House selling advice
Discussion
ARH said:
I know your place well as I drive past often. I live in Porth y waen. The way I see it round this part of the world is. Houses take a long time to sell, even more so if they are a good few miles from the nearest shop. The prices of some houses are high for the area which is probably why they don't sell. There is not a lot of land with the chapel, most people who want to move to the country want a bit of garden as well. The estate agents are crap, at least the one who sold me my house was. I only spoke to her a few times when I put the offer in, never spoke to her after it was accepted. I moved up here from Hampshire a few years ago and some of the houses on my search list then are still for sale now.
This probably doesn't help much, but it's just what I see.
By the way, the chapel looks nice from the outside and it is in a lovely bit of countryside.
Got to agree regarding the agents here. There is some money about but ironically the chapel is probably not expensive enough. This probably doesn't help much, but it's just what I see.
By the way, the chapel looks nice from the outside and it is in a lovely bit of countryside.
Thanks all for the comments.
I will get a floorplan sent over tonight, so hopefully by tomorrow, that will be sorted. I'll mention the description too hornetrider.
My thoughts were that the photos are not good enough, sounds like I need someone who knows what they are doing - I will have a dig around, and see if I can track someone down locally who can take more flattering pictures than I (or the agent) can.
It's a small world , wasn't expecting two people to be so local to me!
The filming was October 2014, we were told it will be on TV this month, but not sure. It's very near the end of series 15, Jules was the presenter. I'm not expecting anything to come from it at all - wouldn't make a blind bit of difference to me as a buyer.
I'm in two minds about the viewings - I may be being too honest when showing people around, but on the plus side, I can answer any question asked on the spot.
Thanks again
Tom
I will get a floorplan sent over tonight, so hopefully by tomorrow, that will be sorted. I'll mention the description too hornetrider.
My thoughts were that the photos are not good enough, sounds like I need someone who knows what they are doing - I will have a dig around, and see if I can track someone down locally who can take more flattering pictures than I (or the agent) can.
It's a small world , wasn't expecting two people to be so local to me!
The filming was October 2014, we were told it will be on TV this month, but not sure. It's very near the end of series 15, Jules was the presenter. I'm not expecting anything to come from it at all - wouldn't make a blind bit of difference to me as a buyer.
I'm in two minds about the viewings - I may be being too honest when showing people around, but on the plus side, I can answer any question asked on the spot.
Thanks again
Tom
speak to these guys (i'm not connected but I am an Estate Agent (miles away!)
http://www.holters.co.uk/
I'd also say the photos are ok, but the running order is all to cock..
distance photo as your main is ok, but pic 5 is much nicer,
I'd put them in the following order
5, 2, 6, 7, 11, 8, 10 etc etc
http://www.holters.co.uk/
I'd also say the photos are ok, but the running order is all to cock..
distance photo as your main is ok, but pic 5 is much nicer,
I'd put them in the following order
5, 2, 6, 7, 11, 8, 10 etc etc
Edited by jamescodriver on Thursday 12th March 13:44
I recommend you go back to Miller Evans - their listing of this property (still online) is much better - nicer photos, a proper floorplan, and an informative description.
Here it is:
http://webmedia1.guildproperty.co.uk/properties/72...
As to the current one - there is no floorplan which is crucial to working out how this odd-shaped property functions as a home, photos 4,9 & 12 show absolutely nothing and should be binned. All of the Miller Evans photos are much, much better and show more - wider angle, better perspectives. The current written description is awful - they have repeated the first paragraph twice, and you have to scroll down a whole page past that repeated guff about a telly programme few people watch, and directions to a property you aren't sure you want to see, before you get onto any meaningful description of what the property is like. Instead you need to start off with some general descriptive guff about the chapel and its location before you start off with a description of each room. You need to work in the number of bedrooms, "recently-converted" and "idyllic location looking onto green fields" into the very first sentence. Any estate agent who can't manage that should be fired. You also need to bang on about the kitchen and the en-suite.
On to the "personal" perspective, which you may not like, and it's only my opinion, so do with it what you will, but, based on the current photos, I would say that you haven't done a great job of making that look like a cosy home - the impression is of lots of unused/unusable space - all the furniture is pressed up against the walls, there is nothing decorating the walls in the way of bookcases or sideboards, and there is no focal point to the room in the way of a coffee table or some other feature. It is actually crying out for a fireplace as the focal point of the room - maybe one of those groovy wood-burners that hang down from the ceiling, but I appreciate that you may not want to spend any more money on this place. So, get yourself a coffee table and stick an old chess set on it and some flowers or candles or interior decorating magazines or something, and maybe a bookcase for the walls (assuming you have some books and decorative objects to put in it). As it stands, all the furniture points towards the door, as if you are laying an ambush for the postman, and the place looks empty, like a furniture showroom having a closing-down sale.
Get some nice pictures on the walls with a bit of colour - those prints of old rock stars are depressing and the high windows make the place look like a prison cell*, so draw attention away from them. Maybe some old railway posters or a colourful Matisse poster or just anything other than those monochrome rock stars. You seem to like beige - not many other people do - get some colourful throws to put over those sofas; do something with that mezzanine - you've just parked another sofa facing the door - make it a little den with some chairs facing the sofa and an old steamer trunk or coffee table in the middle with some board games on it, or a nice old hi-fi or just anything that doesn't make it look like the waiting-room in a vasectomy clinic.
I would re-paint the doors in the main bedroom - you've given them the colour of cheap pine furniture -either strip them back to bare wood or give them a whitewash or a distressed look using chalk paint or even a coat of white gloss. Also, get some more pictures up in that bedroom - there is nothing to look at in the main photo but a bare wall - no view, no art - it needs something bold.
The kitchen looks nice (in the previous agents photos) as do the bathrooms (ditto) but you must, must, must give that place some "showroom appeal" because at the moment it looks stark and monastic. It's women who buy family houses, and they like either cosy, or modern and bright. So, forget your tastes, they don't matter when you're selling - you need to decorate it to the prevailing taste to sell it. Go to the newsagent and get some magazines like country living or ideal home to get some ideas to see what's popular, then it's off to antique shops, IKEA and a poster shop to spruce it up.
Sorry to be blunt but at the moment it looks like an empty chapel with some sofas in it, when with a bit of imagination and colour (and not much money) it could look a whole lot better.
Here it is:
http://webmedia1.guildproperty.co.uk/properties/72...
As to the current one - there is no floorplan which is crucial to working out how this odd-shaped property functions as a home, photos 4,9 & 12 show absolutely nothing and should be binned. All of the Miller Evans photos are much, much better and show more - wider angle, better perspectives. The current written description is awful - they have repeated the first paragraph twice, and you have to scroll down a whole page past that repeated guff about a telly programme few people watch, and directions to a property you aren't sure you want to see, before you get onto any meaningful description of what the property is like. Instead you need to start off with some general descriptive guff about the chapel and its location before you start off with a description of each room. You need to work in the number of bedrooms, "recently-converted" and "idyllic location looking onto green fields" into the very first sentence. Any estate agent who can't manage that should be fired. You also need to bang on about the kitchen and the en-suite.
On to the "personal" perspective, which you may not like, and it's only my opinion, so do with it what you will, but, based on the current photos, I would say that you haven't done a great job of making that look like a cosy home - the impression is of lots of unused/unusable space - all the furniture is pressed up against the walls, there is nothing decorating the walls in the way of bookcases or sideboards, and there is no focal point to the room in the way of a coffee table or some other feature. It is actually crying out for a fireplace as the focal point of the room - maybe one of those groovy wood-burners that hang down from the ceiling, but I appreciate that you may not want to spend any more money on this place. So, get yourself a coffee table and stick an old chess set on it and some flowers or candles or interior decorating magazines or something, and maybe a bookcase for the walls (assuming you have some books and decorative objects to put in it). As it stands, all the furniture points towards the door, as if you are laying an ambush for the postman, and the place looks empty, like a furniture showroom having a closing-down sale.
Get some nice pictures on the walls with a bit of colour - those prints of old rock stars are depressing and the high windows make the place look like a prison cell*, so draw attention away from them. Maybe some old railway posters or a colourful Matisse poster or just anything other than those monochrome rock stars. You seem to like beige - not many other people do - get some colourful throws to put over those sofas; do something with that mezzanine - you've just parked another sofa facing the door - make it a little den with some chairs facing the sofa and an old steamer trunk or coffee table in the middle with some board games on it, or a nice old hi-fi or just anything that doesn't make it look like the waiting-room in a vasectomy clinic.
I would re-paint the doors in the main bedroom - you've given them the colour of cheap pine furniture -either strip them back to bare wood or give them a whitewash or a distressed look using chalk paint or even a coat of white gloss. Also, get some more pictures up in that bedroom - there is nothing to look at in the main photo but a bare wall - no view, no art - it needs something bold.
The kitchen looks nice (in the previous agents photos) as do the bathrooms (ditto) but you must, must, must give that place some "showroom appeal" because at the moment it looks stark and monastic. It's women who buy family houses, and they like either cosy, or modern and bright. So, forget your tastes, they don't matter when you're selling - you need to decorate it to the prevailing taste to sell it. Go to the newsagent and get some magazines like country living or ideal home to get some ideas to see what's popular, then it's off to antique shops, IKEA and a poster shop to spruce it up.
Sorry to be blunt but at the moment it looks like an empty chapel with some sofas in it, when with a bit of imagination and colour (and not much money) it could look a whole lot better.
- there is a reason chapels and churches have high windows - it is so that bored parishioners will not stare out of the window but will instead focus on God's messenger - that is a problem for you because it means that you must create interest within the room to draw the eye, otherwise the impression is of being hemmed-in. That is why I don't think your current minimalist approach works, whereas it would be fine in a modern house with lots of glass and decent views to the outside.
Thank you Bluebarge for taking the time to write your suggestions up - ive tried to look at it with a clear head, and I agree, it does look far too plain and unhomely. your comments were exactly what I was hoping for.
This weekend, I'm off shopping for magazines for inspiration - I've never been too adventurous with colour - the red kitchen wall was the result of me trying to be brave.
The windows I can't do much about, but the decor, I most certainly can.
Once it's dressed and looking brighter, I will get someone who knows one end of a camera from the other in, and take it from there.
The floorplan is WIP, and should be sorted tomorrow, aling with the dull and duplicated description.
Once it's looking better, I'll update this and let you know how it goes.
Again, thanks all, I appreciate every comment.
This weekend, I'm off shopping for magazines for inspiration - I've never been too adventurous with colour - the red kitchen wall was the result of me trying to be brave.
The windows I can't do much about, but the decor, I most certainly can.
Once it's dressed and looking brighter, I will get someone who knows one end of a camera from the other in, and take it from there.
The floorplan is WIP, and should be sorted tomorrow, aling with the dull and duplicated description.
Once it's looking better, I'll update this and let you know how it goes.
Again, thanks all, I appreciate every comment.
No problem, and I feel slightly dirty for going a bit "Gok Wan" 
I don't think the windows are a problem if there is enough to look at inside the room - you just need a couple of focal points (coffee tables or the like) in the lounge and on the mezzanine and have some chairs facing each other so it looks like a place to be sociable rather than just watch the telly/front door. I would also consider swapping the mezzanine sofa with the lounge one, as the lounge one looks a bit lost in a room that big.
A few big colourful posters (maybe a framed OS map of the local area), some bright throws for the sofas and beds and it will look completely different. It's a nice place you've got there - it just looks a bit unfinished.
Oh, and your current agents need an almighty boot up the arse
I don't think the windows are a problem if there is enough to look at inside the room - you just need a couple of focal points (coffee tables or the like) in the lounge and on the mezzanine and have some chairs facing each other so it looks like a place to be sociable rather than just watch the telly/front door. I would also consider swapping the mezzanine sofa with the lounge one, as the lounge one looks a bit lost in a room that big.
A few big colourful posters (maybe a framed OS map of the local area), some bright throws for the sofas and beds and it will look completely different. It's a nice place you've got there - it just looks a bit unfinished.
Oh, and your current agents need an almighty boot up the arse
It is lovely but I agree with making it cosier. Also, fix the wonky drawer in the little bedside cabinet!!
I'm selling my place just now and got some really good photos done that make all the difference. I was advised to sell a 'lifestyle' not a house, so it was all dressed for the photos - dining table with place settings, throws, flowers, cushions etc. All bottles out the bathroom except some classy looking brand names,
Estate agent told me about a woman who spent £500 in John Lewis buying soft furnishings to dress her place up, then returned it all the next day after she got her photos taken!
Good luck!
I'm selling my place just now and got some really good photos done that make all the difference. I was advised to sell a 'lifestyle' not a house, so it was all dressed for the photos - dining table with place settings, throws, flowers, cushions etc. All bottles out the bathroom except some classy looking brand names,
Estate agent told me about a woman who spent £500 in John Lewis buying soft furnishings to dress her place up, then returned it all the next day after she got her photos taken!
Good luck!
Muncher said:
I don't think I have ever read the estate agent's text on any viewing, I only go by the photos and streetview...
This. The text in the advert isn't all that important. All most people really look at is the pictures and the floorplan. You get all the information you could need from the floorplan and pictures. No one goes in to the process thinking, oh they didn't list the wall colours and skirting type, we won't bother viewing that one. Anyone with even the slightest imagination could picture their belongings or how they'd want to decorate it.People like to think there's an art to selling a house, but there really isn't. Not when it comes to normal, sane prople looking. I can't help but think most serious buyers are looking for something in budget and in a preferred area. Either they know their budget will get them something in good condition in the area they want, or will get them something that needs work. Photos are a good indication of condition, but the floorplan is more important if it's a niche house like this.
The house is immaculate, the only thing I'd change is the red wall in the kitchen.
Most families will want a seperate living room or dining room. Bedrooms 2 and 3 aren't big enough to be a seperate reception room, and then that would effectively make it a 2 bed anyway. Plus, it looks like it's on a main road, so not ideal for young children.
If someone just wanted space and a more traditional layout, they'd probably choose something like this - http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/prope...
Now, I don't know about location etc, as I don't know the area, but the above house might appeal more if space is the priority, and it's cheaper.
Your house would be perfect for a couple, but how many couples are looking for that sort of house with that sort of budget? If you think traditionally, when a young couple buy their first home, £300k is probably out of budget. All the other stuff like the one I posted above seems more like a 2nd time house a growing family would buy.
I wouldn't worry too much about the small details in the advert. It's a niche house and might take a while to say.
Evening all,
Just to close this off, we've just completed on the sale today, so are officially homeless now and cramping the parents style once again.
Worsy, well spotted, deliberately didn't comment earlier, as we've been messed about by the previous buyers so didn't want to tempt fate.
Just need to find a suitable place to buy next.... Top priority is plenty of outbuilding/garage space.
Thanks all for the advice and ideas, in reality, we don't know what precisely sold it, probably a combination of everything. But the new buyers are definitely made up, as are we.
Next stop, a restoration thread.
T
Just to close this off, we've just completed on the sale today, so are officially homeless now and cramping the parents style once again.
Worsy, well spotted, deliberately didn't comment earlier, as we've been messed about by the previous buyers so didn't want to tempt fate.
Just need to find a suitable place to buy next.... Top priority is plenty of outbuilding/garage space.
Thanks all for the advice and ideas, in reality, we don't know what precisely sold it, probably a combination of everything. But the new buyers are definitely made up, as are we.
Next stop, a restoration thread.
T
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