First time seller!

kbarty · 26 January 2006 at 6:53PM

We're selling our house and today received the first of 3 valuations (2 more EA coming tomorrow). Was much more than we anticipated after we got a remortgage valuation of 75K last summer. They valued it today at 95K. Am not getting too excited yet though

Our house has been a wee bit neglected by us, in that we had kids almost straight away after moving in and so we never managed to spruce it up as we first hoped. The valuer today said we shouldn't bother giving the place a lick of paint and we've been told this before about 15mths or so ago when we last thought of selling. This goes against all the House Doctor

has been telling me all these years and I thought I would put the question out and see what people would think.

So would you give stuff a lick of paint anyway or put it on the market and see what happens? I mean it's not in bad condition, just some bits of wallpaper ripped off by kids, general wear and tear etc.

We're actually going to be moving before it sells (I imagine) and so it will be empty anyway and although of course it will be best if it sells quickly we're ok financially to keep it going while we're in the new house. I just dunno what to do lol!

Redecorate or chill, redecorate or chill.... Ok replace that chill with packing!!!

Doozergirl · 26 January 2006 at 7:04PM

Remortgage valuation are generally low, so hopefully you'll get a better price

You should really try to sell while you're living there. Houses sell far better (and quicker!) with furniture and the feel of home about them. People are very short sighted and can't imagine furniture in a room. Plus, if your wallpaper is tatty and the room is empty, that's going to be all there is to look at.

Of course, you will get best price if the house is immaculate and I personally would never let my buyers benefit from them adding the extra value to the property but if you haven't time and you're not overly fussy about your price, then leave it.

But cleanliness is incredibly important. Clean and tidy within an inch of your life!

Suzi.Q_3 · 26 January 2006 at 7:07PM

We moved recently and painted 2 of the bedrooms before putting the house on the market. One room was just disgusting and the other had wallpaper missing where the previous owners kids had ripped it off the wall. We figured a couple of weekends work was worth it. The downstairs had all been re-decorated anyway, but we never got as far as the upstairs.

kbarty · 26 January 2006 at 7:14PM

thank you , you also reminded me of my other question. Is it better to have furniture in the house while trying to sell or have it empty? A lot of the furniture wouldn't be coming up with us so it wouldn't be too hard to "stage" the house I don't think. Although of course we'd need to get rid of it once sold. We're moving from yorkshire to Scotland (into a rented house as part of a new job package) so quite a distance although I still have family near my current home that could help me out I suppose.

I've been spending the week cleaning and decluttering like a madwoman!!

Personally I think, if we can, I'd like to give it as much of a helping hand as I can. I've already given the kitchen a lick of paint and want to tidy up the bathroom as much as I can.

Thanks for the opinions so far.

Suzi.Q_3 · 26 January 2006 at 7:18PM

If you can I'd leave some furniture. We sold ours completely empty as we had to, but I think some nice furniture so it still looks spacious and uncluttered but more like a home than a shell. Then you have to clear it out afterwards of course, but somebody will need to go and do meter readings etc. on completion day so you'll have to go back anyway.

[Deleted User] · 26 January 2006 at 8:41PM

I'd leave the furniture, declutter and make the walls look good again. I know it is a pain, but it won't cost you much to do re-hang the wallpaper, but if you leave it Buyers will knock off hundreds of ££.

Threadhead · 26 January 2006 at 8:51PM

We put our house on the market on Monday, and re-decorated the second bedroom as my daughter had, very thoughtfully, picked all the wallpaper off beside her bed. If the wall paper had been intact, I wouldnt have bothered, but it looked terrible.

Someone told me that the price wouldnt be affected by decorating, but the speed of sale may be. (Had our first viewing tonight which looks incredible hopeful :cool: )

Meeten · 30 January 2006 at 9:14AM

Redecorate - I am sure that a new lick of paint, some wallpaper and general tidying up will add value to the property.

Buyers will come in and think 'i need to do this ... and that ... and this' and they will mentally reduce the offer on teh bakc of the perceived cost of getting the work done.

If you can manage to tidy up the bits that look in disrepair, then the potential purchasers cannot ask for the reduction in price.

I am in the process of putting in a new bathroom, and replacing the cooker / tiles in the kitchen. The cost - approx £3,000. BUT, the EA reckoned that it will get me £8-10k more as the new buyer will discount the cost off the offer price.

Added a lick of paint throughout, and made sure that the ceilings were painted - makes such a difference now that they are pure white!

Def think it is worthwhile putting the effort in, or getting a handyman to do the work.

HTH,

M

dander · 30 January 2006 at 11:00AM

Just wondering if the estate agent is saying that because they expect your house to be the kind of thing that goes to a developer - who won't be interested in paying more for a lick of paint. I would ask the estate agent why he said that - and who he thinks is the target market for your property.

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