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

Is the off street parking yours as in deeds

Or tech anyone can park there

As others said dark pics and the bedroom upstairs would put many off

Unless make it a teens bedroom

And the second bedroom as master

Not sure what the prices of houses are around your area. Evan though its a lovely house, but to me, its a bit pricey. Where I live, you can get 4 bedroomed detached houses with driveways and sea view for cheaper. Good luck

Well the area is relevant. That money in Bristol wouldn't even buy a shed.

This is nonsense.

Look for yourself on Right Move.

Why don't you just stay in it until the market improvs? Looking at the photos, it doesn't seem too small, unless the size isn't the problem? Smaller rooms cost less energy. The market will pick up once the Bank of England lowers the interest rate, Mortgages are very pricey at the moment. I think that perhaps the reason why the interest rates were increased is that we do not have the Russian oligarchs in London any more.

We cannot have it all. Better we support the Ukraine than have lower interest rates. You might not think so now, but if Russia takes over Ukraine, it will not stop there.

Did you have children when you bought it?

I agree, the area makes a massive difference. Years ago as a family we lived up North (where its grim)! and my Dad's job got moved down to Surrey. We had a four bedroom house, 2 bathrooms, big garden and double garage, for the same money in Surrey we would have got a 2 up 2 down with a corrugated roof and planning permission for an inside bathroom (no idea what they did, possibly a tin bath in front of the fire) so we stayed put and Dad commuted.

Different parts of the North command very different prices. Even in a relatively small area there can be huge differences. Professional footballers in the Cheshire stockbroker belt living in multi-million pound mansions, yet just over the county boarder into Merseyside or Greater Manchester, where the grounds are, there are very run down areas with fewer privately owned homes and a lot of deprivation.

Unless the owner is desperate to be nearer to family to help with the children they would be better to stay put for the time being till the market improves and then get a different agent and better photos.

VeryHappyBunny

We had the complete opposite experience.

We were in an area in the north of England where property in the early 80s was extremely expensive

It was £48,000 for a 3 bed terrace house in the north

We paid £30,000 for a similar house in London

Totally. I’ve seen more appealing properties on the outskirts of Guildford/Surrey hills than where we’re currently looking to buy…Wilmslow area & Knutsford…and cheaper!!
It’s ridiculously expensive around here, but with good reason. It’s a beautiful place to live and anything but grim!!
Cheadle Hulme is nice but doesn’t really command the prices of the golden triangle.

That's what I said, different areas have very different prices. In the early 80's (1983 to be exact) I bought a 3 bed terrace for £17,500.00. It was a big Victorian house with a back garden and original features such as mouldings and architrave. Similar properties are now selling for around £200k, yet others only a couple of miles away are going for £1.5m.

Depends on your definition of The North. The Lake District is much more expensive than the rest of Cumbria. In Cheadle Hulme (where this house is) you can pay in excess of £800k or go budget for a 2 bed park home for circa £90k, so you pay your money and make your choice.

I know this house and the area. Lovely house that is tucked away. I haven't heard of the estate agents you're with - I would change it to one of the local ones like Snowdon Wilkinson or Mosley Jarman. That way they can organise an open house for one weekend. I would also consider dropping the price down to £590k as this would attract more people to view and it could lead to a bidding war. We sold ours straight away for the full asking price after we had an open house viewing.

Another thing I've noticed is that there's 2 bathrooms off the landing? Plus there seem to be a lack of wardrobes upstairs? The main bathroom is huge and a waste of floor space. I would rethink the layout and get rid of one bathroom and convert that into an office. That way, in the mezzanine room, you could put wardrobes in there instead of the computer desk and also, open up underneath the staircase for shelves etc.