General tips for improving a house's saleability (or even value)

RHemmings

ReadySteadyPop said:

Nowadays if the price is wrong most people will just scroll away on RM, no amount of vanilla or coffee smells will make a difference, but clean and decluttered is sensible advice, as is not spending any money on it, that is very unlikely to add much value.

Not even if it's just a few hundred pounds and will make the house more attractive to buyers? Not one red cent spent? 

Lois

I am following with interest as our large Edwardian London house has been on the market since late Feb. Three EAs priced it the same but it was reduced three weeks ago. We chose the local EA that was selling the flat we really wanted, had our offer accepted but lost it when the seller got impatient at how long ours was taking to sell. We've had 14 viewings but only one really low offer which we rejected. We've de-cluttered and thoroughly cleaned, and the house and garden are generally in good condition but there are a few things I wondered if might put people off enough to not make an offer (from EA feedback it seems to be price being above a viewer's budget, lack of parking and some potential buyers wanting to make very expensive renovations like changing the kitchen and living areas into open plan) would it be worth: changing the worn stair carpet (would painted work or a runner?), re-decorating the one bedroom that hasn't been done for several years and has old water stains, updating the downstairs toilet? The EA feedback hasn't suggested any of this would make a difference but, as selling and buying is stressful, we'll do anything that could speed it up but isn't costly. Or do we just keep the house viewing ready as it is and sit tight?

LHW99

Water stains would be a worry for me looking round, a fresh coat of emulsion wouldn't go amiss there. Worn stair carpet not so much, unless its actually dangerous.

If the downstairs loo is functional, then de-mould anything that shows it, get a new set of toilets mats etc and put a smart newish mirror in that you can take with you (could be useful anyway, our new house had no mirrors anywhere because the sellers had unscrewed them from the walls)

newsgroupmonkey_

We painted ours top to bottom in neutral colours including the outside. Painted the fences, summer house and the attached workshop. Cleaned the gutters and jet-washed all the patios and drive. De-fuzzed the garden and replaced a lot of the beds with bark to make it all low-maintenance.

Sold it at a really difficult time (Summer 2022) and got 10k over asking, despite everyone here saying I'd be lucky to get anywhere near asking!

ReadySteadyPop

RHemmings said:

ReadySteadyPop said:

Nowadays if the price is wrong most people will just scroll away on RM, no amount of vanilla or coffee smells will make a difference, but clean and decluttered is sensible advice, as is not spending any money on it, that is very unlikely to add much value.

Not even if it's just a few hundred pounds and will make the house more attractive to buyers? Not one red cent spent? 

What would a few hundred pounds buy that they couldn`t change themselves? They might not even like the changes that you make!

ReadySteadyPop

Lois said:

I am following with interest as our large Edwardian London house has been on the market since late Feb. Three EAs priced it the same but it was reduced three weeks ago. We chose the local EA that was selling the flat we really wanted, had our offer accepted but lost it when the seller got impatient at how long ours was taking to sell. We've had 14 viewings but only one really low offer which we rejected. We've de-cluttered and thoroughly cleaned, and the house and garden are generally in good condition but there are a few things I wondered if might put people off enough to not make an offer (from EA feedback it seems to be price being above a viewer's budget, lack of parking and some potential buyers wanting to make very expensive renovations like changing the kitchen and living areas into open plan) would it be worth: changing the worn stair carpet (would painted work or a runner?), re-decorating the one bedroom that hasn't been done for several years and has old water stains, updating the downstairs toilet? The EA feedback hasn't suggested any of this would make a difference but, as selling and buying is stressful, we'll do anything that could speed it up but isn't costly. Or do we just keep the house viewing ready as it is and sit tight?

Adjusting the price is the best route to a sale, everything else in this market will just mean stress and delay I think.