Another why is my house not selling post

[Alldressedupnowheretogo]

I have a mid terraced house on the market in the most desirable street in St Albans. Priced at £600k which exactly fits (sold) comps and reflectsw we I spent renovating it + average valuation gain in the area since i bought it.

Must have had 30 viewings. Two offers on the first open house day at £5k below asking. Both fell through. Another FTB then offered and pulled out.

It’s all freshly decorated and staged. It’s a cottage like most in this area - disadvantages of these structures are downstairs bathroom and no hallway - but with the addition of a fully tanked basement with spare room/reception and home office. The moisture levels are the same on each floor so no damp in the basement. The doors and windows are beautifully re-done. The kitchen is De Vol.

It’s been on for three months. What do I do?

I think it’s my target market (FTBs, divorcees) not being able to get their mortgages as they all keep coming and people are offering and then pulling out.

But these are the things that maybe make it hard to sell?

Lack of parking spaces for residents (city centre issue).

Extra 300 ft of basement space not worth much?

People freak out about basements even when fully tanked?

Can’t do the loft as it’s Grade II listed.

Price??? Not sure about this one as the fallen-through offers were v close to asking.

Viewer feedback is mainly that they think basement will flood (not in flood zone) and the stairs need repainting (yes but srsly??)

Help?

Which house, website is it please as I can’t see it on Rightmove for £600k

I don’t think listed building status should make much difference. It would for a doer upper but this one is already done up. The astroturf is neither here nor there!

It’s not double glazed, so I’d want to know why not - and if the listed status makes it too difficult / expensive. I’d also not be keen on astroturf - it’s a pain to remove and replace with something more in keeping.

Why would the commuters go for a small overpriced house in St Albans if they could commute from Barnet/Crouch End/Muswell Hill/Hornsey for less ££?

Because it's probably just as quick to commute from St Albans? 17 minutes to St Pancras. And it's a lovely city!

Where are you @Alldressedupnowheretogo ?

My concerns are:

Tanking a cellar in an old house is almost always a bad idea which will cause long term problems as the water shifts into the walls above the tanking. From the pictures it looks like there might already be tanking failures.

There appear to be a lot of impermeable modern material which again will cause problems and almost certainly damage to the fabric of the building.

Do all the changes have LBC? It would be unusual for exposed brick to be considered "in-keeping", for example.

If people are offering and then pulling out it suggests something is wrong that isn't being revealed in the sales listing that is being found out in the course of standard enquiries.

Who tiled the bathroom, it looks terrible.

@BunnyLake Your calculations are skewed.
Inflation and the rise in house prices are independent of each other.
What you paid 23 years ago will bear no resemblance to its current value.
Right Move and other sources show the % increase per year. They are often around 10% which is more than inflation.

If you are in a lovely sought-after city just 20 mins from central London, your house will be worth far more than £226K. have you had a valuation?

Which house are you looking at? So far I’ve read people saying decor is busy, decor is plain, bathroom is upstairs, bathroom is downstairs (I know it’s downstairs so people are obviously not looking at the right house), it’s cramped, it’s cold looking, imma confused :(

Why would the commuters go for a small overpriced house in St Albans if they could commute from Barnet/Crouch End/Muswell Hill/Hornsey for less ££?

LOL Maybe because St A is far nicer than all those places. With better schools and more green spaces.

No parking and listed buildings are absolute no go’s for us.

It's evidently the one for £595.
I think the OP tried to hide the search by lowering the price.

This one House

But then you wouldn't view and make offers, then pull out would you?

I think buyers may have pulled out after a survey.

OP isn't saying. Maybe they couldn't get finance or couldn't sell their own houses.

Prob something to do with being listed x

Not sure if I'm imagining it but where the walls meet the ceilings in some of the rooms (bedrooms and bathroom) the paint seems very tatty or even exposing damp. It's not a neat finish if it's the decorating.

It’s lovely, however for me the downstairs bathroom and the listing would have put me off as a FTB.
just on the bathroom issue you’re competing with lots of similar properties with an upstairs bathroom, to me your bathroom knocks about £20k off because I’d see it as a problem to fix. Most FTBs don’t have extra cash it all goes into the purchase.
Theres also no pictures of the basement rooms on the listing so I’d suspect they aren’t very nice or useable.

Perhaps the mortgage companies are valuing it lower?

How odd that OP would do one post and disappear.

And the Estate Agent's website says its Sold STC.

It's the going-rate for St Albans, and it's a key commuter city so lots of young people earn London salaries.

Just out of interest. What would a young FTB earn in London?

No. 35 was sold 2 years ago for £555k and has a much cleaner and more together feel to it, including an upstairs bathroom.

I fudged and changed some non crucial details for our privacy so I can’t say exactly which house it is. But just wanted to say for those who have given general feedback about positioning, decor, pricing and market and FTBs this has been an amazing amount of absolutely stunning advice. So valuable. Thanks all.

St Albans is absolutely lovely. I don’t live there but would if I could. From the OP’s house, everything is on your doorstep- loads of shops, restaurants, cafes, cosy pubs, lovely old buildings, a cinema, beautiful park, whopping great cathedral, real countryside on your doorstep, quick train journey to London. Not everyone wants to live in a London flat. However, even if I was in the market for a cottage, the downstairs bathroom would make the Lower Dagnall St one a no. People do buy them but it is a bit niche. If I were selling this house I would do all the little jobs that let it down- chase in piping etc. Pay attention to the finish, ditch some of the furniture and declutter by removing the quirkier pictures and table cloths etc. some of the nearby (admittedly bigger and more expensive) houses have very high end finishes. This cottage is not a doer-upper but not polished either. And add pix of the missing rooms!

Well, it depends on what they do! There are plenty newly qualified in law who start on anywhere from £125-£175K .

Investment bankers can be on anything up to and around £100K depending on a bonus.

So if it's a couple both earning that they can easily afford £600K.

That's a bit unhelpful because the other Grade 11 listed is a double fronted one with an upstairs bathroom and totally different with massive kerb appeal.

that's crackers "Why is my house not selling and no I am not going to tell you which one it is"