Should the house be sold as a 'do it up' or should we re-decorate?

blue_monkey_2

Hi all,

Following on from my other thread (mum is selling the house we are living in/renting from her, she is evicting us and we will be homeless as can't afford elsewhere around here - it's a huge shock, she signed a 10 yr FR in June!!) however, I have a bit of a quandry I would like to pick a few brains on.....

When we moved in and decorated this house (pre children - the whole house needed doing as it was almost derelict) my husband papered the walls. However, my son being as he is, it has got to the point where every room in the house now needs decorating as he has ripped paper from the walls. This was something that was (ironically) being planned for next year a room at a time in the hope we could get one room done a month, stripping the paper, replastering where it was needed and then painting rather than papering. We even started putting new timered wall heaters in - the first went in just 2 days before mum dropped this bombshell on us. The bathroom had just been finished with us spending a huge amount on it, false ceilings, new lights, suite, etc... it is the only 'decent' room in the house now.

We are of course going to tidy up, fill holes that need filling and making sure the house is 'good' to look at but should we redecorate? We need to strip everything, walls, doors, etc... and paint everything instead. Right now, if I think about it, it seems a complete waste of time and energy in all honesty and I could be doing other things. I have to find time to pack, especially if everything has to go into storage as well. She is serving S21 early December and will put it on the market in January. We think that the bailiffs will come early March time, and that gives her a couple of months if she finds a buyer.

Does it make much difference if a house is in need of major re-decoration in this way, do people move in and redecorate anyway? It would be such a huge waste of our time if they did not like anything we did to it - but decoarting is going to mean we are flat out for 2-3 weeks and it'll have to be done before she goes to the estate agents as well. It is going to be a huge project so, question is, should we do it or should we leave it as it is and save our money. At the end of the day, ANY redecoration, painting, etc.. will come out of our pocket, not hers, as she cannot afford to do it. We are going to need as much money as we can to move out so I am torn between it being left as it is in need of decorating or getting it all done before she gets the EA in.

What are your thoughts on this, please? Thanks.

I am sorry for all the questions on this subject. I feel bad for leaving it as it is but I feel gutted at the thought of being homeless and want to save my money for if we ever get somewhere of our own, sort of defeats the object if we spent it all on getting it nice for her and not having the money or energy to do anything for our own place.

bikerqueen

what do you stand to gain from the house sale?

Catblue

Having read your other thread, I think you need to keep as much money as you can for your own housing needs. You should have a general tidy up and patch up the worst bits, but certainly do not undertake any redecorating.

Any redecorating would normally be the lanlord/landlady's responsibility, anyway.

The other thing to note is that a number of prospective buyers will be put off by the fact that there are still tenants (you and your family) in the property. The owner (your mum) and the Estate Agent can reassure all they want about vacant possession, but most people would be wary about this (and rightly so).

It might take your mum longer to sell than she thinks.

shelly

If you don't have the time or money to re-decorate then don't. Most buyers can see past any work that needs doing and will re-do to their own taste anyway.

jonewer

Why would you be re-decorating a rented home?

Thats like paying for the taxi to have an MOT.

IveSeenTheLight

It is fact today that if the house / flat looks fresh and new then it will affect the bidding price.
You dont have to do much, just give everything a polish.
While people do see past any work required, it will affect their bidding price.
Just make sure you use neutral colours

Sorry to hear your mum is evicting you.
hope that all works out

lynzpower

if it needs to be redecorated then your mum can do it.

Dont you be doing anything. save your money and time for something else.

strictly you shouldnt have decorated in the 1st place- thats the landlords job!

seven-day-weekend

I dion't personally see why you need to do anything.

It's your mum's house, her responsibility.

If she wants a quick sale she'll have to do whatever it takes to organise it. The longer it takes, the better for you, surely?

silvercar

Whoever buys it will have to put central heating in for a start; timered wall heaters in an odd room is not going to impress anyone!

So the buyer is going to be someone who is prepared to do major work, they will also be happy to minor redecoration at the same time. I would sell as is and leave the buyer to sort everything out.

guppy

If the house isn't redecorated, then some people won't consider it. Those that will, will want to pay less for it. It might also take a bit longer to sell, depending on how realistic the price is.

None of this sounds like your problem, but if your mum wants top money for the house, why not see if she would pay you to redecorate it? If you don't trust her to pay up, you could always draw up a simple contract. Obviously there a million reasons why suing family members is a bad idea...

blue_monkey_2

I know, thanks for your advice, it's hard to be impartial when you are involved that is why I asked. At the end of the day, if we had not looked after it then it would not have been worth living in anyway - as I mentioned before, it was a shell when we moved in, it was more a case of looking after it to help mum out in the long term as we kind of assumed she would not be selling it (it was what she had always said).

wW have, however, decided to patch up and fix anything that looks messy and concentrate more on getting our stuff moved and out of the way rather than spend our time decorating. Storage is not the cheapest thing so we have decided to save our money for that instead and she can decorate it herself if she wants it. had she waited another year she would have had everything done and in place and looking pristine (more time with the kids going into school full time) but as she wants us out now then we will look after ourselves for a change (still can't help feeling bad though - sorry but it is just me )

Thanks for all of your help and advice, it has given me a new perspective.