Getting a House Ready for Sale

esmy

We live in a mortgage free large Victorian terrace which is way too big for us now. We want to downsize perhaps in a year or two's time but downsizing around here means a house of the same or even higher value, hence we want to make the most of what we have to get the best possible sale price, preferably without spending a fortune!

We had a complete new roof a couple of years ago, damp proofing was done when we moved in, windows are about 15 years old, doors more recent, so the basic fabric of the building is fine. Bathroom is OK and with redecorating will be good. Apart from general tidying and decorating we're a bit stuck on what's worth spending money on. The kitchen is a bit tired and if we were staying would be replaced, we still have an old fashioned fuse box with wired fuses and more modern houses would have more sockets. The boiler, though 18 years old now, has only needed one repair in its life and works. Can anyone give me any pointers? I've considered getting a survey done on our own house - has anyone done this and was it worth it?

Many thanks

Akahotpot

I would say just freshen walls and floors and price accordingly

Annie35

I'd recommend getting an electrician in about changing the fuse box. An old fuse box screams 'REWIRE!!!!!' at buyers, where as a new fuse box isn't much at all/no hassle to do.

& don't change the kitchen as a buyer will only want their choice anyway.

hazyjo

Bet the electrics would scare buyers more than the thought of putting in a new kitchen (many like to do that if priced right. I rarely like other people's kitchen choices!). If people think it needs a rewire, it may put some off (lots of channelling out of walls meaning the decor doesn't count for much anyway).


People will definitely factor in the cost of a new boiler - whether they replace it straight away is up to them. I would not mention 18 years - just say it's been in for a number of years.


No, never had a survey done on my own house.


Personally, I would just sell as is. You won't ever sell a perfect Victorian home, and any survey will always say the same things 'check electrics as don't meet current regs/standards', 'may be damp in chimney or some other location', 'chimney stacks need attention', 'evidence of woodworm, presume historic - get checked', boiler old, etc etc.

YoungBlueEyes

This is something an EA told me recently. If you aren't going to replace kitchen/bathroom etc, if even they are dated (which he advised against - waste of money), and if you aren't going to redecorate, then do this:

Give the whole house a thorough cleaning. Not just a bit more than your usual hoovering/dusting and removing clutter so the pictures look good. Really CLEAN IT. Imagine there was a gangland shooting in every room. Get a bowl of hot water and sprinkle a bit of washing powder in it and clean ev-er-y-thing. Wash the skirting boards and walls and ceilings. Rent a proper steamer and do your carpets, take the curtains to the laundrette if they won't fit in your washer. And if it's gonna stay for the pics it needs to earn it's keep. Must be useful or beautiful or both. If your carpets are beyond it pull them up. Hire a sander and do your boards. Collect the fine shavings and mix them into some varnish, apply to boards. The colour will all match and it'll be draught proof
Gotta be strict and it'll be worth it.
I'm half way through all this now. It's not the easiest thing I've ever done but it sure will be worth it (fingers crossed). HTH

Rambosmum

Get the fuse box done, declutter, optimise furniture layout and clean, clean, clean!

Davesnave

The fuse box.....with the caveat that it depends what else your electrician finds, because he/she won't sign off a new box if there is something else wrong.

I doubt if it's worth having your own survey. People won't trust it and they often sound worse than things really are! Anyway, hazyjo has already written pretty much what it'll say!

DaftyDuck

As others, I'd consider the fuse box but, like Dave, suspect you might struggle to manage that without other remedial work. Other than that, you aren't in competition with a new Barratt home, and buyers will be able to see beyond the basics. SL, no, I would not change the kitchens, bathroom or carpet... If you can diy paint to a reasonable level, repainting walls might be worth it, nice clean and bright.

Other than that, make sure the house is clean and smells good, and declutter....

[Deleted User]

I will be selling as soon as I have bought another and moved whatever is needed to be moved to clear the last of my `clutter` before I sell

As a potential buyer, I am looking for spotless, anything grubby makes me think fleas and worse
Kitchen and bathroom can be outdated in fact I prefer that, I want to replace with what I want
Garden neatly cut back and not overgrown. What put me off once, only via RM, was the hacked back leylandii, next door and screamed problem

Personally we, now I, started to de-clutter 4 years ago with major de-cluttering 2 years ago I slowed down, then major again from 1 year ago. As well as prepping to sell, I am also prepping to move ie everything in every room, outbuilding and garage is now stuff I will be taking and most is neatly packed in stacked `really useful` boxes, out of sight

I am aware that photos will atract buyers and mentally know what I need to move out. As a buyer, home items certainly do not put me off, unmade beds and dirty dishes do

AdrianC

I'm with the "Hold on a mo..." camp on the fusebox. Also - a buyer may well want to reconfigure electrics to better suit their needs.

Slap a coat of neutral paint around, maybe some relatively inexpensive new carpets, and just catch up on all those "meaning to get round to..." small jobs. When we sold our last place, we'd been trying for YEARS to find the perfect outside light for by the front door, to replace an ancient peeling nasty thing. When we came to sell, we got a £15 Screwfix one - and it made a massive difference.

esmy

AdrianC wrote: »

and just catch up on all those "meaning to get round to..." small jobs. When we sold our last place, we'd been trying for YEARS to find the perfect outside light for by the front door, to replace an ancient peeling nasty thing. When we came to sell, we got a £15 Screwfix one - and it made a massive difference.

Haha there's plenty of those sort of jobs to keep us going! I suppose in everyone's house there are things you live with happily for years that could do with addressing but I'm looking at things with new eyes at the moment.

Interesting views re replacing the fuse box. We might decide not to do anything about that as although we've had no issues with the electrics we've had no work done either so we could uncover other major work and I'd want to avoid expensive and disruptive rewiring which I'd rather leave to the next owner.

Decorating and cleaning won't be a problem when we're ready to go. We bought this house as a 'project', loved the position,space, tall ceilngs and room sizes - I hope somebody else will. I think I've been a bit scared off by some of the threads on here that suggest some buyers expect newbuild standards in 100+ year old houses!

Thanks for all your ideas.