Following on from previous poster's excellent idea...

[Sunnyjac]

Please can you also give me feedback on my property? We've been on the market since July (onto second agent), price has already dropped. Three viewings in total! What are we missing/doing wrong?
Thanks

4 bedroom detached house for sale in Hollis Drive, Brighstone, Newport, Isle of Wight, PO30 (rightmove.co.uk)

I’m guessing online viewing is to do with needing to go to the Isle of Wight?

This house looks fantastic and I would view it on the strength of what you have shown. I would change a few things to look it more enticing:

Put the front shot if the house first.

Add a pic of the 4th bedroom. I can't see one at all.

I assume the living room goes all the way from the front to the back of the house? Id like to see a shot from the other end. The shot of the living room now isn't great, and its a terrible one to lead on. The corner sofa looks like its in a weird spot. Id consider rearranging the room really.

I'd also like a pic of the garage as it looks quite big. This can be a massive selling point as people might need a workshop/craft/hobby area.

The dining area needs a bit of love. The table looks small and mismatched. The ceiling light isn't great. Where does that curtain pole end? The kids pictures are very endearing but won't help sell your house. You could redress this area quite easily. Floor lamp, large plant, better table and chairs, something nice on the wall, different curtains. Crop out the ceiling light. Take the shot a bit closer. All easy fixes.

The red bedroom. Consider painting this as dark red is dark and dated. Put a picture on the wall that fills the space. It's the master bedroom, so make it so anyone could move straight in and not have to do anything.

Also add floorplan.

Don't know about prices but I'm shocked you haven't had more interest. I think the house and gardens are great.

You need to declutter. I don’t like looking at rightmove properties that are completely devoid of normal, family life but in this case, it’s too much. Too chaotic. Kids toys need a good clear out in all bedrooms and the living room. You need to get new photos when the kids toys aren’t on the floor in the living room.

You need to box up your family pictures and kids artwork and the stuff on the kitchen door (if the signs on the door are a cue for kids, take them down for photos and viewings and put them back up). I can’t tell what condition the walls or door is in because everything is covered.

Again, I hate saying this because I do like seeing colour and personality but the house is disjointed. You have a mix of colours in some rooms and no colour in other rooms. The living room I would change your couch cushions to a navy or a complimentary colour to the navy (mustard, emerald, cream, blush pink). If you don’t go with blush pink, I’d take the bunting down. In the kitchen I would put a pop of whatever colour cushions you’ve gone for in the living room, so blush pink tea, coffee and sugar canisters and utensils pot or plant pot with plant. Main bedroom I would change the curtains to cream.

You need to get rid off the bookcases at the top of the stairs and on the landing. It’s creating a feeling that there isn’t any storage and a 4 bed wants storage.

You have the 3D viewing and there is no reason to not have a photo of the 4th bedroom or the downstairs toilet. You need a photo of every room on there. Layout as others have said.

The fourth bedroom is small and there is no en-suite/additional bathroom upstairs and that would put a lot of people off. I think you might want to market it as 3/4 bed and the fourth bedroom as bedroom/study.

I'm local! I would say that the floor plan is a definite issue to resolve. Maybe less clutter in the photos? I have found not all estate agents are the same. We are being sent multiple houses that are not suitable or what we asked for which is a waste of our time, and houses which are suitable are reaching Rightmove without us being informed of them. Maybe ensure your agent is only sending to people asking for your village and your style of house? As you know, public transport is a big thing where you are and may be off putting to some families if they think they are going to need to ferry their children around? On the other hand, I know your village is amazing and has a great community so maybe big this up in the listing and make sure the agent is doing the same. I can highly recommend the IW agent beginning with L if you need to change agents again in the future Good luck!

Good luck with your move OP.
A few thoughts:

• outside pic of front of house first, it should be taken from the driveway looking across and flatter - at the moment it looks down
• same re back garden and view shots - those could be done to a higher standard
• floor plan is essential, with measurements
• a bit of a tidy everywhere else would make a big difference and reshoot to show the entire kitchen, the entire dining area, then a front to back or there and so on.

Best of luck.

Why no floor plan?

I can't really get a feel for a house without a floor plan.

Oh I really like your house, OP! I love how light and bright it is, you have a gorgeous garden and outlook, and the accommodation is really well balanced. The cluttered children's bedrooms wouldn't put me off at all. It looks like a loved home and it's easy to visualise how families would live in it.

I would ask for the first photo to be the outside of the house - I always worry that there's something to hide if agents don't do this! I would also add more photos of the garden and outlook - this should really appeal to families. Good luck!

In addition to everything the other PPs have said, don't have the van in the front of house photo (if possible, assuming it's yours) and try not to get the mismatched square of lawn in the photo.
Could you paint over the colourful wall(s) in a more neutral colour?

The blue wall and the red wall need to go.

As do all of those fussy paper hangings on the wall.

Awkward angle photos.

Massive decluttering.

The red carpet in the bedroom also needs to go.

Start the photos with one of the front of the house, taken looking straight at it not at an angle.

Ongoing concerns about the stability of the Military Road might put people off. What is access like if the road has to close for an extended period?

The map and corresponding streetview are in the wrong place. The frontage looks spacious once I found it on streetview but the EA photo is not selling it.

I would ruthlessly declutter every room and donate / throw / box stuff up and put it in the garage.
Also get more storage for the childrens rooms for what is left, eg cheap cubes / shelves but currently stuff is spilling everywhere and it just looks like you’ve outgrown the space as it’s too small. I would make sure the floor is clear of all stuff. Also anything on top of wardrobes / high units or underneath beds (unless in a proper box under bed). Rugs really help to cover old carpet too. Remove all bits from open bedside cabinets or replace with closed ones.
I can’t see the TV end of the lounge, it’s hard to get a feel of the view at the front / from the sofa so would add this photo. Also the dining section in the kitchen looks a bit neglected, a plant would help, lamp, nice table and chairs in the middle of the space that would make you want to sit there. Same with the conservatory. I would keep decor neutral too in general, the blue and reds would put me off. I would also mow all the lawns for the new photos and trim the hedges so it all looks really cared
for and gives the impression it isn’t a lot of work to maintain!

Agree with this too

The pictures aren’t great, but as others have said the video walkthrough shows you’ve outgrown/filled the house.

Since you want to move anyway, now is the time for a huge declutter.
If you want to keep everything, box what isn’t needed now, keep the prettier and most needed things, box the rest, label & stack neatly to one side of the garage.

First picture should be if the house, otherwise many disregard the listing thinking you have a ugly exterior and are hiding it

Floorplan

Clear your hallway.
You’ve got coats hanging in two spaces, and boxes of shoes as well as the shoe bench.
Hang coats go under the stairs and put all shoes you use daily in the bench

Fix and paint your kitchen ceiling, it looks like you had a leak or moved spotlights
Replace/repaint the fridge cupboard door.
Remove all kid stuff and everything from the top of cupboards.
Add flowers, fruit, anything lifestyle-y that doesn’t scream ‘I have 3 kids and have run out of room’.

Upstairs bathroom needs mould removing from ceiling.
Then something to blend the brown aqua panels in, rather than making them the feature.
I’d change the blinds to wood, remove mismatched towels, one laundry basket, squeegees, toys, cleaning products & add plants

Clear the landings.
Box up all the books
Remove the bookshelves to the garage.
The two smaller units look broken anyway.
All this on the small landings says you’ve run out of room elsewhere.

Make the kids beds and try to clear as much as possible in their rooms off the floor and walls. Remind them they can get it back once you’ve moved.
Particularly clear under beds & tops and sides of wardrobes. Bin bag has to go

Clear the stuff off the shelves in master bedroom & at a push add back a couple of items like perfume. You’ve got a Philadelphia pot there ;)

Have a look at some other listings near you, particularly show homes and see how they style them.
Aim for similar.
You want your photos to jump out as clean, beautiful, aspirational living from a picture the size of a matchbox on someone’s phone.

Your home isn’t bad.
It just looks lived in & loved.
And that doesn’t sell quickly.
How you live when selling should be like you are expecting demanding family/royalty to visit.

When we last sold with smaller kids, we hired a storage unit, and every viewing shoved everything that wouldn’t fit in a cupboard somewhere in the car (including the cats beds, drying laundry) whenever we had a viewing, and usually went for a drive. Don’t overfill your fitted wardrobes as viewers do like to open anything that is staying!

It looks like you have made a lovely family home for you and your kids.

But - the clutter, untidiness (sorry - things like those towels piled on the rail, throws not folded, books packed on shelves) and statement colours make my head spin. There’s too much fighting visually for me to see beyond it. It doesn’t feel calm or relaxing at all, which is where I’m at now. The van doesn’t do it any favours either.

When we sold our last house, we redecorated in a neutral colour (lot of work
but worth it) and removed everything too personal. Everything bathroom related was out of sight. We got a skip and did a massive declutter.

If I were you I’d play on the seaside angle to sell that dream. Light and airy, pale blue throws, couple of seascape prints. Repaint that dark blue wall. Get some plastic crates and tidy away as many toys and books as you can, empty the bathroom (if only for photos). Remove the red and furniture from the conservatory. Repaint the maroon bedroom. Photos of oil tank add nothing, put some lounge furniture out there and a colourful parasol.

Buyers don’t want to know how you live, they need to see how they can live but that’s hard if there’s too much in the way.

Some greenery in the kitchen and conservatory would be nice, too, after decluttering. Particularly coming into spring. Also some quick colour by the front door.

You look to have big walls with teensy A4 pictures in them. A larger, well balanced, well sized, well positioned picture on some of those walls would work better.

Your living room. Count how many colours you can see in that photo. You have too many. Get it down to three.

Your dining room. Does the table have to go where it is? Move it around and take photos from different angles to see which looks friendliest.

You do look to have a lovely house @Sunnyjac , but your colour scheme seems to be a bit personal and busy. A declutter and a tone down will do wonders. Before you call the agent back, take loads of photos yourself from different angles, heights, doorways etc as you move furniture around and try different things out.

You’ve got them to add the floor plan and change the photo order quickly.

Already an improvement

Now I can see you have a utility room.
Why isn’t this in your photos?
Or in the write up.
Add downstairs loo & utility pictures too

Book them in for new photos next week and have a good weekend decluttering & styling.

If you are having more photos, get rid of the Happy Easter cards in the child's bedroom, shows it's been on the market a long time.

The video makes it look brighter but it's very messy and cluttered. There's so much random paperwork stuffed into open shelves. A random keyboard stuffed sideways under a table in lounge.

You need to have a proper tidy in all areas, take all the bits of paper off the wall then get new photos done.

Quick tips for photos.
Tidy and remove any clutter. Go around your house and take photos of each room when it’s at its lightest and brightest., ie not in a 30 second dash like most EAs do. You can split the task over a day or two to fit it in.
Put the camera at waist height to take the photos, it stops perspectives being skewed and somehow gives a more realistic ‘viewpoint’ of the room. I think it’s because it mimics your seated eyeline.
Don’t do angled shots or aspirational lifestyle ones (eg bottle of wine/glass artful arrangements)
Do add in a photo of a view from one room to the next or inside/outside if it’s a bit special (eg architectural detail, lovely glimpse of garden)
Arrange your photos as if you were walking through the house from room to room. Bookend with photos of front and back.
Admire your work.
Compare it to the EA photos and if yours are better, use them and negotiate a reduced fee.
= Get a keepsake album of your old house to take with you when you do move.

You have great outdoor spaces that look lovely. I feel like some of the internal shots look a bit formal? The kitchen & diner remind me a bit of a school for some reason I think it's the furniture, maybe some plants would help?

Bloody hell OP, you got that floor plan on quick!!

I think it's a nice house and wouldn't be too much work to sort.
Others have suggested what I would also do.

Declutter, beige up the very bright walls, add some large art work and size up the dining table to scale with something that looks a little more upmarket.

You need to declutter all the personal stuff and redecorate to tone down all the strong colours. Many people are unimaginative and can't imagine beyond what they see.

Watch Sort Your Life Out on BBC iPlayer, Big House Clear Out on Channel 5, and House Doctor (Anne Maurice) on YouTube for pointers.