Refurbish or not before selling?

agrinnall

It is a difficult decision at the moment. It's doubtful if you would fully recoup the cost but if the bathroom isn't reasonably attractive then you will lose buyers who don't want to do it themselves. In the current market getting as many people interested as possible probably counts for more than losing out a bit on the refurbishment cost.

However, you say you want to move before you retire in 16/17 years. How long is it going to be before you'll think about moving? If it's more than a couple of years then the market may have changed and you could put it off to see how things are then. And if it's going to be 10 years then it'll probably need doing again.

Of course, if you'd rather have a new bathroom while you're living there then that's the best reason for getting one.

daisiegg

We are buying a house at the moment, and were shocked when a house 2 doors down sold for 20k more than we are paying for our house. The reason we were shocked is our house has 5 bedrooms and a conservatory, the other house has 4 bedrooms and no conservatory so we couldn't see why it would sell for more.

When we casually inquired as to the reason, we were told it's because that house has a new kitchen and new bathroom (ours has the original kitchen and bathroom that are 15 years old).

Don't underestimate the difference it can make!

When we were house hunting we passed over a house I really loved because the bathroom was in a terrible state and my partner didn't want to buy a house and then immediately pay out another few grand on a new bathroom.

Amanita_2

Personally I'd do it with a basic white suite- if it is as bad as you make out you would probably enjoy the new bathroom yourself esp if the house takes a while to sell and you are in no hurry.

Owain_Moneysaver

A bathroom that is new now will not be new in 16-17 years time, if that is when you are planning to sell.

And why is it a biohazard anyway, you don't need a new bathroom you need a .

meerkat2007

Wow. Well, first of all, thanks to everyone for your input. I really appreciate all your thoughts and experiences on the matter.

I'm not looking to sell now. The high-level plan I have is that on the day I retire, in 16/17 years' time, I will be in a bungalow: I'm thinking for the long term, in case I get to a point where I can't manage stairs - it will be easier to be all on ground level, and I can't see myself living in a flat.

Therefore, between now and then, maybe at the mid-point, it all depends on how the finances go, I'll be looking to put the house on the market. I have a few financial issues to resolve over the next couple of years or so, but once they're out of the way, I can save a substantial (that's my definition of substantial, by the way) chunk of cash each month.

The question is then, do I spend some of it on the house, in the hope of recouping it via a higher selling price, or just make the house presentable enough, with a lower selling price, for someone who wants to take on a project they can model to their own taste.

It's all going to happen in a few years' time, at which point the market might be very different from how it is now.

As for it being a biohazard ... ok, I might have exaggerated slightly. The relative who used to live here had Alzheimer's, and household maintenance rather fell by the wayside. It needs things like the grout on the tiles re-doing, and the seal round the bath taking off and being made good. And it's carpeted, so it really needs new flooring, but I wouldn't want to spend money on just doing the flooring if the layout changes. I guess I don't want to end up paying for things twice - I'd rather save and get the whole thing done in one go.

Thanks all for helping me to focus on this. I was recently diagnosed with depression, so making decisions has been a bit of a trial of late. I think I'll end up putting a new bathroom in, but nothing very special, just something that will be rather more respectable when the time comes to sell. At that point, I would envisage the "new" bathroom being maybe a couple of years old.

poppysarah

If you put in a good quality suite rather than the cheapest one then maybe...
But wait til nearer the time if you're not sure unless you'd like a new bathroom...

meerkat2007

It's going to be a while yet. I clearly need to think this through properly, but I do have plenty of time, and the viewpoints expressed here will help considerably. With only my salary to fund any of this, it's all going to take some time to sort out.

Thanks again.

GavB79

So it's a biohazard and a total disgrace, yet you are happy to live that way for another 8 years? Whatever you do now, the buyers in 8+ years will want to replace it. Spend the money for your own health and standard of living, else you might not make it to retirement!

meerkat2007

GavB79, I'm not happy to live with the bathroom, but I have no choice, due to lack of available funds for any major work. I'm getting it cleaned up as best I can, and I'm going to see about doing the grout and the bath seal when I'm on leave in a few weeks' time. As soon as I can start saving properly, I will be doing, and when I have enough saved, I'll be making real decisions then. When you live on your own, with rising living costs and other people's debts to sort out, your options are limited.

And I'm not going into the debt thing, because that's getting way off topic. My situation is what it is, I'm trying to deal with it the best way I know how, and I'm just trying to avoid making stupid mistakes in the future.

Owain_Moneysaver

meerkat2007 wrote: »

It needs things like the grout on the tiles re-doing, and the seal round the bath taking off and being made good.

Which you could probably do yourself. Invetsing a few quid in a Fugenboy is worth while.

meerkat2007 wrote: »

And it's carpeted, so it really needs new flooring, but I wouldn't want to spend money on just doing the flooring if the layout changes. I guess I don't want to end up paying for things twice - I'd rather save and get the whole thing done in one go.

Bathroom vinyl starts at under £13 a sq metre at carpetright, and you could probably fit it yourself, especially if you use the old carpet as a template.

New shower curtain, mirror and cabinet, and some nice colourful towels, and you'll have a room that's much more cheerful and pleasant.

No reason why total outlay should be more than £100.