Selling house of late Dad

littleredhen

My dad died in July this year. We put his house on the market a couple of months ago but.....
It stinks of pipe smoke
We were told by agent not to empty house so it still has soft furnishing in
There are plenty of properties for sale, bad time of year etc
But we have only had four viewings and each one says too much to do
We thought we might strip place, give it a lick of paint, put in a new kitchen as cheap as possible but my thoughts are there are too many properties to choose from and market is slow
Any advise anyone?

I_have_spoken

Any advise anyone?

Professional deep clean so peeps aren't hit with smell on opening the door

Magnolia emulsion over swirly, old fashioned wallpaper

Remove stuff that shouts 'probate sale'.

Temporarily 'stage' some items from your own home it to make it look more modern

If carpets are worn/truly hideous replace with a neutral berber style.

Don't bother with a cheap kitchen, knock the same amount off the price.

Price to sell.

lurkylurky

Relatives of mine have just had the same problem. They painted the worst rooms and washed the curtains.

The EA valued the house at £122,500 but 2 out of 3 siblings thought it worth more so they put it up at £127,500. After 3 months and only 2 viewings they reduced the price to £124,000. The EA advised them to use plug in air fresheners. The next viewers offered and after some negotiation agreed on £118,000.

Kynthia

The first thing to check is that it's priced realistically for the condition and location as sellers do tend to overvalue their own places.

Then you need to make the property neutral enough that others can imagine living there. Is that currently the case or is the d!cor really loud or old fashioned and full of clutter and out of date furniture? Is it too personalised with lots of photos and nik naks? As the previous poster said, paint any loud wallpaper a neutral colour, declutter, make sure it's clean and cover any old damp patches. If a buyer would have to re-carpet the whole place they may feel that's another expense they may feel they can't meet, so if it's old, worn or very dated then it may be worth putting in something inexpensive.

Also many buyers need to 'feel' right in a property. It's hard for them to love a property that feels unloved and an empty property can feel very empty. Take a look around or ask a friend to come round with you and see what impression they are getting. Is it too personalised, then remove these items and if it feels bare then put up some prints and colourful coordinated cushions and curtains. Make sure the property is still heated so that it's not freezing, and ensure it's cleaned. Air it regularly, Fabreeze the place and put in some nice air fresheners so that it gives a better first impression.

I know some people will say the above is unnecessary, but if you aren't getting many viewings and the ones you do aren't getting you offers then you have to do something different.

littleredhen

Thanks everyone
A couple of problems
my sister and I live far away from my late dad's house
Supply seems to outstrip demand in the area
House for sale in area - some are lovely some are in a state but bottom line is as above -too many houses on market
We would have to strip soft furnishings and carpets to get rid of smell of smoke
We have taken out all bits and pieces and tried to leave furniture that does it justice but curtains and carpets obviously smell so if we took them out then we would need to strip it bare I think

elona

How about Fabreze on curtains and a carpet washer on hire?

I_have_spoken

Dispose of at auction?

OK, so executor of the estate will have to show they got best value but are the beneficiaries clamouring for every last penny?

dotchas

We had to sell MILs house which had a lovely orange nicotine layer in every room. We painted every room neutral and replaced carpets with cheap but reasonably hard wearing berber style carpets. Painted the brown flowery tiles in the kitchen with white tile paint. Painted the pine ceiling in the bathroom white. Also accessorised the blue bathroom suite with blue dolphin accessories to funk it up a bit. I think the main thing is to make buyers think they can move in and do things up as and when they can. Our buyers had a baby at the crawling stage so they new carpets definitely swung the deal. They actually chose our (3 bed) house over a 4 bed that needed a bit more work.