redecorate or not??

xela_17

We've just found a house and offered on it but we saw a LOT of houses before that one. In every house I always tried to be enthusiastic about very room (if I could), always saying: "Ooh, it's really light" or "what a good size" or "that's useful storage" and then asking a question at the end. Not to be fake but because I could never go round a house saying nothing as I think it's rude to the seller. However, I'm sure quite a lot of sellers probably thought we were going to offer as I was so enthusiastic!

fannyadams

If you are going to look at a 3 bed family home then why are you put off by childrne's decor?
Surely the reason why you are looking at family home is to put family in it!
Should it matter that rooms are not to your taste? you have a choice - you can live with it (until you get so sick of it that you rip it all down and have bare walls for the next 6 months - like we did with our bedroom, coz we couldn't afford to paper & paint it) or cover it in posters (as we did for DS#1 until we could afford to paint his room), or if you're really lucky and batter down the price use the difference to spruce the place up with.

Debras_Angel

fannyadams wrote:

If you are going to look at a 3 bed family home then why are you put off by childrne's decor?
Surely the reason why you are looking at family home is to put family in it!
Should it matter that rooms are not to your taste? you have a choice - you can live with it (until you get so sick of it that you rip it all down and have bare walls for the next 6 months - like we did with our bedroom, coz we couldn't afford to paper & paint it) or cover it in posters (as we did for DS#1 until we could afford to paint his room), or if you're really lucky and batter down the price use the difference to spruce the place up with.

Hi Fannyadams,

Some of us don't have family but do want a bigger house. In my previous street out of 9 four bedroom houses only 2 had families in them.

There are a lot of people in 'family' homes who don't have any.

Cheers

Debs

Jorgan_2

Sadly a lot of people don't have the 'vision' to see thru somebody elses decorating style. Get some feedback of the next viewing, even ask your EA to ask, once they've had the initial feedback if there was any concerns over the decor. You need to see your property thru the eyes of a buyer, not the rose tinted spectacles of a seller. If need be magnolia the rooms in question, your children will only be in those rooms for a few months (hopefully).

missk_ensington

Maybe you aren't selling the house's good points? I'm in the other position where I am buying and viewed a lot of houses, where the vendor just stood there mute and didn't even try and selln the place. If that were me I'd be pointing out local amenties, schools, the garden (if you have one) the neighbours being lovely, the possibility of converting the loft/cellar, the flexibility of the house, how you can do so much with it, the street being great for kids etc etc.

Despite what other people say, I would pain the walls of your kids bedroom all one colour, perhaps pastel blue if its a boy, or something peachy and inoffensive for a girl, anything as long as it's cheap. I'd then get plain, cheap matching bedding and tell the kids they can't have posters up. I know the kids might not like it but its not a long-term plan. In spending £50 you might sell your home. As well, double check your bathroom and see if that can be spruced up cheaply (unless of course its a brand new suite!).

A few accessories can make all the difference- a nice gold/silver vase (depending on your colours) with a big bunch of lilies, I think makes a house look lovely and can cost as little as £7 in Tesco or somewhere. Also ask youself whether the house looks cluttered, I cant stand to see houses that have nick-nacks on every ledge, wall, corner or hole. Not everyone likes 'minimalistic' but from a selling perspective Id have a go, it makes your house look bigger if nothing else! Also, if you have a garden, plants a few flowers and put a hanging basket up, especially as its spring and everything is blossoming!

Good luck!

bylromarha

missk_ensington wrote:

Also, if you have a garden, plants a few flowers and put a hanging basket up, especially as its spring and everything is blossoming!

Good luck!

Can't agree about the hanging baskets...they put me off a house before I even walked through the front door. Gave me the impression the house was twee and was hard to shake that first impression once it became stuck.

dander

I think Bylromarha has hit on a point there. We all have different tastes. The house I bought had been so decluttered it was scary - all you could think as you went around was "how can these people live like this?" They'd obviously taken all the advice and painted the house in neutral colours, but I still walked around thinking it needed complete redecoration to tie it in with my tastes - but I was looking for a doer-upper so it kind of did the trick!

It just seems such a waste to paint a room, which the new buyers will repaint themselves anyway in a few months!

Red_Elle

Just have to echo the comments about quiet buyers. We had about 10 viewings and everyone said lots of nice things - they even made offers.
The one who is buying it was so quiet it was unbelievable.
Thinking back, the houses we have been tempted to offer on when were looking - we were quiet too. You start to imagine yourself living there and are busy concentrating on that, not talking.

Jay1b

I viewed two houses that were next to each other, they were practically identical. One had a new kitchen and a nicely decorated lounge with a remote control fire and laminate flooring. On first impression i liked the one with the new kitchen, but on the second viewing, i noticed the laminate flooring was cheap (i use to work in Carpetright part-time whilst at uni), this made me look closer, and although everything was very swish. It appeared evident that he had 'decorated to sell', and therefore would of done it as cheaply as possible. The other house, not only slightly cheaper, was consistent, it had newer internal doors, better artexing, etc.

What i'm saying is that redecorating is great, but it can put people off if it appears cheap or like its been done to sell. What a buyer wants is a property in good condition because the vendors were house proud... not trying to sell.

Jorgan_2

When selling you need to attract the widest possible audience, people who don't have kids may not appreciate the decor of a kids bedroom. By making them neutral, you will appeal to the widest possible audience.

As for quiet buyers, never a truer word said. I've had vendors ringing me because the people who viewed last night 'are going to buy it', speak to the viewer & it turns out they couldn't wait to get out of the place, they hated it that much & were trying to be polite to the owner.