What to do to your house to sell it?

teb_2

we're a bit in limbo land at the moment and we want to move but we dont know if we can (financially). there are things that need doing to the house but we dont know what to do and what to leave. if we were staying put then obviously we'd do it all but we dont want to spend loads in case we do end up moving. (ex council house, ceiling limit, not brilliant area).

so keeping that in mind, can you help us by saying what should be done?

we did get an estate agent round (there was only one in the area who would come out free, the rest would only come out if we were definately putting the place on the market within 3 months). he was ok but he was dead vague about certain things and never gave me a straight answer about anything really.

so what needs done:

rooms decorated - we know we need to do this as the decor got a bit tatty when my neice stayed with us, lol.

the upstairs doors had been replaced with basic pine panel doors but the downstairs doors are still the same old basic sapele doors. do we need to change them to match the upstairs pine panel doors? the pine doors are cheap enough but all the downstairs frames would need altered as they are old imperial measurements so new frames required to fit the cheapo doors.

kitchen units are ok i think, if we were staying we would replace but i think we could just replace the worktops?

stair bannister - we took this off to get a big bed upstairs. we were going to put up a spindle type bannister if we stayed. can we just put up a ranch style as it would be much cheaper?

will it make much difference in what we would get for our house if all these bits were just done or if they were done really nicely, if you get me? (I dont mean the standard of the work done, i mean the quality, like the difference between a ranch bannister and a spindle one.)

all the skirtings and door frames etc are stained wood. they are all chipped now and need redoing. if we stain them again they will go quite dark, we could paint them white but people round our way go more for wood than paint. ( one couple didn't buy the neighbours place because they would have had to replace or strip all the wood). paint would be much easier and we could fill and sand dodgy bits and they would cover better with paint but woodstain is more wanted here.

boiler is in a stupid place (:o it seemed like a good idea at the time) its in a cupboard in the hall next to the kitchen and the big ugly flue stretches across the kitchen ceiling at the end wall. do we just box the flue in or move the boiler into the kitchen? there is an external wall it could go on. (we had intended if we were staying to build a very small extension so we could get a utility room and the boiler was going in there eventually.)

cant think of more right now but please chuck your opinions and ideas my way?

seven-day-weekend

I personally wouldn't do too much. Make sure the decor is fresh and do it in neutral colours.

As for the downstairs doors, you can make them look panelled with a bit of moulding and DIY.

I would box the boiler flue in, moving it will need a CORGI engineer and will cost money.

Bannister - ranch style I would think would do.

keatergreyhound

We just sold an ex council house that sounds the same as yours.
In my opinion the thing that sells a lot of these houses is price.
Our house needed quite a bit doing to it. Same issue as yours with the boiler. Our house was in a council estate and all the houses were basically the same so anyone viewing the houses knew they were basically the same layout inside. Yes the decoarating may have benn different, we put in a new bathroom.
Your right about the ceiling price as well. How are houses selling where you are. We sold ours in 2 days for the full asking price. We pitched in £1000 lower than most on the estate with the pretence that it needed work doing to it.
These sort of houses appeal to FTB so its often price that talks.
Ive only ever sold one house but like I said ours sound the same. Maybe talk to te agent and ask if we marketed it today whats it worth and then if we did this work?
When we asked that question the anser was the same, there was no point in us doing any more to the house. Im not expert, havent even posted on the site before but am just sharing my experiences with you. Also bills such as council tax and likely to be low in your area, point that out to people when they come round.
Good luck
Weve just brought a house that needs doing up and its great fun. It might add to yuor houses appeal to your buyers you never know!

tranquil_2

Echoing what's been said above. When our house was valued, we were advised by the estate agent not to do anything. His feeling was that it made no difference to the price, but might make a difference to how fast you sell.
We did end up neutralising the kitchen (it was red), buying new throws and rugs for the sitting room and having a big declutter, basic freshening up. The price reflected that it needed work doing (we asked for £5,000 less than similar properties in our road - but it would have cost us that to have done the work that needed doing). We sold within the week to the first people who viewed it.

You can always try putting it on the market and seeing what feedback you get.

michjoe

I wouldn't do anything much. Our house is on the market and yes we have done the 'house doctoring' thing, we just brightened the paintwork up etc. It does need a new bathroom and we would have it done if we were planning on staying but the chances are whoever buys it will probably rip it out and have it done to there own taste. We had a viewer last Sunday who said he liked the house but he wasn't keen on the electric oven and hob (so we rushed out and bought a top of the range gas oven - I think not):rotfl:

leftieM

I personally think giving a place a good spring clean goes a long way.

littlejaffa

i've seen houses recently where the owner had bought wallpaper to decorate and the agent told them not to bother as it wouldn't make any difference, i can honestly say as a viewer - it would have!

also when we sold our place we stripped the lliving room walls, papered with linning paper (about £2 a roll) and painted that, it looked so good the couple who bought our house said the living room decor was what sold them the house....if you have the time i'd cost about £40 a room, and can make thousands of difference to an offer.

People tend to think if the house is generally well kept, it will be structurally well kept, no bigger probs (damp, electrics etc) and it gives them confidence to bid/put higher bid.
But i wouldn't break the bank, a good clean can make a huge difference and remember also of viewers won't notice the tiny details you do living with it everyday (chips in skirting etc).

good luck xx

chant1l

Whenever I am selling, I tend to continuously upgrade bits. Cleaning always helps, decorating is very cheap, quick and always helps, next I would probably pop down B&Q and get some cheap replacement kitchen doors, handles from argos (dimpled 9.99 for 10). Worktop is slightly trickier as you have to swap about the sink and therefore probably the taps.
And then more cleaning. It will sell, as long as it is not overpriced.

frivolous_fay

littlejaffa wrote:

also when we sold our place we stripped the lliving room walls, papered with linning paper (about £2 a roll) and painted that

Decorating and house-selling newbie here... what's the significance of the lining paper?

Our flat needs decorating (terracotta lounge. not really neutral...)

ginger_nuts

frivolous_fay wrote:

Decorating and house-selling newbie here... what's the significance of the lining paper?

Our flat needs decorating (terracotta lounge. not really neutral...)

Lining paper can be painted ,it makes the walls look more like plastered walls rather than papered walls .
If you are selling and the buyer doesn't like the colour it can be easily repainted .
There are different grades off lining paper ,ranging from 800 to 1400 .I use 1400 .Lining paper is usually hung horizontally .It is cheaper than normal wall paper but you need to paint it when it dries ,but well worth it .

peterg1965

It may sound a little naff, but watch a couple of the 'House Doctor' programmes on TV, usually repeated constantly on SKY. That will give you a few good tips, basic advice is fresh neutral colours and declutter.