How to market quirky houses

[effy6]

Does anyone have any tips for how to market unusual homes? We're reluctantly selling this property (due to health problems and care needed) and I'm just not sure it's reaching the target audience.

It's a gorgeous home but definitely quirky - a pond with working fountain in the conservatory(!), as well as land and buildings.

Braving posting a link - I know it's not to everyone's taste but hopefully it will find someone who loves it as much as we have. www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/134912855

Really welcome any tips on how to reach a wider audience who might not necessarily be local.

Too many photographs of the same thing from different angles, and all with distracting miscellaneous ‘stuff’ in them, which takes the eye away from the actual room that you are trying to sell. I was going through them because you had asked, and I was getting very tired. I think if I was doing my first pass on Rightmove, My eyes would have glazed over and I would have ( ahem) moved on.

Ditch the description, it’s a big house with a lot of usable land. That’s what you are selling. You don’t need to tell people what to think about it (and ‘quirky’ is EA speak for ‘blimey, who is going to buy this one’).

Get a drone shot of the total property, and make that number one. This will show that you are detached, that you have a lot of usable and attractive land. Ditch the potential development, people who are up for that like to think that they have thought of that for themselves, clever them.

Please label the photos, it’s almost impossible to make out which room is which and align it to the floor plan.

I probably would get a decorator into at least the kitchen and the vivid blue ceiling, but that would be optional. You must get your lawns mowed though before the new photos, I am a passionate gardener with a husband who has two big mowers, but that would daunt me.

( I would love an internal fountain and probably go and see it just for that!)

Good luck.

i have never understood why so much significance is placed on decor, furnishings, people's possessions or clutter when viewing a house.

I always visualise it as empty and clear, which is usually how it will be on buying it.
Then the uses to which rooms are put become irrelevant, because my imagination overlays it with my own ideas.
I’ve never viewed a house without having it totally redone, redecorated and furnished, all in my mind!

For me, the salient points are: state of repair, condition of gardens, bathrooms, kitchen, fittings, price.
Most of these things need attention, in my view.
The garden needs a tidy, the bathrooms will need to be redone and re floored and the kitchen isn't for me.

I would expect to redecorate throughout, so don't care about the colour choices, or the pine.
I know the area and I do think it is overpriced.
But I like the house and I like Louth.

I have had another look at your photos. I will take back what i said in my previous post.
Your house is not cluttered, however, it is visually busy.
Lots of clashing colours - walls, ceilings, bed spreads, wall tiles, cushions, carpets, filing cabinets, packed book cases............................
You want your house to say 'space' because it is a big house, but actually I am being distracted by a red & blue filing cabinet and yellow walls and a red ceiling.

I am really good at seeing past other people's stuff and decor, being able to see which walls to knock down etc but even I am struggling with this house. Every surface looks like it will need to be 'touched.'

I think everything needs to be pared back where possible - buying plainer duvet covers, painting the red ceiling would be a start

@Giggorata

Loads of people find it really hard to visualise houses empty or with their own stuff in a space. They find it difficult to see beyond what is there in front of them. That's why you should market properties to what would appeal to most buyers

I think people can also be too close to a property. The op loves it, so she sees it differently to a stranger.

She sees it as quirky. And thinks it needs people who like quirky houses.

i look at it and see a lovely house, spacious, nothing quirky about it, other than the water feature, but the house itself is not remotely quirky. I see it as it is very dated and has not been touched for a long time. Which makes me wonder what else hasn’t been touched,,ie has it been maintained, and the cost and resource involved to redecorate, recarpet/floor , do kitchen, bathroom, replace conservatory roof, boiler, maybe electrics. It’s a lot in a large property.

i also see its location, and nearby sold prices, and understand it is significantly overpriced for its location, and would be if it was fully renovated., and it is not.

Not a professional.

It's not quirky but it's not, not quirky. It's a bloody gorgeous house but none of it "fits". I'm very good at seeing houses how I would like them to be if they were mine but this needs a lot of paint.

As others have said, I'd paint everything white and move stuff out. I 100% understand the mother who thinks this is empty as both my mother and grandmother live in ordered chaos. It's hard work but if you want it to get what it's worth, roll those sleeves up. 💪🏻

I like colour, and I like the colour of the walls - but the green against the red Aga just was a bit too much for me (and I have that colour green in my hallway myself). It's not the colours - it's the clash of the colours with the furnishings and upholstery in the rooms that makes it tip over into "too much" at times.

The attic could be such a huge selling point as it's a big big space - but it's just shouting "dumping ground".

The blue bathroom tiling was the only bit that screamed too dated not to drive me mad for me.

Not sure how that will help: most people look online these days. And you can do that from pretty much anywhere in the world.

I love the house, very much my aestheic HOWEVER it looks like there is a lot of work to be done.

First thing is that carpert in the bathroom.

The bathrooms are outdated and I am wondering about all the different stoves - is it a cold house ? Does the heating system need to be upgraded along with the windows ?

It has an air of not being maintained over the last 10 years

I absolutely love it and would be viewing like a shot if I was in the market.

I was hoping for tips on selling a “quirky” house as I have one too but as expected it’s mostly arguing about “quirky”! It has character and personality which is sadly lacking in many homes nowadays.

What about trying to go more strongly for the ‘country living’ angle? Change to an agent like Savills or Fine and Country and instead of emphasising the building plot emphasis the potential for a ‘small-holding’. I mean it’s not really big enough for a proper small holding, but for someone who wanted that kind of lifestyle: chickens, maybe a couple of goats, orchard, kitchen or even small market garden. Get them to focus more on photographing the whole holding and maybe less is more where internal photos are concerned!

NigelHarmansNewWife · Today 08:39
MrsSkylerWhite · Yesterday 09:37

Which agent are you with? Sign up with one who is a member of Countrywide. Your house will be in around 1,200 shop windows up and down the UK.
**
Not sure how that will help: most people look online these days. And you can do that from pretty much anywhere in the world.”

You’d think so, wouldn’t you. We were advised by several agents that footfall is still a significant factor, especially with cash buyers. we’re also advised that having a board is absolutely worthwhile. I was surprised. (Sold and bought 6 times over 35 years)

I wouldn't particularly call it quirky... I can't see any features that would define it as such. The photos don't really do the space justice, there's a lot of clutter in each of the rooms which makes it hard to visualise how someone else might use it. The colours are also quite dated so a quick lick of paint to freshen it up would help.

It's a lovely home, and obviously well-loved. But all I can see is work, a lot of renovations, and that huge garden. It wouldn't be for me at all at any price, but it must have been a lovely home to grow up in.

Careful on the board. I drive past an overgrown for sale sign every day. It's been up for about a year now.
It's become a local joke.

Louth is a really weird place to sell these days - with all the new houses they are building out by the garden centre and the schools are all on the other side of town. To top that the location is rural and the roads are not motorways for connection to the rest of the world!

In a minimalist and find nothing outlandish about it
games room needs to be staged just looks like a dumping ground
I’d spend a few hundred on replacing the 3 coloured row of tiles in bathroom to tone it down

get a joiner to take fancy bits off conservatory beams they’d look loads better plain

whilst there’s a fair bit of stuff in there doesn’t look particularly cluttered but it looks very clean and maintained

Oh I like the fancy bits. Very quaint,removing would make it a big standard old conservatory

Saying it’s not quirky is not an insult, it is simply a very normal house, and a very nice one at that . Quirky means unusual in an attractive way, the house isn’t unusual . Yes it has a couple of unsuhal features,it’s subjectuve if you feel those features are attractive, ie the water feature,

it looks to me like a much loved family home,fairly sure it was idyllic place to grow up ,but it looks like many parts have not been touched for 40 or 50 years ie carpeted bathrooms etc.

the op asked about getting it to a wider audience as she thinks it’s unusual etc, it’s on Rightmove, she is hitting the right audience, pretending it’s unusual and that’s the issue, will do her no favours if she needs to sell. Or giving her tips for selling quirky homes won’t help either, a it is not quirky just dated and over priced, but still overall a lovely property that needs work

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/news/articles/property-news/quirkiest-properties-for-sale

I like the fish pond in the conservatory!

I'm struggling with understanding which room is which - it all looks a bit muddled - and I'm not loving some of the stronger colours.

I think a bit of a clear out to make it clear what rooms are used for what, and a bit of fresh paint where it's needed would be good. The garden looks a bit overgrown so if it would be possible to give it a mow and a tidy up that would help.

I always find it helpful when the photos have labels to tell you what rooms the photos are of, but not many sites do that.

The house looks nice, but very dated. I'm over 60 and my DH is over 70 and we still look at house listings and point out the ones where 'old people' live!

Bathroom carpet is really offputting to people even if it's relatively easy to change - it's extremely old-fashioned and one of the things that would therefore make me wonder if everything else has been maintained.

I think it's a lovely house, but agree it's not quirky as such - it's just not a beige/magnolia/grey box.

One thing that strikes me is that none of the photos are taken with the lights on, as always seems to be the case these days. That says to me it's a very light house, even with some of the stronger colours.

I think I'd aim to get rid of some more of the 'stuff' as a first step, and retake the photos. I know what people mean about painting it, but that's not free, and if you do one room you need to do them all really. I think it could just look a bit better without some excess things. You've got some areas where there is nik-nak overload, and then others which look like soulless rooms (bedrooms) - I'd try and balance that out a bit more.

Clearly the bathrooms need replacing (but you know that), but the conservatory is the other room where most buyers would probably want to do work (other than cosmetic stuff). The beams and the water feature would be the most offputting things for me. And is that a polycarbonate roof? If so, I can't imagine it's ever a nice room to be in, but having a log burner in there suggests it's a room that gets used. For me, there's plenty of living space in the house, so I'd probably get rid of the conservatory (if I bought it, not suggesting you do that!) and make it into a nice outdoor seating area.

I would consider replacing the table in the kitchen with an island - like a big butcher's block on castors. Then it nods to the modern take on kitchens with islands in, without actually having one. The table (with single chair) is a bit odd. And the dining table is right next door.

I'd also stage the games room - that's a big bit of extra space which would be fab for a family - you've got a full size snooker table with a blanket over it!

My parents house was borderline quirky, for different reasons, and it took a long time for a buyer to be found (location was an issue there too). It was a hard slog, and they were desperate to move. But they got there in the end. Good luck!

It's a lovely house!
For me, "problematic quirkiness" in a house refers mostly to a weird floorplan where you have a to go through a bathroom to enter the garage for example.

This house might not be to everyone's taste, but the floorplan seems logical and practical as much as I can see

Not quirky- really lovely - but I hate Lincolnshire - but for someone who doesn't it's a very lovely characterful home.

Inigo are a specialist agency for quirky/period houses (the period property offshoot of The Modern House) so their photos are a bit of property porn but useful for looking at how to dress a property for sale. They have a few that are not dissimilar in terms of character which might be worth a look at. I' not always convinced by their photo ordering but this one shows you what can be achieved outside - eg photos of an orchard etc https://inigo.com/sales-list/lower-lovetts-farm

This one is quite a good example of muting the colour palette without losing the charm https://inigo.com/sales-list/harlington as is this one https://inigo.com/sales-list/ripe-lane

And I'm selfishly including this one just for the lust factor https://inigo.com/sales-list/old-bowlish-house