How do I sell up & move!?

DebtKiller

BevS97 wrote:

I wouldn't spend a lot on doing it up, you can make a massive difference just tidying it up, repaint, nice plants etc. If you watch the House Doctor she never ever puts in kitchens/windows/bathrooms etc, but she turns the houses around with smaller things, sometimes new carpets, but mostly paint and a huge tidy up. She also recommends spending no more than 1% of the asking price, so that would be £1000 which seems reasonable (if you can find it).

As I say, it's fairly well painted etc now, just the kitchen & back garden (fences) let it down, hence my feelings about getting money together to tackle them. I don't think I could scrabble together £1000, to be honest, not without borrowing off someone (spare a tenner, guv'nor?).

I think my first step has to be the estate agent, and I'll move on from there.

Thanks to everyone who has posted with help so far!!

DebtKiller

lynzpower wrote:

Bear in mind HIPS come in in Summer 06, which means you have to pay upfront for surveys and so forth for your property to sell it. Not finalised as yet I dont thinkbut this will be money you will have to find before you can put the house on the market. YOu might want to get it on for the summer rush

Just checked the website and this is due for Summer 2007, so thankfully there is a little leeway!

TerryB_3

DebtKiller wrote:

I think my first step has to be the estate agent, and I'll move on from there.

A decent estate agent can really help you prioritise the improvements to focus on. Since the House Doctor isn't coming round to help you decide how to improve the saleability, an Estate Agent should be able to help you.

Since you might be renting when you move, would you consider keeping the property, and renting it out? If property prices aren't going down in your area , it might be worthwhile.

Get a couple of estate agents around. Be reasonably upfront with them, and discuss what options etc. Although I wouldn't discuss selling and renting with the same estate agent. They will probably just try to convince you to sell.

BTW: I always assume the agent is working for the buyer, even though the seller pays him.

DebtKiller

TerryB wrote:

A decent estate agent can really help you prioritise the improvements to focus on. Since the House Doctor isn't coming round to help you decide how to improve the saleability, an Estate Agent should be able to help you.

Since you might be renting when you move, would you consider keeping the property, and renting it out? If property prices aren't going down in your area , it might be worthwhile.

Get a couple of estate agents around. Be reasonably upfront with them, and discuss what options etc. Although I wouldn't discuss selling and renting with the same estate agent. They will probably just try to convince you to sell.

BTW: I always assume the agent is working for the buyer, even though the seller pays him.

I don't think I could afford to try and rent out my place and rent somewhere myself, TBH. I think it would be better to try and clear my debt mountain!

Good points about the estate agents, though. I will get in touch with a couple and see what happens!!

Emmzi

Last time I moved I painted kitchen units myself for about £50. Looked gorgeus!

BevS97_2

My point about the House Doctor was just that if she recommends no more than 1% (ie £1000) then you don't want to be spending £1000s on a new kitchen.

nearlyrich

If I was buying a house I would rather buy it for a slightly lower price and put my choice of kitchen in, it is a shame to take out a new but cheap kitchen if the buyer wants something else....

dippy-dora_2

Do you really need to sell with an estate agent?
i didn't and must have saved a fortune doing it myself, although my case was a little different as I sold mine to a property company.

Re your kitchen, it is amazing what paint can do, and it would look fresh. You could spend money on a new kitchen and it might not be what a prospective buyer wanted so would then be a false economy. As long as you have cupboards and benches that are clean, and not totally falling to bits you could get away with it.

The back yard, you say you need fences, what have you got their now?
Could they not be patched up and painted and make the actual yard more attractive to distract the eye?

When you go to look at a property you, well it might just be, but you don't take everything in anyway and if it looks good on the surface then you could blag a higher selling price.

Good luck with it anyway

dippy-dora_2

Re renting out property, you would need to check your lease, it's not always allowed.

halloweenqueen_2

If you really need a new kitchen try homebase they have lots on offer at the moment and some are very reasonable - I suppose it depends on how many units you would need.