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House has been on for sale for nearly a year with no offers. Would love some feedback and advice!

912 replies

Veebie86 · 27/04/2024 20:49

We bought our 1850s 3 bed cottage in 2021 and although we absolutely love it, we got pregnant last year trying for our second and ended up having babies 2&3 in January! We have no family too close by (my parents are an hour away) so we sadly put our house on the market in early August last year to move closer to my family for support and to have more space than what we have currently for 3 under 3. In 9 months we’ve literally had just a handful of viewings with no offers. People constantly tell us how beautiful our home is (and we honestly love it, just wish it was bigger and closer to family)! We’ve tried two EAs who have both said it’s priced right for the area and the market and we can’t afford to drop any lower anyway to avoid making a loss (we’ve done work since moving including adding a downstairs toilet). We’re honestly getting so down about it now as our babies are just getting bigger so quickly and starting to feel like we’ll be stuck here forever. Link below and if anyone has any tips or feedback I won’t take anything personally and would just appreciate the help!
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/146014529#/?channel=RES_BUY

Check out this 3 bedroom detached house for sale on Rightmove

3 bedroom detached house for sale in Higham Street, Cheadle Hulme, Cheadle, SK8 for £600,000. Marketed by Express Estate Agency, Nationwide

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/146014529#/?channel=RES_BUY

OP posts:
Thread gallery
17
CandidHedgehog · 28/04/2024 11:06

BMW6 · 28/04/2024 10:57

I don't understand how there are 2 staircases on the 1st floor but only 1 on the ground floor.......am I being really dense?

I think one goes up to the mezzanine in the master bedroom.

BartlebyArcher · 28/04/2024 11:08

I feel for you - one of the most stressful experiences of my life was the 18 months I had a property on the market mid 2000’s. I did have 3 offers in that time with 2 falling through but I can honestly say the stress was horrendous. My house was the smallest detached you have ever seen. Modern. Two bed. Reasonable garden. Great driveway. In an area where two bed Victorian terraces were the norm or ex council. The road to my dinky house was all council houses.

This is what I learnt; things that are ‘different’ are slower to sell. People like average. Your house looks beautiful to me but it is unique. Most people like their property to be typical to an area - I had the misery of driving an hour home for a viewing having got up early to clean and tidy only to see the viewer U turn in front of the house and leave feedback that they wouldn’t live near council housing.

Dont believe that price is everything. Think about whether/how reducing brings new buyers in to your market. I reduced and reduced on agent advice until my house (great parking nice garden) was sitting with flats and in view of potential buyers who did not want or expect those features. I changed agent, increased the price and eventually sold. The reality was that the market for my house was small, reducing didn’t increase how many people wanted it . I had to wait for the right buyer.

BMW6 · 28/04/2024 11:08

CandidHedgehog

Sure, from the ground floor hallway, but where does the other staircase between the bathroom and the other 2 bedrooms go to?

CandidHedgehog · 28/04/2024 11:09

Yalta · 28/04/2024 10:51

It is a beautiful house but I think you bought at the top of the market and unfortunately high interest rates mean there has been an adjustment in the price

The lack of floor plan also means you can’t compare square footage with other houses on the market

Is one of the bedrooms a mezzanine?
Viewers do dismiss bedrooms if they aren’t shown as proper bedrooms. Could you put up a wall and door or something to enclose the room otherwise I think people only see 2 bedrooms. I know it sounds an inconvenience but I would put double beds in the other bedrooms to show they will take a double bed

I think you are up against houses that don’t have the history behind them and for many viewers they are looking for standardised rooms and space and the beams and stunning interior are something that are a bonus but like you have found, the house lacks space and doesn’t work for a family of 3 children and even 2 children makes it tight

I think you have to ask yourself, would a reduction to £499,000 or £525,000 or £550,000 etc have an immediate sale. In which case it is the price.

You might make a loss on the sale but if you can buy your next property for an equally reduced amount. Have you really lost out and it has moved you on to where you want to be

I think from the floor plan (from the previous sale) that the mezzanine is in a self contained room - it’s just bad photography. I think the space described as the ‘bedroom’ is the space above and below the mezzanine.

MintyCedric · 28/04/2024 11:09

Twiglets1 · 27/04/2024 21:09

It looks beautiful but niche. The lack of floor plan is an absolute no-no.

I agree with ‘niche’.

Also a bit of a mish mash stylistically. I like the character and the quirks but the self consciously old style toilet fittings give me the heebies, and the kitchen (with the exception of the fabulous brick/range area) looks too modern in the context and the hanging hops don’t do it any favours.

So many beams…part of the charm to some extent but I’d be terrified of concussing myself on the one over the master bed (agree with a PP that switching the rooms about would be a good idea) and the conservatory one is odd - is it decorative or structural?

It’s a lovely home in many ways but personally I would want to make a lot of tweaks which wouldn’t stack up against the asking price.

The main road location and close proximity to the railway line I imagine will put off at least as many people as it will attract.

I think it just needs the right buyer to come along tbh and that might take time which is a pain in the arse for you but not sure what you can do really.

NetZeroZealot · 28/04/2024 11:15

It's a lovely house with some gorgeous period features - it would be a crime to paint the beams!

However the garden could be presented much better.

I think you need new estate agents and look at reducing the price - in the past year the market has really gone off the boil.

ThirtyThrillionThreeTrees · 28/04/2024 11:16

@atlaz's post has it. The difference is pictures is massive.

The entire thread can be sumed up as first estate agent was really good at their job, current estate agent really isn't.

Supergirl1958 · 28/04/2024 11:17

fuckssaaaaake · 27/04/2024 20:53

I'm in London so struggle to understand if prices are reasonable anywhere else. But this is seriously my kind of house. Not helpful I know, sorry

This is near to Manchester/stockport! The asking price seems a lot to me. Having looked at similar local offerings dropping the price seems a viable option.

CandidHedgehog · 28/04/2024 11:19

BMW6 · 28/04/2024 11:08

CandidHedgehog

Sure, from the ground floor hallway, but where does the other staircase between the bathroom and the other 2 bedrooms go to?

Edited

There’s one staircase on the far left in the floor plan (between the bathroom and one of the bedrooms on the first floor) on both the ground floor and the first floor. I think that the actual staircase between floors. There is then the one on the right on the first floor to the mezzanine.

The mezzanine is above the first floor not the ground floor.

Itwasafterallallaboutme · 28/04/2024 11:21

Sorry @Veebie86 I have only read all of your posts, so I will probably only be repeating what others have said, but just in case you are still not sure what to do, here are my thoughts:

Is the master bedroom the one where the bedroom is on the upper level? If it is, I don't think it is big enough, as neither level has enough room on its own. How do you cope in the night when you need to go to either your toddler or your babies - in fact where are your babies sleeping at the moment - or even to the loo, as you appear to have to stumble down quite a lot of steps when you are still half asleep!?

If your twins are sharing the cot at the moment, where is your toddler sleeping?

Unfortunately, from what we can see of the other room with a double bed in it, it looks quite narrow, as you don't seem to be able to fit even one bedside table in there, and really with a double bed, each side should have it's own place for at least a lamp, a mug, and a book!

So, although it is a beautiful house, and downstairs has nearly all positive aspects, at that price (and I do know that that is an expensive area) I would expect the main bedroom to have it's own ensuite - which doesn't look at all feasable with the split level room (I can't spell mezzanine!). Also without a plan, it is almost impossible to tell how rooms could maybe be changed in order to keep the three bedrooms, but to add an ensuite (the present shower room?) to one of the other bedrooms, and make that the main bedroom.

At the moment the split level room looks much more suited to a teenager, or even a tweenager, I think they would love it, and the room with the other double bed would work much better for someone who only needs a single bed - your toddler? Sadly, I am struggling to find a room for Mum and Dad, maybe a couple of hammocks in the nursery 🙈 sorry!

I do have a few points to make about downstairs if you can bear to read them? Neither of the TVs look easy to see from all of the seating. In the lounge the long seat on the sofa doesn't look like it could get a very good view of the TV, and in the garden room, only people on one side of the room can see the TV at all.

Now I appreciate that you might not be much of a TV watching family, and that most of the time it is probably only you (two?) watching the TV, so that set up could suit you perfectly. However, a family with older children, but not much of an imagination, might find the position of the TV - especially the one in the garden room - a challenge from their viewpoint.

Personally, I would also like to make the fireplace in the entrance hall look as if it was frequently used, so I would not have it filled with show logs, and in fact, except on exceptionally hot days, I would have it lit when showing viewers around. I would also try to fit in a large, single, very squashy looking armchair, close to the side of the fire, with a little occasional table for another lamp, mug and book, and I would make use of it whenever I could!

So I can understand why you feel you need to move homes, even without the need to change locations, but unfortunately many lazy or unimaginative people these days seem to need to be 'sold' a whole lifestyle, rather than just look at a property and decide for themselves how likely it is that it could be made to suit their needs and desires.

I do think that even though your property is both beautiful and unique, it is probably overpriced for what it can currently offer other families. Good luck OP, if I wasn't disabled I would love to live in your property, but it would also need to be in the South West for me. There will be other people who will fall in love with your home, but to be able to sell it quite soon now, please try to lower your price 💐

Zwicky · 28/04/2024 11:22

Londoners can spend £2 million+ and still not get to park outside their house

London has a public transport system. Parking is hugely important to people in smaller towns and villages because lots of people in the £600k house bracket will have a car per adult and won’t be prepared to compromise on that. In London buyers are usually choosing between several properties with no parking. Here the choice is between an off street no/bad/unknown parking house, and another (likely cheaper) house with a garage, massive driveway and street parking.

anyolddinosaur · 28/04/2024 11:23
  1. Needs a floor plan.
  2. Parking is not obvious and the entrance to the road is also narrow. If you can afford the house you may be concerned about damaging your car getting it through there.
  3. Some photos are poorly lit making it look darker than it may be. Open blinds when taking photos. Previous agent's photos were better.
  4. EPC is poor, anything you can easily change to up it a bit?
  5. Add more infor on local schools as the locals posting are suggesting that's an important consideration.
  6. The garden looks a decent size to me so I'd be tempted to add a ...feet garden rather than just large garden.
  7. Orangery is pretentious and suggests a detached space to me. I'd call it a sun room.
  8. Go back to previous agent, list with just one price, not a range.
Alwayswonderedwhy · 28/04/2024 11:24

Love it. We live in a similar kind of property with three children and we've just made it work. Not much help, sorry. I can see why you don't want to move!

Turmerictolly · 28/04/2024 11:24

Reduce to £599,000 and then further reduce to £575k if needed. As a pp said, it's a lovely but niche house. Try to get a reduction on your onward purchase. Sometimes you have to take a bit of a hit with property in order to move on.

oakleaffy · 28/04/2024 11:25

Fungkew · 27/04/2024 20:57

It’s too dark. Most people don’t like dark wood nowadays. Can you paint the beams white and just modernise it a bit? Take out dark wood furniture?

Do not EVER paint Georgian beams ! Horrors.

If someone doesn't like beams, they will be going for a tick tacky new build built with 4X2 softwood.

It looks to be semi detached cottages knocked into one - Where the window on the right is, there would have been a front door.

For me the external symmetry is off - if the front door was in the middle, it would be more harmonious.

£600k - I'm not au fait with prices up there, but maybe there is a lot of choice for buyers in that price bracket?

Nanny0gg · 28/04/2024 11:26

Veebie86 · 28/04/2024 01:54

We’re on a tiny cobbled mews with just 3 other houses so we do have space for 2 cars outside but no garage (the one in the pics is our lovely neighbours who’ve lived in one of the houses for over 40 years)! We always knew tbh when buying the house the parking may be a sticking point for many as visitors parking is tight but we have a great relationship with all our neighbours so it’s never been an issue for us really.

Photos without the garage in would be good then

And more colour outside back and front. Pots are easy - now's the time and you can take them with you

oakleaffy · 28/04/2024 11:26

Zwicky · 28/04/2024 11:22

Londoners can spend £2 million+ and still not get to park outside their house

London has a public transport system. Parking is hugely important to people in smaller towns and villages because lots of people in the £600k house bracket will have a car per adult and won’t be prepared to compromise on that. In London buyers are usually choosing between several properties with no parking. Here the choice is between an off street no/bad/unknown parking house, and another (likely cheaper) house with a garage, massive driveway and street parking.

Garages alone can be north of one million in Chelsea - they are such a valuable commodity.

CandidHedgehog · 28/04/2024 11:28

For people suggesting pots of flowers, can the OP even do that if she doesn’t own the pavement? I’ve always lived in flats where leaving anything in the communal areas is absolutely not allowed.

Stravaig · 28/04/2024 11:28

From the plans, the office plus bed mezzanine is entirely upstairs, where a 3rd bedroom should be. Whoever converted that fucked up badly. The rest of the house has a sprawling spacious vibe, but now that room doesn't work on upper or lower level, just two small patches of usable floor and lots of wasted vertical space. And the photos make it look like it's part of the entrance hall or passageway downstairs!

Whinge · 28/04/2024 11:28

Here the choice is between an off street no/bad/unknown parking house, and another (likely cheaper) house with a garage, massive driveway and street parking.

This is such an important point. Yes the OP's house has character, but most people with children don't buy a house just because it has character. They want a house with decent sized rooms, space to park, storage, good schools nearby and so on. The OPs house has some of these, but it's lacking a lot of the things potential buyers want. That's not to say everyone will discount her house, some may be willing to compromise, but they need the price to reflect the compromises they've had to make.

Brexile · 28/04/2024 11:29

TrumpetOfTheMatriarchy · 27/04/2024 21:15

Front outside looks very gungy and slippy. I'd tart it up with some hanging baskets/ window boxes and power wash the slimy look. Also, if you get another floor plan done don't call the conservatory the orangery. Looks a bit pretentious and upselly.

Agree that "orangery" is a pretentious word, but "conservatory" usually means a rickety white plastic box, whereas this room is the house's best feature.

I don't know the area, but am reeling at the price of such a small house (albeit pretty) in the north. The upstairs looks very poky with at least one "bedroom" which is effectively a landing, and it looks you'd have to crawl around on all fours in the attic rooms.

Erdinger · 28/04/2024 11:32

Whinge · 27/04/2024 20:56

Not to sound like a broken record, but this.

If there's no floor plan I just assume the owners are hiding something.

All of the above . Floor plan is the first thing I check , if it’s not included it’s a no go for me. Gives viewers an idea of layout and room sizes . Also include a better photo of your off street parking . It’s a beautiful house and hopefully you find someone who loves it soon !

godmum56 · 28/04/2024 11:32

If you do decide to stage the bedrooms with beds, you don't have to buy beds. use storage boxes, air mattresses, even cardboard removal boxes, to make a fake bed base and then dress with bedding that you already have. take a look on Youtube for ideas.

Veebie86 · 28/04/2024 11:33

Viewfrommyhouse · 27/04/2024 22:23

How is the access to the house, and is there any room for visitors parking etc? It looks a little tight for space out the front. Is there damp on the wall/ceiling in the mezzanine bedroom? I'm another floor plan addict, and the fact there's not one, nor any room dimesions, is really irritating. It's got a nice flow to it, so why the EA hasn't bothered to include either is beyond me.

It looks lovely, a beautiful home. But ultimately, it's only worth what someone is prepared to pay for it. What you already spent, or what you need to achieve is neither here nor there. No offers in nearly a year will only suggest it's the price, or some very costly changes that need doing which makes the price unrealistic. Have you had any feedback?

Edited

Thank you so much. Really minimal feedback tbh from either EA which is why I thought I’d come on here - this has been a far more productive research with the amount of response generated! X

OP posts:
Pollyannamex · 28/04/2024 11:37

But @Veebie86 are you taking in what everyone has said about the price?