Seller here - please be brutal and tell me what is wrong with my house?

[Pantsenfyre]

Can I get some opinions? We’ve got a few weeks before we want to put our house on the market. I’ve just been round taking some photos of the interior to figure out how to present it, and I’m a bit flustered because it does look like a mess.

I mean, obviously I’m not an estate agent photographer and I don’t have the right lenses (or lighting) but also I think there are some problems with presentation. Is anyone up for having a look at the photos here [note from MNHQ: link temporarily removed as it contained identifying details] and giving me some frank feedback? I’m wondering:

• what about this house would put you off?
• are there good things I should be highlighting?
• what question marks would these photos leave you with?

A bit of background….this is a late Victorian semi detached house in Cambridge. There are some good things:

• 10 minutes walk from centre of town / river / Jesus Green park
• very quiet dead end location
• larger than average garden
• big master suite on top floor with dressing area and ensuite
• 3 more double rooms (all reasonable size), family bathroom, downstairs loo

And some weaknesses

• kitchen is pretty old and tired
• family bathroom is small
• large college building at end of garden
• design at the back of house might be a bit marmite

But obviously it's our house, we love it and we find it difficult to be objective. So a bit of straight talking would probably do me the world of good. Thanks!

No bike but everything else will come down to whether the price is realistic or not

Oh that's a top idea about the garden, yes we can definitely get a table out there to make it clear that's an option.

The shed is quite secure, but a) is full of our normal bikes and b) a bit too damp for DH's carbon framed love 😂

Luckily we do have a bit of storage offsite so we could take out the sofa from the kitchen which will make it look a lot less cluttered. The table actually seats 8 quite comfortably so we definitely need to make that obvious!

I won’t mention the bike because you’ve already addressed that. It seems very dark, it could be the lighting but seems dark n dingy. I would definitely put things away and clear sides when having photos done with estate agents (things like toothpaste and shower gel also)

I really like it. The desk in one bedroom looks a bit stark, but that might be the photo rather than the actual layout?

I agree with you about moving or softening the sofa in bedroom. It's a bit black.

FYI we can see your name on the link

Yes, that's what I was thinking. Need to get clutter put away or out of house entirely. Pretend I don't have family ideally!

I realise these are just your own pics, not professional.

As others said- remove the bike but also ALL excess clutter
-Pic 2, what is the green around each window?
-Pic 8- the ceiling angle makes it look so short that neither DH nor myself could walk through without hitting our heads (and I'm not overly tall!)
-Pic 12, that bath looks an absolute PITA to clean!
-Pic 16 makes the garden look very narrow and tiny, not a great angle
-Pic 17 makes it look much larger

Oh, and get rid of the weird huge boat stuck on a wall!

Too many sofas and extra chairs in rooms that don't need them. It makes the rooms look really cramped

Get rid of the bike.
Get rid of that cold tubular steel blue chair in the bedroom.
Make the master bed look crisper and properly pulled up & put together. Eg put the duvet on first top to bottom then lay pillows on top. Hotel style with a throw.

It's a great house! Downstairs rooms look appealing but please leave the bike somewhere outside. The bedrooms are a lovely size but I'm not sure that I would want 'office/work areas' in any of them. Rear garden is nice. Best of luck for a quick and easy sale.

Do you have green masking tape around the windows? I'd be wondering if it was draughty as hell from that.

Kitchen photo hasn't done a great job of showing how much space there is...it's a kitchen diner really and the table seats 8.

Maybe we should also do a shot of the end of the garden just to show shed and bike store...I think you're right re family storage, it's certainly an issue for us.

Round here its on street parking (and resident permit).

Can I ask what makes a layout family friendly in your eyes?

We've sold our house this year. The agent just moved things around when they took the pictures to put away anything which wouldn't look nice. I bought some quite cheap but inoffensive throws, cushions etc to make it a bit more neutral and give it a lift. But like yours, ours is a family house in a good area so we priced it realistically and it sold on the open day (one Saturday, 15 viewings). We had 3 valuations and I went with the lowest one based on what other houses had sold for nearby on our road and surrounding roads with the same houses.

Realistically a lot of the market in Cambridge is driven by people moving from London/London commuter towns and it’s worth being aware of catchment areas as well.

not about the photos but definitely mention cycle time to the station (either Cambridge North or Cambridge depending on which one is quicker).

take a photo of the garden that makes clear there is significant bike storage. Anyone in Cambridge will have bikes and anyone moving there is likely to be planning on getting them.

obviously there are good private schools in Cambridge but plenty of people prefer to buy in good state areas so mention catchment if you can - presumably catchment for Chesterton? Not up on the primaries these days.

you can definitely sell the light and airy aspect of the house better in photos - that glass type extension can look stunning on a sunny day.

I love it. As an aside, are people incapable of realising these are the ops photos and the bike wont be there for agency photos?
Honestly.

Good luck with your sale.

Bollocks. OK thanks Botter Mon I'm going to have to delete that link and provide a better one.

Beautiful house. Ditch the red accessories and try a freher colour. Can you thin out the cupboards, side tables etc.. Feel like there's a bit too much furniture in some rooms and it seems crowded. Get a pretty tablecloth for the kitchen table and some fresh flowers on it for photos. Good luck.

When you click on the link it says (real name - presumably) shared some photos. Are you OK with your real name being shown on Mumsnet? If not I would ask to delete and find a different way to show the photos. Lovely house.

It's a beautiful house, very homely too. Gives off great vibes ♥️

Lovely home, and honestly although I’ve written a lot, they are minor tweaks and won’t cost much.
All new cushions, doesn’t need to cost a lot eg Dunelm, but all the sofas would benefit from some plump cushions to look more inviting.
There’s a mix of too much clutter in the sitting room, and too little in some of the other rooms.
Dining table - can’t see what there is on the table currently. But I would look at either just bare table if the wood is good, otherwise a table cloth that ties in the red of the walls and the blue of the chairs.
I would also move the screen from the kitchen and replace with a nice pot with herbs eg basil to add some freshness and again make it more inviting.
Agree re moving sofa from bedroom, would open up the space.
Also consider pushing desk back to the window to make the smallest room look bigger.
In the main bedroom I would add a couple of trinket pots onto the shelf in the walk in wardrobe space. Also some fancy shower gel and sponge to be whipped out for photos and viewings in the en-suite rather than the everyday clutter.
Finally, before photos are taken make sure all the drawers and wardrobes are fully closed and no clothes are escaping out!
It looks a lovely and much loved home.

I agree with this. Then get rid of all the clutter, things like notepads on worktops and computer screens in the kitchen should all be removed. I also hate those red office blinds but it wouldn’t put me off as they can be removed immediately. Also try make it more homely, things like nice cushions and plants would help

I like it, Im not put off by lots of furniture, our house is the same, if you're the type of person that loves a higgildy piggildy layout/aged house/period features, old things, then you wont be bothered

Bemused by people who think these are EA photos, these are just OPs pics she has taken briefly to show the house for the thread. Of course theres things to nbe cleared up for the formal photos.

Beautiful house. Loose the bike. I'd certainly view it.

Great, so now I've embarrassed myself with my lack of internet hygeine (thanks to everyone who flagged that!) a few thoughts:

• yes, I think those of you who flagged up Too Much Stuff may have your finger on the root of the issue. We need to do a further chunk of decluttering for the pictures to sing
• I promise you there is bike storage (enough for 6 bikes on current count) and we shall make sure that is photographed for agents pictures
• Yes that is masking tape because we had a weekend project to paint the front window. Obviously that will go.
• Better soft furnishings, yes - on my list

We're catchment for Parkside, but a lot of neighbours also go to Chesterton, so we need to make sure that is highlighted in details