No viewings on our house - would these things put you off?

[Wallawallawallaby1]

We've had no interest at all...is it the market or is our house just priced too high? We're in the South West (Salisbury), and I'm told by the EA the house is a tricky one to value. It's a 5 bed detached Edwardian house over 3 floors. We bought it for £675k just over three years ago, and it's on for £720k. Interestingly next door is on for £750k, and they've had little interest as well. Identical houses in build, but they have an added bathroom and a much larger garden (although their house does require a fair bit of modernisation).

I'll list a couple of the negatives - could you tell me if the following would put you off viewing?

1. 5 beds but only one bathroom (and a downstairs cloakroom). The rooms are large so there's plenty of space for an ensuite (or two), but my DH doesn't want to do it. I was hoping though that potential buyers would realise this opportunity. Would the 1 main bathroom put you off?

1. Very small garden. Large-ish patio that extends round the house, but grass space quite small. We have a sofa set and a small climbing frame on the grass, with a massive trampoline on the patio, so it's perfectly functional...just small.

1. No garage, and on-street parking (but very quiet road, so no issues with parking)

The positives though: very grand house, massive amounts of curb-appeal, large rooms with high ceilings, close to good schools, 10 minute walk into town.

I desperately want to move as I need more downstairs living space. I could also really do with another bathroom (DH just hates the idea of any work being done in the house).

Please help!

Thank you

for me it's the lack of bathroom on the top floor - I'd actually want to make it a 4 bed with the master on the top floor and a large en suite rather than a 5 bed with 1 bathroom.

Adding to that a small garden I'd absolutely be put off.

I bought my house five years ago, OP, and am starting to accept that I won't be making any profit on it, despite making a few improvements and modernising it. It's just the market now.

Putting an en suite into bedroom 1 will be a pain though, as it’s not near the existing water/waste pipes. Doable, obviously. But more expensive.

One bathroom would put me off, but it does look like you have a downstairs toilet as well so that’s not so bad. What have you done to the house in the 3 years you’ve lived in it? Because if the answer is not a lot, I feel like it’s quite a jump in price.

yes those things would put me off but my MIL sold a house which sounds very similar (three floors, five bedrooms, one bathroom, no garage or offstreet parking) with little difficulty in a more buyoant market. So it will be price.

However if you can dismantle the trampoline short term that would make the garden look bigger.

Yes that’s what’s I’d probably do. A new bathroom at the back of bedroom 4, which is as close as you can get to being above the existing bathroom. And knock a wall down to make a large bedroom in the rest of that space.
Then you’ve got three bedrooms sharing a bathroom, and a larger master with en suite.

But that’s expensive.

I think I'd probably slightly extend the landing and put a new door into bedroom 1 so I could have a bathroom useable by anyone there instead of an en suite - there's enough space for it to have its own window. But it would still mean two bathrooms on the first floor and none on the second. I'm sorry, OP, but I'd probably just buy next door if I were choosing between the two - it's got one bathroom on each floor, which makes more sense to me, and a much bigger garden. The kitchen and bathrooms probably do want updating, but they're liveable with.

Also - yes I have looked it up, and I think you should take the trampoline out, and get rid of the massive garden furniture set, maybe replace it with something smaller on the actual patio, then the lawn won't look as small. Maybe put some plants in pots in, round where the trampoline currently is to make that look more like part of the garden.

I think that as your EA says, your house will take longer to find a buyer, because on the one hand it’s quite grand, and on the other, has a mean provision of garden and bathroom space for this ‘grandeur’.

I know that our area (extremely prestigious, conservation area, close to city centre, built into a steep hill, lots of beautiful Regency and Victorian houses) won’t even be considered by some buyers because even houses selling for well north of a million either don’t have off-street parking because of the steep terrain or have an old coach house converted to a garage that takes precision driving to get into from a narrow street — the people who do live here have money, obviously, but are the type to tend to walk or cycle to local jobs (hospitals, university). This does limit buyers.

this doesn’t help with your house selling problem, but the top floor shouldn’t get an en-suite, it should get a jack-and-Jill to share between the two bedrooms.

is there a loo on the first floor?

personally I don’t want a remodel project so it turns me off a house to know I want to make structural changes. Decorating isn’t an issue. Lots of people like a project though.

You bought for 674K on 31 March 2022 and is now on at 720K ?

You bought at peak market for interest rates basically and are now expecting to sell at an increased price ?

The house doesn't look too bad but I agree it is hard to value

Yes, those things would deter me - no-one has time to queue for the bathroom in the mornings. Also whilst parking isn’t an issue now, it could become one very quickly. If next door sells and a family moving with teenagers you could soon be looking at 2-5 cars from one house alone (not to mention any work vehicles they may have. Read the parking threads!!).

again a small garden - is off putting. It’s a family home, I want space for children to play or a garden room
where teenagers can hang out, as well as socialising space for friends and family. I want to be able to grow veg and have flower borders. All of which I currently have in a 5bed 3.5 bath detached house with double garage and off road parking, so it is doable.

High ceilings and large rooms - my first thought is heating bills. If you’re over 3floors what is the roof insulation like?

I like period houses so I’d probably view but more out of a “well, it might be ok”, rather than the feeling of having found my perfect house

I desperately want to move as I need more downstairs living space. I could also really do with another bathroom (DH just hates the idea of any work being done in the house)

That means the downstairs living space isn't enough if that's the reason to move so you can add that to one bathroom, no garage and small garden and all of that is really going to put people off.

What have you done to it that makes it "worth" £45k more than when you bought it 3 years ago?

You just need to lower the price. What does rightmove and themovemarket think it's worth? It's probably not worth anymore than you paid 3 years ago.

Might also be worth removing the trampoline and redoing the garden shots.

Sorry but all those things would put me off. Most of all - big house with small garden and no OSP. If the rest was fine, I'd be okay about adding a bathroom if there is obvious space to do so.

I’d want at least 2 en-suites for that price… I know in theory the buyer could add them on however not sure about your area but where I am (SW) decent honest builders with less than a years waiting list are rare as hens teeth so it would be a major hassle!

Nearly 3/4 of a million with 1 bathroom, tiny garden and no garage - insanity! If you had that amount of money to buy a house with you'd buy one that had those things, not one that doesn't.

I don’t think our house has gained any value in 2 years. We bought in a bidding war in spring 2023, a surge likely due to being in a small group of family houses that don’t often come on the market, a few hundred yards from a popular primary school. It wasn’t the absolute peak of the market, that was… 2022, when you bought. Now houses around me are just sitting on the market for months now. Since we bought we have spent a lot on quite significant things (solar panels, fixing a roof leak, fitted storage) but I don’t personally think any of that would show up in the price if God forbid we had to sell now.

It’s a really, really soft market now, to the point that even big discounts aren’t necessarily going to make a sale. But certainly I’d question where that £50k increase has come from.

Hi OP, its very easy to find your house on rightmove in case you're worried about outing as its the only house in Salisbury thats £720k!

That aside- its a very pretty house and done really nicely. The garden isnt that bad considering. However your neighbours one is much more spacious I guess for a small amount more. The kitchen might put people off as you can't get a dining table in there and the dining room has a pale carpet which would be destroyed by my kids!!

No drive or garage and only one bathroom for 720k - it’s overpriced !

Oh your house is beautiful

(Unhelpful, sorry)

What have you changed to the house in 3 years to justify that price increase?

Also, the fact that a neighbouring house is also for sake would make me think there was a problem close by or that planning permission for new houses/HMO etc had been applied for/granted which would make me think twice about viewing/offering. I’d be scanning the local council planning portal just in case!

The market is telling you it is over priced.

It’s a massive issue at the moment where sellers want higher prices so estate agents go along with this to ensure they receive the house on to their books.

If agents told you a more realistic price in line with the market you’d probably think it was too low and wouldn’t instruct them. It has brought the market to a standstill.

Have a look at Moving with Charlie on Twitter and YouTube. He has produced some excellent podcasts that may help you.

the lack of bathrooms wouldn't put me off if there was room to add more, but the small garden would