No viewings in two weeks

[Boleynforsoup]

My house has been on the market for two weeks and I've not had a single viewing- one was booked but he cancelled 10 minutes before he was supposed to come.

It's on at 20k less than I had it on for 15 months ago and I had loads of viewings then but ultimately it wasn't the right time for me to move so I took it off market.

I've added a rightmove link:

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/150332717#/?channel=RES_BUY

I live SE region, know Bexhill well etc, looked at homes in this area last year. Those saying it's the price - it's the obvious thing to think, but knowing this region, I don't think it is - this is a good value home. While you might be able to find a small number of comparable homes for a little less, there will be many more on for more which are no 'better'.

OP your home looks LOVELY! I wouldn't have the dark paint on all the walls myself but it looks very stylish and it wouldn't put me off buying (painting a wall is literally the easiest of DIY jobs). I personally love the character, the garden photos are strangely shot but you can tell it's got nice paving. It's a perfect starter home. The bathroom isn't perfect but you're just not going to get everything perfect in a home like this, so personally I think it looks great!

The suspicious person in me would be thinking 'are they trying to avoid showing something' in the garden pictures (massive block of flats overlooking or something??) but I'd probably still think it's worth a view.

I honestly think it's likely just time of year - holidays etc. Selling is different from renting but I worked in a letting agents a few years ago and August was always dead. The only thing is having sold unsuccessfully last year it does put a 'black mark' on the property even if you were the one pulling out.

I'd ask the estate agents if they are surprised by the level of viewings so far. Make them earn they commission, give them a little call. Best of luck :)

Also i know a buyer could just paint the walls themselves but my impression looking at the photos is that it's a small dark house - painting those walls a lighter colour will instantly make it look larger and brighter.

I like the kitchen though, it goes well with the exposed brick so id just paint the living room and bedroom.

I’m always suspicious of a house where the first photo is not of the facade, suggests it doesn’t have kerb appeal. Can you improve that at all and reorder the photos?

Present the garden as a useable space, bistro table with a lantern on it and some pots of colour would do it. Current photos really are dire.

Do you have to climb into the bath from the narrow end to use the shower? That’s how it looks in the photo.

One of the bedrooms is really cluttered - loads of stuff on top of shelves. Get rid of all that, and the weird photo fairy light thing on the chimney breast wall.

I hate the hanging rails. Looks like a bedsit to me! I can’t unsee your winter coat with the furry hood. It’s at odds with your nice shutters and smart kitchen somehow. At least maybe box up your winter stuff and hide it away.

In the sitting room, is your tv at a really uncomfortable angle to watch? It looks like it is. Might be better on the cabinet? Every space really needs to look workable.

I don’t like the dark grey industrial look personally and I would know how many coats of paint that will take to cover it. But - it wouldn’t put me off buying it, would just need to be high on my to do list after moving in.

All this said OP - my son is currently house hunting for his FTB (London 🫣) and he’d be over the moon if they could afford something like your house there. Biggest factor has to be local market really.

We had two seventies age houses for sale behind us. One was very much stuck in the seventies and needed lots of cosmetic work. The other had been completely 'done'. The tired one sold . I met the people who bought it. They liked both but wanted to put their own stamp on it so bought the one that needed the work. The done one was priced to reflect the work that had been done and never sold. The people are still there 10 years later. Sometimes you can get back the money you've spent. Sometimes you have to accept that you can't. The market has fallen. Your garden photos are also awful.

Nice house. If I was to make a comment I'd say I'm automatically suspicious when I see a listing of a house which shows the interior first. It invariably means the street or outside location is rough. Or that the listing is a flat. So I'd change that and make the front of the house the first photo.

Second thing is the street view pin. It's further up the road from where it should be and outside a vacant lot. Ask them to move the pin to a better location.

Photos of the garden could be loads better. I'd maybe declutter a bit, possibly get rid of the tall pink locker in the lounge which seems to be looming.

Good luck.

I do not know the area or reasonable pricing.

But the photos are awful - really awful. I speak as a retired photographer!

The walls are dark and dreary and that is a difficult photographer challenge, especially as the rooms are small. The dark walls just make them look smaller; and in photos that becomes exaggerated.

The garden looks like nothing - a few flagstones with a tall fence. Not piquing my interest. The pic of the bathroom is unspeakable - what can they have been thinking of?

I would do two things:

• ignore the estate agent's advice and paint the walls white.
• get a new set of pics from someone who knows what they are doing. Or even do some yourself - you could not make a worse job of it!

It's a cute enough little house @Boleynforsoup (I don't know the area though so don't know whether it's good value for money or not but agree with a lot of posters who have said:

• photos are really not good at all and in a random order (why would the front of the house not be first?). I would ask for them to be retaken.
• the kitchen cupboards look wonky
• the bedroom hanging rails really put me off - they look scruffy ( you are obviously not scruffy!) and make me think there's no room for proper wardrobes. Also all your personal stuff on display is a no-no.
• the back garden photo is so random and looks like an advert for a jet washing company!
• why does it say for parking 'ask agent' - there either is or there isn't??? And likewise for size?! I have viewed some tiny houses in the past and they have room sizes listed - people know it's only a small 2 bed terraced they're not expecting huge rooms!

Right, I think I'm going to paint the front door for a bit more kerb appeal.

Then I'll get the photos redone especially with the garden furniture out as it is now (photos were done when it was originally listed and it was feb so furniture was away for winter). My boyfriend is a professional photographer so if the agents can't do a decent job I can get him to take some.

Sitting room is already different as the furniture people mentioned has changed/gone.

Can't really be arsed to repaint white at this point as I wouldn't be able to do it myself due to high ceilings and a fear of heights! If it still floundered after the above changes, I'd consider paying someone else to do it.

Maybe someone else could do the painting? It would certainly brighten it up, and make it that bit more saleable.
Your boyfriend could probably take far better pictures!

I think it is a nice house, well decorated and the dark walls wouldn’t bother me.
I probably wouldn’t be drawn to view it, because of the pictures:
The white cupboard in the sitting room- I’d move that. It seems out of place. it would make me wonder if that’s where you store your coats and shoes.

Just having a sofa seems like the room is small and antisocial- I suspect it isn’t- try and get/borrow an armchair. Put all the photos of the same room together.

Is there a desk in the corner of the blue bedroom? If there is space for that, take a picture of it.

I don’t understand your kitchen- this is just because of the pictures.

Biggest thing that means it’s easy to just keep flicking on through rightmove and makes you unmemorable, is the pictures. It looks like they were taken by someone sitting on the ground and then chucked into the listing without any attention paid. A photo from higher up would show the layout of the kitchen better. The bathroom picture makes it look like an apology- from your description it’s reasonably sized and well presented. You would never know. Dress the garden and get some good pictures showing it as a useful space.

And good luck. It is a difficult time to sell a house, everyone is away or busy. You may have to hang in there a month for it to pick up, but get the pictures changed while you are waiting.

Open cupboards look scruffy to me

And I'd resent the hell out of the dark paint after spending months removing my ex owners navy paint everywhere as takes so many coats to get rid of it

I wouldn’t worry about the paint, most people redecorate when they move in. I think it’s the price. For £240k, I would much rather this one. It’s got three bedrooms, an upstairs toilet and a separate dining room.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/147010226#/?channel=RES_BUY

Photos are in a weird order. Start with the front of the house first, it's a sunny photo.
Bathroom and garden don't look good.
Capital letters in description are off putting. Couldn't be bothered to read it as it makes the agent seem like a knob.

Could you paint/change the door as that may give the front a lift and make it more distinctive.

everything else is in good shape, so it must be price.

Like I said, 15 months ago I had loads of viewings and it was on for 20k more but life stuff came up and I couldn't sell then.

15 months ago some people likely had better mortgage deals.

The 'in excess of' is the way this particular agent markets.

Houses in excess of would put me off in this market. I wouldn’t look because I think the buyer is set on a certain price that I would deem too high.

The open cupboards are quite studenty. Are you appealing to first time buyers ? May be it's ok but i don't like it

The pictures are awful.

Garden looks tiny. You need to 100% get garden furniture and plants out there to show furniture fits

the kitchen says kitchen diner, but I don’t see any space to sit in pictures. If you have a table or seating at bar you need to show in pictures

bathroom, I can’t see anything just corner of a tile. I need to see if there’s bath/ shower/ storage

better front pictures. Is there a tiny front garden? Or is it direct onto curb?

I know you don't want to paint but I would definitely paint at least the kitchen. It's very dark and depressing looking. Its layout is difficult too as there are doors everywhere + the chimney breast. The current layout adds to the claustrophobic feel. it would have been better to have the cabinets against the walls that are there and have some wall cabinets too as there is very little storage in there. You said that the fridge and freezer are built in and I see what I think is a dishwasher too so that means there are very few cabinets available for plates, pots, pans, food, cutlery, cleaning products etc. Also, the only place to sit and eat in the whole house are those two barstools. As someone who likes to have people over that would definitely be a deal breaker and I would have to reconfigure the whole kitchen to be able to fit a proper dining area so I wouldn't view the house based on the kitchen. If there was a dining space in the lounge maybe I would have but you don't really want to put a table right by the front door.

The order of the photos is annoying. So are the angles-no proper garden or bathroom shot, makes it look like there is something to hide!

A downstairs bathroom would be a definite no from me, although I know plenty of people wouldn’t be bothered by that.

The decor in my opinion is lovely, but some people may not like the dark colours and are thinking it will be more work to paint over than lighter colours.

From what others are saying it seems to be overpriced. Check what’s up for sale locally to make sure?

For me it's the fact there isn't an upstairs toilet. I am at an age where a toilet on the same floor as the bedrooms is essential for me...

The rails do suggest no storage

It's the worst time of the year to sell. You need to get the EPC added. The garden photos are weird!

I think your house is lovely. I love the decor downstairs. I've seen that you're going to paint the door. I think that's a good idea and get some hanging baskets for more kerb appeal. The garden is small, but that's what you get with a terrace. I've saw some beautiful courtyard gardens. Dress it up, make it a proper additional space with furniture, pot plants, outdoor rug, mirror on the wall and fairy lights.

I personally think your house is really lovely. I actually really like the grey and think it looks fab against the brickwork. At the end of the day I wouldn't change that, the majority of people will look beyond the colour of the walls. I would do what some others have suggested, get rid of the cabinet next to the sofa, clear some clutter and change the order of the photos to show the outside front first, and have better photos taken of the bathroom and garden. Buyers like to see how they will use a space so make the garden nice, put the furniture out so that potential buyers can see how they can use it. People like to picture themselves in a house when they view it. I think its a lovely home for a first time buyer and would have loved it as a first home.
I am also on the market at the moment and viewings and interest has become non existent. Estate Agent assured us its because of the summer holidays and things will improve come the Autumn. Good Luck with the sale. I'm sure it will sell as you have a really lovely home 🙂xx

For me the dark paint would be very off putting - it’s oppressive (imo) and would be quite a big job to get it feeling light and bright in those important rooms.