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?

I'm from St Albans. I don't think the price is massively wild for the location. Maybe part of the issue is that people have more flexibility with WFH now, they don't need to pay over the odds to be so close to London? Me and my DH just bought and had a 600k budget. But rather than buy a tiny 2 bed in St Albans, we moved half an hour north and got a 4 bed with a garage, utility room, driveway and 2 upstairs bathrooms.

It will be the price. We have a sub division in my city which has mostly on street parking and downstairs bathrooms and homes always sell quickly at the right price because it's got a thriving high street, lots of parks and restaurants so everything is very walkable.

If it's the Lower Dagnall St property, then whilst it's nicely presented and the kitchen units look good from a distance, the overall finish and detail is poor when you look at the photos in close-up. Similar issues with the finish/detail applies in several other rooms.

• Why is there a pipe and thermostatic valve stump left where a radiator was in the sitting/dining room? This suggests the heating system is an unfinished project.
• Trailing leads indicate a shortage of sockets in useful places.
• Scuffed and chipped paintwork on floors and skirting boards, and badly fitted panelling and skirting.
• Having the "den" dressed as a bedroom probably doesn't help sell to anyone with reservations about cellars.

We sold a similar cottage property in London (smaller though!) and it did take a while to sell.

I think properties like this have a smaller pool as you say - either people who are used to living in flats and therefore aren't worried about a downstairs bathroom, or people who genuinely appreciate/enjoy the cottage-ness of it.

Hang on in there though, we eventually got more or less asking.

where are you reading this?

Ive read everywhere one interest cut a year over the next 3 years down to 3.75% by 2027

You're getting viewings, you're getting offers. Unless a mortgage survey is coming back as its over valued (and you probably would have been told that), you've just been unlucky and this will take longer, as it's not a mass market proposition. There's no evidence of any problems with your listing or price.

People are also anticipating rate falls so are waiting to see what better deals they can get later on. I think things will pick up in the new year.

It's looks lovely but my god, I'm glad I live in the north east! I'm looking to buy next year, budget will be £150-200k which will get me a 3/4 bed 2 bathrooms with driveway and garden!

I’m finding the photos really confusing and they aren’t doing you any favours. I don’t understand the room with the blue cupboards and bed, where is this?

I think it has the bones to be a great house but you’re not showing it to its best. There’s too much furniture in the living space, lose the chairs and either the extra chair at the table or the bench.

You’re very much giving the impression you’ve outgrown it.

As per my later posts, that is the brochure, when someone is browsing right move (and I dont use any other property website), I wouldnt go into the brochure. The information should be in the rightmove listing, clear, its a really important aspect of the property

I didn't read it - following the inflation drop recently, the Beeb's economics editor said it was predicted there would be two interest rate cuts by the BoE by the end of the year. This may have an effect on mortgage rates though they'll never be as low as there were.

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

First and most obvious 2 mistakes -

1. Just because you bought a house for a certain amount, doesn't actually mean it's worth that. Lots of people pay too much for houses, and they find that out the hard way afterwards.

Just because you bought it for an unwise price, doesn't mean that you should or will be able to pass on that cost to the next unsuspecting and unfortunate buyer. They may take you up on it if they really, really want the place and plan on spending the rest of their lives there. If they're incredibly rich, they might do as well, but no one sensible will.

2. Just because you spent money renovating somewhere to your taste, doesn't mean you'll be able to pass that onto someone else (plus charge them for the honour, as many try to do). Some people spend so much money on fancy things, only to not understand why their totally average house doesn't sell for as much as they'd like.

At the end of the day, you can kit your house as if it's a Starship Enterprise, but it will still be a 2 bedroom house in size, to use an example. You can't renovate your way out of a small house unless someone spends a good amount of money on an extension, if there's room on the land, and if it's allowed (which might be more complicated on listed buildings).

This brings me to it's listed status. That's extra hassle & extra expense on top of potential other issues. I'm not in your target market, but it would be a no for me unless it was an absolute bargain. Even installing something basic & non-cosmetic can be a hassle, like double glazing just to keep the house warmer.

No way prices in St Alban are +30% since 2018. If anything the train commute to London has gotten significantly worse and more expensive. This is 550k max.

Welcome to the SE @xyz111 That's the going rate in some areas.

I didn't read it - following the inflation drop recently, the Beeb's economics editor said it was predicted there would be two interest rate cuts by the BoE by the end of the year. This may have an effect on mortgage rates though they'll never be as low as there were.

I thought drops were already priced in as there have been lower deals the past few months?

Unfortunately op, the basement looks damp, it looks like water has come up and soiled the jute rug and is being covered up partially by another runner rug, but you can see it’s dark at the edges and hiding something, I’d get a new rug, as I’d lift that runner and look underneath. Everyone will. Also when you look up you can see black stuff, which maybe just dirt on the piping. Again I’d assume damp the basement has a damp problem and a signficant one at that..

there is also two rooms missing, it says a home office and a bedroom upstairs .

you also also see as a pp said, some of the finish is off, black marks on the skirting and lower wall by the fridge for example, take a magic eraser to it and touch it up,

I think though if you have damp in rhe basement, which is hugely common if it was tanked, then that is going to make it virtually unseeable.

When we bought our first house, a terrace in Watford, we made the mistake of not giving enough weight to parking. Single yellows gave way to doubles and the proximity of small shops plus Vicarage Rd footy ground being two blocks back meant parking was a nightmare.

In practice there was usually space within 100 metres in a road at right angles to ours but sometimes I left a couple of streets away. We didn't need it during th week and once I lost it; couldn't remember where I left if after arriving home when Watford were playing Man U. Had to ride around the streets on my bike until I spotted it!!

What does the agent say?

Are you geting feedback after viewings?

Why did sales fall through?

OP I've just seen your house. It looks lovely - you've done a great job on decorating and have good taste. It's inspiring and shows what can be done with a small terraced house. Lovely kept garden too. Photos are fine. Likely it's just overpriced and the listed status isn't helping.

I appreciate it's about location, but as a regular first time buyer, I do think that this house being on the market for 600K is absolutely mental and is the reason why our society seems increasingly broken for most younger people in the U.K.

Why is there no link @Alldressedupnowheretogo ?

There are 3 houses on RM that are £600K - terraced and old.
One is Grade 11 listed with a cellar.

Is that yours or is yours one of the other two?

I'm in the north-west and - same! 😩

Those prices are crazy. Our house is only worth 80k and we have more outside space than that, as well as a garage and off-road parking!

You have a good eye.

If it's the lower Dagnall one then it's nice but you have a lot of competition.

Given that the average FTB is now around 32 years old many will be thinking of kids and your home won't be suitable long term. This will be important if any parent is planning to work part time as they wont be able to meet the affordability criteria for larger homes.

I know two couples that both bought on Culver Street as ftb, extended then moved to something bigger still in StA town centre off the back of that profit - that can't be achieved with your house as you dont have the plot and listed building complications. Your house is really for childless singles/couples (or maybe a co parent) so that's the lifestyle you need to stage your house for.

And that's why I'm considering moving out of my part of Wales. The houses here are in such poor condition, which are not always shown in the photos. I've seen everything from Japanese Knotweed to damp, to gardens so steep they're really unusable. And for that you'll pay 150k and upwards. I appreciate that's cheap for Londeners, but it's not for the rest of us who have to get buy on rural jobs & low wages.

@soupfiend How do you know t's that house and not the one in Sopwell Lane?

Can someone please link to the house?
Did the OP remove the link?