Help me sell my house

lessonlearned

Hi fatso

You are not going to like this but I'm speaking here as a retired professional with over 30 years experience selling houses and dressing show homes.

I'm in full agreement with Phoebe here. Yes the photos are dire and you need to take your EA to task however, you are not helping yourself. Your house looks grim.

And just as Phoebe says - it falls between two stools, it's neither a fixer upper nor ready to move in to.

If its not priced as a fixer upper then you need to bring it up to a standard that people are happy enough to move into. As it stands at the moment all viewers can see when they look at your house is £££££ signs for a refurb.

And …… before you complain that you have no money - most of the changes required cost either nothing or very little money.

I'm not going to discuss prices and compare them to the north (I'm in Derbyshire) but will say this - half a million pounds is a serious amount of money - wherever you live and your house does not look like a half million pound house.

Even in the south, where prices are high, if you want to sell your house for that kind of money you simply have to up your game.

The state of your house and garden just won't do.

I suggest you go and visit a couple of show houses and compare and contrast.

Then roll your sleeves up and get stuck in.

A thorough clean up of both house and garden. That cooker hood is a disgrace……Ouch!!! I'm sorry to be so blunt but there you are.

Then get out the paint brushes and rollers and give it a lift. Then dress the place with a few well chosen accessories, flowers and plants.

You say you have no money but you have to speculate to accumulate. £1k would work miracles on that house. Even £100 would see an improvement.

Re the kitchen units - measure the doors - they look like standard sizes and then pay visit to B&Q for some replacement doors.

I'm just in the process of doing the same thing. They have a great range of doors and I've just priced some up for a kitchen that is a similar size to yours. The doors came in at around £250, plus about £50 for new handles. You don't need to be a joiner to fit new doors - it's a simple diy job, all your need is a spirit level and a decent screwdriver.

You have two options - invest some time, effort and money into your house so you can market it as a family home that is ready to move into or - slash the price and sell it as a fixer upper. A developer would want at least £50K off that price.

For the sake of a month's work and £1k budget you could earn yourself at least £25K, possibly more.

fatso80

Thank you Worrywort


Thanks everyone for your advice.


SternMusik, please could you now remove the link


many thanks

hanfrangipane

Hi fatso,

Firstly, well done for posting on here and taking the previous comments well! Whilst I agree in principle with most of the comments made I think that a few people could learn a little tact in the way that they convey their points....

I think time2deal's posts had some good ideas.

For me, the main reason that I wouldn't click through to this property is that the main photo od the front just feels a little flat. I think on a brighter day (the weather seems to be getting better, touch wood!), a quick weed out of the flowerbed area and perhaps a few daffodils/flower pot outside the front would make a world of difference and just make it seem that little more inviting. If you have time then a lick ofpaint on the garage door/dark beams could be beneficial

Personally, I wouldn't bother going to the expense of the Kitchen doors replacing. Likelihood is, anyone who wants to modernise this place is going to want to re-do the entire kitchen anyway and whatever you choose wouldn't be to their taste necessarily. For me, the photo doesn't give much away about the layout of the Kitchen, I'd want to see another photo. To dress this room a little more I would just add a few homely touches as have been mentioned - fruit bowl, flowers in window, new kitchen towel over the oven handle etc. Just looks a bit bare and attention is then drawn to the negatives ie bit dated. Padding it out with a few nik naks would perhaps persuade someone that it's livable.


The bedroom to me is just a bit plain, there's no colour in there and looks a little hotel room like. Get some cheap plain bedding and a few cushions and a runner as has already been suggested and it would transform the look of it. All cheap things from IKEA or TKMaxx etc that you could take with you when you move. If you could push to it maybe a rug or some curtains to complement the colour you choose. Again, IKEA do rubs and curtains <£10-15 each

Same with the bathroom - there's no colour there. A coloured bathmat, same colour towel over the side of bath or sink.

In the lounge, the sofas look worn admittedly. Not sure how they'd look with a throw over and a couple of cushions? Again, a rug would break up the space a little and make it a bit more homely. I don't think the dining area looks really cramped to be honest but for this photo you could mayb pull the sofas forward a little and give the table a bit more space to show of the area more.

Definitely get a photo of the conservatory in there

Garden wise, there's no denying that it's going to need some work from someone but I think it's a decent size. A few flowers and a bit of a tidy at the back, clean the patio and put some patio furniture out there if you have any or can borrow some?

As has been mentioned, it's in between a fixer-upper and ready to move in to. What you need to do is aid people's imagination and help them think that with all their bits in and a bit of tittivating it could look lovely just as it is, then they can redo kitchen etc in time.

I'm a FTB and I wouldn't discount this house (other than price! I'm in the North so have no concept of prices in your area). I'm very fussy about kitchens and would likely want to put my own in anyway, so a dated one is my cup of tea as I could do my own thing! Garden too - anyone can put a bit of elbow grease in and get that up to scratch.

Get yourself on pinterest and look at some interior design ideas then get down to some cheap home stores and recreate that look where you can - Wilkinson's is great for stocking 'trendy' home items at a fraction of the cost.

Keep your spirits up - it may look a little unloved but if you've been struggling financially I'm guessing you've not had the cash to keep it how you'd like it. At the end of the day it's your family home and it certainly isn't a disgrace as some people would have you believe!

Good luck with the sale, hope everyting works out for you

fatso80

Thank you hanfrangipane.


I will definitely take the advice on board. I will be out in the garden this weekend as the weather is better now. I know its not an excuse, but we genuinely haven't had the opportunity to get out there and do it since the bad weather started.


I have already weeded the front and will get myself to Lidls for some cheap plants to put by the door, my Mum will no doubt make me a hanging basket or two.


Thanks again!!

carefullycautious

I wish estate agents would employ someone who could give an honest appraisal before taking photos that put people off.

It looks as if no woman lives in your home. The reason I say this is that if I knew that photos were going to be taken I would plump the cushions on the sofa, put some flowers in vases etc. get out into the garden remove the goal posts and inject some colour. I would brightly paint the shed also.

There are pound shops that have spring bulbs, shrubs etc.

As the above poster says you need to dress to impress making your home look homely which need not cost the earth. Flowers would definitely brighten the front as due to the dark wood it does not look very inviting.

I wish you all the very best.

If you are struggling financially ask friends if you can borrow some accessories for photos. I know someone who loves dressing a home on a budget and would be in heaven taking on your home.

SternMusik

fatso80 wrote: »

SternMusik, please could you now remove the link

Done. Good luck with your sale.

mathew_ridley

Hope things go well, my sister was in similar situation but she ended up selling to yellow house sales, i think she could have got a bit more money on the open market but she just wanted a quick sale. Anyway if you have time to wait i would try as many things as possible.