tarting your house up to sell

jockettuk

my house is going on the market next week after a buyer who said do nothing as he was going to do this and that to the house pulled out. My living room and my bedroom had the paper already stripped so this is being doing now. i will clean the carpets and have been decluttering. but i cant afford to pay for new carpets throughout the house so ive decided to tell the estate agent that if i get a reasonbable offer then i will knock off another £1000 for they buyers to help with carpets. i dont want to put down cheap nasty carpets as this can be a waste of money. We live in a nice area and i have a hugggggeeeee garden which will either appeal to some or not.. I need to get a fair price as i have to share the profit with my ex hubbby so i want a nice house but cant afford lots of money so will clean and tidy the best i can.

lessonlearned

Sandydog & Aloseib are both absolutely right - if a house really needs updating with something as substantial as windows or worn out flooring then quick cover ups are not the answer.

A cheap & cheerful fireside rug is not going to hide worn out carpets and a quick coat of paint will do not hide rotten window frames.

I agree quick cover ups are no substitute for good quality repairs and maintenance. When major works are required it is better to be realistic about what's really needed. If you can't face it or afford it, then leave the hassle and expense to someone else.

In such cases a cheap cover up will only suggest to the buyer that you've something to hide.

For the record - In Estate Agent speak - "tired" means superficial changes ie paint chips on skirting boards and grubby walls, dated furniture and accessories. In this case a new paint job and a good spring clean and declutter is often all that's necessary. (The buyer is not buying your furniture or knick-knacks). This will cost little except time and effort. You can keep paint costs down by sticking to a basic colour theme throughout.

New kitchens/bathrooms/flooring etc strictly come under the title of "refurbishment". These cost money unless you are a competent DIYer.
and are probably best left alone. Just give everything a thorough clean so that they look as presentable as possible - a bottle of bleach works wonders in bathrooms and kitchens.

Windows, electrics, plumbing, central heating systems, new boilers and gas fires strictly fall into the category of essential repairs and maintenance (along with the really expensive stuff such as roofs, fascia boards and guttering, damp proofing etc).

It is these items which are usually the real deal breakers and no amount of "tarting" is goind to hide what really needs to be done. An inexperienced buyer wearing rose tinted spectacles might not notice anything is wrong but the survey will certainly pick it up.

How much you need or want to do is largely irrelevant - all houses eventually sell. It's just a question of how low you are prepared to go with your price.

Good luck and "happy nesting".

ceegee

Gosh, thanks everyone for so many thoughts and "views"!

The house itself is structurally as solid as a rock, built in about 1930 with solid walls, timber floors which again are sound. Replacement windows with double glazing done about 10 years ago, the outside walls re-rendered and painted about 4 years ago. Roof re-done, gas central heating installed, all pipework and electrics done about 20 years ago.

The house is semi-detached with a large garden (about 120' long). In the catchment area for the top primary schools in the County and one of the best secondary schools. Also has excellent access for the M4 and M5.

I fell in love with it at first sight, even as an old wreck. There are only 2 other sets of semis on the road like it and the last one to change hands was about 18 years ago, so my guess of a price of about £220,000 was my best attempt.

I talked to a local estate agent yesterday and he said it was 50/50 about tarting it up to sell. He said that a lot of people nowadays know how to refurbish a house. But I don't think refurbishment is required. Having read what people have written, it seems that it would be better classed as "cosmetic".......some carpentry under the stairs and new doors and work surfaces for the kitchen. Plus boxing/channelling of pipes and cables around the boiler. Other than that, just redecorating some rooms, a good old clean up of the carpets and keeping it generally clean and tidy I suppose.

I've seen so many programmes about doing houses up that I was beginning to feel that my house would be stuck on the market for years because it wasn't "Anne Maurice perfect"! But having read what everyone has said and having a good think about it all, it seems that the jobs that need doing aren't that daunting really.

Thanks so much to everyone for the input, it really has helped! I shall go away and mull it all over now.:) :coffee: :hello:


PS I wanted to thank everyone individually, but someone nicked the "thanks" thing!

BobProperty

lessonlearned wrote:

I've been selling houses for 15 years now and I've noticed a real change in buyer's attitudes to how a property is presented. Buyers have become a very fussy lot!!!

If they have become "very fussy" as opposed to buying anything on the market, doesn't that indicate that the market is slowing down?

lessonlearned wrote:

My advice is to be honest with yourself about the condition of your property. Pretend you are a buyer seeing it for the first time. How does it really look?

If you can't do this get a trusted friend to do it and be honest with you. There may be things they see as really needing fixing which you think buyers may live with.

Jorgan_2

There is tarting up & there is tarting up. If you do any updating to the property, make sure the work that is done is quality. It needn't cost a fortune either. Bear in mind that Home Information Packs will be in use in 2-3 years time and any lower quality work will be more obvious then ever to potential buyers. I'm with lessonlearned, buyers are becoming a lot fussier on the condition of property they buy. If a property needs updating they are looking to pay a lot less for it than one in good condition.

sandydog_2

But how much less, Jorgan? If I'm expecting at least 100k for a house that would go for 118-120k in perfect condition, is that too much to ask? We've done the roof, the GCH and the DG. What might need doing is the damp proofing, which the previous owners did in 91, and it has a 30 year guarantee (provided nobody's gone bust). Oh, and the front room floor needs replacing or the support beams need repairing. Other than that, it's just cosmetic and minor repairs, unless of course they want a new kitchen.

The house next door, which had part DG, needed it's GCH replacing, and had a structural problem with the wall between itself and the other neighbours only went for 87.5K.

So any opinions on if I'm expecting too much?!

Poppy9

From what you say if you get the floor done then you should expect nearly the full £118k. Huge plus points having CH and Roof replaced as these are big jobs not just in terms of cost but in mess and disruption. If you are going to spend money on property before you move I would do the floor so that the house truely is stucturely sound. With regard to your kitchen new work tops are cheap and easy to replace. If you have wooden cabinet doors you could clean them up and give a paint wash to brighten.

sandydog_2

Thanks for the reply, Poppy. My trouble is that I've tried to get builders in many times, and have had no luck, so I really cannot be bothered with the hassle of it all.

The damp was picked up in the remortgaging survey, and I've checked the guarantee still stands, but it would involve getting everything replastered. That's going to make the place look even more messy. It may also have a bearing on the floor situation.

The kitchen doesn't have many cabinets - it's very small! I think someone might want to completely redo it at some point.

Cheers.

Jorgan_2

Sandydog, in my experience, people will be looking to pay £15-20k less on a property that is worth £120k in good condition so your expectation of getting £100k is about right. But why 'give' someone £15k of your money? A new kitchen needn't cost the earth, thats if you need a complete new kitchen, work top, replacement doors etc. It might cost you £2-5k to get your property in good condition & you can sell it for £10-15k more. I know what I would do.

sandydog_2

Thanks Jorgan.

Trouble is it would take alot of time and effort, and we are not DIYers! So at a push the ball would probably not start rolling for a couple of months with regards to builders. Then we'd have to redecorate 90% of the house, and that is something I can't abide! This house needs a builder living in it, really.

I just can't be doing with it all, I've got 4 year old twins and I don't want the hassle of decorating here and then decorating my new house. I really do appreciate what you're saying, it makes sense, but if I tried to make decent it would look rubbish.

Just found out I've got a viewer on Thursday so wish me luck!