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 can't see any period furniture??? It has not been decorated in a classic period style. As others have said, the mismatched kitchen cabinets, clutter and bright colours. If I were buying, I would want to do a lot of work to it.

Tough market atm but what jumps out at me are
Marketed as 4 bed when in reality its a 3 bed
Only 1 bathroom
The wall colours in the dining room and bedrooms need toning down. They are too bright. No issue with a strong colour in a period house but imo too bright 😎
Lack of offstreet parking?

Love the decor, needs a new kitchen but that wouldn’t put me off.

whay would is the 4th bedroom being accessed through the third/study, and the small garden for a family-sized home. I would advertise as 3-bed and price in between a 3 and a 4.

The lounge is so busy it looks small. I would lose all the pictures, the rug and the patterned soft furnishings, and the chair as well as it really doesnt fit well in there.

I like it but kitchen needs updating and it’s a horrible market right now

I wouldn't view for the following reasons.

1. Blue and green rooms super off-putting, paint them white.
2. Two different coloured units in the kitchen, sorry it looks awful, get rid of the green cupboards.
3. House has too much furniture, can you put some in storage and go for the mimalost look, let's buyers picture their furniture in the rooms better

I think some people have trouble looking past decor OP. I have quite a good eye for room scale, potential etc, and look past it very easily, but some people don't which is why so many homes go to market as white and beige boxes.

I can see that depersonalising is too big a task for this home, and there will be people who can see past anything superficial they don't like. I actually think the bold blue is helping that room look a bit more lively, as it isn't an easy shape and would look very "nothingy" without that character, so some of the bold decor is actually helping.

I rather liked your kitchen but I do wonder if the green cupboards could be easily painted a less "marmite" sort of colour. A light charcoal-y navy (Benjamin Moore does some good ones) is a safe kitchen colour at the moment. It looks clean and impactful but isn't too out there. I think it might go better with the floor and give the room a bit more punch. But go for a fashion colour (with more dull undertones than your other blues and yellow)

The main thing I saw that I think would help is the laundry conservatory thing at the back looks a bit ramshackle from the outside. I would get a painted in to spruce up the wood. There isn't much wood, but at the moment I'd wonder if the structure was compromised. It wouldn't take a painter long.

And I agree some would look at bright blue wall and kitchen and say nah too expensive with needing the work done on top. Id personally just reduce the price and declutter so people can see how theyd make it their own.

House looks very handsome from the front and the study is bigger than one of the bedrooms. What has been the feedback?

It’s the market - it’s very very slow.

The colours are not the issue - it needs total renovation & modernisation, so the market for that will be more limited.

The bones are absolutely gorgeous but I think potentially your style of decor could be blocking people from being able to envision their own decor. Kitchens a big wishy washy too cabinets different to bottom so I’d assume most people would want to change that, the brigh fireplace painted black would be a big messy ballbag of a task to strip. It’s not really a 4 bed either is it, who’s going to want people cutting through their bedroom to get to their bedroom, even my 9 year old would get pissed off with that. Almost all superficial but that’s just my pov on the house I wouldn’t want to spend that much and have to do that much to make it mine. Sorry if I’ve caused offence but I assume you wanted honesty.

Nobody wants grey anymore.

I'd echo what others have said about 3 v 4 bedroom. But something else that stood out to me was the lean-to looks like it's about to collapse or at least needs serious work. Its clearly a needed and used space to store washing machine etc so I wouldnt be buying this at this price with the thought I might have to tear it down and rebuild.

You are doing that thing where you asked for advice, but then keep on replying to comments on here explaining why something is as it is, and why the house is brilliant. Remember you are not trying to convince us, you are trying to convince people looking at the listing online. If something needs to be verbally explained then that is why it is not getting views.

The market has told you that the listing as it stands does not work. Whether it is the quality of the photos, the lay out, the colour of the rooms, or the price. You need to change something if you want to sell.

At one point you say something along the lines of not wanting to live in a sterile house while you wait for it to sell. That is obviously your choice, but you have a good number of people on here telling you that they would be put off by how you have presented it.

You have a choice now. Listen to some of the suggestions, make some changes and hopefully sell it more quickly and for a better price.
Or argue that you like how it is at the moment. But then you have to acknowledge that you are going to have a small smaller pool of buyers and might have wait longer to sell.

It’s a lovely house, but it is quite quirky. I like the colours but a lot of people wouldn’t - even if they like a colourful home, bright primary colours might not be a first choice for many. There’s also just too much stuff and furniture that looks too big for the space - it’s all quite vintagey and bohemian. If you want more viewers I think you’ll have to neutralise it and make it less overwhelming.

I love it! The decor is lovely. My only gripe would be no off street parking.

your blurb says Near Cassio Park and the school, fails to mention the football ground and the hospital within the near vacinity

is it on road parking permit still? my uncle lived just up the rod ( Banbury street) and parking was always nightmare

It’s a lovely house and similar to one I bought a few years ago which I have since completely changed! I agree with everyone else re the 4th bedroom,the vibrant colours and the garden.It also looks quite close to a cemetery which may put some people off.A selling point for most people will be a kitchen and bathroom but these need replacing at some point.

I’ve had to take mine off the market it’s just not selling. Recently renovated and getting divorced buying my ex out then will sell when things improve. It’s not your house it’s the market!

Don't they? Everything I see on Rightmove is pretty grey. Grey laminate etc. Soulless. Thought it was brown/beige/magnolia that was despised and ridiculed on mumsnet, not grey.

The kitchen cabinets don’t match. When you do different colours they need to still be matching styles or it looks like you bought second hand and shoved them awkwardly together.

The yellow painted bedroom chimney breast looks like it needs re plastering and the whole house needs decorating. I like colour but I can’t cope with bumpy walls that haven’t been properly prepared before painting. The living room looks more dated than my grandmother’s house. Like others say, the 4th bedroom is a dressing room or study.

It looks like a renovation project. The windows, the kitchen, the lean to, the garden, the flooring, the radiators, the plastering, the boiler, it all looks a bit tatty and in need of redoing. I’d assume the electrics as well.

Id say a lot of people would want to knock the kitchen and dining room together and so remove or change the fireplace.

The nearby house sold for £520k and was a fixer upper. I’d say you’re not far off it even though yours is more liveable in the interim.

It's awful, just dreadful and sometimes really hard to paint over.

I absolutely love it. Agree there needs to be no mention anywhere about 4 bedrooms although potentially the 2nd reception room could be used if people needed 4 bedrooms.

You’ve redone the bathrooms yet what I see is shoddy finishing, In the tiny single toilet what’s with the gross pipe enclosure.
Why do I see a missing tile next to the toilet of the main bathroom?
If you can’t finish off the bathrooms what hope is there for other maintenance issues.