House Just Not Selling

[Naz2019]

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…

The way you've got it laid out at the moment it looks like the master bedroom doesn't even have enough room to walk round the bed. Can you swap the rooms round to create a master bedroom?

I'd add some plants and cushions to make it more homely.

But outside absolutely needs sorting out. Jet wash off all the moss and grime. Do something about that damp wall. Put some pots of flowers out the front. It looks totally unloved at the moment.

Op, I mean this gently but your description and the reality are very far apart. I was very surprised. It doesn’t look like you even live there, and certainly doesn’t look like you’ve a drive way for 4 cars, it also looks like the front garden has been gravelled. And the back garden is unappealing, the fence is needing painting and the rest is not good at all, being polite . In addition one of the bedrooms looks like you can’t even walk round the bed.

it is over priced and looks very unloved. I’m sorry.

I don't think the photos can be putting people off because they have had a lot of viewings and had two offers.
OP I think it is just time you haven't actually had it on the market for a long time December is always slow and you have have had two offers even though they came to nothing.
If it compares well with similar houses in the same area I think you just need to wait.

It's the outside that's letting you down, both back and front. My heart would sink if I saw that. Get rid of all that green algae, give it a scrub, and introduce a bit of colour - pots or tubs maybe?

I actually think the house mostly looks fine. Agree with some of the comments about it being bare, and the garden, etc - but that wouldn’t put me off, they are easily remedied, and I’d rather have a blank canvas to be able to put my own stamp on.

For me the biggest issue would be the size of the third bedroom. (I’m not in the UK, but here I don’t think that would even meet the legal minimum size for a bedroom.) I think you need to get the double bed out and dress it as a single bedroom or even a study. I wonder if people who are pulling out/disinterested are people who really want/need three bedrooms and are choosing other properties which have a larger third bedroom.

I love the aspect from the lounge through to the dining space , really light and airy ,but the garden is dull and untidy and i think you could improve the look of the porch.
Switch the bedrooms to make more space and put a nice blind up instead of the check curtains.
'warm' the place up with some throws ,lamps ,cushions ,plants etc as not everybody can visualise the potential in a house so do it for them .

OP, what level were the offers?
The estate agent should have found out why the viewers pulled out, although they may not tell the truth. eg. Is it mortgage availability? Is it family/ first time buyers or professional landlords? Are family buyers getting cold feet after they make an offer and realise how much work/cost it may take to smarten up? They are probably costing a new bathroom, work in the kitchen - then looking online and realising ultimately other houses are better value.
If they pull offers it's not their dream home.

Op, you can get this for 20 grand more. It’s a mile away and still in Horley.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/157194125#/?channel=RES_BUY

Yeah that's on a part but scheme

It's just very soulless every room looks empty and unloved

What's the weird hose coming from the sink? In the bathroom

The garden is untidy

The third bedroom looks like you've squeezed a bed in the wardrobe takes up 90% of the space and it's not actually usable

The tree at the front whilst not in leaf now just suggests to me that it blocks out all the light in summer

Plus where is all your stuff it looks like no one lives there??!

Yes sorry just saw that,,

The garden definitely needs a bit of work.

Is there a toddler bed in the master bedroom as well-does that get people thinking it's too small?

What's the fenced/gated area to the right of your house-is it an alleyway? Entranceway? Who has access to that?

You say the driveway fits 3/4 cars, but the listing says 2.

Op has it got an outside loo? What’s the wooden structure out back up against the house?

also someone needs to get some mould spray in the bathroom, get rid of the black mould and regrout, it is very unsightly right now.

2 minutes of looking at recently sold houses brings up a previous listing for your house, bought in 2020 for 70k less. Some of the pictures have been re-used, and even those not reused look very similar, nothing has changed. This would make me assume thst nothing has been maintained or improved in 5 years, and wonder why I would pay 70k more than you did. Another look at the sold house prices brings up absolutely nothing in the price range you are wanting. I would not buy it, because I would assume I was overpaying, and a bank would refuse the valuation anyway.

Can I ask why you have picked that price? Is there a solid reason, or because that is the price you need to achieve to buy the house you want?

To be honest OP it looks like a grim rental - and really needs prettying up a bit - I'm sure it's nicer in real life and I appreciate that as you say it's well priced ( will have to take your word for that) if it's at the lower end of the market for the area people will be keen to get the nicest thing they can even with big budget limitations and at the moment it just doesn't look like a lived in home

Really the listing says last sold in 96?

op, I think you need to address the downstairs loo thing, I’m really hoping it isn’t the wooden structure out back and there is one inside?

It’s not my type of house but it looks like a student rental at the moment. Dingy and depressing.

@2024riot please ignore anything that says HW lease scheme - it's a discounted price for over 60s provided you basically give away most of your equity

The normal price if you find the agent will be around £480,000

The bedroom layouts need changing to show the bigger rooms as Doubles with space to move and the small room should have the single bed in it.

The living room furniture all lined against the wall makes it like a waiting room

The outside needs some serious attention to dispel damp and moss worries.

Agree with previous comments, but also pictures are a bit shit taken from an angle that cuts off part of the room in most of these. Our agent did the same. We retook them ourselves.

I would put a big plant in front of the wall beside the TV. I would also add some cushions on the sofa. Look up tonesofmyhome on instagram. She is minimalist but has some nice touches.

@Gettingslimmer estate agents use little tricks to stop the houses from linking, such as using a name instead of a number. If this isn't the OPs house then they've borrowed the bedroom furniture.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/details/england-155563961-56755421?s=3c4b52e3048f4e4e4eb88b108d47f6422ba3a0bb3a9e7e1a8034579aa0883dbd

We were looking around this price bracket although stretched to 410 in the end. I would say:

• Garden looks a mess and needs improving
• Can you shift things around just for the photos so the tiny room is a little office instead? much easier to imagine
• The room that has a double adult bed and then a child bed with toys is also a bit confusing and makes it hard to imagine. Again, move some furniture around for the pictures so it's really clear what each room is. Make the room that's a joint office bedroom just a bedroom.
• Put some daffodils in a jar on the kitchen table and some other little things to bring a bit of brightness

Good luck!

Yes, exactly this.