Struggling to Sell our house

[TigersoulBlue]

Hi Everyone.
I hope you don't mind me posting here to get some advice about selling our house, we use an Agent, and its been on the market for 868 days, we have had some interest but nothing enough for anyone to put in an offer. I would be grateful on your views, I have tough skin so please be honest. all the other houses that are very similar in this area have sold for similar prices.
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/148421291#/?channel=RES_BUY

@TigersoulBlue Look online at the house in Bridge Court, Woodseaves with JDP- £330K for a 4-bed semi with a view over fields. En suite, dressing room, garage, etc. It was sold earlier this year.

Yes, it's modern on an estate, but it has space and mod cons.

A family would IMO go for that as it's cheaper than yours.

Very good point, you don"t want to be looking at Legoland in a couple of years. Realistically though demand is way down and many developers have stopped building, so you might get off with keeping the view.

Often it is lenders who put the brakes on now.

that road through woodeaves is a nightmare throughroad, tonnes of traffic lorries etc.., id avoid that to be honest. its alot more peaceful here.

thats sure is a problem for all country homes, even David Beckham had people building next to his country home, its a sad state but can happen anywhere. they wont even let 1 person convert a barn here anymore into an office or house, so i don't see them allowing legoland :)

I take your point about traffic but some people want space and will compromise on traffic. The house I mentioned is in a small cul de sac with rural views at the rear.

How are your finances now? Where do you want to move to?

I think your house would sell better if the 2nd floor had a) a loo & basin and b) was set up like an office. Presumably there is nothing to stop a buyer adding a garden office in the garden, as well?

An 2nd floor bathroom could make it a 'den' or guest room. At the moment it's wasted space.

Overall, you're going to have to add to it in some way or drop by a good £££.
There is a larger, detached house in your next village/ town for less than yours.
I think yours is worth round about the £290K mark. Maybe you overpaid for it?

Good news. they have built enough Lego, they can"t shift the existing stuff any more.

I think around 300k too @ThatOldWomanNextDoor - it's such a niche property and needs to be staged to appeal to a certain demographic, as currently it doesn't seem certain of its identity.

When we sold ours back in late 2017/early 2018, we'd stripped out acres of woodchip wallpaper and replastered where necessary, then painted the main rooms. Like the OP we had a dated (early noughties) kitchen and 90s bathroom, plus we had two rooms on the top floor with no bathroom serving them. We'd purchased as a project then realised the area didn't suit us (our family were 150 miles away), and lost the will to complete the work.

However, ours was 2000 sq ft with lots of original features, plus a stunning cottage garden we'd restored. Despite that we only found a buyer because we were prepared to lose money in order to move on (coincidentally we were looking to buy a smallholding in Wales). We'd bought mortgage-free so no negative equity issues etc and we accepted we weren't going to make money or get back what we'd paid.

I'm convinced the OP could - with the right EA/better photos and of course staging - create a desirable cosy cottage that would find a buyer who, like them when they purchased, can't stretch to a detached rural home.

It's got to be the price you're asking. I work as a conveyancer and it's always the price when a property doesn't sell.

Yes, so many sellers just don"t want to accept this though, even now with higher borrowing rates?

Agree with this - it is a 2 up/ 2 down with attic rooms, but could be lovely for the right person(s) - I would guess early retirees/ teleworkers who some community/ neighbours nearby and a spare room for family/ visitors.

Switch to whichever local EA sold the other properties in the block recently. This is definitely a house that needs to be sold rather than just relying on on-line searches

Most EA"s keep ticking over with rentals now I believe, many EA"s are too young to have experienced a proper downturn and higher rates, same for traders/financial professionals, person on Bloomberg yesterday saying there is a whole,generation now with no clue about serious market volatility without immediate government bailouts, no wonder AI is taking their jobs! How many EA"s now are going to "sell" a house in the old fashioned way speaking to people, pushing the house as a good deal (it isn"t yet, the price is way too high) etc.?

And you think being in a village makes them worth less vs. being in the middle of nowhere... Yet still in a mid-terrace?

Apart from the obvious price problem, the map pin on rightmove is on the wrong building and makes it look like your house is right on the road, rather than set a long way back. Get the agent to fix that at least.

I See what your saying, i think the house that are cheaper are the ones in the actual village and on busy roads and don't have that country side feel, we are in the country side. thanks that's an interesting point.

Kindly, you seem to have a bit of a 'thing' about being in a quiet road.

Many people are not so bothered and, even looking at street view, it's hardly a main road- it's still relatively rural.

Your house has some issues which reduce the pool of buyers.
In some ways it's attractive as a 'downsizer' house or a first home.

But the length of the garden (note- it's dimensions are not even in the details!) will possibly put off older buyers who don't want the upkeep of such a lot of lawn.

And for younger buyers with children, there is no eat-in kitchen only a living room/ diner.

As a 4-bed it doesn't have the space downstairs. Anyone with children/ teenagers needs another reception room, not just one.

You could perhaps market it as adaptable living, where one room upstairs became another living room/ study but to do that you need to dress it as such- make it an office with a desk and shelves. Or put a bed and furniture in one of the 2nd floor rooms so buyers can actually see that a bed fits the space.

I think the issue is you've got used to living there in a way it suits you, but you can't imagine how the space might not work (or work with some alterations) for other people.

It didn"t move much in price between 2004 and 2017, not sure why it would suddenly leap in value now?

I think you perhaps overpaid for it OP.

If I've looked at the right houses, on RM, The Granary which is bigger than yours ( 4 beds or 3 plus study/ dressing room on the 1st floor and a large dining kitchen, was sold for £282,500 in the same year - 2017.)

It has a massive master bedroom with beams, a garden that is fully enclosed with hedging and shrubs, etc.

You paid more for a smaller house.

I dunno. If you are talking about older downsizers, I think it doesn't have a lot to offer really.....not in a village, not a lovely garden, not isolated for peace and quiet, over three floors.....

I was thinking that some older people may want somewhere rural but part of a small 'complex' where they have neighbours, rather than a detached cottage in the middle of nowhere. But as people get older they want a manageable garden.

One thing that I wanted to ask @TigersoulBlue is access to the rear garden.

How do get a lawnmower round there? Do you/ your neighbours have sheds?

How do you move the wheelie bins out? Is there a communal store? Is the back of the house accessible from anywhere other than the front door?

yup and maybe would be dubious about 3 floors?

Strange move, why did the OP do that?

I absolutely love the country 'feel' to your home.
But I would find a 20 minute walk to a shop to long. Not because I'm lazy, but because I need a shop five minutes walk away - for those moments where we are half way through cooking and realise we are missing an ingredient. I don't want to have to get in the car for that. Or spend 40 minutes walking.
The kitchen is too small, we need ( want) one that is larger, with room for a dining table.
I would be (very) worried that the field behind the back garden would get built on and my gorgeous view would be destroyed by a new build lego land housing estate.

because they didn't do their research?

Not rocket science..house is massively overpriced.

Yep, a decent price reduction should get some interest.

This isn’t always true though. My house is £25k-£50k lower than the other similar sized properties in our expensive commuter belt town. Originally we priced at £415k (which a similar property in our town had just sold at) then eventually lowered to £390k. Crickets. We still only get one viewing a month.

Only two beds, the big detached and flats are selling here at the moment. All the three bed semis have been stuck since May.