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

House sounds gorgeous, point 1 is fine as long as there's space for another bathroom but points 2 and 3 would be a deal breaker. It's a big house and you want a decent size garden to go with it and the house is expensive, the least I'd expect is dedicated parking. Sorry but I recently bought a 6 bed house and wouldn't have looked at yours due to those points. 💐

I love Edwardian houses and I really don't like en suites, so if my children were younger, I'd probably be your target market.

What I wouldn't like while the DC were home, is a small garden, so I'd recommend doing whatever you can to make it look bigger.

Lots of greenery and maybe remove everything except the furniture off the patio?

Yeah, all of those things would, if I’m honest. Add in that next door is for sale too and I don’t think I’d even be able to convince DH to go view it.

Having compared your house to the one next door I would much rather pay an extra £30k for the extra bathroom, the utility room and that massive gorgeous garden! I could overlook the lack of parking for those features, it makes your house look very overpriced, although the house next door needs a bit of updating it has a lovely feel to it on the video tour, the kitchen is not as glamorous as yours but I can imagine sitting around the big kitchen table having dinner or tea and cake with friends, your house is lovely and decorated beautifully but it doesn’t give me that homely feeling that next door does and yours doesn’t have the facilities for modern day living at that price point (extra bathrooms, utility room etc.) your house has had a makeover but doesn’t offer the practicalities that a family need.

The one bathroom wouldn’t bother me (only 2 of us to consider so not an issue) but there’s no way I’d pay that much for a house that doesn’t come with off street parking for a minimum of 2 cars.
Lack of grass would also be a big issue for me with the dogs.

Is it a new build or a genuine old house? Seems very typical of the new-build type I moved out of - lots of good sized bedrooms but totally out of proportion to the actual downstairs living space available.

Your house is very beautiful inside. More so than the neighbouring house but if I had to choose, I would still pick the neighbouring house simply because of the garden. Yours would have to be significantly cheaper for me to consider it I’m afraid. But it is a stunning house and you’ve decorated it beautifully ❤️

3yrs isn’t very long to live in a house. I would wonder naturally why I would buy a house that someone else clearly didn’t like much, if they’re moving after 3yrs..

That and the lack of bathrooms.

Obv the price, it must be too high for the market atm.

Might be better to wait a couple of years.

Have you done any upgrades to justify the price going up?

If I were buying this I'd want to turn one of the bedrooms into a bathroom and add an ensuite, which immediately makes it a 4-bed house with a smaller master bedroom and I'd want a reduction in price to reflect this.

The room sizes are small imo. I don't think the master is big enough for an ensuite but I think the smaller of the top floor bedrooms could be converted.

The lack of a utility would be the penultimate drawback. No OSP the principle drawback.

I don't mind about the garden.

Essentially, it's a period three bedder with an attic or loft conversion. Downstairs is very small.

I don't know what prices are like in Salisbury but it's probably overpriced in a bear market.

I'd ride it out but you do need another bathroom.

This house looks tastefully done and possibly similar to yours for a similar price:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/161702219

Without knowing the market in the local area I gues sit's hard to say, here's another nice property, slightly cheaper.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/156423947

Usually these things come down to price.

Your house will definitely sell, it sounds absolutely ideal for a landlord to buy it and turn a couple of the rooms into en-suite and even turn one of the bedrooms into a large family bathroom. Honestly a builder or landlord will end up buying that. Have you had a chat to your estate agents about your concerns? Usually they have a list of buyers after certain houses.

Only one bathroom for a large house would put me off and I would not even bother with a viewing, ditto for a small garden. Especially, in that price range. No garage would be not as bad but again, in conjunction with the other issues, it just does not make your house very appealing.

Hi our house had virtually exactly the same issues as yours, except only 4 bedrooms. It was on the market for over 12 months and we had to drop the price a LOT, but it did sell in the end. Wishing you all the best with it - it’s stressful and demoralising when you’re in it.

It wouldn’t put me off, but we are not the majority -as we like a roomy house but don’t have kids at home anymore - and my H would use top floor for work purposes - I also like Salisbury . The average family though looking for a big house tend to want at least 2 bathrooms and a decent sized garden and in all honesty probably more downstairs space - as you do .

...and now I've seen it, you mention grass, but it's not grass it's AstroTurf am I right?
I don't think there's a single thing puts me off a house more than AstroTurf.
It should be banned. And compulsorily ripped out of every house it's already in.
AstroTurf is to nature as asbestos is to lungs.

Yes next door is much nicer/cosier/easier to see how you'd make it your own than OPs. But ultimately it is the price. Way too expensive.

I also agree with this. Who puts plastic/fake grass in a garden. It's so miserable.

Sorry, I can’t find the link post OP

The on street parking permits. Do they cost? Are you limited to how many you can have?

The reason I ask this is a 5 bed house at that cost may be bought by families with teens/older children but, if they can't park when they later learn to drive, that's off putting. Especially if there are homes offering parking in the area.

What about doing this Op? Add a toilet and washbasin to the top floor and add an en-suite to bedroom 1

Looks like yours has only just been reduced to £720K OP! what was it on for originally? I think I would wait and see if any interest at the new price.

The Bank of England Interest rate in the spring of 2022 was 0.75% . Today it’s 4.25% An 80% LTV mortgage today based on your asking price would be around £1,400 a month more expensive compared to when you purchased the property. The reason it’s not selling is price. It always is.

If that is your house then it’s beautiful and I would view it.

The lack of storage and lack of garage might be an issue now that I think about it more. We have a loft space and garage and both are full.

I would be put off because I would want another bathroom, a drive and a garage. The garden is also potentially a sticking point, if the kids were smaller I would definitely want a reasonable sized one, they are older now so it's less of a need but now I'm starting to think along the lines of entertaining and a feel like that size house should have a decent sized garden.

I'm also not a big fan of period houses but if I liked the house itself, the area, I could probably live with the garden but definitely not the bathroom/parking for a family of 4.