Help me sell my house!!

[EuroCountry]

NC for this for privacy! My house has been on the market for just over a month and has only received one low ball offer - does anyone have any tips on how to get it sold?!

House

Are the throws and rugs necessary for pics or viewings? They scream hairy muddy dogs or temporary let. Either would make me think I'd have to throw the original carpets and deep clean.
I'd be knocking money off because I'd need to sort the flooring, put a proper kitchen in, sort out a proper shower / shower screen and buy / build bedroom storage unless those things are reflected in the price, but the estate agents description implies they are not.

I don’t know why this thread is getting so arsey. Everyone’s opinions prove the point that what attracts one buyer will put off the next. But when you want to sell you have to try to appeal to as wide a range as possible and address the extremes. OP has had a lot of good advice here and I’ll pick and choose what suits her.

We all have clutter, I’d hate to have to sell my house I’d have to do a six month clearout to the charity shops 😱

All the advice you’ve had here on decluttering is worthwhile, we stop seeing it ourselves.

Your bathroom is lovely but the pictures don’t do it justice. Before new photos I’d remove absolutely everything that is removable from the bathroom, then carefully start putting some things back

• put the candle lantern back on the small window sill and stop
• Put loo brush other side of loo
• Buy some posh looking toiletries that you can all use (and not too many), they could go tap end of the long window sill and box absolutely everything else up, random bags of stuff stuffed beside the loo screams not enough storage
• is that a boiler hidden behind the shower curtain? Is there a safe way of boxing it in? It spoils the modern look
• adjust shower curtain so it’s hanging nicely
• put skirting on, bathroom looks unfinished which is a shame, if you have spare tiles from the bathroom cut down tiles would look nice as skirting
• where do your towels go? Maybe a towel rail over the radiator with nice matching towels
• the laundry bin looks damp at the bottom, that makes people think there’s been a leak, replace it

This is not an easy housing market, good luck.

Can you paint over the random bit of pink skirting that doesn't seem to go with anything else? I'm also not sure but it looks like the window over the sink has the seal gone and condensation trapped. If not, and it's just dirty, can you get that cleaned?

No, not everyone has clutter.

Ok many of us have clutter. Do you feel better now?

I meant to type that OP “ will pick and choose” not that I’d do it for her!

Your house looks lovely, lived I. U like lots of places. It will sell, you just need to be a bit more patient,

De-clutter and tidy but I would think about swapping round your living /dining space if possible to make the most of the view of the park. I would think about putting the big dresser in storage for now as it dominates the room too much. Don't think you need to do much upstairs apart from a tidy, put those mirrors on the wall and put something in that 3rd bedroom . The kitchen is probably the biggest issue but I don't think there's much you can do about that without replacing it. I'm also in Bolton and don't think its overpriced for the area - its a nice road.

Sorry @EuroCountry but as others have noted, the photos aren't great and would benefit from being redone professionally once a tidy up has taken place. They're also in rather a random order which always pisses me off as you're jumping from one room to the garden, to a different room, then back to the previous one.

Your EA describes a kitchen with 'ample storage' but other than the larder cupboard which looks to be freestanding, so might not be staying, there doesn't appear to be much. However, a cursory glance back to when you purchased shows a bank of base cabinets not really seen in your current photos. If the larder cupboard is included, imo your description should state this, as it does re the range cooker.

The astroturf is going to put a chunk of buyers off - it would me - but some might just factor in the cost of removal. I'm also not a fan of the 'split stone' look internally, but that's just personal taste - I'm sure loads of people love it!

Ditto the boiler plus associated exposed pipes in the bathroom (again this is clearly visible in the historic EA photos from when you purchased). Personally, I'd want the boiler moved, but at the very least it needs boxing in.

Of course these last two are things you probably won't want to fix. I get that - OH and I are serial DIY house renovators and prior to marketing we always try to ensure there's nothing a buyer might see as off-putting or a starting point for downward negotiations, but not every seller does this/has the budget to do it.

Generally speaking, I'd tidy up/remove stuff like the sofa throws, the dishevelled beds etc and get better photos taken including one showing the full extent of your kitchen storage/work surfaces. I'm not an advocate of decluttering to the extent a place looks sterile - that can be off-putting too, imo - and overall your house appears to have good bones and a homely, welcoming feel, it just needs tweaking to present better. Good luck!

Are you absolutely sure the square footage is correct? It looks bigger than 710 sq ft unless the photos are deceptive.

I first looked at your post 8 hours or so ago and my initial thought was extremely negative due to your decor.
BUT the house layout is okay, You don’t seem to be taking well to the clutter/clean comments but it looks dreadful.
Each photo is mess upon mess, I suspect you don’t “see” it and subsequently are incapable. I’d recommend someone stage each room before the photo.

Yes, on further Inspection, it does not have a shower, at least I can’t see one at all @EuroCountry where is the shower?
The bathroom has no skirting board under the radiator. It looks really badly finished. And so untidy around the toilet, I actually don’t understand why you took a picture with grouting tools right beside the toilet!
and yes, the whole house needs a proper clean and Declutter.
there’s a magazine under the day bed in the bedroom.
The sideboard in the kitchen is ridiculously cluttered. This needs to be reduced down

You accept the offers you get, and be prepared for down-valuations if a mortgage is involved, trying to "stage" etc. will just delay the sale.

The upside of asking on here is you’re going to get the truth, the downside is the truth hurts, plus it will skew your viewing numbers as it will look like loads of folks are looking at the house. When it’s just mumsnetters.

op it does looo like it needs a clean but it’s just the clutter, ss it’s hard to clean round that, and it isn’t jisy all the stuff and boxes, it’s all the throws etc on the sofas making them look messy as they haven’t even been folded

im sure it’s lovely as a home. But when trying to sell it’s always better to tidy up.

I don't think anyone's mentioned it, but your balusters don't look legal. A small child could easily slip through those and get badly hurt - unless there's glass in between, but it doesn't look like it. I'm not a fan of having to go through the living room to access the kitchen either, it's especially irritating when you're bringing in shopping. Was the kitchen doorway originally sited in the hall, and it's been closed up? I would want to reinstate that, which would be a significant job.

I would also want to upgrade the bathroom to include a proper shower and put in a fitted kitchen, sort the banisters and remove all that Astroturf and Leylandii. All in all, I would foresee a lot of work and money needed to get the house where I would want it to be, so any offer I put in would be much lower than your asking, sorry. I'm not intending to be rude, people rarely want all the same from a house - but fitted kitchens are the norm. It's a really nice house and the bones of it are good, but it would simply need too much work to be appealing for me.

If I were you I'd get some of the those clear plastic crates and clear all the stuff off the shelves into those, and store them elsewhere. Same with the boxes and surplus items in the kitchen, they're distracting attention away from the actual house as well as making it look like there's no cupboards...

Actually, ignore my previous post re there being additional kitchen cabinets in the historic photos from when the OP purchased. Having looked again (I'm viewing on my phone so it's hard to see properly) it looks like a fridge and freezer beneath the worktop, not more cupboards. In which case, I agree with those who've said any buyer will be factoring in the cost of fitting a proper kitchen!

I agree @ShodAndShadySenators they won’t meet building regs. Not sure if that would impact a mortgage but it might get flagged up on a survey?

In the area where this house is situated, house prices have risen by around 50%

I would say it's a little better than that. In 2015 that property sold at 112k. If it increased by 50% in value then today that puts it at £168k. I dont think it's that far overpriced, it is a bit enthusiastically priced at 210k - but probably still sellable at £185/190 imo. I was bored so I looked quite closely at the local pricing in the same why a savy buyer would.

Sometimes it pays to invest a small amount of money in order to achieve what you want.
I am not a lover of throws but do realise people have them for a multitude of reasons but I think if you could have matching throws that would make a difference and also all matching cushions. perhaps move the solitary chair to the empty bedroom along with the work station even if only for pictures and viewings. A pain but shows what the room could be for.
The dining area definitely needs sprucing up, hide the boxes and purely use as a display place. On the table just have the two matching candles and make sure the tablecloth is ironed.
Check all curtains are hung properly and if possible tied back.
Like me you have a very small kitchen with very little work top so you need to make sure anything that can be hidden away is. Just have a couple of pots of herbs on the windowsill. I would also find a home for the pans, can you store them in the oven?
You just need to think that potential purchasers will be thinking about lack of storage if too much is on display.
The outlook to the park is lovely. Very best of luck and hopefully your house will be snapped up.

Where do you do your food prep?? There is no worktop space at all. Some people might be ok with that but I’d think it needs a new kitchen (which may be reflected in the price? I don’t know the area) Also no shower would put me off, sorry. A shower attachment on a bath isn’t a proper shower imo. Again, may be reflected in the price but a lot of people would want to have one put in. It looks decent other than that - I couldn’t give a shit about an unmade bed, I’m not buying your duvet!
good luck, house selling is grim.

OP compare your house listing with the others in the same price bracket. That's your competition. My guess is that you've been offered below £210k because the potential buyer is factoring in making layout changes and putting in a new kitchen. The other houses have kitchen diners and more open plan layouts which make them look bigger. I'm not sure new photos will get you higher offers.

That said, people cannot see past eclectic decor and clutter so getting more viewings could help get more offers. Clear the window ledges, move the stuff at the sides of the bathroom sink, take things of the top of units, move the folding chairs from behind the sofa. Clutter just makes it look as though you don't have enough storage and, as you've found on this thread, makes people think you haven't cleaned properly because it all needs moving to clean.

The beds were made weren't they? Just not very well....

What is the reason for the rise?