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

The first picture needs to removed. It looks as if the property is overlooked. It would put me off right away. I think a lick of paint in a neutral colour would make it more appealing too. No idea about price. I am in the North East, until recently was in the West Midlands 630k would buy a lot more house than in the south

I think you miss the point. People who want a bungalow want a single storey property for a reason, often due to mobility issues. People who have young children often want a house with all bedrooms upstairs. Calling this a house on the listing isn't getting the property viewed by those who want this style of property. It appeals to a very small number of people who may then have other reasons for not wanting it.
P. S I know what a bungalow is, I was a housing officer for donkeys years! This is a chalet or dormer bungalow. Where I live estate agents separate bungalows into true bungalows and dormer/, chalet bungalows to be accurate in the description.

Data shows that most properties are sold in the first 4 minutes of someone viewing = kerb appeal.
To be frank the outside is as dull as ditchwater. It leads nobody to see what’s inside. It also shouts old persons house by then the negative thought has been planted.
They need to get to the garden centre. Buy large pots with large vibrant plants.
At least 4 each side.

Very basic house, needs a lot of work. Terrible photos

I do actually really like the house and the decor but I think its overpriced for a converted bungalow. I get that it is near the beach but I don't think its can actually be marketed as a "beach home" because the area looks very crowded and urban, not sea views not even "in the distance" ones

It’s too expensive. The 4 bed nearby is on for £575k and will appeal to far more people.

It’s an awkward layout with the sun too through the utility.The motor home needs to go as it hides the garage. I’d get some more valuations from other agents

It;s a dormer bungalow not a house.

My opinion-
Badly converted bungalow with odd bedroom layout - No headroom above bed.
Photos don't do any favours- Why the tiny table in the kitchen? better to remove it for the photos.

More helpfully OP the market is down but not terrible. Have they found a house that works for them - maybe they should look to be getting what they need to realise to make their move and looking to see what reductions they can get on their purchase. It’s a perfectly nice house but as others have said it’s a difficult price point - even with a good deposit a mortgage is likely to be over £2k and probably more like £3-3.5k and the footprint is not that big for families with that budget. So they are probably looking for empty nesters. My in laws would have loved this property when they were looking so I think you need to get the house staged and more aspirational photos taken. Cream tea / glass of
wine in the garden and enjoy your retirement that sort of thing. You say it’s near the beach - has it got any views. Why is the listing not making that really really clear. The fact it needs a new kitchen and bathroom isn’t that big of a deal in my view. It’s all perfectly functional for a year or two and the demographic you are going for likes to upgrade to their own taste over a year or two after purchase.

I think it’s likely as it gets very hot in summer. So they put the blind things up to keep it cool and make it usable .

I'm not scaremongering, I'm in the trade, asbestos was last used in the production of artex in 1999 - since it was removed from the formulation it has fallen out of style, so much of the art in buildings today does contain asbestos.

I work with asbestos every day, it doesn't scare me or bother me, but the fact is that whereas 20 years ago someone would have removed it without a fuss, today, if it does contain some chrysotile it will be costly to remove if you decide to have it done.

A surveyor would flag it as suspected without sampling.

Yes you are wrong as tons of people have already said. My aunt has lived in a house like this for 50 years. It's always been known as a dormer bungalow. At first glance, anyone would say it's a bungalow. You can go on and on about stairs and rooms on a second floor - yes, some bungalows have had those added like this - but it doesn't turn it into a proper detached normal house. It's a bungalow with a converted attic. Even the estate agent marketed it as a bungalow for months. Agree they should also list as a 3-bed house so it reaches the widest possible audience, but that doesn't make it not a bungalow, and also makes the audience quite niche as many have said because it's so in-betweeny.

But the price is the issue, as always. They paid less for it than they thought and it's not gone up in value like they think. It's an old person's home with various issues that'll need sorting. They need to re-connect with reality, price to sell and buy what they can afford in St A, which will probably be a flat on one of those over-55s only special deals.

I thought that, and the sofa beside the dining table is a little odd. I can’t imagine sitting there, removing it would give more space. And make it look bigger.

I think we have very different definitions of gorgeous and beautiful.

It's clearly not what you want to hear, and perhaps your definition is different, but it IS a bungalow. In fact, it exactly meets the definition of a 'dormer bungalow'!

If it were what people imagine when they think of as a two story house, it wouldn't have reduced head height and sloped ceilings in both bedrooms. There's nothing wrong with bungalows; they normally have enormous gardens (as this one does, which looks lovely) and there's obviously scope for renovation, if one wishes. So there's no need to be annoyed about people describing it accurately. Just accept that it is what it is and it will attract a certain market.

Whilst it looks well cared for in the photos, for me, it would need significant investment to make it what I want. Every room looks extremely dated (even the tiles in the bathroom) and a "shower room" is not what I'd be looking for in a property. I appreciate your response is going to be that astro turf, shower rooms etc., make sense for an elderly couple, which they do, but they don't appeal to everyone. Extolling their virtues won't change that.

I think your in-laws need to change estate agents, have better photos taken, readjust their expectations and drop the price. Selling is hard. It took over a year to sell a family member's property, despite it being reasonably priced, and it only ever received 2 offers. It's been a slow market for years and there's an ever shrinking market for more expensive properties. This might be just my view, but if I were spending a lot on a property, I wouldn't want to spend an extra £50-£100k making it into something I'd be happy to live in. (And the cost of building materials has increased dramatically, so even small renovations are extortionate, which may be something potential buyers have in mind.)

Gorgeous back garden but horrible astroturf, and very dated interior. For me, it would need the front garden redoing and redecoration throughout, so I'd be looking for a lower price. I'd pay the asking price for a house that didn't need anything doing to it.

I think it's really cute. Amazing garden. For me, I'd smarten the front with some ready lawn and a couple of nice pot plants. I'd also declutter and depersonalise to make it appeal not just to older folk. Neutrals everywhere including walls and rugs. If they aren't taking all their furniture which looks mostly too big for the space, now is the time to get rid.

Yes, new agent and better photos definitely!!

Not RTFL but I just noticed the Union Jack flying on the first photo. Is that necessary? Even if a buyer is into that, it doesn't give off the nicest community vibes.

My mum and dad have the wee tiny table in the kitchen. Theirs came from B&M and is cheap fake plastic pine top with silver legs. They have sunshine yellow plastic chairs and they used it to eat breakfast and lunch, and do their crosswords in the paper but not to eat dinner. That was eaten in the dining room.

like this house, the table sat in the middle of a kitchen it was really too small for and they’d have been better to have a kitchen diner, but they didn’t like kitchen diners. They liked a formal dining room and posh China.

it’s definitely a house of a particular demographic and the problem is that it’s hard to sell. My parents house will be the same but thankfully it’ll only be sold once my dad has died and we will be able to be ruthless with it.

this. I hadn't clocked that its being marketed as a house. Its kind of neither nor. There's not enough single level living for it to be genuinely a bungalow and as a house, its very small. Sorry to say this but I also wouldn't recognise that house from the EA description. I think things like "ample parking" are just over egging.

Bathroom - modern toilet & sink; old fashioned bath panel - could this be changed to be more cohesive with the rest of the sanitaryware?

Big bedroom - no headroom under the eaves! Can the bed be moved so that proving bed can sit up?

Op, you clearly love the house and are overly emotionally involved. A bit unusual when it’s not your own home, but it is what it is. It’s ok to say you’re struggling to cope and can’t see the reality of it.

you asked opinions and then got very upset, but if you can’t cope emotionally distance yourself, I’d maybe hand the reigns to someone else if they want it sold.

it’s far too high priced, in need of some modernisations, clearly been kept very well, bathrooms and kitchen look old, and the decor is very dated, the back garden is lovely and a selling point, as is the fact it’s a bungalow, and it needs to come up in the searches for them,

id not repaint, but I would declutter, it’s a lot of furniture etc in there, cramping rhe space, and lots of nick nacks.

the righr price and some decluttering and I’m sure it will go.

It's definitely a bungalow
I live in one . Bought purely because it's detached, unoverlooked and has 200 ft of garden.. someone posted you would expect at least one upstairs bedroom,you would be sorely disappointed then. It originated from an Indian word, meaning single storey dwelling. About 5 miles away,there are chalet bungalows, some purpose built,some nicely balanced with 2 dormers. I actually like the artex,you don't "remove" it. There are 3 types of asbestos,grey, blue white. I bought a house once with warm air heating, the boiler cupboard was lined with asbestos. I freaked out. Rang the Asbestos council. They told me to leave it alone,paint over it...if it wasn't flakey it was perfectly safe. If you don't like the artex,you have a plaster skim. A lot of people now have worktops in their kitchens which are causing Silicosis to the fitters and manufacturers.. Typical of mn,"kitchen and bathroom dated"..we refitted ours 10 years ago, the third re fit in the bungalow history. Do folk re fit and throw everything away every couple of years! Great for the landfill! I do think it's overpriced. The garden is pretty, but not huge. I would neutralise the colour palette,de clutter. People are weird about bungalows,no idea why, I have friends, relatives in flats,who say that they couldn't live in a bungalow, I wouldn't live in a flat. Unfortunately,times are worrying people,col etc. Remove it from the market firstly,then back on,lower price.
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How can it be a bungalow when it has rooms upstairs? A bungalow is by definition a one storey property. Am I going mad here?

It is a one storey property though.

One storey plus converted roof space.

The roof is the level of the downstairs windows.

Complete novice but a quick look i though Id need to put a new kitchen in, possibly new bathroom and paint through whole house.

Perhaps get someone in and paint through with neutrals