House Not Selling - Required for Care

[LostInTheSystem101]

Hello!

We are trying to sell my Grandmother's house. It has been on the market for 8 months, currently with the second agent.

Opening price was £375k, as suggested by the EA. Now offers over £285k.

We are aware it needs modernising, of course, but it is liveable, and soundly built. Garage, driveway, front and back gardens, 15 minute walk from the beach.

Viewings not even in double figures I don't think since it went on, no offers.

My Grandmother has been in a dementia care home since March 2023, has run out of cash, and needs the house sale to pay for her continuing care (she currently owes over £40k). We have contacted the local authority to assist with deferred payments. However, we still need the house to sell!

Any advice?

House for Sale

Thanks, all.

Staging the box room: again, mum is doing this all herself, and she doesn't want to bring things in that have to go out again.

Kitchen/conservatory: see previous post - it's not a conservatory and we will ask the agent to change this!

Other properties: Thank you - their location is a bit further from the coast, but point taken, certainly!

Moving to another care home: she has dementia and Alzheimer's and moving her is really not what we want to do - any change in routine makes her incredibly distressed, and my mum doesn't drive so couldn't visit if it was the other side of the county.

Empty Property Insurance: Thank you, I will look into that now!

Auction: thank you, too! I will take a look!

It’s the price. I can see bigger and homes requiring less work for less within 1/4 mile radius. I think a more sensible price would be £270k, and consider offers around £260k

As with another house shared on here, I don’t think the ‘online viewing’ is particularly inviting. It feels as if it’s online-only.

Agree with not saying ‘modernise’ and remove all mention of the conservatory-that-isn’t. What you could do, however, is remove or tidy up the white goods that are there, along with the net curtains, and put in a kitchen table with chairs. It shows how a young family could use the house. Maybe also show exactly the route from the driveway at the back to the house. I also am selling a house with the driveway at the back, and it’s surprising how many viewers just don’t get it.

The difficulties in selling houses to pay for care must surely be creating knock-on economic effects that will become a bigger problem over time.

Mum has kept those up for security - the neighbour goes in morning and evening to open/close them (bless her!)

Thank you.

I am going down early April so will take some of my old WFH bits and our spare kitchen table to dress it a bit, thanks. Good shout re the garage at the back, too - will get a route mapped!

Will also call the agent and get the conservatory nonsense removed!

Yes, I reached the same conclusion. Looking at the other houses for sale locally, you were very badly advised by the agent who told you to market it at £375k.

I think it looks like a nice house. It looks clean and well maintained and ready for someone else to update to their taste. I agree with others that "modernise" is an unfortunate word in this circumstance - it sort of implies run down, which this isn't.

Your problem is almost certainly just lack of proceedable buyers out there. I would suggest finding time to talk to loads of agents in the area, making it clear you want a quick sale rather than best price.

Oh, and agree with the comments above about "online viewing". I have never seen that on a listing before and thought "WTF? Are they not letting people in for proper viewings?"

Haven't looked into the details, but could possibly be an example of chasing the market down from what you say.

I have to agree, it’s the price.

If you look on Rightmove for the area there are other homes for sale, the same size, for cheaper, which already have new kitchens, new bathrooms, new flooring throughout, basically houses that are ready to move into with just a lick of paint.

Priced at 285k in it’s current state (for me) wouldn’t be worth it as I know it would cost me probably 30k to get new flooring throughout, new kitchen and bathroom etc. At that point I’d either be offering you 240-250 for the house, factoring in the money I’m going to have to spend to get it nice, or I’d just offer on one of the ones nearby for the same price or cheaper but with all of the work already done.

Yes but it would cost way over 25k to put in a new bathroom and kitchen, redecorate and sort out the garden to make it comparable.

You need to consider how much it cost to get work done now which has gone up considerably.

I would drop the price and get it sold. After 3 years settled in a home, when the money runs out, the LA would have to prove that it wouldn't be to your nan's detriment to be moved elsewhere - they will struggle to do that. (recent experience here, GP was allowed to stay where she was).

Thank you all.

100% take on board what you are all saying regards price. We are just guided by the EAs, of course, so will have a discussion with mum and see about lowering it to get it gone.

This is great to read - thank you.

I did wonder if it was something we could fight, so I'm pleased to hear from someone with experience of being able to stay put!

I think you might be better off modernizing some of the rooms. E.G. the lounge with the little wall will be very off-putting for buyers it could be vastly improved by getting rid of the wall, other rooms have very old fashioned carpets that could be removed. The back garden looks like a lot of slabs which are not appealing. I'd get rid of them all and grass it over. A few bright pops of colour might make a difference. It might be worth painting over walls and getting some cheap carpet in and have the house staged for sale.

This house looks more appealing though. It's the carpets in your Gran's house.

It’s the price.

There are cheaper, more modern houses for sale in the area, which are the same size as yours.

If anyone offered £260k you should bite their hand off.

Never remove the furniture- every EA will tell you that
People cant imagine a bed in a room without one

I like to see an empty house full of space, light and potential, especially if the alternative is slightly dated furniture. I notice on property programmes where people are looking for a property to buy, the properties chosen for the programmes are either beautifully furnished or empty.

OP we were selling a friend’s house in Kent after he died, we started with Miles & Barr, and they were lousy. Poor advice, lack of communication, avoiding phone calls, you name it. It was probably a different office than the one you’re using, but it struck me that the organisation generally was piss-poor, and there’s no way I’d use M&B again.

I’d definitely switch agent as soon as you can. Speak to a few in your area; we moved to one with a slightly higher commission, but they had a very impressive manager, and found a buyer within three days. Sod’s Law, the manager then moved on, and service levels dropped rather, but still streets ahead of M&B.

I don’t know how old your Nan is, OP, but the average stay in a care home for permanent residents is less than two years.

The photos could be improved. If you are able to get there and help your mum out, I would take down the curtains (could replace with cheap white roller blinds for security), they are blocking so much window. And the fridge etc all lined up looks awful. Move them out if they are not being used.

I personally wouldn't trust the agents with regards to the price,Miles and Bar are notorious in the area for inflated asking g prices. A lot of properties remain unsold for months even after reductions. In my village, many houses originally up with miles and barr move to a different agent and then sell quite quickly.Maybe a smaller local agent will be better, I know Deal have a few.

I know the area near your nans house well and it is a nice sought after area so I'm afraid it probably is the price. It's a very nice house and I can't understand why there isn't much interest

It's actually much nicer than I was expecting from your description. However I think you will have to drop the price to sell it, due to the price of new kitchens and bathrooms and getting them fitted. Honestly, since the money will go to a nursing home anyway, I don't think I would drag my feet dropping the price another £10k.

Might do better when the weather picks up, seaside properties seem more appealing in good weather. Reduce the price again or try an auction? At least with an auction it will be gone.