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What's with the dark walls and small windows. You need to lighten and brighten things up a lot with your wall treatment and bigger, updated windows. The trim on those look really old so I wonder how well insulated they are. New windows always help and being able to see out to enjoy the view also big. Those are so high up you would have to stand on tip toe to see out. This room just looks like a dungeon even with the light coming into the space. The dark walls just suck all the life out.
The bathroom could also use a facelift. I would rip out the tub surround and tile instead. Also rip out the medicine cabinet. That's a very dated look. You need a nice big mirror with a decorative lighting fixture above. A double sink would be amazing if there is room for a larger vanity and definitely towel bars. Fixtures are important. They need to be nice, including the faucet. The walls need a cleaner look. If you are going to keep a dark coloured vanity you need to brighten the walls. Is that wood laminate flooring? Tile is way more in style now.
If you really want to do things up, you could rip out the tub and put in a soaker tub or just go with a tiled jumbo sized shower stall with a bench. Your bathroom should give you a spa like feel. Just because it is in a rustic setting doesn't mean it shouldn't be awesome. Buyers will pay a lot more for a place that makes them feel good and doesn't need a lot of work.
I can't see the pic of the fridge but sounds like there isn't a lot of room in the kitchen for it so maybe you need to blow out a wall and make it open concept. Open concept with an island is the big thing now. People want to be in the kitchen and still be part of whats going on in the living area.
If I were going to paint something, it would be the INTERIOR of the house. The paint job in there now looks horribly depressing in the photos. The bathroom for example looks like a tenement. Paint it white and put up a nice shower curtain and clean towels in a coordinating color. In fact, I'd spay the entire interior white so it looks super clean.
If you can't stage the house with nice furniture then at least remove all the extraneous stuff in there and make it completely empty. I agree with the people who say take down the awful window coverings. They make the interior look cheesy. Spend some money getting better photos, especially some of the lake if that's the draw for buying in the neighborhood. I always like to see a photo of an attractively painted front door with some colorful flowers flanking it. Shiny house numbers and mail box, clean up the landscaping around the house. Unless that tractor (or whatever that green thing is) peeking in the photos comes with the house, get it out of the pictures.
Paint it! It looks like a shed from the outside and the inside looks like a cave. It's got potential but buyers might not be creative enough to see it.
Speaking as a long time Realtor that has lived in recreation areas, I would say, do not take out the trees. they fit in very well with the surrounding area with the forested look. The front picture is not glamorous, and should be changed to a better angle look at the home. Do it much closer to the house to make the home look larger.
Too many of the pictures are dark, and should be lighted with a flood light or even a flash, so they look a lot brighter.
At under $50,000 with a lake behind it in a recreation area, the home will sell unless the home is overpriced for the area it is located in. If it is overpriced, then that is the reason it has not sold.
The reputation of the area, is also important. It is in a recreation area apparently and would be a summer home for someone at a very affordable price, and should be marketed as such for a summer home or a retirement home.
The problem, is it in an area that attracts people, or is it in a slummy area. If it has the reputation as a slum area, than that is the reason it has not sold, as retired and weekend crowds do not buy in those areas.
New pictures, don't need to go professional but you need something that shows the house; not the fridge, hallway, or the windows but the actual rooms. Whoever did those pictures should be blacklisted. Has the owner looked into finding a PM and turning it into a vacation rental? Furnish it and rent it.
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