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Original poster

House Just Not Selling

110 replies

Naz2019 · 10/02/2025 17:03

Hi All. We listed our house for sale beginning of December with an agent from another town as we were interested in a property they were selling. We have a steady stream if viewing and a few offers but no serious buyers, they would disappear after the offer being accepted. Unfortunately we lost the house we like so decided to change agents to a local one. We have been with the new agent for 3 weeks and had an open day with 10 viewings, 5 of which did not turn up. The open day resulted in 2 offers. We accepted one offer and rejected the other. The following day the buyers who were accepted pulled out saying they had another offer accepted at a different propery. When the agent went back to the ither buyer who iffered she saod she is not sure any more. Since then we have a few more viewings who all say they like the house but just end up disappearing. Our house is very competitively prices and well presented. 3 bedrooms, utility room, downstairs toilet and main bathroom upstairs and. a driveway for 3-4 cars. There is also a bus stop a stone throws away that gets you to gatwick airport in 15 mins. The agents are also surprised that it has still not sold. Any suggestions or similar experiences where you have end up selling successful? We have seen another house we like and don’t want to lose out on this one too…

OP posts:
Organisedwannabe · 10/02/2025 18:08

Swap the double bed which fills the room
for the IKEA day bed. Add some personality, rugs, cushions. Both outside area power wash, returf, pain the fence, add some pot.

Georgyporky · 10/02/2025 18:09

Is it possible that viewers don't realise you are on a presumably busy main road & very near an airport ?

TizerorFizz · 10/02/2025 18:09

@Naz2019 You are asking a lot and there’s work to do. I’m afraid you must tidy up the garden. It’s awful. It’s also not a home. I wondered if anyone was living there! There’s a horrid table cover and squishing in a bed into a bedroom with too big cupboards doesn’t look good. Make sure beds suit the rooms and add a bit of colour. No child can play in the garden so you must improve it.

AnSolas · 10/02/2025 18:11

And next door has a clean roof

So
Option 1 it was reroofed (costly)
Option 2 it was cleaned of the moss which has built up from the tree?

TraitorLinda · 10/02/2025 18:11

Spade positioning looks like you’ve just buried someone in the garden!

MrsMoastyToasty · 10/02/2025 18:11
  1. The first picture isn't an exterior picture.
  2. The pin on the map doesn't appear to show your house.
  3. Fences need painting
  4. The front needs new gravel.
  5. The brickwork needs pressure washing.
  6. The roof looks old compared with next door.
  7. Where is the parking? Its not shown in the pictures.
  8. The wardrobes on the plan for bedroom 3 look disproportionately large for the size of the room.
  9. Get the agent to re-name the jpegs.
Organisedwannabe · 10/02/2025 18:14

Bathroom floor looks black at the edges and the kitchen floor also looks in need of a good scrub.

LuckysDadsHat · 10/02/2025 18:14

It just looks very poor. I have viewed houses like this before where it kind of looks ok ish on right move and when you get there it's a lot worse. It looks like you have a lot of mold in the bathroom along the floor behind the sink and toilet. This will most likely look worse in real life. Your kitchen looks like the cupboards are starting to peel (the middle one has a big bit missing). The front and the garden look really bad and very uncared for.

Personally I would take it off the market, do a lot of work to the front and back, clean up all the mold in the bathroom, try and get the kitchen looking better and wait for spring for more pictures.

I don't care about it looking sparse, I can see past that. I don't want to look at mold, algae and dirt in places.

Georgyporky · 10/02/2025 18:20

I'm house selling/buying at the moment.
All the agents ask for feedback after a viewing, & pass it on.
Is this not happening ?

BlackSheepThisYear · 10/02/2025 18:24

I don't think the issue is with the listing - you're getting the viewings and the offers - although I agree that changes could be made.
But the offers are coming but being retracted. Why is that? Your agent needs to be investigating this when it happens.
It must be an external issue as they view the house and make an offer. Is there a Facebook group that talks about problems in the area? Is there a house round the corner which is a known problem house? Is the road busier during the day when the buyers do a sneaky drive by?
Something is making them change their minds.

Original poster
Naz2019 · 10/02/2025 18:25

@Georgyporky yes the agents are really good and and communicate really well with us. The minimal feedback they have gotten they have passed in to us.

OP posts:
user1471538283 · 10/02/2025 18:26

I really like the downstairs apart from the carpet in the kitchen.

The front needs jet washing with maybe some pots? The back yard needs tidying up.

But when I sold my house I decluttered and made it shiny. I put some pots outside but I didn't do much else. It was the price that sold mine.

It's odd you are getting offers that are being withdrawn. So maybe it is the price. Can you reduce at all?

Original poster
Naz2019 · 10/02/2025 18:26

Thanks all for the feedback. Will take it all on board. 🙂

OP posts:
2025willbemytime · 10/02/2025 18:28

I'd remove the bed from photo12 and make it into a study room.
The whole house lacks warmth.
The kitchen has a plinth out of alignment and something odd about a kitchen unit lower cupboard.
Garden is a mess.
Offers over would make me not even view.

Get feed back for the real reason people are making offers then ghosting you.

Original poster
Naz2019 · 10/02/2025 18:29

@user1471538283 the kitchen has vinyl not carpet. We are currently in the process of tidying up the garden. As we put it on sale unexpectedly due to finding a house we like we are having to do works along the way. We will see how we get on this month and then might have to consider lowering the price. Thanks for your feedback. ☺️

OP posts:
alexdgr8 · 10/02/2025 18:30

Has that extra hose attachment between the basin and the toilet been fitted by a competent plumber?
I would be concerned as to whether it met all sanitary regulations.
That is a detail I know.
But I agree with all other comments.
And wonder if any other items have been skimped or overlooked.

Growlybear83 · 10/02/2025 18:32

The house looks so incredibly bare and stark, and generally in-lived in and unloved. I know it shouldn't put people off, but viewers can be very shallow. It needs livening up with some bright colours, ornaments, rugs, and pictures in the walls. And light shades where youve just got bare light bulbs.

Meadowfinch · 10/02/2025 18:32

It's certainly a blank canvas but to me, it looks rather cold and bleak.

I know you are meant to declutter, but the pictures don't look cosy or inviting. They don't look like a home.

Take pictures on a sunny day.
Add some coloured towels to the bathroom
Add some fresh flowers to the living area.
Some more cheerful duvet covers for the bedrooms.
Tidy up outside, clear the moss with a pressure spray and add a couple of decent pots with bulbs or evergreen shrubs to the front door.

Miaowzabella · 10/02/2025 18:36

Proximity to a bus stop implies proximity to a main road, which would put off some people, including me.

Princessconsuelabananahammock9 · 10/02/2025 18:36

It looks like student housing.

It needs personality.

Bedding, pictures, flowers.

Viviennemary · 10/02/2025 18:37

It just isn't appealing at all. That dreadful fence with all the green staining. And inside is just far too minimalist. I agree the house need staging. It really just looks totally unloved. As I the folk there can't wait to leave. Also the garden is pretty awful.

TheEllisGreyMethod · 10/02/2025 18:42

Picture 12 is horrendous? Is that a bedroom? It would put me off if so as it doesn't even fit a bed. I also agree back garden not nice and you can't tell what house it is or that there is parking. It also says ask the agent for a lot of things on the listing which tbh I always assume means something is being hidden.
For what it's worth my house was on the market June 23 - Feb 24 but then we got a cash buyer and completed by April. But we also had lots of offers who then pulled out - mainly they realized they couldn't afford to buy. So frustrating.

Blue278 · 10/02/2025 18:43

Oh give me £250 and a week and I would massively improve that!
The bones are fine. But it looks uncared for which always makes me worry that repairs have been ignored. If you’re not good at staging (being diplomatic here 😁) do you have a friend or relative who can help?
Pick a theme colour and buy a few cushions and rugs and some bedding. Sage green is very in.
Pressure washer.
A few pots.
Pictures on the walls.
And price looks too high. Sorry:

SpidersAreShitheads · 10/02/2025 18:45

BlackSheepThisYear · 10/02/2025 18:24

I don't think the issue is with the listing - you're getting the viewings and the offers - although I agree that changes could be made.
But the offers are coming but being retracted. Why is that? Your agent needs to be investigating this when it happens.
It must be an external issue as they view the house and make an offer. Is there a Facebook group that talks about problems in the area? Is there a house round the corner which is a known problem house? Is the road busier during the day when the buyers do a sneaky drive by?
Something is making them change their minds.

@Naz2019 - I think @BlackSheepThisYear has nailed it.

If you post a link, you'll always get a ton of really harsh comments on this board as people are viewing with a critical eye. But the thing is, the slightly iffy photos aren't putting people off viewing it. Maybe slightly better photos and a spot of DIY could pull in a few more viewings, but the real issue here is why people aren't offering when it's seen in real life, and even more concerning, why they are withdrawing their offer.

Maybe a lower price would overcome this unknown issue, maybe not. It feels like two potential issues:

  1. Why are other houses preferable to yours/why are not people putting in an offer?
  2. Why are offers being withdrawn? Is it because of 1) or is there another reason that's deterring buyers when they dig into things a bit more?

Aside from all of the above, spring is often a better time to sell. I'd remove from the market, spend the next month really focusing on sorting out the issues and then relist.

Addeline · 10/02/2025 18:45

I think it could do with scrubbing a bit of the green off the bricks, patio and fence - just so it looks less rainy and wet. Then the beds being dressed a bit more, to give a bit of colour/luxuriousness. Fluffy towels, the odd plant. If you get the pictures done on a sunny day that would be good. It’s nice in lots of ways. Just looks a little bit grim where the walls are bare, the walls outside are a bit damp, there isn’t much decor.