Help with advice selling please, it's been almost sold twice with people dropping out art the last moment.

[Justreally]

Property photo 1 of 30.


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Braehead, Avoch, IV9

Offers Over
£575,000
Monthly mortgage payments
Added on 14/10/2023
PROPERTY TYPE

Villa
BEDROOMS

5
BATHROOMS

3
SIZE

Ask agent
TENURE

Ask agent

1
+24
Key features
Detached Period Property
Sea Views
Seven Bedrooms
Basement
1 Acre Mature Landscaped Gardens
Garage and Carport
Oil Fired Central Heating
Close To Amenities
Well Maintained
Inverness Approx. 11 Miles
Description
This fantastic Grade B listed period property was built in the early 1800's and has been sympathetically modernised and extended whilst retaining many original features.
It sits in a quiet, elevated position offering extensive views over the Moray Firth and beyond.

This large family home is laid out over four floors and the bottom of the garden has been previously looked at as two potential house plots:
Ground floor, consisting of the kitchen, living room, dining room, and the sympathetically built 20 year old extension with hall, cloakroom and shower room.
1st Floor, split into the front and back areas with five bedrooms, and two bathrooms.
2nd Floor, two large attic bedrooms, and a box room.
Basement, which is mainly used for storage, split into seven rooms with an external door.
It has a gated entrance, lock and block driveway, the one acre mature landscaped grounds surround the house giving it a private feel, and are laid to lawn, and with the South facing fruit terraces leading down to two small paddocks.

The property has been well maintained and retains many original features. It benefits from oil fired central heating and a wood fired boiler, modern bathrooms and kitchen, and a double garage, workshop, and large carport.

The village of Avoch offers a good range of local services, primary schooling is available in the village with secondary at nearby Fortrose Academy, and Inverness is easily commutable.

Repainting the outside would be £30k ...and buyers know this. Along with the money there's the hassle factor, and the visual indication that the house needs work, along with any hidden issues that they know will be present with a house of this age and size.

They also know that they haven't seen lilac paint or coloured carpets in any Country Living edition this century and all that will need replacing too. You can either neutralise it, no carpets and unfinished floors would be better than the carpets you have down, or you can wait for someone with the vision required, and the cash reserve to spruce it up, but you're obviously narrowing down your already slim market.

We had two move out. to clear the clutter of both sets of grandparents stuff and 6 grown kids accumulated clobber. Believe me the house looks so much better now.

Where are you now? Have you been able to buy another home without selling ? Or are you renting? Is this house vacant possession and no upper chain?
You said you could move back in.

You've quoted £30K for repainting. Is that a recent estimate?
If you KNOW it needs repainting why hasn't it been done pre-sale?

That alone means you should reduce the price by £30K as the side view with black walls is awful.

I know prices are lower in Scotland for work but scaffolding is very expensive. I know people who've paid that and more just for scaffolding for large houses.

You need to accept that showing a 'shell' of a house isn't working. It needs to be 'aspirational' . You need it 'dressing' and showing how beautiful it could look. The photo with the red carpet and the weird lighting is shocking. The agent needs a big kick up the bum for listing that one.

It's unfortunate that the extension is so out of keeping with the rest of the house.

There are buyers who might want to make it into a B&B or Airbnb, or rent out the outbuilding , and they'll be canny with their investment.

There is no lilac ??

photos 2,3,4,6,7 the paint looks lilac - what colour would you call it out of interest?

To be fair it's probably more lavender than lilac.

Gently, OP, I think you need to decide whether you want to be right (about whether potential buyers should be able to see through various issues, whether red carpets feel welcoming rather than dated/oppressive, etc) or whether you want to increase your chances of selling.

You've had some good advice on this thread about how it's presented - eg that bare floorboards would probably attract more people than old carpets as people may be worried about what they're hiding. If the floorboards are in good nick, make a feature of them.

I'd also suggest getting the photos redone by a professional photographer who can make it look warmer and can curate a smaller number of good shots better. Right now a lot of them are just drawing attention to potential negatives.

I genuinely think it might be as simple as the flooring.

I know these things can come down to taste, but just 2 example below show how different flooring can make a space.

The dining room looks so much brighter just with lighter flooring. The entry looks quirkier and cooler.

As someone who has been thinking of moving to Scotland (and we finally can in exactly a year), this is precisely the kind of house I'm looking for (wrong area though).
To me this is fixer upper, sorry OP.
Link to what is considered renovated these days...
https://agora-ad.com/project/listed-villa-portobello/

I don't know how price is set where you live, but you need to price this as a project I think. Whoever buys it will need new kitchen/bathrooms, electrics, flooring.
Does the extension have planning? As it's not with keeping of the house?

I was actually thinking how interesting it might be to get the colours changed digitally- it’s amazing what a difference it can make.

@Justreally maybe you could consider doing this for a few of the wall colours? The kitchen and big lounge are the rooms that look lilac/ lavender on my phone.

To be fair it's probably more lavender than lilac.

meh... well it's a shade of pale purple whether you call it lavender or lilac or whatever. Either way it's doing the rooms no favours.

OP are you being purposely 'coy' about how you're living now?

Is the house vacant possession or not?

Have you been able to buy another house without selling this?

If it is, you need that in the listing.

As someone else said, it's listed as a Grade B house (is that the same as Grade 11 in England?)

If so, and picking up on the other poster, did you need planning permission for your extension which it totally different?

God it’s amazing. Does it heck need 100k spending on it! For me it would be just re painting and change flooring whenever. Everything else is fine ( although the heating costs in Scotland would be ££££ I would imagine?
It’s bloody enormous, I am boggled that one person in the thread says their house is bigger and another says a 1 acre garden is too small! My house would probably fit in the dining room 😀

The OP herself says just painting the outside would cost £30,000, can you imagine the cost of the rest? It would be vast, £100,000 wouldn’t even touch the sides let alone the running costs of such a property.

Agreed.

Hi OP.
You don't say if you are getting viewings but there is mention of taking it off the market so I'm guessing not? Either way it's heading into the dead of winter so interest is going to dwindle either way.

Two choices - do a bit more investment and put it back on the market at Easter or reduce the price. I'd definitely look for a new EA as the existing agent has had long enough.

Specifically you've had lots of feedback much of which you are a bit defensive of or are outright rejecting. You asked for feedback on the impressions the house is giving people and got it. Some of it was a bit brutal which I can understand was hard to hear on a well loved family property which you've clearly spent money on.

I don't think your EA has done you any favours - even the basics are poor.
Is it 5 or 7 bedrooms?

Pic 1 - no change. It's a beautiful house albeit I'd wonder about whether the trees needed taking back a little
Pic 2 - the overall impact is very blue. Suspect you've taken most of your furniture and possessions out? There's a random coffee table and the room looks too big for the furnishings. I don't know what to suggest with this but the furniture could be arranged better so the photography makes it look less cavernous. It wouldn't put me off buying the house, but I'd be repainting the room and re carpeting.
Pic 3. Clear the clutter from the island and change the pendants for something more modern. Otherwise no change. If I had the time, I'd repaint it to a neutral and add some rugs and dressing as per prev pictures. Description needs to state new flooring, new Rayburn [is that an oven?]
Pic 4 - again the overall impact is very blue. Change the light fitting, remove the stools and higgledepiggledy books, replace the china with some white Ikea stuff as a bit of a contrast. It looks like a collection of stuff the owners didn't want to take. Sorry
Pic 5 - dining room. Lovely bones in this room but it just looks cavernous and so cold. at a minimum it needs a huge hessian or cream rug under the table and for once, I would actually dress the table.
Pic 6 - refer to comments in pic 2 but this view really reinforces the blueness and that the furniture is too small. I'd just remove this photo entirely
Pic 7 - more blue. Why is there a picture of the door?
Pic 8 - remove. I get the impression that the photographer has literally photographed the only things left in the room?
Pic 9 - as above. Some labels would be good. Is this a bedroom ?
Pic 10. Remove. Or replace with a "views from loft bedroom 1" and cut out the carpet and the walls.
Pic 11 - lovely view but does the garden just drop off?
Pic 12 - bathroom? Just redone? Remove the plastic sheeting from the side of the bath, put some nice towels and toiletries and dress the room a little
Pic 13 - keep. Description? Which bathroom is it? People like to know which is the one closest the principle room? Again a fluffy towel. One will do, you can move it between bathrooms for the pics ;)
Pic 14 - is this the rear entrance hall? Otherwise it's a pic of an open downstairs loo and a few doors? I'd just remove.
Pic 15 - side garden off ?
Pic 16 - useful to draw a line around the site so it's clear
Pic 17 - not a lot you can do about the kerb appeal. I think you said it's been repainted? Otherwise I'd see about some bright pots and maybe zoom in a little.
Pic 18 - lose the green carpet if you can.
Pic 19 - just remove
Pic 20 and 21. Remove the carpet or put digitally enhanced pics in. Not sure of the ethics of this in EA world. It seems perfectly acceptable with new builds.
Remove all the basement pics. They are blurry and don't add much. Worth stating in the particulars whether the basement could be made into a self contained annex.
Pic 26 - keep , 27 remove, 28 - likely to put off people with small children.
Pic 30 - keep, and remove 17 on second thoughts.

Not sure about the pics of sheep etc.

I'd add in that previous PP has been granted for the site, it has a new roof, has been invested in for insulation etc etc. The aim is to get people in the door, not to lose them at the pics.

Hi OP.
You don't say if you are getting viewings but there is mention of taking it off the market so I'm guessing not? Either way it's heading into the dead of winter so interest is going to dwindle either way.
Two choices - do a bit more investment and put it back on the market at Easter or reduce the price. I'd definitely look for a new EA as the existing agent has had long enough.
Specifically you've had lots of feedback much of which you are a bit defensive of or are outright rejecting. You asked for feedback on the impressions the house is giving people and got it. Some of it was a bit brutal which I can understand was hard to hear on a well loved family property which you've clearly spent money on.
I don't think your EA has done you any favours - even the basics are poor.
Is it 5 or 7 bedrooms?

Pic 1 - no change. It's a beautiful house albeit I'd wonder about whether the trees needed taking back a little
Pic 2 - the overall impact is very blue. Suspect you've taken most of your furniture and possessions out? There's a random coffee table and the room looks too big for the furnishings. I don't know what to suggest with this but the furniture could be arranged better so the photography makes it look less cavernous. It wouldn't put me off buying the house, but I'd be repainting the room and re carpeting.
Pic 3. Clear the clutter from the island and change the pendants for something more modern. Otherwise no change. If I had the time, I'd repaint it to a neutral and add some rugs and dressing as per prev pictures. Description needs to state new flooring, new Rayburn [is that an oven?]
Pic 4 - again the overall impact is very blue. Change the light fitting, remove the stools and higgledepiggledy books, replace the china with some white Ikea stuff as a bit of a contrast. It looks like a collection of stuff the owners didn't want to take. Sorry
Pic 5 - dining room. Lovely bones in this room but it just looks cavernous and so cold. at a minimum it needs a huge hessian or cream rug under the table and for once, I would actually dress the table.
Pic 6 - refer to comments in pic 2 but this view really reinforces the blueness and that the furniture is too small. I'd just remove this photo entirely
Pic 7 - more blue. Why is there a picture of the door?
Pic 8 - remove. I get the impression that the photographer has literally photographed the only things left in the room?
Pic 9 - as above. Some labels would be good. Is this a bedroom ?
Pic 10. Remove. Or replace with a "views from loft bedroom 1" and cut out the carpet and the walls.
Pic 11 - lovely view but does the garden just drop off?
Pic 12 - bathroom? Just redone? Remove the plastic sheeting from the side of the bath, put some nice towels and toiletries and dress the room a little
Pic 13 - keep. Description? Which bathroom is it? People like to know which is the one closest the principle room? Again a fluffy towel. One will do, you can move it between bathrooms for the pics ;)
Pic 14 - is this the rear entrance hall? Otherwise it's a pic of an open downstairs loo and a few doors? I'd just remove.
Pic 15 - side garden off ?
Pic 16 - useful to draw a line around the site so it's clear
Pic 17 - not a lot you can do about the kerb appeal. I think you said it's been repainted? Otherwise I'd see about some bright pots and maybe zoom in a little.
Pic 18 - lose the green carpet if you can.
Pic 19 - just remove
Pic 20 and 21. Remove the carpet or put digitally enhanced pics in. Not sure of the ethics of this in EA world. It seems perfectly acceptable with new builds.
Remove all the basement pics. They are blurry and don't add much. Worth stating in the particulars whether the basement could be made into a self contained annex.
Pic 26 - keep , 27 remove, 28 - likely to put off people with small children.
Pic 30 - keep, and remove 17 on second thoughts.
Not sure about the pics of sheep etc.
I'd add in that previous PP has been granted for the site, it has a new roof, has been invested in for insulation etc etc. The aim is to get people in the door, not to lose them at the pics.

Many thanks. Useful, very.

We don't have the money to repaint the outside, inside and replace carpets. We spent over £440,000 on our current 3 bed house with no workshops, a single garage and the most hideous bathrooms I have ever seen (red and green tiles in one and brown and green tiles in the other) so the price for the property we are trying to sell seems good value in comparison. Many other properties on the Black Isle have sold for over £500,000 and one in our village is semi detached with a tiny garden and no views at 500K. We cannot do any alterations to the current house until we have sold he previous and that is indeed depressing.
Thanks for all your suggestions, we may even consider an auction as the painters being in for 2 months clearly was a waste of money and repointing the chimneys feels like £8000 down the drain
I don't think renting is realistic and if we moved back in temporarily, I wouldn't want to leave again

All your input has been thought provoking and I guess I'd been comparing how much I loved our family house with how much I hate this one (faded orange, threadbare carpet throughout !)

Cheers,
Arabella

Agree, in Cornwall you would looking looking at 900to 1million as a place like this went on the market and sold,

Are you still getting viewings, OP? As someone who just spent an absolute fortune on a gut renovation of a Georgian house, I think one of your problems is that the EA photos don't show the house in its best light.

I suspect it's quite hard to look at the home you love, where you've raised your family, with coldly assessing eyes rather than fondly loving ones, but what you really need is to show big, gracious rooms with lovely proportions and generous windows. These photos seem almost intentionally shot to show rooms from their worst angles, emphasising the places where they've been divided or a door has been added or a fireplace blocked up. The photo I've attached seems calculated to show the worst angle of an undoubtedly beautiful room - my eye is drawn to the place where the ceiling has been dropped and it looks like it's been opened and then closed up, which makes me wonder if there have been leaks and what else has been bodged.

The photo with the pine doors is dreadful (and there's a plastic bin right where your eye goes). I also agree with pp that the carpets and wall colours aren't doing you any favours. If the floors are at all solid, I'd think about ripping out all the carpets and curtains and painting it in a warm white to let the architecture shine. If you can get enough people through the door, some idiots like us will fall in love with it and completely overlook the pain and expense ahead of them.

Alternatively, could you sell the new house and move back in? Dust for a quick resolution @Justreally

Change agent. Strutt & Parker and Galbraiths or one of the better solicitors in Inverness.

You also need to write up all Red Devonian Sandstone which is very special. Mention the renounced geologist Hugh Miller and museum.
list all the positives in the area. Mention the proximity of Inverness, the bridge, the commercial range of operations.
mention the University of the Highlands and the expansion of campus.
List the hospitals and opportunities for medical posts.
List the range of outdoor activities, the biking, sailing, water sports, the fantastic golf courses at Fortrose and Rosemarkie also The Royal Dornoch.
Fishing - sea and river.
Less than an hour to drive to the ski slopes.
An hour to Ullapool and the West. Ben Wyvis on the doorstep. Beaches! Hill walking and serious climbing for mountaineers all around, Torridon, Cairngorms etc.
History Culloden. Fort George.
Work from home. Office space in house.
Travel - Inverness airport 40 minutes. Direct trains to London.
DM me if you want more!

Edit Renowned geologist Hugh Miller.

Bell Ingram might be worth contacting too.

I think it's a magnificent house. I don't have a clue about house prices in the area, but living in London, I can't believe what you can get for your money in other parts of the country. It's close to my ideal house and I would move tomorrow and not change a thing about the house, apart from a couple of the carpets.

Agree with @emmyren4 and think someone will buy it, renovate it and it will look completely gorgeous. It could look so much better because the bones of the house are fantastic. It would be worth spending a few thousand on at least painting the whole interior to attract the best price.

Maybe your adult children can help advise? Especially if any of them have a good eye for colour/interiors.

It's a great house with really enviable and stunning views.

Although you say it's well maintained it doesn't look like it is so this needs addressing.

The internal paint colours are seriously off putting and not in keeping with the house.

The external painting needs doing and this makes the house look run down.

I would assume as a buyer that there are structural issues, by the sounds of it though you have done a good job on maintaining the external structure? Apart from this there is a lot of money that needs spending internally. The fire places in particular are disappointing and need to be restored.

A big project in a remote area. There's a shortage of trades down south so I'd worry about getting stuff done without long wait times and high prices.

What to do if you don't have money to spend on it?

Get the estate agent to redo the photos, lots of good advice here on this. You need a clear photo of the front and clear pics of the garden. You also need the aerial photo to have the borders of your property marked.

Change the wording of the listing to show what maintenance you have done and to sell the location, again some great advice here. Make clear the potential for granny flat basement/work from home/planning permissions.

Consider change of estate agent, this one has failed to present your property well for sale.

Consider repainting the blue and lilac walls yourself. It was a strange choice to repaint internally in colours that would not appeal to many buyers and that are not in keeping with your house.

If you don't get viewings after this then the price is too high.

Good luck OP, it's a fabulous place.

Others have given helpful criticism, so I just wanted to say if my DH was more willing to be rural and we had 100k more to spend I would come see your house in a heartbeat. It's absolutely beautiful.

Would you also market it as a commercial building?

I don't know enough about planning law in Scotland and change of use, but to me it screams 'B&B' or small hotel, or a venue for family gatherings/ holiday home for someone with money.

Your pool of buyers is small. Not only is there more unemployment where you are, but income is lower than in England.

It will cost a fortune to maintain and heat. The garden needs a lot of ongoing work.

I know it suited you and your family but your circumstances were quite rare. Presumably you/ your partner ran a business from it as you said you used the basement as a workshop.

Is that another angle for the sale?

Well you've sold me on it 😅