Judge my rightmove listing please - no viewings!

[DinoNuggetsRUs]

So we put our house on the market just under 2 weeks ago. We've had 3 unsuccessful viewings but literally no other requests to come and have a look.
I've contacted my agent about this, as I was thinking we're possibly overpriced but he is adamant this is not the case.
I've mentioned the pictures are a bit naff - he's said that's not the case.
I've mentioned that maybe I should paint the bedroom wall so it's not green as it really hasn't photographed well - he's said no one is going to not buy a house because of the colour of a wall.

What do you suggest? I think my agent is wrong and all of the above needs addressing. I've looked at other houses in our area and we're not really priced much differently to them but we're not getting anyone through the door.

link removed to protect OP's anonymity

The photos are not helping you.
The rooms look dark - and very obviously though with the lights on. Photographs on a brighter day, not showing the lights or with some other lighting would be good.
It seems odd that the photographer didn't move things/get you to move things - ours moved washing baskets, all movable storage, toys etc. The photos should look as good as it gets.

Also, why have they specifically described the bathroom as small?? It doesn't look that tiny, but that description makes it sound like you can't move in there.

I lived in a house exactly like this though, and I think its nice. Lovely character.

Move toothbrushes, baskets, washing up liquid and brushes. Stick it all in your car if you have one.
Also, is there storage. Loft access? Parking?

It looks lovely. The only thing that would put me off is that the second bedroom it isn’t obvious that you can fit a full sized single bed in anywhere. The photos look like they would block the cupboard if you put a full sized bed in….maybe move the furniture around or buy a single bed to show that it would work?

I'm also near you and as a PP has said, the market round here isn't great right now. I've seen many many houses taking months to sell or still up for sale after a long time. Hopefully you're not in a huge rush to move because I think it'll just be a matter of patience.

The thing that stood out immediately was the front photo is terrible. It's taken at an awful angle and looks dull. The green bedroom isn't great colour wise but not a deal breaker. The back garden would totally put me of to be honest. It looks like it would take a lot of money and time to bring up to a standard that it could be used. The decking is old and dirty. I would worry unsafe to. It's not inviting at all. If you have a smaller house a nice garden can be a deal breaker.

I'd get rid of photo no.4 or re-take it later in the Spring when it might look better, perhaps on a bright day because it's dull and bleak and adds nothing as it is.

It’s lovely but tiny, there’s no real living space in either the living room or the kitchen - assuming you’ve to sit on the sofa to eat as there’s no space for a dining table. The bedrooms are also tiny and the garden very child unfriendly.

That is a huge jump in price for a house of that value in a space of 4 years. That’s almost a 30% increase. Your / the agent’s expectations are way too high.

Also, a front for that leads straight to a living room would put me off, and I suspect many others too, so that alone will reduce your number of viewings, though appreciate you can’t help that!

So a 40k mark up from 2020 is just not going to work, the price needs to be reduced, by quite a lot.

Agree that photos aren't great and make rooms look small (particularly kitchen), lots of brown and green, unloved garden, awful pic of field?

It's all a bit dark.

I would redo the pictures on a sunny day, whichever time you get the most flattering light.

Otherwise, honestly I wouldn't bother with doing anything up - your house is lovely, but it is a 2 bedroom and as such is marketed as suitable for FTB. A FTB in the market for a house your size and at that price is not going to be arsed about the fence looking "a bit tired".

You can take your own photos by the way, I did. I made sure everything was clean and tidy, and just heaved as much clutter out of the room when doing the photos - realistically we had nowhere to actually put it, but at least it wasn't there in the photos!

(I've no idea about the price but it might be worth looking at other properties with other agents that are under offer).

Good luck!

Looks like the photos were taken in winter, get some spring shots, will make a big difference. Also, looking at other sold or STC properties nearby, a few have done the loft conversion. That would make them much more desirable if they are similar price to yours. Perhaps you do need to drop the price a bit (or put floor board down in the loft to make people realise the conversion potential).

I'd be put off by the front door going strait into living room - however you can't help that.

There's a lot of things you can't really do anything about for example a very crowded felling to the bathroom. However, I think in the living area you could consider getting a different floor rug - I don't dislike the one you've got but it draws my eye and distracts me from the rest of what is actually a nice room - a plain one may be better. I'd also get some lighter coloured throws and put them over the sofas (honestly I can't talk our living room is a hotchpotch of colour and mess yours is lovely in comparison )

I hope it sells OP

People are looking at size, location, schools etc. and PRICE, messing around with photos and presentation will have little effect in this market IMO, it is what it is, people can see the historical price and they can use apps like PropertyLog, you can"t fool people with "presentation" nowadays.

This is just my impression . The house feels like a rental property rather than a home. There are no pictures /art pints/ plants anywhere to make it feel homely. As others have said the lighting need to be looked at. I can see that is has 'nice bones' and it is likely clean but it feels grubby. In short it feels like work and money. Do you have a top floor window that you can take a photo of the rear view from? that would be more impactful than the one that is on the listing. I would have the agent come back and take better photos.

Your neighbours didn't have artwork up in most of the rooms but their room were largely clear so that made sense. Your room have lots of stuff or very visible stuff just no art work.

I spent a bit of time recently helping a friend house hunt 2 and three bedroom terraces where the remit. They were not looking for a fixer upper but didn't mind changing things over times. You get one change to make a first impression and I think that is where perhaps your house is missing out. When you are trawling through a long list of house you often don't spend long on things that dent jump out.

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Photo should have been taken when no vehicle is outside. the angle of that photo does your house no favours.
Steps and wall need pressure washing.

Bins should have been removed for the photo
What is the black thing behind the green bin?
Brighter front door colour much nicer and appealing.

Pic 2 -
Lounge looks messy, cluttered and feels grubby.

The rugs are uninviting and having so many makes it seem like you are hiding damage to the floor. They also contribute to the grubby feeling.

Your footstool looks stained - if it is I would hide it with a decorative tray.
What is going on with the back of the Sofa by the stairs?

The toy box is very distracting as is the stuff poking out under the sofa.
you can see clutter in the kitchen as you look through.

Pic 3
The rack in front of the cupboards screams 'no space' as does the stuff on top of the cupboards and the microwave. I personally would not have oven gloves hanging on the door.

Pic 4

Pointless photo for conveying the view. Washed out and poor composition for impact.

Pic 5

A better photo of the lounge in many respect but what the white thing poking out the cushion. Reinforces the impress that the house is grubby. you need better cushions.
Log burner looks cluttered.
Again too many rugs.

Pic 6

Too much stuff on windowsill

Pic 7

The room looks depressingly dark. Too much stuff visible under the bed. May be a cheap valance sheet to hid the clutter would help. Anyone that hates cats will think you house is likely to smell of cats wee. I definitely would have move that cat tree for the photo.

Pic 8

Too much clutter and the white marks make the floor look filthy. Stuff hanging behind the door. Polarising duvet cover.

Pic 9

Clear but no soul. I might have had plants visible through the window.

Pic 10

There really should be at least a print on the wall.

Pic 11

The basket on the window in off putting and cluttered. The orange towel on the rack above the toiled looks recently used and is distracting. The dark blue towel and mat are jarring. Room does not look inviting.

Pic 12

Decking needs to be pressure washed. Plants growing through from the outside scream that fence is likely to need changing. I would have weeded too. What is the wire / cord that is draped across the garden.

Its pretty much what I'd expect from a two bed terrace, so if it's the right sort of price for the area, then I would concentrate on presentation and yes, neutralise the bedrooms. First time buyers often have very little budget for redecorating and want move in ready. For a quick sale and best price at that end of the market I'd check out the show homes of new build starter homes in your area and try to get your decor and assessesories as close to that as you can, as that's your competition. Trends vary regionally so that's a better guide than opinions on here from all areas and demographics.

These are all things that people can see and fix for themselves, if they buy it, they won"t buy it though if the price is wildly out of touch with the reality of today"s market.

The living room is in the photos, but not mentioned in the description of the property.

The photographs are not doing you any favours, they are badly done and the lighting is horrible.

Photos are a bit blurry and the downstairs looks dark and the shadows cast by the lights in the bedrooms are weird. Sort out the lighting - maybe get some professional lights in when photos are being redone.
The garden is fine - it's early spring after all.

The front door looks as though the fanlight and half circle are boarded up, but it's the lighting/angle.
As others have said, too much clutter, and awful lighting with it being a dull day. Hopefully getting photos done again and brighter wall colours may help.
It probably is overpriced, and if you can get a bigger house up the road for the same money, people will go for that. If estate agent is on a % fee they won't want to reduce the price. You might be best with a different, fixed price, agent.

Agree with this.
Overall I think it's a nice, clean, tidy house. And you've clearly done a great job on decluttering ( although there's a few areas maybe)
Photos are terrible, not your fault at all tho.
Done on a darkish winters day which makes the house look dark.
Lose photo 4... the barbed wire view.. What was the agent thinking?
I don't think you need to spend much or do a huge amount. Just a bit of tweaking.

Front room
When you walk in, there's a little clutter corner directly in your eyeline.. ( these are clearly practical things but for photo purposes, it could be removed. You could put a nice curtain over the under stairs coat area to screen it off?
Some colourful new cushions would work better too.
Kitchen. V Nice. But does look a bit bare.. Maybe a wall mirror or a nice poster? Big colourful bowl of fruit?
Hide the tea towels and the washing up liquid on the window sill under the sink and put some nice small plants along the sill.
There's a trolley with stuff, which makes it look that there's not enough cupboard space. I;d lose it for the photos and Maybe get some wicker baskets for the high wall cupboards and put the stuff in there temporarily.
Bedroom. A lot of patterns. I'd get a nice white/pale or plainish duvet cover, possibly a bedsheet with a skirt to hide the storage. Hang the plants on the wall somewhere else. Possibly over one of the windows elsewhere.
Photos were taken on a dark winters day and bedroom feels very dark as a result. I'd completely clear the dressing table and bedside table of everything except matching lamps.. which should be turned on to have more light sources than just the ceiling. (Very cheap but stylish ones from George at Asda)
If the wall bothers you. Repaint a lighter colour green? but perhaps in a better lit room it will work well.
Remove the cat bowls and the Cat tower from their positions for the photos.
Bathroom. Remove the shampoo stuff, towels and bathmat for the photos.
If possible get some lovely thick fluffy well folded towels just for photos/showing.
Garden. Stage it a bit? Powerwash or stain decking and for the photos arrange the furniture. Maybe some cushions? Jug and glasses on the table. Its a lovely spot. Can you put some trellis over the barbed wire? Some nice Pot Plants. (ask garden centre for good plant suggestions)
Babys room is cute but the
window with barbed wire view needs a blind.
Same for the window with the steps. (Maybe put frosted sticky window covering ? or powerwash the steps and put colourful pot plants on the steps? All of this wil look better in the sunlight tho.
Painting the front door is a big job to do it properly and they can see what it would look like by looking at next doors. I think it is something they could do. but two nice plants either side would look good.

I wouldn't say there's any issue with how the house is presented or photographed.

What are similar houses selling for in the area? That's the only way you can compare really.

The kitchen would put me off - looks absolutely tiny and can't see that it fits a dining table and chairs?

I like the green wall in the bedroom, gives it some character.

It's maybe priced too high but the thing that would put me off would be the run off from the fields & the damage it can do.

I lived in a flat on a slight hill & the water would flow from my left next door (& continue further down the hill to my right next door, etc.).
My garden was always like a swamp after rain - fence & wooden planters put in by previous owners were rotten!
Had to completely re-landscape the garden with as much drainage as possible plus new fences.

Being VERY picky and critical…the photographer’s dome you no favours-the photos are all really badly lit…but you could do with rearranging things a bit…nothing major, but the foreground of the bathroom photo is your toothbrush! I’ve screenshot your photos and ringed the bits which need moved out of the way for the pics…as I say I’m being REALLY picky though..

pics removed by MNHQ to protect OP's anonymity.

Bathroom, remove the clutter, and put a lovely thick folded towel on the rail, remove the mat, and remove the basket from the windowsill-it highlights lack of storage…if you can’t take the toothbrush holder off the wall, a couple of pretty bottles for the photo

Kitchen-take the floor trolley out of the photo, again it highlights lack of storage

Living room-rake the clutter out of the corner, and replace with the tables from under the tv
Have the kitchen door closed for photos so you’re not seeing it

Main bedroom-remove the cat tree, if I see that in a photo I automatically think smell

Child’s room-appreciate you probably can’t do anything about this, but the tiny bed suggests there isn’t room for a single bed.

Like I say, all minor picky stuff, no expense needed other than maybe a nice towel for the bathroom😊