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

[Veebie86]

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

It's always the price, if no one is interested. It looks lovely, but obviously must be too expensive for what it is in the area. The floor plan might help bringing in more viewings with few viewings you're unlikely to get the one buyer who falls in love with it. Try another agent, the one you have may have given up on it really by now.

I think the pics need redoing, or you need to fix the roof/flashing... Pic 12 looks like there is damp near the top of the chimney breast.
I have had houses with damp issues (from above as well as below) so having seen marking, would not even look further.

In that case ring Savills OP. They work for their commission and have much greater visibility. They have their foibles but they will be more reliable than a small local agent.

The problem with fixed fee agents is there is no incentive to market your house as they’ve already got paid. They’re quite happy to keep your property on their books as it makes them look as if they have more inventory.

Savills can advise on price.

It’s likely to be price, especially if you’re trying to recoup the stamp duty you paid when you haven’t been in the house long. The house is lovely

I think your house looks really lovely, but i woudn't be happy to go and look at a house that didn't give room sizes.

I love it. First thing I would do if I moved in would be to jet wash the pavement outside and bit of red brick ball to the right. It looks quite green and slimy, and I’d buy two, small olive trees to put either side of the front door.

Apologies, OP. I don’t have time to RTFT but my quick view is:

no floor plan

listing summary doesn’t say number of bathrooms (I’d assume only 1 but you’ve actually got 3 - 1 full/1 wc/1shower)

previous photos seem better:

• The current lot appear to show a roof leak/damp on the chimney in picture 12.
• The wet weather exterior photos seem to show dampness/algae on the exterior. This may be from the rain, but the blue sky seem to indicate otherwise. (Was the blue sky photoshopped?) Get the algae off the house and power wash the paving.

You may well not have damp and a roof leak but that’s what that photograph looks like to me. So my first impression is:

• an expensive house, with a questionable floor plan and not enough bathrooms
• it’s been redone on the surface but what’s underneath , given roof leaks and damp don’t seem to have been addressed.
• There is no garage, but the photos seem to want to imply there is a garage so this seems a little like a bait and switch.

Based on my first impression, I’d steer clear…

If my first impression is wrong (and I suspect much of it is from having looked at the previous listing), your estate agent should easily be able to address these issues by improving the listing.

Good luck!

I think the picture makes it look like you get half the house, not the whole house. Any way to airbrush out the wires/pole that sort of dissect it?

I'm really confused about the older listing and this one- it looks like you've still got the same garden play stuff and the same nursery furniture. Was it you who listed previously?

The older listing is still the OP's listing, it's from last year before changing agents.

I agree with others, it looks lovely but I think it might be a little too expensive. The market has slowed with CoL crisis. I sold a 3 bed, 3 story for £580k in a town in SE with a larger garden despite it having a blue plaque, gorgeous views and larger rooms just last year.

Hiya. Yes, as I say we’ve had 2 agents. We initially put it on last summer with a local EA and then we swapped a few weeks back which was seemingly an error in hindsight. Although I need to remind myself after all the comments re the old photos being so much better (we agree they were) however we switched as we weren’t getting any viewings from the previous listings photos either.

To add to my previous post:

I think your previous listing is making people think you haven’t done very much but are expecting a big uplift in price.

you need to shift the double bed away from the window wall in the spare room. Beds jammed against the wall imply a lack of space. (This room is styled much better in your previous listing)

perhaps you need to make some styling/furniture layout changes. You’ve said yourself this house doesn’t work with you with 3 under 3. I know it’s hard, but perhaps you need to style it as though you are aiming it for affluent down sizers who want extra space, rather than as a family home for those with young kids.

is your washing machine in the w/c? In which case, you have a laundry room…

It's a beautiful house.
The older photos look better - partly because they were taken on a drier day. It's been raining non-stop for so long that the paving outside the house is now green and makes the exterior of your lovely house look dank and wet.
I think you should get a proper estate agent to take new photos on a sunny day. The main photo could be cropped more so as not to show the green paving.

The photo with the arch showing dining table and sitting room probably could be staged better - the dining room being very dark doesnt help, and the bench across the space acts like a barrier and makes the space look cramped & small

I agree op, it is a lovely house. We are downsizers, looking currently. It is tastefully done inside and I cannot understand why anyone would want to paint the lovely beams which are not oppressive at all. What would stop me viewing was the pavement in front of the windows and people walking past at street level making for a lack of privacy. I hope I have understood this correctly as I have not read all the posts.

If the listing with floor plans and better photos is also yours from just last year, then the problem is price. If you're in a hurry to sell, then drop by £125-150K as pp suggest. Else rejig to suit your young family, and enjoy!

Has anyone commented on the fact that it appears that you drive out of a narrow road onto the main road which is right by a bend? To me that looks really dangerous and it would put me right off.

The house is beautiful inside although the dried hops are a bit passe.

I think there is a mismatch @Veebie86 between what is shown on the web and the reality. There's something that is putting viewers off or not tempting them to view.

Is it the parking?

Is it neighbours? Cramped road?

Is it schools?

Who is your house aimed at? A professional couple, retirees, single buyers, family?

Why did YOU choose it?

I have no idea about prices in your area, but for the same money people can get modern houses, maybe trad semis with bigger rooms, gardens, driveways.

There's a lovely 4-bed Vic terraced in HeathBank Road for £638 which is far far better value - massive rooms, stained glass, etc.

You're up against houses like that.

Which proves that is is neither the photos nor the estate agent which is the issue.

Reduce the price, or give up trying to sell
and stay there. Continuing to advertise it at a price that after 12 months not a single person has been willing to pay, will get you nowhere.

Hi OP. I'll start by saying I think your house is lovely, but the lack of floorplan is absolutely glaring, and even though I live in London, the price seems "toppy" to me (word learnt from an estate agent!).

I went through the photos (look, it's pissing with rain and I'm trying to avoid doing the ironing...). I'm sure others have made all these comments before, but:

Photo 1: Jetwash paved area, pots with plants/flowers either side of the door. Have all the windows the same - blinds up, lights on or off. Redo photo in sunny weather.

Photo 2: Get rid of dustbin from shot. Jetwash green mould off connecting wall and garage wall.

Photo 3: Is that a working fireplace? If so, get a log basket to make it clear: if not, get rid of the wood and put e.g. some candles in it. Or at least fill it up completely.

Photo 7: Get rid of hops, light cooker alcove, put away stuff in conservatory and whatever is on the chair seat nearest the camera.

Photo 8: Take all stuff off fridge, hide stuff from top of cupboards esp air freshener, put away cooking stuff on brick shelf.

Photo 10: Lights on in kitchen, get rid of toys.

Photo 12: Tidy up wiring muddle on bedside table, remove stuff on floor, take wrapper off lampshade and plug it in.

Photo 14: Hide toys. I'd remove the mirror next to the door as it's just reflecting the radiator.

Photo 15: Some form of bedside light needed.

Photo 18: Remove all toiletries and toys.

Photo 19: Needs retaking on a sunny day. Get a couple of big pots with bright flowers in them. Get rid of the grass that's growing on the wrong side of the sett stones. Jetwash the patio.

Photo 20: Jetwash the path. Tidy the stuff that's by the shed away. Think about painting the shed, because it looks like the wood is already soaking wet and starting to rot.

Your house is beautiful and I love how it’s decorated. The price seems reasonable to me but it is quite a niche property (one I appreciate) in a very odd market.

If it was me, I wouldn’t reduce I’d just take it off the market and try and be happy in the area and try again in 18 months +. I know of a number of people trying to sell at the moment and there seem to be two camps: those who sell at or above asking within about 5 days and those who have their homes on the market for months and months at a price that is really not unreasonable but with no traction. It’s not a good market at the moment and we have decided to sit it out ourselves (we probably would have imagined moving at this point).

EPC rating E so that would put me off and also appears house has been sold a couple of time in last few years. That would make me wonder re neighbour disputes and if it’s such a great home why do people move ( I know there’s lots of genuine reasons why people move but I’m just cynical)

It looks ancient and needing work.
Builders etc charge a fortune now. I have a 1980's house and the repointing cost £2,000 just for one side.
It does look cold. Put some warmer colours in there. It's not that large but people don't have books and LP's nowadays.
The concrete frontage looks wet and yack.