Is it worth doing work to a house you plan to sell?

[Deleted User]

My husband is retiring next year and we are going to move. If we were staying in this house (a 3 bedroom semi) it would definitely be time for a new kitchen, new carpet, decorating throughout, etc. It's clean and light & airy, with a large garden, and not old fashioned, but looking a bit tired these days and in need of some money to be spent on it.

The question is - do we spend some money refurbishing it (e.g. new kitchen doors & worktops; new carpet throughout; a more modern gas fire) or do we sell it as a "doer-upper?"

We had an estate agent around for advice and he said not to do anything as developers are always looking for house to "gut". However, a friend of ours, who has bought and sold property for 30 years said that estate agents always have a list of property developers / friends who they tip off when they are instructed on a property in need of development (sounds shady but he reckons these developers give the EAs a "backhander" - no idea if this is true??), and if we spend a bit (it would be around £5,000) and, at least make it look a bit more modern, we may have more than one type of buyer who would be interested (and not just developers, who will want it cheap) and therefore we would be more liable to get a better price. But would this just be a complete waste of money?

So now - we just don't know what to do. Does anyone have experience of this dilemma and how did you work out what to do?

ACG

I bought a house for £86k, spent £11k on it and sold it for £155k. I actually bought the house to live in but it shows what you can do.

First thing to work out is if you really do need to spend £5k? You are buying a kitchen to sell the house, that usually means white gloss doors from a local kitchen shop rather than top quality. Decorating, try wallpaper shops rather than B&Q for example.

Get it looking smart on a budget.

Once you have it priced up, will the cost increase the value by the same amount or more?

If so, is it worth it to you?

Then you have your answer.

Hoploz

Estate agents always say not to do work to sell. I don't know why - often it would make their job easier if things were done rather than left, but they always say it!

If it's a bit dated it's no bad thing. Main thing families will want is for it to be liveable-with for the moment. People like the idea that they might add some value and also they get to choose their own fittings, to their taste. People are generally able to face jobs if they can be tackled one at a time.

If it needs gutting that's different, but it sounds like it's well-maintained and clean, but would want cosmetic improvements. This isn't a 'Developer' job. Your market is open.

jessex1990

I would just DIY the painting. I wouldn't bother with the kitchen or carpets unless they were truly awful/unsalvagble with a carpet shampooer

Grenage

Doing the house yup as you suggest might make finding a buyer quicker, but it won't do much to the value. I bought a house for 140 and sold for a lot more after 4 years and a lot of tarting up; the markets we responsible for the return, and in hindsight I don't know if I'd bother again.

It did at least sell very quickly.

seven-day-weekend

I would not want to pay for someone else's updated kitchen, I'd rather have a dated one and replace it to my taste.

So unless it is unusable, I wouldn't bother. Ditto carpets.

Red-Squirrel_2

I think it can often be worth doing a bit of 'toffeeing up' to sell, but not usually anything really major. I'd aim to give buyers the impression that the kitchen, bathroom etc. weren't so new they'd feel bad ripping them out, but not so old and decrepit that they couldn't happily live with them for a few years if they needed to.

Stuff like a bit of fresh paint (its really easy to get used to scuffed and grubby bits when you're living somewhere, but not having any will make the whole place look brighter and fresher), fixing anything obviously broken, doing the odd jobs you've been putting off, maybe swapping old fashioned curtains, cushions, ornaments, lamps, rugs etc. for not too expensive but more modern and newer looking ones can work wonders, and of course give your carpets a good clean with a rug doctor or similar.

barbiedoll

A 3-bed semi is a family home, so I definitely wouldn't bother replacing carpets, most parents seem to prefer laminate or wood flooring as it's easier to clean.

"Tired" decor doesn't seem to put buyers off, but if your paintwork etc is a bit tatty then maybe freshen it up a little? You won't have to spend £££, get a local handyman in for a couple of days to tart it up if you can't (or don't want to) do it yourself.

As others have said, a new kitchen probably won't pay for itself with an increased sale price, but do make sure that cupboard doors hang straight, that all handles/ knobs are intact (you can replace these for a few quid) and repair any obvious defects. A dated kitchen wouldn't bother me, but missing or broken cupboard doors would!

Your house being clean, tidy and "liveable" will get buyers through the door but make sure that the EA gets good pictures, especially of your garden. A large outdoor space is very attractive to families, they want room for trampolines, swing sets, paddling pools and so on.

Good luck with your move, let us know how you get on!

PhilE

Corona wrote: »

My husband is retiring next year and we are going to move. If we were staying in this house (a 3 bedroom semi) it would definitely be time for a new kitchen, new carpet, decorating throughout, etc. It's clean and light & airy, with a large garden, and not old fashioned, but looking a bit tired these days and in need of some money to be spent on it.

The question is - do we spend some money refurbishing it (e.g. new kitchen doors & worktops; new carpet throughout; a more modern gas fire) or do we sell it as a "doer-upper?"

We had an estate agent around for advice and he said not to do anything as developers are always looking for house to "gut". However, a friend of ours, who has bought and sold property for 30 years said that estate agents always have a list of property developers / friends who they tip off when they are instructed on a property in need of development (sounds shady but he reckons these developers give the EAs a "backhander" - no idea if this is true??), and if we spend a bit (it would be around £5,000) and, at least make it look a bit more modern, we may have more than one type of buyer who would be interested (and not just developers, who will want it cheap) and therefore we would be more liable to get a better price. But would this just be a complete waste of money?

So now - we just don't know what to do. Does anyone have experience of this dilemma and how did you work out what to do?

Some buyers prefer to do as little as possible when they move in, others want to gut it. I'd just get it clean and presentable, maybe a bit of paint where needed. No need to do any major work.

Poppy9

Depends on who your target buyers are. Younger, first time buyers not keen on major work and like shiny new builds, except that they lack space/plot.

Look at what houses by you have sold for and what condition they are in. A well presented ready to move into house will sell more quickly if on a good plot/location.

So maximise your assets. Do you have a large garden, is it south facing. Paint fences, clean patio get your guttering and windows cleaned.

I would decorate but keep it neutral. Curtains and bedding can be bought cheap now and you should recoup the expense. You are not looking for long term quality but new fresh curtains and bedding will look better.

Most of all though declutter to make home look spacious - not to the point that someone asks if anyone lives here (Gasman asked a friend this when servicing his boiler. He had lived there 30+ years)

Bonniepurple

I'm probably your target market - married couple, 2 primary school aged kids. When we were looking at houses, we ended up with a choice between an immaculate property done in old fashioned decor (elderly couple) or one which hadn't been decorated since the 1990s (at a guess!), with 70s carpets. We went for the second. The price reflected the need to modernise, but it met our key criteria- habitable. The first property was expensive to reflect the standard- but it was "elderly couple live here" rather than "family home which needs updating when the kids have stopped dropping things"!
In other words, unless it's falling apart, don't worry.