What’s wrong with my house?

[Blueysothermother]

House been on the market since Easter, it’s in the catchment for the much sought after local grammar, well priced, was valued originally at £595,000. We had an offer for £575,750 which we accepted during the summer hols but then fell though due to reasons unrelated to the house. We need to relocate, so dropped the price, even though much larger than most houses in the surrounding streets and better parking. Estate agents can offer no constructive feedback that I can act upon. I get that it’s not all grey etc but it’s a period house and has a wealth of features intact. Any ideas?
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/91344150

I think the house is lovely. For me the issue is that I wouldn't see it as a 4 bed, so once I clicked on the pictures, I would immediately discount it.

Could you not relist as a 3 bed? It has a lot of space but the corridor bedroom or extra reception room wouldn't work as a bedroom for us.

Lots of people have suggested that and I think that's what she's going to do.

Everybody knows that people take duvets, throws and cushions with them?
I agree with you about the photos though. Probably an idea to change agents as well.

You don't appear to know anything about staging a house for a sale.

First appearances are important.

You may not agree and try to 'logic it out' but that's not how it works IRL.

I think a lot of people are put off by moving in and having to do a lot of work. I would be going in thinking ok this needs new kitchen cupboards because they don’t match and almost all the rooms need decorating which is a lot of work for a house over half a million regardless the location.

If I were you I’d paint the bright colour rooms a neutral colour and paint the black woodwork white again. The living room also looks to have old wallpaper so I’d get rid of that and put neutral paint on. Not sure what can be done about the mismatching cupboards easily but maybe people would be ok with that if they didn’t have to do everything else.

I also agree a lot of people would look past basic decorating but not to the extent there is to do here. It needs a new kitchen and I like the bathroom but not everyone will. Changing from bright / bold / dark paint and woodwork colours isn’t an easy job and most people know that too.

I think you’re absolutely right about younger people not understanding DIY and how to make their home into what they want themselves. When you read threads like this on Mumsnet, it seems that no-one ever does DIY any more. The kitchen might not be to everyone’s taste, but it doesn’t need to be replaced, and the same with the bathroom. These are all things that can be done gradually if that’s what the new owners want to do. Same with the decorating and lean to. Surely when you buy a house that is completely habitable but not necessarily to your own taste, you live in it for a while before you decide what you want to change? It seems a real shame that so many people want to turn a home that has real character, and has clearly had a lot of love put into it, into a bland grey box.

Wow I love it. Nothing to add sorry because I’d buy it if I viewed it 😂

Haven’t read all the comments . I like the house! But could it be the location - busy traffic area near hospital and football stadium?

@Blueysothermother it’s a nice house, I like your style and the house looks well maintained, bathrooms in particular look recently renovated.
I think the sale depends on how other 3-4 bedroom houses are priced in your area, the price if the commute, distance to the station.
Grammar school is not a huge draw as getting 1 child into it doesn’t guarantee places for the rest.
I live near a stadium now, and used to live near another stadium - the biggest problem for us was road closure so you can’t get in or out of the house by car, though your stadium doesn’t look that large?

There is a lot of space between a 'grey box' and the OP's house though!

The bathroom - well, you need to be Houdini to reach the loo roll. The wash basin is too big- no room for loo roll holder.

The kitchen- yes it can be changed, but that is going to be around £10K+ and many buyers would extend into the lean-to as the kitchen is too small for a washing machine etc. So that's more like £30K+

It's habitable but there is a LOT of work needed - including either new sash window frames or replacement double glazing.

Really?
Look again at the bathroom. Loo rolls? The washbasin is too big so there is no room for the loo rolls. They are behind your head!

The tiling and marble effect bath panel look tatty.

The downstairs loo is terrible. Look at the botched boxing in of pipework on the wall. There is no washbasin. The paintwork looks tired and chipped.

The kitchen units don’t match so I’d instantly be thinking we’d need to put a new one in (big expense).
I’m afraid I agree with the comment about the bright blue wall, you might love it but bright colours are hard to see part when you’re visualising yourself in a house. I think that a house with too much individuality can be difficult for viewers to see themselves in.
I don’t know the area but for that price, with that stamp duty I’d be looking for a neutral house I could put my own mark on and certainly the kitchen would be a no go for me.

Look at other houses in the area that have recently sold at similar price and go from there.

I am actually currently living in a house I bought that needed a lot of redecorating. I work a pretty full on job and do DIY in my spare time. It’s not a barrel of laughs and I wish we’d held out for something that needs less work honestly. It’s expensive and time consuming to do all the changes so unless you’re pretty happy with how things are when you move in then it takes over your life. We are also planning to tackle the bigger things like the bathroom later down the line but it’s still going to be a big expense when we get to that point.

I’m also not decorating to achieve a bland grey box but it’s easier to paint a white wall than a bright blue one. I’d never want to tackle a black painted stone fireplace that’s for sure.

I don't prefer the aesthetics but I'd buy them over OPs all day long. Twenty years ago, no. I'd have been seduced by the vibe of OPs home, because its more me. But I've learned the hard way.
Both PPs examples look like homes that have had money spent on the dull stuff, that have been well maintained by people who's taste differs from mine, but have had the trades in and achieved a good finish on the walls, woodwork, kitchen and bathroom etc.
As someone more than happy to use paint, rugs and furnishings to create the OPs look myself, but with zero appetite for finding multiple different trades and paying money for things like tidy pipes, I'd pick the sturdy boring blank canvas. Head over heart.

Why get personal.? You know literally nothing about me.
Ive bought and sold many houses. Many.
Present it as well as you can, but it's the location and the price.
No sale fell through and nobody paid over asking price because of the numbers of cushions or throws.
It's the location, and the price.
(So important, I said it twice)

I agree with some PP comments re the wall colour. I know it can be painted over, but I think people can live with neutral walls knowing they don’t have to paint until they want / can afford to
I’d definitely get the garden shrubs tidied, and the ivy (?) cut down from the conservatory.

Id also paint over the green cupboard doors with a dark navy, seems to be ‘the’ kitchen colour at the minute.

I’d also advertise as a 3 bedroom with a walk through.

Well, your comments showed that you don't understand staging.

I didn’t enlarge the photos, the bathrooms look good in comparison to many others on RM.
Anyway, everything depends on the Land Registry sold prices for the area. For London it would be a great value :) But for Watford - I have no idea.
Maybe OP will tell us what similar properties sold for in the past, as they probably have been monitoring.

I see it as a 3 bedroomed house and I think it needs to be priced accordingly. The walk through area I would consider a study or a reading area and present it as such. I would be really put off by the lack of basin in the downstairs loo. The decor is lovely, but is really not an issue for me as I would be changing that to my own style anyway.

It's gorgeous! She says unhelpfully.

You can see other houses if you scroll to the bottom of the house listing. RM have done the work for you! 'Houses nearby' ( words to that effect.)

Every house I've bought, I've changed, largely because I couldn't afford the perfect one! I did it gradually, except for painting over the worst of the battleship grey! I think it's a good sized house and could be a lovely home for someone.
OP; once more with feeling - reduce the price!
However, it wouldn't hurt to take some of the practical advice on here.

I don’t think any work is NEEDED. Are you seriously saying that someone woukd be out off a house because of the location of the toilet roll in the bathroom? There’s nothing wrong with the kitchen at all - if it’s not to the buyers’ taste, then just changing or painting the cupboard doors would completely change the look of it. I can’t see anything in the house that would put me off if I wanted a house in that area and was happy with the layout. There is nothing major that needs to be done, most things woukd be an easy DIY project, and can be changed gradually.

Again, why get personal?
I'm not going to stoop to your level, so that's it from me.

I think it's nice but most will think the kitchen needs redoing and the lean to looks like it needs replacing? Also what's going on behind the toilet, is that dirt, shadow or a problem?

It will be price in a struggling market.