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

Sorry- you have no curtains in your living room either at the patio doors or the window.

It looks cold, unloved and uncared for. TBH it looks like a house where someone has just moved in and not really thought much about the decor, making it homely.

I think you need a new agent, new photos, and be willing to spend some money on furnishings like nice cushions, big plants, smarter bedding etc, get rid of the child step in the loo, whatever is to the left of the fireplace, etc.

I'm far too invested in this- sorry!

It looks as if you're in the middle of nowhere.

Is there a school nearby?
Where do your neighbours work?
Why would anyone want to live so remotely?
Where is your biggest town?

I’m having trouble working out which part os your house etc… better pics needed and black markings on the house photo clearly showing what’s yours.

But honestly, 2.5 years on the market, I wouldn’t touch it as I would assume it had massive problems. Take it off the market for 6 months and market with new agent

I'm glad your taking an interest :)

Lots of people live the middle of nowhere ive seen them peeping through their curtains :)
primary schools 20min walk. its only a 20min drive and your in telford / or stafford. not sure what all the neighbors do, some work in Agricultural, some semi retired, i work from home doing computer aided design.
If i didn't have bigger goals in life i would stay here as its a lovely place to live.

Your right, its was a place to live while i saved up money for the next house, so we didnt invest alot in the house, as we weren't going to stay here long. it doesn't look as bad as the images portray. but it does need alot of tender love and care.

The price history is interesting, not much increase between 2004 and 2017?

the location is a gorgeous place, know it well, get hold of Critchlows, barbers or James du pavey and market it properly and it’ll sell!

Neighbours went with james du pavey and they couldnt sell theirs with them.

We’ve sold twice with Critchlows and bought with barbers. JDP are popular but not our taste. S&J are decent too. Market is fairly flat round this way though unless it’s to rent.

I wonder if someone could share the selling details of the neighbours properties that have sold so we can compare and contrast

I would definitely change EAs. I find yopa and purple bricks are only a good bet when it's an 'easy sell' - very straightforward property in a buoyant market and buyers outstrip sellers. None of that is true in this case. PPs have mentioned good local options so investigate those.

It's difficult to know who to market your property to. A good EA should be able to help you there.

I do feel your property is good but unusual so you really need someone to fall in love with it as there are local, cheaper, more typical options.

I wonder if someone could share the selling details of the neighbours properties that have sold so we can compare and contrast

From what recall when I looked at Rightmove, none of OP’s neighbours in her ‘block’ had sold (or there was no data on Rightmove). Comparing semi-detached or detached houses down the road to OP’s three-storey mid-terrace house located in a cul-de-sac won’t be helpful.

Comparing semi-detached or detached houses down the road to OP’s three-storey mid-terrace house located in a cul-de-sac won’t be helpful.

@everyoldsock why? That's exactly what local buyers will be doing, particularly when scoping out areas. I know that's what I did. Started looking at what I could comfortably afford, including doer-uppers priced below my budget. Then I would look at what was just above my budget to see what I could stretch to. Then it's about the compromise on what's on my wishlist.
Many people will 'value' being in a detached or semi-detached house over a terraced one. There will be some people who value outlook and setting over a house being 'attached'. I suspect there are more people in the former camp than the latter.

There are several properties on the same plot as OP's that sold. Hers comes up as being last sold in 2013. However, you can only see photos not the description when it was marketed.

According to RM, an end terrace in @TigersoulBlue's 'block' sold in Aug 2018 for 395k...but that was larger (1733 sq ft/161 sq m), over two floors with a much more family oriented layout. Oh, and a swimming pool if the pics are anything to go by!

The OP appears to have purchased in Nov 2017 for 285k and RM says the house was last marketed in 2013, which implies it took ages to sell then, too. Zoopla tells a different story, saying it was marketed in May 2017 and sold in the Nov.

In my experience of a similar rural-ish area in the Midlands, taking ages for a period house to sell can be the norm. We purchased a detached period house in a village between Bridgnorth and Wolverhampton in 2014, at which point the property had been on the market three years. Many other characterful houses nearby had also lingered without a buyer for years.

When we sold three years later, we achieved a much quicker sale (five months from marketing to completion), but we made a 35k loss on what we'd paid.

But it's not a period house inside.
The other sold houses next to her have lots of beams and more character.
Looking at the terrace of them it seems hers is the smallest.

I could see it as a holiday home/ airbnb where someone was happy for a week or so but it's limited as a family home.

You're paying for the view, but you dont own those fields so it could become a housing estate very quickly. I wouldn't pay for a view unless I owned it (or it was a national park)

My opinion is it's a starter home (or for an older couple) and should be marketed as that. The issue for an older couple is the size of the garden.

OP- what attracted you to it? That's your key to selling.
Can I ask- you have a toddler step in the loo, but the bedroom doesn't show any sign of their being a child in your house. Do you have a child?

If so, you should make the child's bedroom look like one, so a couple with a young child can imagine themselves there.

The whole house looks anonymous.
You say you work from home- why is the loft not set up as an office?
Where do you work from?

The dining table doesn't look like it's for a young family- velvet chairs. Anyone with a baby or toddler is going to ask where will the child eat when they are older.

There are things you can't change but if you market it afresh it needs to be staged (IMO) as a home for 2 professionals, or a small family, or retirees. At the moment it's not appealing to any particular demography.

The photos are really poor - lots of bathrooms and the lounge and little else. The staging is a bit lazy too - why don’t people make their beds properly and hide what’s under the beds when you know photos are being taken that could determine a property sale

have you checked the local plan for any future development in the village and if the field at the bottom of the garden will end up a building site one day?

4 beds … the house is very top heavy? It’s too big for a retired couple or someone with no kids but anyone with 2 plus children will find only having 1 living space downstairs a struggle (and a living room come dining room at that). An extension on the back or dare I say it conservatory type space would have made it much more appealing

it’s also clear this was a stop gap house….it feels a bit soul less and so I’d wonder why you don’t want to live there

That's very true, hence the existence of the 'Save Eccleshall' campaign.

I am surprised by the lack of beams or lovely fireplaces in the house and the lighting in most rooms seems to consist of downlights. Barn conversions have usually (in my experience) commanded a premium because of the character but here the character seems to have been stripped out.

Yes, it has none of the advantages of living in a rural property as it is so overlooked and all of the disadvantages. It does have a look and feel of a Airbnb. You need to give it some 'heart' I suppose it is. it's functional rather than cosy. It doesn't feel like a period property.

I think it's a really good point that all of the gardens look unloved, making it look like nobody spends any time outside despite moving to a rural property.

Yes, I completely agree (and posted exactly the same way upthread 😉)

Imo, the whole complex is typical of how a lot of 1980s/90s barn conversions were originally presented when first redeveloped (the occasional beam left exposed, but otherwise predominantly new - stud - walls, modern fireplaces/kitchen/bathrooms, often inappropriate flooring, new staircase as there wouldn't have been one in the original agricultural iteration etc etc). At least the OP's doesn't have those - again typical - brown windows!

In the case of the OP's house all the character is external and it might as well be a new build internally. It unfortunately completely lacks the period charm you'd expect to find from looking at the external photos. Even the garden resembles an untouched new build garden, eg turf and not much more. If I were a potential buyer, I'd need to strip everything out and hit the reclamation yard, followed up by industrial quantities of Farrow & Ball/Edward Bulmer.

At least it's a blank (or should that be bland?) canvas. And you're right, it definitely screams 'holiday home'! Sorry OP!

Hi No Children live here, and its step isn't for children :)
None of the Houses here have toddlers. we are all over that age apart from 1 young couple. so i'm presuming these houses aren't for families with children.
i have my office upstairs in the loft room, which isnt in the pictures. ive noted your ideas thanks

I wouldnt look at the data there, its is very out of date and incorrect. from 2004 when it was built till 2017 it was owned by a single man. then we brought it in 2017 till today. so we brought it quick as we fell in love with it.

we moved here as it was the cheapest option for us at the time to be able to live in the countryside, we wanted a detached country home, but we needed 500k + for us to do that, and coming from a terraced town house in Peterborough with not much money, it was a hug step up for us and a chance to get in the country side with a few compromises. and i don't think the images are doing it any favours as its lovely here and definitely has a country feel, and yes it needs alot doing to it to make it cosy as others have pointed out.

It's a very long way from Peterborough!

Who are you ideal buyers?
A family with kids?
A young couple?
A single professional?

The step in the loo is huge no- no.
Is it for someone with a mobility or health issue?
Or a grandchild visiting? It says 'a lot' but is also confusing.

I am shocked the agents don't pick up on these things.
Most agents seem like school kids who don't have a clue how to take photos or make rooms look better.

eg There is something rolled up behind your sofa, on the floor. ???
The bedroom- things poking out from under the bed.
The duvet covers aren't straight or ironed.There appears to be a soft toy in between the pillows, the yellow blanket looks as if it's just been dumped there.

Kindly, spend some time looking online at some videos on how to 'dress' your home. Buy some cheap curtains for your living room, maybe a rug, set up the loft as an office, show the whole space up there.

I know this sounds harsh but you said you could cope with that!