Is my house sellable without new windows?

Jasmine1102

Hi, so my mum is wanting to sell her house which has been well maintained and has modern decor. However, the windows in the house are awful. The front of the house is double glazed but the seals have gone on the windows and condensation accumulates along the bottom of the windows. The back of the house is single glazed and the windows are very old and have obvious signs of rot on the outer frames. As a result there is slight damp under some of the windows, however there isn't any other damp on any other walls, ceilings or anywhere else in the house. My mum is of the view that she will need to replace the windows in order to be able to sell the house and believes it to be un-sellable with the current windows. I am of the view that it isn't worth getting new windows, as she will just be spending more money to gain a similar amount of money back on the sale. Any advice/guidance would be much appreciated!

Tats22

My mum is also selling a flat which probably needs new windows too, but the condition of them is therefore reflected in the asking price. I feel it might put some sellers off not doing the windows, but it might attract others eg developers and/or others who might see the entire property as a blank canvas and would rather money wasn't spent replacing windows when they'd need to send the builders in anyway or might have chosen a different design of window, they'd rather not have to pay for them in the asking price. I'd get the advice of a local agent as to an approximate valuation with and without replacing the windows and saleability of the property in current condition to help you and your mum make the right decision.

SootySweep1

Hi
Have you spoken to any local estate agents to seek their views?  and if they could give you a valuation based on current condition and what they think it would be worth with new windows ?
If you were talking about replacing a bathroom/ kitchen I would totally agree. However you mention damp caused by the windows and the mention of damp seems to frighten some people and so it may make it difficult to sell at a reasonable price as they could try to get loads knocked off the selling price.
Jen

yksi

It isn't just the need of the windows which will put people off, but also the associated things like the seeing damp, the fact they're visibly rotten and blown, etc. The damp will come up in the survey. However another aspect which will also be on peoples' minds is that heating is getting more expensive and they'll be concerned about the cost of maintaining the place.

If this is the only bad point to the condition of the home, your mum is probably right to get them done, even if there is no great profit in it. Having the windows done will make sure that "non DIY" folk aren't excluded from considering her house, and there are lot of these types of people, who simply don't want the fuss and dirt and noise and inconvenience. And you want as many possible buyers as you can get. Even if this means you might not entirely get your money back - because selling price is not everything when you are selling (more possible buyers means she might be able to choose whose offer to accept - and that might mean avoiding a chain, for example).

A compromise would be to get a quote for replacing all the windows and ensure the agent makes this cost known to any prospective buyers.

babyblade41

Just set the price accordingly.  Putting in new windows if she is selling is a bit pointless.

Each room will need decorating round the window possibly & people would prefer to choose their own .

Speak to a reputable agents who know the area well & get 3 valuations 

TripleH

How is the property for noise?

My parents had spent years trying to sell their house (with interest but no offers) and my father was reluctant to replace the windows.

Following his death my mother took it off whilst she sorted her life out and put in new windows. She relisted it and had multiple offers within 3 weeks. The house was a big 6 bed so replacing the windows was a significant task.

justwhat

yes and no.

Many people will understand that the windows need replacing. Some will not want to put the effort into replacing them.

SOME/many  people will assume all manor of issues because of the windows. rising damp hard to heat loads of possible factious issues.

You will loose buyers / interest. If its viable financially to put new ones in then i would put them in if you can recoup the money on the selling price. In my opinion there is no point in ploughing money into a house that you are selling unless you can recoup it.

 

eddddy

Ask some local EAs to do market appraisals - and ask them about selling price and saleability with/without new windows.

Some people like to buy "project" houses that need work, other people don't. Sometimes it depends on the target market for the property - FTBs, up-sizers, retiring down-sizers, etc. 

A good EA should be able to discuss this type of stuff with you. If they can't they're probably not a very good EA.

But be a bit careful - EAs sometimes suggest doing little or nothing to the house, because they want to get you to market the property now, rather than waiting a few months while you do improvements.

The EA might also worry that if they suggest you replace the windows, you might choose the cheapest (nastiest) replacement windows. And that might make the property less saleable than if it had the old rotten windows.

koalakoala

Don't bother. Just price it accordingly

RS2OOO

Maybe I'm in a minority, I really don't know.

If I was buying, the state of the windows would not put me off in the slightest if it was the right house.

But, it would indicate to me that general maintenance is likely to be severely lacking on the house as a whole and I would factor this into any offer I make (so as not to have to ask for a further price reduction on completion of survey - everything would be priced into my offer).

If I was selling I would get the windows done, but then, I am DIY competent and know tradesmen who can supply windows at cost, only charging me for their labour (which would need to be paid for as they will self cert the windows with FENSA and you'll need this certificate when selling).

Star1

Is there any chance that potential buyers might want to do an extension? No point changing windows if they all then have to be ripped out again to extend