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?

Maybe! But the main attraction is its proximity to the town centre and the station with fast trains to London. Otherwise it’s just another tiny terraced house. If you wanted St Albans in particular, there are better value houses a bit further out.

The double fronted house is a fake picture. Look at the floor plan it’s a half house.

Only it's not, and I speak as someone who considered St Albans for schools etc. Fortismere and Ally Pally schools are very good. Hornsey and Ally Pally stations are much closer to Kings X. If it was cheaper, then yes it's a lovely place. Same for those who don't commute. My comment was specifically about commuters and for them the house is simply overpriced so I very much doubt they are in the buyers pool.

I really like it. I love the kitchen, the brickwork , the bathroom. What would be putting me off is the downstairs bathroom, mostly single glazing, 2 beds (one single) small garden, grade II listing so difficult and more expensive to repair/extend. Are you getting any feedback after viewings? I really hope the right buyer comes along soon.

I’ve already told OP I don’t think she’s doing anything wrong. The only reason she hasn’t sold yet is that 3 sales unfortunately failed to reach completion, which could be for a variety of reasons. The right buyer will come along eventually.

I know some viewers can be time wasters but 30? I don’t think so or it would be common for houses to attract that many viewings which it isn’t in this market. There have been plenty of mumsnet threads recently from people saying they have struggled to get more than a handful of viewings on months so this house is obviously very desirable.

And me disagreeing with your comments is nothing personal. You’re just giving your opinion and so am I.

How do you expect to get advice if you won't share the property?

The reasons why house A won't sell are probably completely different to why house B isn't selling.

That's not the right one

The other houses that could be yours are in Sopwell Lane and Park St.
I know Park St isn't so central but there is a beautiful house there for £620K.

It's all been a sheer waste of time trying to make comments when you've changed the details to be anon.

If it's Grade 11 and has a basement and downstairs bathroom, any one of those is a no-no for buyers.

If you've changed any of those to be anon, that makes a difference.

Because it's a lovely historic city with quick and regular trains to London and about 100 pubs to choose from.

its close to the countryside, close to other lovely areas, its just generally a nice place to live as young professionals if you want greenery and a nice place to stay to raise children.

so that could be the OP's?

The plot thickens.

Well it's not only me who thinks that as the ST rated it as one of the best places in the UK to live.

Being too expensive is subjective.
Why is it too expensive for a commuter?

Because it's a lovely historic city with quick and regular trains to London and about 100 pubs to choose from.

If it’s the Lower Dagnall St one then OP could stand on the front step and there’s two within spitting distance (which is a plus for some).

I might be wrong, but if its the one I think it might be (terraced house, just under 600k, downtairs bathroom, cellar/office space, been on the market around 3 months) then the issues I can see are:

1. lots of brick, which can make it look/feel cold, try to make it look warmer with colour, rugs, cushions, flowers.
2. too much furniture! Looks difficult to move around and makes it look smaller than it might be.
3. garden looks a bit 'busy' with all the side plants/bushes. can you try to make it look bigger?
4. No parking.
5. Make the front look more appealing, hanging baskets etc.

If this doesn't apply to your house, then ignore me.

It's not necessarily fake is it?

There are terraced houses where the door in the middle opens to a passageway with one house on each side.

The details say 2 bedrooms so it was unlikely to be the whole thing-unless one room deep?

That could be one house that has been split though.

Well that’s certainly a good reason why it’s not selling. However, the only reason I can think of why prices are so high in St Albans is because the town is attractive to London commuters.

No it’s not because the OPs definitely has a downstairs bathroom, whereas the one which looks double fronted but isn’t has an upstairs bathroom!

It’s a bit like Rightmove sudoku/ wordle. Those of us who spend hours on Rightmove every day have an advantage!

I think it’s defo the lower dagnall st one.

I was married to a property photographer for over 20 years who used to have to turn business away. 😉

You're wrong.

It's not being dismissively superior to point out that the finish and detailing on a 'designer' kitchen are very poor. If the designer kitchen is supposed to be a selling point, it's been very badly let down by the execution of the installation.

You have a small market unfortunately. Listed properties are very slow to sell at the moment due to the cost of upkeep which has risen massively, heating, etc. Listed, which usualy have limited parking, are always difficult to shift. We were looking from last october to june for a hpuse near your area, all the listed houses we saw are still on the market now. We went for character but not listed as it's so restrictive and expensive especially when it cones to the roof. So it's a waiting game until you find the right people unless you want to lower the price to entice people in.

Oh, I know this "desirable street", passing it quite often when driving.
600K too much in my opinion.

But how do you know it's definitely got a downstairs bathroom?

OP said she's changed some details.

The bathroom could be one of those.

It looks a characterful cottage. I would take everything off the mantelpiece, take out the cushions, take off the red tablecloth. Then get new photos done to emphasise the space.
Having the bathroom downstairs is a real issue and might mean you will need to reduce the price.

I know that but that’s all I could go on not taking all other factors into account. It’s more the fact that wages haven’t risen in line with it so I could never buy any of those two up two downs today but bought as a single person back then. It’s a shame is all.

I sold it years ago.

I thought she said she changed some relatively unimportant things, I’d put that in the important category.

I can only guess which house it is. If I'm right you need to stage with double bed even if small doubles. Show the rooms can fit a double. If I was a divorcee I'd like room for two singles and a double bed.

I think aspects of it look a bit student like, sorry its hard and just my opinion. Their is,a lovely period staged house the same,as the bones of yours. I could see myself more in that one. Your house is lovely but if I have the right one the beds suggest it's two small unless you are two students sharing