Selling an inherited house that needs work

The_Warned

If Dad's house is fine apart from this joist issue in one place it's probably mortgageable as it is and not an auction property, unless you want it to be.I would get it on the market PDQ at a price reflecting the work with a sensible amount of furnishings in place.If you empty it, the shortcomings will be more obvious, and while some people will see more space, others will struggle to use imagination..

GDB2222

I’ve replaced a couple of worktops recently. It was surprisingly easy to get the old worktops out without damage to the tiling. It was also surprisingly easy to get the new worktops back in again without damaging the tiles. I was dealing with laminate worktops. Granite would be a whole new ball game! And I didn’t need to move the base units.

In short, whilst I haven’t seen the kitchen, it may not be that hard to move the units out, fix the floor, and put the units back. It might be worth replacing the worktops, anyway, as it really refreshed these two kitchens.

I haven’t seen the drive, but it’s possible to live with a shoddy drive and it would not affect mortgageability. 

trex227

AdrianC said:

By the sound of it, I'd get it in an auction - a proper one...

Get the daytime-TV-believers salivating at the thought of a quick profit, and they'll fight each other off.

This is so true. My mother in law looked at a property that was up for auction last year. It was clear from the photos it needed extensive work but when she viewed the property it was even worse. Needed new plumbing, rewiring, replastering, kitchen & bathroom (had neither) and new floor throughout. It was so bad the suspended floor downstairs had gone, the stairs had rotted through and the floorboards and joists upstairs all needed replacing as they were rotten. 

An identical house a few doors down which was in excellent condition sold a few months before for £165k. A builder who was viewing the wreck house said to my MIL at £100k you would break even... it sold for £120k...

getmore4less

What's the market like in the area?
 a quick tidy and dressed to sell rather than cleared with a good local agent might attract interest 
(they will probably have builder mates so watch out for the undersell)

Give it a bit of time then consider the proper auction route.

getmore4less

Vasquez65 said:

I’ve spoken to a neighbour ( we live in the street behind my Dad’s house)   he paid £110k 2 years ago for a house identical to mine,  so smaller than my Dad’s house and with a much smaller garden than mine. 

It needed complete renovation - rewiring, replastering,  new central heating system, kitchen, bathroom and new doors and windows. 

Dad’s house doesn’t need that level of work, the doors and windows are fine and the boiler and central heating are too.

On a second read of this I am wondering why you have not considered moving in if it is bigger than yours, do the work make it your own then sell your current place.

Jeepers_Creepers

Vasquez65 said:

We will be selling my late Father’s house after probate etc. 

We’ve discovered it needs 2 new floor joists under the kitchen/diner/ under the kitchen units and all along the rear wall - looks like there was a leak under the sink that soaked the sterling board floor in the kitchen and partially rotted the joists, the one nearest the wall being the worst -   it was never noticed because the lino flooring was fitted under the kitchen units up to the walls so it must have been wet for nearly 20 years when he had a new kitchen.
We only noticed when we pulled out the washer and the lino sagged because there was no floor underneath it!
 There is no sign of damp anywhere else in the house and a builder friend who did a temporary fix said everything else under the house looks ok. 
The whole house is dated so buyers will probably want to renovate substantially so do we go through the hassle of taking out / putting back the whole kitchen to have the joists replaced plus the kitchen floor?
Will it reduce the sale price by a lot / put buyers off or even stop a potential mortgage if we don’t do the work?  

It’s a big 1960’s 3 bed semi on a main road with school fields / countryside opposite but guessing a value is tricky because houses along that street hardly ever come up for sale,  the last one was over 10 years ago.
I’ll get a couple of valuations done when we’ve had the house cleared but I just wanted peoples’ opinions on what to do (or not). 

From what you say, Vasquez, it seems pretty clear that the cause of this rot is known, and isn't anything ominous like rising or penetrating damp - it's just a long-term leak from the kitchen sink. If you are happy to remove the units and replace them afterwards, then the cost of having that bit of floor repaired - 2 or 3 joist ends and a new piece of chipboard flooring - would surely be reasonable, I'd imagine one day's work. Surely we are talking just a few £undred for such a job when the area has been made clear?

If so, I'd be tempted to have it done - it'll then become a house that needs 'updating' or 'modernising' and not one that actually needs repairs due to damp or rot.