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

Did I miss a link to it?

This wouldn't bother me at all. I had 6 adults in a 4 bed with one bathroom no problem at all as long as there is a downstairs toilet.

Ignore next door.
What else can people buy for £675? If they are newer family homes with masses of garden /bathrooms/ news kitchens you are pricing too high.
What do you need to sell it at to buy something that makes it worth it?

On paper those things would put me off, yes.

However, I have looked at your house and your neighbours house on Rightmove and I much prefer yours. As a buyer though, I would be questioning the asking price due to the lack of an en suite. The house is lacking balance with 5 bedrooms and only one bathroom.

I would say either you bite the bullet and get quotes for an en suite to be fitted or you will end up knocking a lot of money off for the lack of bathrooms.

It's worth trying to sell it without doing the work if your husband is that against getting the work done yourselves. But based on the rest of the house you have good taste so I'm sure you could successfully manage a project like building an en suite and then the house would be almost perfect for a house in a city.

Not everyone likes big gardens. For me the garden size would be fine.

I look for two loos even when it's just holiday accomodation for me and dh for a week! Personally not keen on ensuites (I feel awkward using other people's when I need to and don't have them here) - a big house like that is surely likely to have lots of people in it (kids, friends, kids friends) so 2 loos at least "available to all" seems essential. An ensuite more a luxury that a buyer can opt to install or not.

I think a second small shower room in the back of bedroom 4 but with it's own door would be ideal.

Could you also get a downstairs loo under the stairs? Downstairs loo would be great for casual visitors. And a bonus for buyers with family who find stairs difficult.

However if I can say it’s a beautiful home- my H would love it and no he wouldn’t look at your neighbours either - that to me needs a fair bit of work and way more than cost of an en suite- although yes the garden is much nicer- but I’m not that bothered about huge gardens any more

I live in the same area as you and the market is slow here. I don't care what some EAs say it definitely is. I have watched the market on RightMove since October and continue to whilst we are waiting for our house purchase/sale to go through with the paperwork etc. and so many houses are reduced each week. I would say nearly as many reduced as going on. When we were looking only one house came on for us to view probably every 4 weeks so I just don't think as many people are moving and your house is likely to have interest from people potentially having a house to sell themselves.

I think everything sells for the right price but whilst grand for that budget here you could get a house with another bathroom and garden space/a drive so it might be putting people off. I expect it's the kind of house that the right person needs to come along but equally depends how keen you are to go in this market. You mention all the stuff in the garden, so it can fit in but for some people that may be making it actually look small and cramped.

Do you mind posting the link to the estate agent's listing? I can't really get an opinion just from the floor plan.

it looks like an attic conversion and two story rear extension?

so the house is effectively oversized/unbalanced for the plot. For a 5-bed I would expect two full bathrooms and a cloakroom, at least 2 parking spaces, and decent garden.

who do you think your market is? What do they look for?

I find one bathroom plus downstairs loo acceptable.
Small garden - OK if there are some trees in nearby gardens.
No parking - not a deal breaker.
But I think they all mean that the price should be lower than nearby houses of a similar size.

Bedroom one is nowhere near your soil pipe - putting in another bathroom isn’t as easy as just boxing off a bit of a room and sticking in bathroom features. The parking is a real issue too with a family needing more than one car and no guarantee the council won’t make it permit parking only. And where would you charge an electric car?

There is a ground floor loo just outside the kitchen.

Ah, missed that! Need me reading glasses on!

We are looking for a house that kind of spec in a different region.

1 bathroom doesn't put me off. The garden would have a few year ago but with a growing (in ages) family it's become less important.

The lack of off street parking would annoy me regardless of how easy you find it to get a parking space.

I've found them on right move. Lovely houses but it's very top heavy and no bathroom on the same floor as bedrooms 4 & 5 really rules them out as being children's bedrooms. The garden is probably big enough for folk who don't like gardening but the parking would put me off, particularly if it's a busy street.

I wouldn't want to live so near that roundabout. Area360 identifies that noise could be a problem - let alone the traffic. I'd also want to be within the ring-road.

As others have said 2022 was, on average, the peak of the market with many people who bought then now selling for less than they paid. If you really want to sell then price accordingly.

I have found it on Right Move. Nicely done and well presented, neat and tidy. I guess its the price..(not being very helpful...)

Your house is absolutely lovely, OP (I’m local). I would stay put and add another bathroom if you need it, having the work done would be worth it and the cost would be less than the stamp duty if you move. Also could you use one of the bedrooms as an additional living room? I think the lack of viewings is down to price, as you can get quite a lot for that amount in the area and often people prefer, say, an ugly house with a garage to a really attractive house without.

Actually, having looked at the floorplan, I would be put off by so much of the garden having been taken up by an extension. It's not the same as an originally 4 bed house with a small but nicely proportioned garden. Also the top floor looks like a loft conversion which might be hot and cramped compared to the original bedrooms.

OP I have just found it on Rightmove - was curious as I used to live in this area. It is in a great location, so close to town and good schools.

First of all your house is beautiful, so clean and light and nicely decorated, totally my style. I can’t believe it hasn’t even had a view!

I used to live on Queen Alexandra road, also close to town, and for £450k I had a similar sized house with a garden almost 5 times as big so I imagine it’s that and the bathroom issue, 1 for a 5 bed is not the best. I now live in London in a 4 bed with 3 bathrooms so the bathroom to bedroom ration feels all wrong.

I probably have no skin in the game as I couldn’t afford it, but there are houses in other areas, such as just off Castle Road, that go for near this price and they have on street parking so can’t be that…

Haha well it is very small!

Definitely still feel like OP needs an en suite somewhere.

The house would have been perfectly balanced when it was a 3 bed house. But when someone built 2 extra bedrooms in the attic they should have thought then about adding an en suite/bathroom either up there or to the main bedroom.

Of course if it’s cheap enough it will sell. The tiny downstairs, the small garden and lack of parking would all be dealbreakers for me. Not much you can do about them either. I wouldn’t bother putting an en-suite in as I don’t think that will override the other issues. You will just have to bring the price down.

I think you are absolutely mad to consider moving.

If you spend £750k on your next house that's £27k in stamp duty for precisely nothing except a contribution to the Treasury, plus estate agents fees @3%, that's another £21k from your sale. Then there's moving costs and all the other costs and aggro that comes with moving from a house that is hugely convenient to everything you want other than you need an extra bathroom and would like more living space.
You like the house, spend a lot less than £50k on an extra bathroom* and get rid of the trampoline. If your kids are anything like mine, they only use it when friends come over and it collects leaves at all other times.
You also have the option to extend the kitchen into what I assume is a side return. That would be more than the £50k savings to do but give you more choice on ground floor layout.

*I'd turn Bedroom 2 into an en suite and dressing room for B1. Yes it reduces the house to 4 bedrooms but probably makes it much more attractive to the market.

Is it a listed building? Is it a money pit in terms of heating and maintenance? I wonder if those things would put more people off than a small garden. It narrows your market.

No, you bought it 3 years ago so someone else will too.