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

Exactly. 30s semis. Big difference.

Nothing’s selling atm so the OP’s property is not unusual in that regard.

I’ve suggested a price reduction all the same, as they want to shift it.

Hello OP. Firstly I think you and your family have a wonderful home. Inside and out. It is a fine example of a period mews house and I think that has to be the main take away. It is a very specific style of home that will always be of a higher price point given its history.

I do not know Cheadle but with a quick look on Rightmove, you can see the other properties you come up against price wise at the moment have a drive/front garden, however these houses are for the most part far more modern and in my opinion incomparable.

If I were in your shoes I would possibly look to market again with a fresh start in the summer. Allow your home to be forgotten for the time being and to be found again with new buyers on the hunt. You shouldn’t have to reduce your property at all, especially if two agents now have said that’s the right price. Whenever I see a property listed with more than one agent / a new agent in the same selling period I’m afraid I do wonder what the problem with the house could be. Even more so if I see a dramatic price drop.

If you were to re-market with new photos, the summer again would be a better time for your house/garden to really shine. I think you’ve presented your home beautifully but if you were to do it all again, I’d echo what others have said about a few potted plants outside. Throw open all the window coverings and turn on all the lights in every room for the photo from the outside, so the windows all look even and equally warm and welcoming. I’d also potentially take out all baby toys from the main floor spaces/bathroom. Not to hide that you have babies of course but just so it doesn’t seem like you haven’t got any storage / not enough room for toys.

The mezzanine room is a very quirky room. I think it’s very cool, however I think you could sell this room better. If space allows could you perhaps move the bed from the mezzanine level to the main level and the desk onto the mezzanine? A bed on show in any room gives an understanding of scope of a room a lot more than a desk and could help bring in more people to view. I also wouldn’t call this room bedroom number one. It implies it’s the master bedroom / your biggest bedroom and in the pictures the space seems limiting. Assumptions may well be made from the numbering that bedroom two and three must be a lot smaller than number one. Whichever bedroom is your bedroom you should call number one.

I haven’t read everything mentioned in the comments but I did notice you said you’ll be covering the orangery’s glass roof? I once saw a conservatory room on Rightmove with the roof covered and I wondered ‘what’s the bad view they’re hiding?’. An orangery / conservatory style room is a room first and foremost to enjoy the sun so err on the side of caution of adding anything to obstruct the sun that can not be retracted easily.

I think your home is lovely, your garden is a great size and the fact that you’re detached with side access and
on a quiet mews street with only a handful of neighbours - these are all pros. I can only imagine it’s a matter of timing at fault for this type of period property and also, as I think you’ve found from a lot of the comments, there is a smaller pool of people willing to give up modern luxuries such as drives to own a quirky slice of history, but they are out there, you just haven’t found them yet. Or they haven’t found you… yet! You bought it and fell in love with it. Others will too. Keep the faith. 🤎

If it's not sold in a year it's overpriced

I looked and prices nearby range right up into the million with a goodly number of houses that are in this price range. It is one of those highly desirable little nooks from the pictures, but mortgages are not easy on homes straight onto the street

Hi OP, kitchen floor dark red, consider brightening up as well as stove area. Living room too much large furniture for selling purposes. Two wasted spaces, your hall and study area/staircase? Is staircase to third floor? Dining area too much furniture for selling purposes. Plants flowers to enhance garden area near house? A few pots out front too? £520k may do the trick?

It's beautiful! You probably need to put a bed in the second and bedrooms. When people look at houses they turn into idiots with no imagination and unless there is a bed where they want to put a bed, they imagine the room is the size of a matchbox. I know it's almost impossible with three babies but if you could borrow camp beds and set them up before viewings (maybe put the large sideboard in the nursery somewhere else) that could help. Maybe have an Open House so you only have to rearrange the furniture once. You also need room sizes in the description. And ask your estate agent to directly email everyone interested in anything similar and to be imaginative and do extra work to sell it. People have Rightmove alerts set up for new things and will almost not see it or assume there's something wrong with it if they see it's still there. Can the estate agent add something about your reason for moving, too? They sometimes have comments about 'motivated' buyers.

Agree. At the moment period properties are not in vogue mainly due to high heating and maintenance costs. Putting what gas and electricity costs a month (if its not too bad) and highlighting insulation or anything you have done to improve building construction or damp will help. I am a period property buyer, so a lot of what people say is nonsense., said by people who would never buy a period property. Things like storage and layout don't bother period property buyers (and frequently storage is better than in modern properties due to cute little cupboards everywhere). I have large vintage wardrobes because i buy period properties! But the market is flush with them currently. What does bother period property buyers is the prospect of moving in and finding horrible things. Paying for your your own level 3 survey and quotng it in the advert may help a lot. The parking issue is a huge deal though and you are highly unlikely to sell at that price in this market because of it.

This is an odd comment, no type of property is ever in vogue. But period property is very desirable to the dmongraphic it has always been desirable to.

I see where you live there's a lovely estate agent, google Warren , estate agent , he really cares and will help you move ASAP.

Some may in some areas but this one clearly isn't. People are choosing cheaper 1930s semis with the benefit of a drive/ front garden and on quieter, more private roads.
In addition, I think that older period properties, which are more expensive to heat and have much higher maintenance costs, have fallen in value as the cost of energy and maintenance has risen so much. It's the same for properties which have had no maintenance/ upgrades for decades. People used to buy those and hope to make a bit of profit but that's impossible now unless the price is much lower.

I am sorry if I confused you, I just meant the state of the market right now means that buyers haver far more power, and the state of cost of living means that people are more careful. You just have to look at the trouble the OP has selling her house. Period properties are niche, and it is true that people who like period properties (like me) will always like period properties. However, with gas, electric and construction prices the way that they are, this is putting a lot of people off, particularly those who wish to buy one for the first time. In addition, there are many many period properties out there. I have just bought one, and could have chosen from six in my area. I ended up getting one with a £50,000 reduction in price. I also discounted a lot of properties because they, didn't have a garage which is one of my must haves. From my recent experience, i was able to be pretty demanding. For example, the vendor paid for a chartered surveyor to check the chimney when it came up in survey. That would not have happened at a more buoyant time. This will all change at some point, but the OP needs to decide whether moving is more important that making money at this stage.

what on earth do you mean?

Both the living room and the conservatory are very tasteful and far from cluttered.

Some posters even say they look 'cold'.

There's a floor plan now so you can see where the stairs are - it's a mezzanine floor.

Ah thank you. I was naively only expecting a few replies! But honestly, it has thankfully been more beneficial than not and already been able to edit some bits of the listing whilst we figure out our next move and make some improvements based on the feedback that has actually been helpful in the interim.

I think a BIG problem is the bedrooms.

The main bedroom on the mezzanine floor is cramped and it's a long way down the stairs to a loo in the night.

The bedroom with the double bed looks tight too because you can't walk round the bed- and presumably the bed won't fit the other way round?

The third bedroom is really cute and for me that would be the master bedroom if it could take a double bed, maybe more so if you could break through into the adjoining bathroom to make it ensuite.

For me, it's the sort of house that might work for older couples - retirees' -or even a single person or a child-free couple - who want a pretty house, small garden, no growing family and all they want are 2 beds and a study/office.

I don't think it's a family house as there's no garage, nowhere to store bikes (garden shed?) .

@Veebie86 Now you are here ....I think it's beautiful but I'm much older with grown up children.

I think it's a couple's home who want to downsize, or a family with small children who won't see it as their forever home.

@Veebie86 In Bedroom 2 where you have a double bed, does it fit on another wall so that people can walk round it?

A double bed that has only one side as access is a no-no unless it's a room for one person.

It makes that bedroom equivalent to a single.

This is the problem- the bedroom with the cot looks like a child's room when in fact it might take a double.

The 'double' where it's against the wall looks like a single

And the mezzanine looks cramped and like a 'den' for a teenager not a couple.

Floor plan is in with photographs or am I missing something 🤔
Beautiful house OP, but do believe bit pricey and going to have to drop , also dark wood is definitely not popular at the moment which is a shame, as I like it lol (call me old fashioned 🤣)All the best, hope you sell asap

Thank you! The bedroom images are one of the key points we need to have a think about tbh based on all the feedback we’ve had for when we get new photos done and relist. Historically the mezzanine has been the master bedroom (it was for the couple we bought from) with dressing room below, but that’s obviously not been suitable for us - we had our first 10 days after moving in in 2021 😅so for us bedroom 2 has always been the ‘master’ and our mezzanine has been our guest room (/my partners bed most nights)!

Our toddler is 2.5 so we were planning in the coming weeks to put him in a ‘big boy’ bed anyway as a double fits where his cot is, so need to decide if we change his room to a more ‘grown up’ room and put two cots in our current ‘master’ bedroom 2 and the mezzanine does become the ‘master’ again.

if you see the old listing we did used to have our king bed (in bedroom 2) centre of the room and it’s actually back that way again now so it’s definitely a photo to update but again, depends how we decide to stage the room; king bed still or cots.

I'm pleased you are open to ideas!

So.....my advice is you maximise the space in the bedrooms and consider how they would work best.

I can see the conflict between what works for YOU now, but what is not a good selling point when it's on the market.

At the moment, none of the bedrooms look workable.

Only one looks like a true double and that's the mezzanine but there is the height /beam issue and the stairs to a bathroom.

Turn your bed round in Bedroom 2 so the headboard is on the other wall at least! People like 2 bedside tables and lamps.

I think your house is lovely, but I've looked back and can see you paid £564k at the peak of the market. I know you've done work but it doesn't look that different from then.

So any buyer will probably look at the same info. And based on that then it probably is considered overpriced before anyone even bothers to come and have a look.

2021 was crazy in terms of house buying and literally anything seemed to sell for wild prices.

I don't think you are alone in that you possibly overpaid but it is just unfortunate that you now want to sell when mortgage rates are very high.

I think you either need to do a big price reduction or stay put until mortgage rates ease.

Your not using a local estate agent so presumably there is no local high street office or local knowledge? It might be putting some people off who are not so comfortable not being able to have a local contact or better known estate agent.

The price looks right to me. It's Cheadle and it's a period property.

I wouldn't mark up the current Bed 1 on the plan as 1 as the bed area looks tiny. Choose the bedroom with the largest space for a bed to be Bed 1.

Is the floor plan on your details your current layout as it is now or the original layout from 2021. Is the current layout on the actual details on the estate agents website?

Is your house also able to be found by buyers looking on other website such as rightmove?

There is no mention of parking but there is a car and garage visible in the main photo. Is this your parking or the neighbours? If it's yours get it added to your details. If it's the neighbours get your estate agent to retake your main picture of the front of your house.

Your house is lovely.

you wouldn't have to show yourself, just walk round with the camera

I don't think one can be complacent about this any more. Buyers are much, much more conscious of energy costs and period properties are often very expensive to heat. An EPC rating of E is low and significant investment will be needed to improve it.

I have zero advice but just wanted to say your home is gorgeous!

Ooohh my giddy aunt your house is amazing!!! If I had £600k I would buy it in an instant. Not helpful I know. You could maybe have a video tour of it? They do that in my area. Have you tried having an open day? If people see other people interested they get Fomo.