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?

If it's the one people say it is, it's not £600k
It's £595K.

OP says it's £600K.

That makes a difference with a search!

Not for £600K.

There is one for £595K but OP said £600K.

Apart from the 3 people that actually have offered very close to 600k you mean?

And the 30 people who booked a viewing - why would so many show interest if is clearly overpriced? A house very overpriced normally gets no viewings.

That part of St Albans is absolutely delightful no comparison with a two bed flat in Crouch End! But it’s simple. It’s overpriced £550k and it would go like a shot. The parking thing isn’t an issue if you want to live in that part of St Albans transport is very good. Personal cars are totally overrated.

Yes it is!

I struggled to sell my house due to a variety of factors and accepted a price drop. Sale fell through but what I'm convinced helped get a quick second sale was that the Sold sign stayed up.

Suddenly there were more viewings than previously, even though it had been on the market for ages. The Sold sign, despite it being listed For Sale on Right Move, seemed to create some friction, some urgency.

For the benefit of those who don't know the area-my boyfriend has 2 houses in AL1. Both 2 bed terraced. Both no parking. He lives in one and rents one out to a late 20s couple. Their base salary is £100k combined. £3k pm rental. He had 5 applicants the day it came onto the market last year. St A's prices are crazy.

I've walked past your house several times OP, as we love The Verulam. I definitely wouldn't say it's the best street in town. It's not Fishpool Street.

I think you're priced about right. You have a small pool of buyers who will see the value in paying more for your property. And from that pool, you'll need to find buyers who are happy having the bathroom opening directly onto the kitchen. Good luck.

For £595K perhaps
Not £600K as OP said.

Was that intentional on her part?

Whats a devol kitchen?

Who knows - people look at houses all the time. It doesn't mean they're actually going to buy them.

You seem very keen on trying to pull my answers apart and prove me wrong for some reason - I'm just giving my opinion (which is the same as many others) - if you don't agree, why not give OP your view on why she can't sell her house instead of telling everyone else how wrong they are?

I'm confused about which house we're looking at?

I’m fairly sure the Dagnell one is the ops. It matches her description exactly and is the only one which does, the 5k difference I assume she’s rounded up .

i think she’s not come back as it was found and she’s really oversold it in the op. She’s called out no damp in the basement, when there is no need to say that, and it looks like she’s protesting, as that jute rug makes it look like there is a very signficant damp problem in the basement.

no one viewing will miss the fact it’s got a major damp problem if that’s the case.

If it is the Lower Dagnall St, it is very cute but the rooms are tiny.
I wouldn't buy a house with a main sitting room that tiny and the front door opening straight into it. The dining room is even smaller.
Also, I think to describe the kitchen as 'breakfasting' is a stretch. It has a space for one person to sit at a small piece of worksurface.
Why isn't the 'Home Office' a photo- it would give an impression of more living space.
£600,000 is a lot for those tiny room space but I live in a place where £600,000 would buy you a nicely done 1920s semi on a smart street with front and back gardens, a garage and with large rooms.

It is the price. If several properties are available for the same price and the others are slightly better, this one needs to be cheaper to have a chance.

Property prices don't rise in an uniform way, the best one in the cohort is leading the rise/keeping the rise/keeping the increased value the longest

If the house in question is slightly under the average for the locality, it doesn't make sense to apply average gain on the price.

It is tiny if it's the one for £595K.

Buyers would want to be in that area , 100% . For the same price there are modern 3-bed semis.

The rooms are tiny - including the bedrooms. One double, one single.

The living area looks cramped-and 'overly fussy' for my taste ( the fancy table cloth etc and all the stuff on the walls .)

If you want to stick to that price I think it needs clearing out a bit downstairs as it looks cramped.

No, that one has an upstairs bathroom.

No look at the floor plan, the bathroom is by the kitchen.

@soupfiend https://www.devolkitchens.co.uk/?srsltid=AfmBOorTl8QvfWC-Frsn71bFPXD3ueCnzLRtXnwdddoZrJyF_OeRIh42

A DeVol kitchen is a designer kitchen.

It's a lovely house - and fwiw, I like the colour of the kitchen! A couple of strange photos in the listing though. A close up of a mirror and another of a bunch of dried flowers on a shelf. Get rid of them.

But like all things, it's price. A house is only worth what someone is willing to pay. And while you might want 595, if no one wants to pay that, tough shit basically. For me, the put off would be no parking and the downstairs bathroom. Trudging downstairs for my nightly 1am wee would be horrible.

That’s true, I should say that I’ve found the one everyone says it is on rightmove.

Imagine it’s not OPs house and all of a sudden the viewing figures go through the roof!

It’s where the devol woman cooks

Nicer than the other two I found

OP if its lower dagnall st there are a few big clangers you haven't included in your list of stuff that might make it hard to sell:

1. plastic grass. Don't underestimate how much a lot of people HATE this, think its really tacky, and rubbish for the environment and a hassle to get rid of. I just wouldn't even view a property with it because i couldn't live with it even for a day!
2. its really VERY small. Having to enter the property straight into the main living space is awful
3. its near a pub - noise late at night.

Im afraid i think its quite over priced given these issues, and i think you are trying to realise to large a gain on it since it last sold. The housing market is really not strong just now.

It's a lovely looking period cottage, however a couple of things that stood out to me straight away were the electrical trunking in the living room on the archway (that should have been chased into the wall and re-plastered in a key room like the living room) and the visible heating pipes at ceiling level in the basement (that could be easily covered with some basic coving which would look neater than painted pipes).

The door leading straight into the front room may put people off (although it wouldn't bother me as my house is the same). There's a decent amount of square footage for a 2 bed house, but it's all split up into tiny rooms on three floors. The real downside for me is the downstairs bathroom - I live in a similar (but a lot cheaper!) terraced house and I discounted loads that had downstairs bathrooms, eventually finding one that had a two storey rear extension with an upstairs bathroom). Even if it just had a WC with sink upstairs it could be the difference between a sale and not.

One change which you could make which probably wouldn't cost anything is to bin the artificial grass in the back garden and just clean up whatever surface is underneath (whether that be concrete, flags etc). People buying £600k period cottages are buying the dream, which includes a pretty cottage yard / garden where they can sit out, whereas people wanting artificial grass are usually after a low maintenance modern property.

I am assuming a deVol kitchen is designer-so why is the cooker not in a symmetrical tower. It looks odd and creates a weird nook in the corner that can’t be used. It’s irritating just looking at it, never mind using it. Other than that it’s small and there are better houses for the same price. If you reduce the price, it will sell. However, I probably would take it off the market and remarked after Christmas.

I can't see a deVol kitchen in any of the suggested houses.