How can we sell when buyers keep raising the same issues?

[E2026]

We originally listed our 2-bed terraced property in September 2025. It is priced in line with other properties and we are located in the East Midlands it was put up for 180k. We were happy with the photos and not had any issues with the Estate Agent.

We had an offer November 2025 but our buyer pulled out last minute just before a completion date was set due to personal reasons.

We relisted the property April and have had 6 viewings in 4 weeks. Our house needed renovated when buying it 5 years ago and we did all the work straight away so we have had all new flooring , a new kitchen, replaced the boiler, new front door , a few bits done in the bathroom (but it is getting tired , it’s a 3 piece white suite though) it isn’t perfect but it’s a lot better then it was and looks relatively modern now.

When we originally had a buyer we had an offer accepted on a property and all the paperwork was completed the same as ours. The seller is happy to wait for us to find a new buyer but didn’t say how long for… we also wanted to move before September as we need to move our daughter schools.

the problem is a lot of our feedback is the same negative points and we don’t know what else to do know to sell again.

the same points are normally

• Access issues - to access our house u drive uphill to a shared drive way, there are 5 garages and 3 visitor parking spaces. The houses are located directly behind. It is not suitable if you have mobility issues.

• The gardens - back gardens to small , front has no privacy (all the neighbours use their front ones, but ours is just grass and pathed)

• The parking - because there are 3 visitor spaces it is tight to get your car into the garages but several neighbours do.

We don’t know what else to do at the point because these are things we can’t change. We bought the house because we could afford it at reduced price due to it needing work so these issues were okay to compromise on to get in the property ladder at the time. We have dropped the price now from 180k to 170-180 guide price. Any advice welcome because I don’t know what else to do at the point.

If you want to sell you're going to have to drop all thoughts about what your neighbours paid and what condition the houses were in when they did. That's all been and gone. Focus on what you need to do to sell yours.

That seems like a long time to me. In our area I keep seeing stats saying 4 weeks. And after that the chances drop. As basically if people don’t like it initially, there is something making it tricky to sell.

I was clarifying what they said wasn't correct but yes your right. It seems drop price is overal response which I'm probably now going to do. I can't do anymore with the listing. I can't change the garden massively easy or add furniture because it's sloped, pathed and has a grate.

I don't think you get the money back you have spent on doing work on a house unless it adds an extra bedroom. It just makes them easier to sell. How much did you pay for it?

Sorry, I meant the percentage increase has gone up more than double the average increase.

The price is the issue.

I live in the east mids. In a terrace house with no private parking. Mine is 3 bed, in a nice village, countryside within 500 yards walk. My house is worth about 140k. So 170-180k for a 2 bed is ridiculously high imo. the private off street parking would maybe get you 150-160. But you need to lower the price if you want to sell quickly.

The housing market is very much a buyers market at the moment so you need to drop the price or wait for it to swing in the other direction

This is what I’m doing. You will eventually find someone who wants it for what it is.

Also I am finding that having people selling up near me is helping - my house is on for 10k lower and more modern inside! With a small extension. So people I think are looking at mine and that will help me sell it compared to others not far away but maybe in slightly better location.

It sounds overpriced. I know you’ve said you’ve done some work to it but you won’t automatically get back what you paid for that work.

An extreme example is a neighbour who ‘beautified’ her normal terraced house (not beautified IMO but that’s what she thought). Almost every single thing had been changed. She must have spent a lot of money. But - many of the changes weren’t too people’s taste. Some people were more accepting of the changes (“Hey, I never wanted an enormous corner bath with an elaborate gold tap system and an enormous engraved mirror in the bathroom, but it’s ok, I can deal with it”) but certainly didn’t want to pay a massive premium for them. All the other houses in that terrace were selling for £150/160k but she put her house on for £225k. She refused to lower the price for two years!

So, I’d knock a fair bit of the price and forget what you spent on your improvements.

Also if you are the middle house such that your neighbours' issues are a bit less serious in terms of privacy - people may be willing to pay a bit more for those houses.

Are the estate agents flagging up all the work you’ve done, Op? If you bought for £125k, and were originally trying for £180k, that’s a nearly 50% price increase, and as a buyer I would want to know why! I don’t know the market in your area, but in general 5 years ago the market was high, and now it’s pretty poor thanks to things like high interest rates and increased job uncertainty for many people, so a lot of people are facing losses. Being completely honest about properties in the same area, with the same or similar drawbacks, are they actually selling for £170k or just being listed at that? Also, do you know what your neighbours are planning to list at, or are they waiting to see what happens with yours? I’m just thinking worst case scenario - they see yours not selling, list for less, and you lose out to them for buyers!

We had issues with our previous house, they didn’t bother us but obviously bothered potential buyers, we dropped the price by 20k and sold eventually on the third chain. Two previously collapsed but it took nearly a year until we actually moved and two estate agents.

Anyhow I’d say just keep making small reductions, someone will come along eventually.

Actually it might be. When there are direct comparisons at a similar price the price is justified and you just need yours to look better. We sold for asking price: two houses very like ours on same street on the market at the same time. We dressed ours and sold immediately; one of the others sold after 12 months and the third is off the market. It really helped us having the comparators.

You drop the price. Or you wait out these bad times.

A property is only worth what someone’s prepared to pay for it.

Good idea. If this was an issue last year, it's going to be even worse in the current Hormuz shocks market. If you need to sell soon, you're going to have to make it cheaper than the neighbouring ones and there's also no iron law saying you'll get the money back you spent in improvements.

What do you mean your estate agent "doesn't do offers over" - you're paying them, they do what you tell them!!

If you want to be rid of it you can sell to one of those 'we buy anything' companies, though they will only give you up to 75% of its surveyed value.

I once had a 2 bed flat in good location in popular city…we had 92 viewings over 6 months before we got an offer. There were reasons like yours but not changeable ones and nothing that made it so niche. The agent was mystified. But the 92nd person walked in, loved it and offered us asking price on the spot! So as someone else said you could wait it out and hope, or lower your price now.

Your price has increased quite a lot in a few years. Appreciate you have done some work on it in that time.

I feel your pain on the feedback though. When we sold we got comments like ‘there is no garage’ well yes there was no garage on the listing. Time wasters!

I bought my place 5 years ago for £245k and spent £20k on a garage conversion so added a bedroom and bathroom, £5k on a new garage roof and £2k sorting the garden and laying decking. I also spent £5k cladding the front and £3k on a bathroom. The house is now worth about £315k and that's mostly because of the extra bedroom and bathroom. 2021 was peak for prices and everything I spent was for me and my enjoyment of the house not with a view to increasing value because nobody can ever rely on that. You should be aiming to get back your purchase price plus a percentage for inflation - 20-25% probably.

You have had loads of advice about price. My advice is on the stress… just wondering… If you wait it out - how far away are you moving to, do you have any way to change your DD school to the new location and commute?

Also, I can’t quite follow the set up about the front garden (diagram might help) but I would 100% get a load of tubs of flowers outside your front door. It will look nice for viewers and also for yourself.

You could sort the gardens at relatively little cost. Most people just want a quiet sunny corner with space for a couple of chairs and a table.

But it comes down to money being tight at the moment, jobs are less secure, house prices are falling.

I think it's unrealistic to expect to get an extra 45k above what you paid 5 years ago, even if you have had work done.

£45k is more than 20%. It's closer to 35% and your initial increase of £55k was more likt 45% so more than double the average increase

Indeed. Adding square footage with an extension will increase value. Cosmestic updates don’t tend to add value.

Values vary wildly across the country so this is a bit of a silly comment