When viewing a property would you mind if..

tbs624

Doozergirl wrote: »

.. There's an orange merging into a black banana in my fruitbowl.

Vintage fruit salad - marvellous

DKLS

I am viewing now, and when I go round, I make a mental note of potential re-decorating costs including the cost of my time.
Same goes for replacement of carpets, kitchens and bathrooms.

I do have the imagination to see past a decorating horror and psychedelic carpets from the 70s, but I will calculate a costing of bringing the property to my standards, and that will be reflected in any offer I make.

I must admit I do prefer the magnolia blank canvas look, which suggests I can move straight in rather than spending a month re-decorating.

Idiophreak

Doozergirl wrote: »

viewers will absolutely know that it's contrived and that I'm making too much of an effort. ...Or that I haven't hidden a crap Vauxhall Astra round the corner!

1) I can't imagine myself going to someone's house and thinking "eww, they've made a bit too much of an effort" - just doesn't seem something that would bother me - so I guess I'd be inclined to make too much effort rather than too little.

2) there's no such thing as a crap astra

barnaby-bear

Doozergirl wrote: »

I've even had two friends round on a saturday afternoon drinking cocktails in the garden on a beautiful afternoon and purposely didn't cancel any viewings. That worked to spectacular effect but they were there anyway!

Can I rent your aspirational friends - mine are a bit scruffy and overweight and their clothes wouldn't cut it.....

barnaby-bear

Doozergirl wrote: »

I might place nice things strategically; a pair of expensive shoes by my dressing table, a bottle of champagne next to the wine rack or pretend I've spent the afternoon reading, drinking cold wine in the garden (instead of running around like a loon until the doorbell rings) sort of thing but I don't lay the table - it really does look like it wasn't an accident.

Ikea = aspirational. Are we sure?


You don't have to paint your lounge if you don't want to - you'll be lucky as well if you get honest feedback from your friends Our bedroom was terracotta when we bought this house. It just goes on the mental "change" list. Friends bought a house with terracotta on the kitchen walls and it looked lovely so it's really a matter or taste or how dated something might look.

To those of us in the stix who have to travel a long way - slightly and it's all relative.... relative to Argos/Asda then yes....

barnaby-bear

DKLS wrote: »

I am viewing now, and when I go round, I make a mental note of potential re-decorating costs including the cost of my time.
Same goes for replacement of carpets, kitchens and bathrooms.

I do have the imagination to see past a decorating horror and psychedelic carpets from the 70s, but I will calculate a costing of bringing the property to my standards, and that will be reflected in any offer I make.

I must admit I do prefer the magnolia blank canvas look, which suggests I can move straight in rather than spending a month re-decorating.

I think Magnolia = one/two coats to cover.....

Orange/Navy/Yellow = 4 to 5 coats and getting rid of the radioactive glow will be harder than decontaminating Chernobyl....

barnaby-bear

theartfullodger wrote: »

Never be ashamed of anything a 2yr old offspring has done. (Rules change as they grow older!)

Sod what other people think. However, if changing something makes you money, that's a different decision criterion.

Cheers!

Lodger

But you want to create the image that this house is so good - that you will have perfect well behaved children who will go to Oxbridge - if you live there..... there will be no toys to tread on because of it's infinite well designed storage, it will be far cleaner than any other house with kids in because it is so well laid out and easy to clean....

sarah_elton

Quick tip if you do repaint - cover the 'terracotta' with a couple of coats of the cheapest bright white emulsion you can find (e.g. B&Q Basics). Then use Dulux magnolia over the top.

I made the rookie mistake in my first place of covering a bright lilac room with Dulux Magnolia and it took four coats. :eek: Dulux gives a great finish but doesn't cover too well, so don't waste your money on lots of coats of it.

If your OH isn't about due to work, could you get a few mates round for a paint party? Reward them with some beer/wine at the end of it and then you can take turns to pop out of the room to check on your little one (unless you can deposit her somewhere for the day).

You should be able to do 2-3 coats in a day if you start early as emulsion only needs a couple of hours to go dry enough for another coat.

tbs624

DKLS wrote: »

I do have the imagination to see past a decorating horror and psychedelic carpets from the 70s, but I will calculate a costing of bringing the property to my standards, and that will be reflected in any offer I make....

Are you a precious FTB? I would not entertain a buyer who tried to negotiate a lower price simply on the grounds that the property needed some paint & wallpaper...yes, even in the current market. Those are superficial issues and a matter of personal choice: a vendor may choose to tart the place up a bit but if they don't , your belief that it's worth a reduction in price may just lose you the house you want.

DKLS

tbs624 wrote: »

Are you a precious FTB? I would not entertain a buyer who tried to negotiate a lower price simply on the grounds that the property needed some paint & wallpaper...yes, even in the current market. Those are superficial issues and a matter of personal choice: a vendor may choose to tart the place up a bit but if they don't , your belief that it's worth a reduction in price may just lose you the house you want.

Err no I am a precious 4th time buyer, I will offer according to what work the house needs doing. A seller who presents their house in the best possible way will always get my attention for a number of reasons.