Why is my in-laws' gorgeous house not selling?!

[irisetta]

What is wrong with this listing? Some back story - my in-laws have been desperate to sell up for a while to be nearer to us. They live near Portsmouth, we are in St Albans. They have a beautiful house! It's 5 minutes walk from the beach in Lee-on-Solent, it's right next to the High Street but super quiet. Huge back garden. Beautifully renovated home, when they bought it it hasn't been touched in at least 30 years. It looks immaculate. No it doesn't have the open plan kitchen diner, but what there is, is perfect.

For the first 7 months while they were listing the house, the estate agent was effing up the RightMove listing quite badly - they were only appearing for people looking for bungalows, when it is not a bungalow 🤦 I noticed this recently. 🙄 After pointing it out, it's since been amended to appear to anyone looking for a 3 bedroom detached property in Lee-on-Solent.

Anyway, now that it's appearing to everyone who might want it, AND they've reduced the price (too much, IMO), my mum-in-law is somehow still convinced that the lovely estate agent is now doing his level best for them - still no viewings after a couple of weeks. And they've only EVER had 3 viewings, ever since it was first listed those 7 months ago - none of which were even proceedable. Thoughts, lovely ladies of Mumsnet?

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/173477669

’Converted former bungalow’. Easy.

ETA: agree with:
declutter
lose the awful conservatory blinds
remove the astoturf - I would instantly swipe
get a video

Just pop your question into AI chat and that will explain why it would still be legally classed as a bungalow with an extension, which are called Dorma Bungalows!

the problem with a chalet bungalow is that it’s neither one thing or the other.

unless they’ve put in tons of insulation, those upstairs rooms will be cold in the winter and hard to heat. The sloping roof also restricts the furniture position in the upstairs rooms.

why did they keep the flag up? What was their thought process to Astro turf the front when it’s a house with a relatively large back garden? Again, they are falling between two stools.

they’ve made it hard for themselves.

Technically it's usually called a dormer bungalow. But people who want a house won't buy it and people who want a bungalow say for mobility reasons won't buy it either so the range of purchasers is narrowed down.

Chalet bungalows have an upstairs.

I wouldn't market it as a bungalow though as that could be restricting. I would market it as a detached property and let potential buyers decide how they want to classify it.

I think it’s a bungalow because it has a bedroom and bathroom downstairs. Houses don’t generally have that. This is a good selling point to older people who may want spare rooms upstairs for guests or hobbies, but the option to live on one floor when the need arrives without conversion is beneficial. I say this as someone in my 60’s.

The agents photos are awful, and it’s far too cluttered.

The biggie for me is if I was considering this home is that I would be tallying up the cost of a new kitchen, new bathrooms, total redecoration, renovation/replacement of the conservatory etc, it may be immaculate but it’s very dated, and all that would be hugely expensive, and a lot of people do not want a big reno project.

Its hard when its been the prefect home for them and they love it.

It's a bungalow!!

This is the kind of house I am looking for. We are downsizing and want two bathrooms - at least one downstairs - and a room downstairs that could be a bedroom for when that’s necessary. I want a big garden for a big greenhouse.

I do not want astroturf and would be put off by that. The decor is not good, but that would not put me off necessarily.

However, I am put off by the fact that the condition of the conservatory is being obscured. Why no external photos?

And the photos of the bedrooms are terrible. It looks as though there is no head space in the room with the double bedroom, which would be an absolute deal breaker if true.

I can’t comment on the price, but in the area I’m looking much further North, a house like this with a big garden would be about the same price as a smallish 4 bed detached new build.

I suspect it’s wildly over priced, and people can’t be bothered to view if the do see it because of the truly awful photos.

You market it as a chalet bungalow but it will need to be categorised as a bungalow.

Anyone who narrows their search to a detached house will have no interest in it as no one looking for a detached house will consider a bungalow

Those who aren’t fussed whether it’s a terraced, semi detached, detached, etc will still see it in their search as they won’t narrow it down.

And those who want a bungalow will be able to see it.

But it is massively overpriced for what it is. They really can’t be pricing it the same as a 3 bed detached house.

I would remove the white van and the flag.

I don't see a gorgeous house, sorry. I see a small over priced bungalow that needs LOADS of work.

Granted, I am not in the area, so could be way off in price, but for context, we live in a 5 bed house, with panoramic sea views, just 20 mins from Edinburgh, and it's value is around £340k.

Specifically, I would say :

Kitchen needs replacing - might put people off

Curtains would have to be replaced

Garish colours, like the pink and blue, would all need painting over

Sloped ceilings will be a problem if there are tall people in the family

Far too much furniture in the conservatory, and what on earth is the green material on the ceiling? Is it covering up something? Get that gone!

I would do a total declutter and paint over the strong colours.

OP in a way you’ve hit the nail on the head - it’s a bungalow with an upstairs, so you’re quite right, it won’t appeal to people who want a bungalow, but neither does it have much appeal to people who want a house.

In a house with a loft conversion, there are 3 floors. You’re happy to accept compromises for the loft floor - sloping ceilings etc - because you’ve got proper bedrooms on the second floor. But here you’ve got compromised bedrooms upstairs but equally not a proper master downstairs. The market will be very limited.

I’m near you in Oxford, one of most expensive cities in the UK. A three bed converted bungalow would not sell for £650 here.

in laws have clearly misrembered the price they paid and estate agents have encouraged them. I think they should drop it to under £499,999 (has to have a 4 in front).

No point investing in modernisation, strip back the clutter, drop the price and get new pictures and a new agent.

It does have a driveway with parking for 2 cars, and the AstroTurf is only in the front.

i quite like it as a sweet quirky house to love and garden in, but if I’m honest I’m not seeing it going for anything with a 5 in front either; I seem to have a decent choice of 3 bed detached houses in the area listed for more like £390.

To me it puts the whole move to St Albans in question if they ‘don’t want a flat’. They’re frankly not going to be able to afford anything else in this market. In my area (which is extremely expensive) retirement flats are very affordable, and SOME of them don’t have appalling service charges etc, if they’re tatty enough. They’re not going to get a detached house in the Home Counties. I’m afraid you are looking at a long period of your parents gradually crumbling to bits while refusing to move to anything they can afford. You will probably have them taking the house on and off the market for a long time. Believe me I speak from experience. If I were you I would detach a little bit from this process (it will drive you utterly mad) and look
at alternatives like getting carers set up. See you on the Elderly Parents board.

Bungalow - Wikipedia

Includes ones with a smaller upper story set in the roof, as your PIL's have.

Definitely.

Modernisation how?

What are the green sails in the conservatory hiding? What’s the conservatory roof condition? Is that to blame for the poor energy rating?

A lot of bungalows have stairs and upstairs bedrooms. Some were once a single storey bungalow and have been extended upwards, with bedrooms put into the roof space. Some are built that way originally, with the bedrooms put into the roof space on construction. They are still bungalows.

I live in a house. If I look at the ceilings of the upstairs rooms, I can see that they are flat. Above the upstairs rooms there is a loft with sloping roof space. In your in-laws house, when you look at the ceilings of the upstairs rooms, you can see that they have sloping walls. This is because the rooms are built into the roof space. There is no loft/roof space above the rooms, because they are already in the roof space.

It’s not about the presence of the stairs. Stairs doesn’t equal
”not a bungalow”. Most people looking at the house would just immediately see it as a bungalow with a second floor of rooms in the roof space. Because that’s what it is. Where I live there are plenty of houses similar to this for sale and they are described as detached dormer or chalet bungalows.

You can’t change the bones of the house, so what difference does it actually make if it’s labelled/described accurately, as a bungalow? I’m not understanding the reluctance here - is a bungalow worth less money or seen as less desirable in your area?

Take it from a builder, it's a bungalow, a chalet bungalow, but still a bungalow.

Bungalows are worth, in general more than houses, but that's when they are on one level, being a chalet reduces its appeal, being a chalet with only one ground floor bedroom is a further detriment.

Unfortunately people looking at the pictures on right move will think bungalow, and the realise its not a pure bungalow.

Are the ceilings artex? That’s a bugger to remove and people don’t like it they want smooth ceilings.

You need to accept you have made a mistake telling the agent to market it as a house and not a bungalow. A chalet bungalow is a bungalow. The clue is in the name! The main living and sleeping space is downstairs but there are sloping ceilings in the converted loft. Someone looking for one storey living can make this property work and there is bonus space for families visiting.

The listing was not what I expected from your description of a beautiful house at all. It’s a dated bungalow in need of modernisation.

Anyone who narrows their search to a detached house will have no interest in it as no one looking for a detached house will consider a bungalow

Why not? Why is there so much anti bunglow feeling on here?

I quite like it. Yes, it needs some modernising and redecorating, but I can see past that, and the garden sells it to me. Although, I agree that it sounds horribly overpriced.

Expensive these days as it contains asbestos and requires a right dog and pony show to get rid.