile and same price.
You could also arrange for a couple of different estate agents to view / value / give you their sales pitch :)

@shewasrooting you seem to have it in for the OP- bad day at the office? Give the lady a break ,

what have i posted that would indicate I have it in for the OP 😂

as opposed to just debating her question and also - if anyone wants to buy this house of course they will look on zoopla and see what the OP purchased it for and that will impact their view on the property asking price. So it would be helpful and very relevant if the op confirmed when she bought it and that price. As if there’s a £200k price differential over 3 years for example… surely you can appreciate the relevance of that that?

A rug would be a strange choice in an unfurnished property. You’re obviously not wanting to be persuaded that a neutral carpet is the best solution. It will completely change the look of the property. I posted pics of the sort of thing I would go for as it doesn’t mark. Idk the price you’d have to pay for the carpet as it’s a few years since I last flipped a property...

No one will think they have to change that sort of thing for a while whereas your current carpet looks pretty awful and anyone, who wants move in ready will be looking elsewhere. Anyone looking at your house will be trying to The ones, get the cheapest deal as they’ll be anticipating moving all the furniture around etc.

Edit: And getting the internals right is a lot more important than putting out some pots, which will need tending to and mark the patio. A blank canvas out the back is fine.

If I were you I would hire some property stagers, there are loads. They go in & dress the house & leave the stuff there for an agreed amount of time that you can extend. It dies cost, but IMO is not extortionate & is well worth the money. You would need updated photos afterwards though!

All these suggestions, I think folks think they are Kirsty and Phil 😂

plenty of properties sell empty. There is no need to stage or replace th4 carpets.

op, get the carpets cleaned and adjust the price. It’s on for too much, all the staging in the world won’t change that.

I think you need to change your estate agent. They’ve done you no favours with the photos, lack of room dimensions. I had trouble selling a perfectly fine house years ago. It was on the market for a year and we had hardly any viewings. There was a lot of house building around us so buyers were looking at those houses.

I changed estate agents and they took great photos. They were enthusiastic , gave good advice on what to do, in terms of moving furniture, staging the garden etc. We had several viewings very quickly and it sold within two weeks.

Or … why don’t you try virtual staging? I think you’d still need to retake the photographs of the empty rooms, but show them in the listing alongside the same pictures with virtual furniture in there. It costs tens of pounds rather than thousands. What you need are viewers. When they are standing in the house the empty rooms will be fine, but virtual staging would be a way to get them there.

You don’t have to replace the carpet…but the entire place needs a proper thorough clean including the carpets I think.

And get the floor plan redone with measurements and showing bathrooms properly on it.
and better photos, and blurb.
and in my opinion you need to heavily adjust your expectation on price. I think you need to be much lower. Around the 400k mark if I’m honest. I live in a more expensive town than you and sold and bought similar houses to this (slightly smaller but not much) last year for 400k the one we sold and 375k the one we
bought. Things have got even worse on the market since then with interest rates.
it is the price that is limiting the viewings in my opinion.

I think your agent is not doing their job - terrible photos and no proactivity on their part. And the house is overpriced to not be having viewings.

Get it professionally cleaned and the tatty decor spruced up. Better photos, drop the price. You should probably consider taking it off the market and re-listing with a different agent. If the estate is now complete then a photo showing this would be worth including.

I think it’s a nice house op.

Personally I think the kitchen is a bit small for a 3 bed family home. It’s more like the kitchen you would find in a flat.

You can’t really change that though so I would take it off the market. Fix curtains and give it a lick of paint.

Change estate agents. And wait for interest rates to come down a bit. Maybe adjust price a little.

Good luck.

Drop the price and it will sell.

Alternatively replace the carpets and repaint inside.

Change estate agents too.

£385k may 2018
no. 27

Staging wouldn't work for me either, it's the size of the rooms and the garden that I look for. I think that the OP said that it was the same size overall as four bedroomed houses locally, but this is a three bed and will probably sell for less than four beds them regardless of size. You might be lucky and find somebody who is downsizing (or people without children) looking for a larger than average three bed but this is unlikely.

The kitchen layout is a bit small and the large unit by the window wasn't a good idea but the cost of changing anything just isn't justified.
I've never been bothered by curtains or carpets past their best, these don't look that bad and you'd normally replace them in time anyway - though I agree that it might be worth cleaning the carpets to give it a fresher look. It shouldn't cost too much to get a professional in to do this though you'll need to air the house properly afterwards. Also sort out the curtain that isn't hanging properly, the agent really should have done this before the photos.
You're not selling an estate showhouse or a pristine newly renovated project, so there is not much point in "dressing" it.

You really need to get agents in to find out its real value which I suspect would have been below what you are currently asking, even before the recent weaker sales market. Your agent hasn't done his job well.

I wonder why the OP won't say? All she's done is tell us which house it isn't! Perhaps they're embarrassed at hoping to make a killing from house price inflation despite never having lived in it, and by the sounds of it, never even been inside it (she said it was let out the day after purchase). At least if she makes a killing, there'll be a hefty chunk of capital gains tax to pay!

We won't be making a killing, nor will we have capital gains to pay: we're exempt due to having to live in accommodation tied to job whilst property was rented.

You both seem weirdly obsessed with knowing what the OP bought it for. It doesn't actually really matter in terms of the OP's question about why it isn't selling, what matters is how much people are currently willing to pay for it. People rarely make 'a killing' on houses that they've done nothing to - its all relative, inflation means the £ is worth less today than it was when she bought it, and if they need to buy a house somewhere else now, they're unlikely to have much leftover.

it’s definitely that one according to the agent (recovering from operation and VERY bored! 😂)
so in less than 6 years the op is hoping to make best part of £100k on a property that has deteriorated rather than been improved
plus 2018 a much healthier market

you bought for £385k less than 6 years ago

i regard best part of £100k on a deteriorated tenanted property over a new build as a tidy profit!

Property prices have risen since 2018.

Posters may be resentful of someone else’s money, but that’s just the reality of property ownership.

Always change the agent first before dropping the price, unless you’re with one of the really top ones.

Have you had legal advice on the Capital Gains?
I was in an identical position and was told I still could be liable, and you now have to fill in the forms and tell HMRC within 14 days of sale IIRC. Your solicitor should know/check.

For most people they have not risen, many properties go on and off the market as sellers try to get too much for their house, the only number that counts is the eventual sold price, higher rates mean that people can no longer borrow the money for the high prices. Use PropertyLog to watch reductions in your area.

I think the chances of getting the 2018 price now are very slim TBH, the jobs report from the U.S today is indicating higher for longer interest rates, although it is open to different interpretations for sure.