Selling a house - to decorate or not?

tootsmyboots

Hi all - I am about to market my dad's property that I posted about on here recently. Probate has been applied for and should be straightforward. The solicitor (acting for me as a seller) and the EA have both said we are ready to start marketing once the HIP is finished, as probate SHOULD be through before anyone is proceedable anyway.

I have got the cleaners in doing a deep clean to all rooms and carpets today. The EA says leave the decor as it is and don't decorate / replace carpets as it is not worth the extra spending on doing it up and just price it accordingly.

Wondered what you thought?


This is it's current condition (though will all be sparkling clean!):

• plain cream walls in most rooms.
• horribly (in my opinion) wallpapered decor in dining room - tidy, but v. old fashioned with wooden rail between the two patterns!
• carpets well used but ok condition once clean in three rooms.
• wooden floor in hall and kitchen - fine.
• tiles on floor in bathroom - fine
• carpet in master bedroom looks in a bad way!
• kitchen needs replacing - old fashioned
• 3 year old bathroom (fine and fairly modern)

I have bolded the two features that I am umming and ahhing about replacing to assist the sale (not to raise price, just to help it sell). The EA says to leave it, but wondered what you all think?

I know the kitchen would be the first thing I would replace, but I cannot go to this expense personally and it will be marketed in a way that reflects the need for this improvement.

Any thoughts? Thanks in anticipation.

AlwaysWorking

This is a tricky one..it really depends on the overall condition of the house. If it is being sold as a 'fixer upper' it won't really matter as anyone considering buying it will be wanting to rip everything out and create their own look. If on the other hand it's generally in a good condition and you think these two things will really put people off, you could go ahead and do the work. It won't make you any more money, but may make the overall property look more appealing.

tootsmyboots

Hi yes, the house is in good condition, other than the worn carpet in the master, the old fashioned (but clean and functional kitchen - no damage or anything, just old) and the dining room - which is very tidy and in great condition, just not nice wallpaper in my opinion - it isn;t awful, just old fashioned patterns. So it's not a fixer upper so to speak. My mind says get a new carpet and redecoate the dining room, but EA seems to think not worth it. So am undecided.

Thanks for your reply.

mlz1413

Take the EA advise and market it in its current condition for 4 weeks and see what the feedback is.

If in 4 weeks you have no interest and no offers replace the carpets you really hate with cheap stuff that will at least look good.

Most genuine buyers can see past buying a carpet and decorating, most professional viewers will use these things as excuses. Most people who buy want to put 'their mark' on a house and so changing the decor and carpets are easy ways to do this.

As for kitchens and bathrooms leave alone, anything you chose will not be to everyones taste and will have the same effect as the old kitchen and bathroom - just ensure you are marketing at a fair value and willing to listen to lower offers reasons.

Friends of mine who moved in together had this situation, my friend insisted her fella change his kitchen proir to putting on the market and 6 months later with only 3 viewings they have rented the house out, they could have saved £2500 towards the double mortgage costs if they hadn't bothered with the upgrade.

Catblue

I'd take the EA's advice personally.

Regarding the wallpaper, you might bring down half the plaster when you try to remove it and then you'd end up having to pay someone to replaster the room. Could work out more expensive than you think.

And do you have a rug to put over the old carpet in the bedroom? Even if you have to buy a new rug you can always take it with you when you sell and put it in your own home.

Doozergirl

Leave it. If it's neat and tidy and clean then people can see if a house has been generally well looked after. If they are happy to replace a kitchen then they will be more than happy with carpets and redecor. Iv'e seen places that have been basically fine but it's been given a lick of magnolia and I honestly couldn't see the point. You either do all or nothing and if it's bascially okay then you won't be increasing the value much doing anything at all.

Doozergirl

Oh. One more thing, the biggest problem I ever faced way back when was that once one thing looks good, then other things look that looked fine before now look bad because of the new contrast!

So you'd look at the place and make a list and by the time you'd finished, other things would look dreadful which means you've either wasted your time or you have to do it all.

alexlyne

If I loooked at ahouse that just needed cosmetics done (like a carpet here and there, or walls here and there), I wouldn't let it put me off. If the whole house looked like grandmas, then that's another story!

From what EAs tell me, kitchens and bathrooms are the big turn-offs if antiquated/old fashioned - they're expensive to replace.

princeofpounds

I think the advice the previous posters have given is pretty much correct.

Personally, I would be tempted to paint the dining room with the bad wallpaper. This is ONLY if it's well fitted and make sure you use the right paint for the job, otherwise would be more trouble than its worth.

It wouldn't take long or cost much and is probably one of the most psychologically useful things to do to make a house look a bit better/bigger. Might swing someone unconsciously.

tootsmyboots

Thanks everyone. I've just got back from inspecting the deep clean and the place looks fab and sparkling and all fresh smelling too! The worst carpet doesnt look half as bad as I feared - and I suspect it would be replaced anyway by the new owner. I know I would want a new bedroom carpet when I moved anyway.

The kitchen looks great for a clean up. It isnt old fashioned wood or anything like that, it's more that the units are not what you would call modern. I think its called formica with wooden edging and handles. It is not a huge kitchen and I would rather leave it to the buyer to choose their own units to suit their tastes.

I will leave the dining room as it is for now and see what feedback comes back. It is a lovely light room as it has big patio doors onto the garden. The wallpaper is really good quality and well fitted, so it should paint over fairly easily if needs be. Just not an ideal time for me and the other half to be decorating (I am 39 weeks pregnant today!)

It's amazing what a deep clean can do - was like walking into a different house, and it wasnt that bad to start off with, just dusty from being empty and having had a coal fire in it.

Money well spent getting it cleaned, so will let you know what feedback we get once it is on. Thanks again

johnnylove57

You might wanna check out we buy houses at my sig. They offer a price range and you can understand the price better. My friend got a good quote from them few weeks back.