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

Usually estate agents look around to see what other similar properties have sold for. It's not an exact science and a property is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Prices have fallen in many parts of the country. Sellers often let emotion cloud their judgement.

Lower the price and it will sell when the price someone is willing to pay currently is met. Keep it high and sit on tge market.

😂😂

it would defo be a good filter

I thought this too!

OP, I have only read your responses and I assume you've since had hundreds of replies explaining to you what the definition of a bungalow is.

My mum lives in a house that was originally a bungalow. It had a whole extra storey built. The extra storey is not in the original loft, doesn't have eaves etc, it's an extra, full storey. That extra storey was not part of the original bungalow roof. It has a loft above the extra storey. The work was done before my parents bought it (as a house, because it has two full storeys plus a loft), so no idea how much the work cost.

I asked Chat GPT and this was the response I got: The key distinction is that a true second floor has full-height walls, whereas in a dormer bungalow the upper rooms are contained within the roofline, with the walls being sloped or partial. It's considered an extension of the roof space rather than a proper floor.

The first photo of this listing looks like a bungalow. The upstairs bedrooms have slanted ceilings, as do most loft conversions. I would look at it and think "that's a dormer bungalow". I would only consider it over a detached house if there was something really special about it.

I know this is hard to hear but it's insanely overpriced.

Your in-laws need to look at prices on Rightmove for similar properties in their area and drop their price accordingly. £499k is much more realistic.

Gosh where to start…..I haven’t gone through the other comments, there are too many.

Move the camper van

It desperately needs updating.

No idea on the pricing for that area but if it has not sold after 7 months, it is overpriced and will stick on the market. Encourage them to chop the price or they will be there this time next year.

Then take it down at night.....

This would be exactly the type of property I would be looking for if I was older - it has all the living space needed on the one floor - with the addition of 2 extra bedrooms upstairs for occasional use. In my area there are myriad dormer bungalows.

Photoshop the flag out first. It just highlights that this is not a great area.

But viewers will still see it …

Gotta get them in the door first. Not even going to get viewings if your main photo has the flag in it.

It might do with certain generations - especially if they are the types that go to America a lot

@irisetta what age group are your in laws in? Are they up to some decorating and some plain talking about making a house more saleable? My dad always seemed to think his design ideas would be universally loved...

Exactly this but I don't think @irisetta and her in laws want to hear this because they want to move to St Albans, which is far more expensive and they apparently don't want a flat...

Yes, it is a bungalow, it isn’t a house, if it had a full height second floor it would be a house. This is a bungalow with bedrooms in the loft space.

I have had a chance to have a thorough look at the details.

One of the biggest problems with selling properties is always the personal element. People invest emotionally and financially into their homes and find it difficult to see the issues that need addressing.

Ultimately your parents in law want to sell and relocate so they either need to reduce the price to reflect the work that needs doing or actually do the work and update it.

Whilst it is clearly well cared for it is dated, needs to be declutterred and priced competitively to attract interest.

As an aside are you certain they actually want to relocate? Maybe they don’t but are unsure how to tell you.

You say that but it is only a couple of hundred metres outside the present border of the Hillhead to Gosport flood alert zone. I know they work hard to keep the sea back just there with a storm wall and shingle banking. At the moment the flood alert boundary stops at Marine Parade but if I remember rightly, when we looked at that area, there isn't much if any elevation between the Parade and Studland Road.

@ReallyOtter you are correct i have not seen anything in Oxfordshire under 250k that would be habitable or desirable in any way.

I find it odd that lots of people on here state that the home on here needs serious updating.
Yet, I am denigrated for regularly updating my home.
I think statistics will show that when folk buy a new house they usually do some form of DIY and home improvement. Kitchens and bathrooms are high on the list.
For the record: my first kitchen in this house was a dreadful 1960s kitchen. We knew we would replace it when we viewed the house. We replaced it with solid teak units bought in the sale from a builders merchants. Fitted by my husband. He also did the tiling. He also tiled the bathroom. 3 times!
The next kitchen was light oak. Bought in the sale from wickes. Fitted by my husband and a friend. He also tiled the walls and floor.
I feel that it is now looking dated. If mimsnetters could see my kitchen they would say it is old and dated and be very scornful.
I am looking at shaker units from Magnet, which I will buy in the sale. I have also looked at John Lewis. I will pay cash, no credit. I will then engage tradesmen to fit them and do plastering and tiling. I will interview several before engaging the right people.
I do not expect to pay anywhere near 20k for the whole project

I am older, thinking when i do move I want a bungalow, but for me the downstairs bedroom is much too small. Yes you could put in a through floor lift and use an upstairs room but then why buy it at all? Not sure if it would be possible to reconfigure the downstairs but that won't be cheap.

You’d be right not expect to pay £20k. Our new kitchen was closer to £30k in 2022. Tradesmen cost a small fortune since Brexit.

It’s because the property is up for a premium price, people expect it to be perfect, if it was for sale for less they wouldn’t expect a brand new kitchen and bathroom.

It's because the property is priced at/above the very top of the market. You can't expect to get premium prices for a property with old tired fittings in the current market.

I expect it to be considerably less!!
The kitchen that I valued from Magnet a few months ago was cheaper than I expected. I will continue to look elsewhere before making a final decision.
I know that workmen have got very expensive, especially since the employment laws inflicted by Rachel Reeves. However, I do have regular work carried out and usually manage a good deal by shopping around.
It is a medium sized kitchen. Nothing fancy like a central island but has a fair few units. Most places give a quote for x units for a small kitchen, y units for a medium kitchen, z units for a large kitchen. I'm sure it wouldn't be up to mumsnet standards.
The photos on OP post don't show the kitchen to its best advantage. I think it has units on both sides. A lot of people have criticized the table but I don't think a breakfast bar would be an improvement.
I would also say that a downstairs bathroom would be essential in OP property.

I'm looking again and I think one of the main issues is that the photos have no flow. You can't tell how the different views of certain rooms combine to create the whole room.

The wall in front of the property makes it seem quite closed in and small.

Bedroom 3 looks tiny from one angle, but then you have a photo of something completely different that suggests it is bigger than it looks.

The inflated price is insane.