Help - Why won't my house sell

Perhaps a sales video will help...

There is just no way that video works in family oriented places. Beverly Hills perhaps but geez there's no actual selling of the property in the video. It's mostly half-naked women---wonder who they are marketing towards---nevermind I know..the guy bachelor who is looking for women and now they can have the perfect place :rolleyes:. Reminds me of the "buy this car and women will love you" type thing.

Icky..I got the creepies just from attempting to watch that.
 
Here are a few pictures taken yesterday (by me, definitely not professional). I'm going to paint the yellow room.

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I'd probably stage for new realtor pics. The walkway needs some landscaping to me anyway. I love what I can see of the kitchen.
 
Nice view of the front of the house!

Yes I would tone the yellow room down with a softer color
 

I think they all look great - MUCH better than the realtor's. Hopefully you can get them added to the website..
 
couple more

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and for some reason all the rest seem to want to post upside down.
 

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The rooms look great!

The rooms look fresh and super clean


It has to be the realtor and her write up that is preventing peeps from doing a walk thru of your house
 
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I haven't seen the original listing, but I'll be different than everyone else and say that even the new pictures are not great. You need to get someone in there to take professional real estate pictures. Look at the difference between yours and the one in the link below. Those iphone pictures are not going to sell a house.

https://placester.com/real-estate-marketing-academy/how-get-best-real-estate-photography/
Like I said, I'm not a professional. Just giving people an idea of what the house actually looks like compared to the pictures in the listing.
 
Those pics are helpful. A few suggestions to consider:
  1. The landscaping on both sides of the walkway to the front door looks a little neglected. On the left side, cover up the dirt with some sort of mulch.
  2. Those 2 rooms where you have area rugs - remove them. It makes each room feel smaller. Plus, it hides the wood floors underneath. That's a feature that you don't want to cover up!
  3. The kitchen seems dark. Needs more lighting or maybe it's just the angle of where you took the picture from. You can get some portable/movable small LED lights from Walmart that you can stick on the under side of the cabinets. Put in a few of those (they don't cost much, they run on batteries) and it will change the feel of the kitchen. As is, the kitchen feels dark, cramped, and depressing. But again...it might just be the location that you took the picture from.
  4. The big room w/the portable A/C unit - size of the room is great. The portable A/C unit is a detractor. The dark wood ceiling makes the room feel like a cave. Room needs more light.
  5. The room w/the big blue area rug & the beige-ish curtain - it's hard to tell from the pics, but it almost looks like the electric outlets don't have covers on them. Or maybe they're dark wood electric outlet covers? Regardless, replace the outlet covers with white ones. And replace the curtain. That curtain looks old, sad, and depressing. Throw out the area rug. It looks dirty, worn, and the color isn't doing you any favors.
  6. the backyard - Backyard needs some serious work. No offense, but it looks like a dump. Get rid of the clutter. Get rid of the 2 window box-type planters that looks like they're about to fall over. Sweep. Get rid of the chairs. Remove the weird small rectangle of square pavers that's in the middle of the gravel-area and looks like it doesn't have any purpose. Off to the right side of the house, it looks very unkempt. I don't know what that rectangular looking wood thing is on the right side of the pic...maybe a planter box?
Overall, based on the pictures you posted, the house kind of feels like somebody's grandmother used to live in it...somebody's grandmother who was getting up in years and could no longer handle taking care of the place. I'm pretty sure that's not the look you're going for, though. :-)

The back yard is a huge reason why your house isn't selling. The house just, overall, seems not well cared for, neglected, and doesn't have a happy vibe to it. It's not cheerful & inviting.

In the backyard, you should also do the following:
  • plant something pretty in mass in the planter box that's at ground level.
  • clean up all the clutter
  • spend a little money on a small outdoor table & chairs. Like a bistro set...2 chairs and a small table in between them. Put a flowering potted plant in the middle of the table.
  • make sure you are checking on the house every week that it doesn't sell and keep the backyard maintained.
  • take some pics of the backyard where you are standing at the patio doors looking outward to the back yard.
Each room needs more lighting. Professional pictures need to be taken with a flash camera. You only have to change a minor amount of things and it will change the look & feel of the house, thus making it appealing to a lot more buyers.
 
The post before me has much better detail on what needs to change with your photos, and they are awful...some even blurry. And I hope you didn't buy the new place based on the photos there!
 
After having looked at the pictures in the listing, those pictures in the MLS listing are THE reason why your house hasn't sold. From my un-professional eye, if I was looking at this house as a potential buyer, I would be thinking:
- this place is a dump
- how come they couldn't pick up some of their clutter & trash in the backyard before taking the pictures?
- why does every bathroom picture have the toilet lid up?
- what I think is the master bathroom looks small. What is up with those ugly bathroom rugs & why didn't they take them out of the room before snapping a picture?
- Why are all of the screens off of the windows in the back? What else is wrong with this house?
- That room with the pool table looks like a junk room. What is that room supposed to be? It's so dark!
- OMG, that back yard is a nightmare. Looks like nobody has taken care of it in years.
- What the heck is the deal with that creepy looking shed in the back yard?
- Front yard looks like a mess. Bushes are not trimmed. Looks like nobody has done anything with that yard in years.
- Master closet is too small. OMG, so much stuff in every room! This house is too small. And why do I need to see a picture of a messy bunch of shoes?
- yet another bathroom with a toilet lid up? Could they at least put away the air freshener? I wonder if the bathroom fan works. Maybe not since they can't even keep the yard clean & the window screens are thrown around the back yard.
- Where are you supposed to eat? What room is the dining room? Is that weird island thing in the kitchen the only place to eat in the house? This house is weird.
- They should have taken off the valance above that window in the kitchen. Looks like something my grandmother would have.
- Each room has way too much furniture in it.

You get the idea. But here's the deal....all of that is cosmetic and fixable!
 
I wou
Those pics are helpful. A few suggestions to consider:
  1. The landscaping on both sides of the walkway to the front door looks a little neglected. On the left side, cover up the dirt with some sort of mulch.
  2. Those 2 rooms where you have area rugs - remove them. It makes each room feel smaller. Plus, it hides the wood floors underneath. That's a feature that you don't want to cover up!
  3. The kitchen seems dark. Needs more lighting or maybe it's just the angle of where you took the picture from. You can get some portable/movable small LED lights from Walmart that you can stick on the under side of the cabinets. Put in a few of those (they don't cost much, they run on batteries) and it will change the feel of the kitchen. As is, the kitchen feels dark, cramped, and depressing. But again...it might just be the location that you took the picture from.
  4. The big room w/the portable A/C unit - size of the room is great. The portable A/C unit is a detractor. The dark wood ceiling makes the room feel like a cave. Room needs more light.
  5. The room w/the big blue area rug & the beige-ish curtain - it's hard to tell from the pics, but it almost looks like the electric outlets don't have covers on them. Or maybe they're dark wood electric outlet covers? Regardless, replace the outlet covers with white ones. And replace the curtain. That curtain looks old, sad, and depressing. Throw out the area rug. It looks dirty, worn, and the color isn't doing you any favors.
  6. the backyard - Backyard needs some serious work. No offense, but it looks like a dump. Get rid of the clutter. Get rid of the 2 window box-type planters that looks like they're about to fall over. Sweep. Get rid of the chairs. Remove the weird small rectangle of square pavers that's in the middle of the gravel-area and looks like it doesn't have any purpose. Off to the right side of the house, it looks very unkempt. I don't know what that rectangular looking wood thing is on the right side of the pic...maybe a planter box?
Overall, based on the pictures you posted, the house kind of feels like somebody's grandmother used to live in it...somebody's grandmother who was getting up in years and could no longer handle taking care of the place. I'm pretty sure that's not the look you're going for, though. :-)

The back yard is a huge reason why your house isn't selling. The house just, overall, seems not well cared for, neglected, and doesn't have a happy vibe to it. It's not cheerful & inviting.

In the backyard, you should also do the following:
  • plant something pretty in mass in the planter box that's at ground level.
  • clean up all the clutter
  • spend a little money on a small outdoor table & chairs. Like a bistro set...2 chairs and a small table in between them. Put a flowering potted plant in the middle of the table.
  • make sure you are checking on the house every week that it doesn't sell and keep the backyard maintained.
  • take some pics of the backyard where you are standing at the patio doors looking outward to the back yard.
Each room needs more lighting. Professional pictures need to be taken with a flash camera. You only have to change a minor amount of things and it will change the look & feel of the house, thus making it appealing to a lot more buyers.


A lot of my own thoughts. What about removing the knife butcher block in the kitchen and the thing on the wall in the yellow room in addition to the items on the patio.

Those make it look like you got out of there in a hurry without taking a second look to see what you were leaving behind...

It's the attention to even the smallest details that matter and will sell your house.

Thanks for including your new house, I can see you were going for a larger home, but I think you need to take that listing down. I'd hate to have my current address posted for folks to find me.

Did the realtor that you listed with sell you your new house?
 
Also, the write-up for the listing is really bad. There are typos. Really unprofessional. Pic #32 looks like it's a picture of an entirely different house. The listing says that there's a great room that opens to the kitchen, but that isn't reflected in the pictures. You need a different real estate agent.
 
I'd have to report that realtor to her company those pic are horrible there blurry and toilet seat up. She can't be doing allowed to treat her clients like that. As a realtor she should be able to take better pictures then that. She doing herself and her realtor company a HUGE diservice
 
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The pictures are really awful. You definitely need a new agent.

The house looks so much better in the photos you posted, but I wonder if it would help if you brought in some furniture to stage it.

Good luck!
 
other thoughts about the pictures in the listing...

Pic #1 (front of house):

- How do you get to the front door?
- is there a garage? Where do you park your car?
- too many leaves. They are clearly not gardeners.

Pic #2 (yellow room):
- too much furniture & clutter.
- is this a bedroom set up as an office? If so, is there a closet? Where's the closet?
- YOUR pic of this room when it's empty is way better. BUT...
- what is that black metal frame thing on the wall? take it down.

Pic #3 (fireplace room):
- your pic of this room is better than the agent's pic
- built in book case to left of fireplace is nice feature, but what is that thing in the wall? Is it a pet door?
- placement of the hutch/TV right next to the door feels a little weird. Makes the room feel cramped
- listing description talks about the wood floors throughout the house, but you can't see them because they're covered up in almost every pic

Pic #4:
- where is this taken from?
- what room is this?

Pic #5 (kitchen):
- stainless steel appliances - NICE!
- kitchen has good lighting
- like the cabinets
- but wow, that seems cramped. How can you have somebody eat at that island and have somebody wash dishes at the same time?
- range hood over the top of the stove doesn't go w/the stove. Makes it look like the owner ran out of money
- potted plants in the window look neglected

Pic #6:
- wow, how can you even open the fridge door without hitting the door handle to the outside?
- does that door lead to the back yard?
- what's behind those folding doors on the right?

Pic #7:
- I suppose THIS is supposed to be the dining room?
- how come there's no dining room table?
- you can't have dinner parties here. There's only room for 4 people to eat
- can't have a big family get together at Christmas. Nowhere for everyone to sit together and eat.
- you should remove that big butcher block bulky built-in island/table thing.
- put an ACTUAL kitchen table placed underneath the hanging light fixture in the dining room

Pic #8:
- depressing hallway, but floors are in good shape.

Pic #9 (master BR):
- nice sized room
- without the area rug, I like this room

Pic #10 (in master BR, looking to closet):
- that's a weird looking curtain from this angle
- must not be enough storage in this house since they have storage bins stacked up under the window
- small looking closet
- that thing hanging on the closet door isn't doing you any favors

Pic #11 (bathroom):
- everything in this house is too dark
- bathroom way too dark
- repaint it with white
- install a REAL toilet paper holder.
- what is that to the left of the sink?
- tile floors don't even go with the wall color
- whole bathroom is ugly. Feels like a cave

Pic #12-13 (bathroom):
- shower looks mildewed. Pay to have house professionally cleaned top to bottom
- Nice sided shower. Is this the master bathroom?
- must not be enough storage in this bathroom if they have to hang the shower sponge on the door

Pic #14:
- this pic is a trainwreck. Real estate agent should be ashamed of herself. It's blurry!

pic #15:
- too dark
- depressing bedroom
- can't even see the size of the room because the picture is so dark
- repaint the room white

pic #16:
- what is this pic for? To feature the furniture?
- Maybe somebody Grandma lives here, grandma has gone into a home or has died, and they're trying to sell everything off?
- why is that lamp there and it's not even plugged in?
 




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