Sell as is or renovate first?

[Wingedharpy]

Looking for some views here please.
We are seriously considering selling our lovely Victorian terraced house.
Reason is - house and garden combined are too large for us to manage (we are oldies).
We have been here for many years and have made many improvements but there is still a lot of work needs doing to bring it up to the standard that people want/expect today eg. needs re-wired, some damp issues etc.
Question is - do we do all this work first and then put the house on the market or do we put on the market now at a bargain price which reflects the work that needs doing?
Thoughts please.

[Turnipinatutu]

You could do the basics, so the house is sound and ready to move into, but leave stuff like kitchen, bathroom and general facelift stuff.
I would rather buy a house that was sound and do the fun stuff myself, then I could buy at a lower price and eventually get it done to my taste.

[lalalonglegs]

It depends where it is - around here (SW London) it would sell anyway so you could save yourself time and stress by putting it on the market now albeit you would make less money.

[EeyoreIsh]

depends how quickly you want a sale and if you want to get a high price. If you're happy to knock money off for work (for damp proofing and electrics we're talking at least £10k off) then don't worry.

[purplewithred]

Speak to some estate agents to see what your local market is like. I'd consider doing some of the invisible but essential things like damp or leaky drains but definitely leave everything else for someone to do to their own taste. But round here a doer-upper would be snapped up for almost the same as a fully updone one.

[Jan49]

Rewiring is difficult when you're living there so would be easier for a new buyer to do before moving in. Some electricians won't rewire an occupied house. So for that reason I'd sell it as it is.

[georgedawes]

Get advice from local estate agents as purple says.

One idea is to get quotes for work that needs doing and show them to viewers when you sell.

[WeleaseWodger]

Depends on price. If it's priced so it's a first time family home (buyers moving up from a flat), then most families that buy a fixer upper are going to be stretching their budget and will want to do it project by project (kitchen, bathroom,etc) while they live in a property. They're not going to have the means to rent somewhere for 6 months while new house is gutted & redone. Rewiring would scare off a lot of the market as you can't live there during that.

I think you might limit your market to professionals, who will be looking for biggest profit margin possible. Whereas in my opinion, most people underestimate the costs so end up paying more for the house.

If you're downsizing and can, would it be possible to negotiate a long period btw exchange and completion where you've moved out and the house gets rewired? It would be a risk of course, but I think this kind of incentive would attract a lot of the families back.

Of course it depends where you are, what you'll be selling for, etc

[MustafaCake]

We just sold our flat "as is" with loads of work needing to be done!

We had the work costed and got estate agents to give us an idea of it's value as is and done up. We also reckoned on 3 months of chaos and stress! Also took into account how much we needed to get for the property in order to afford our next home.

In the end we sold without doing any work, really pleased we did that.

[Ragusa]

I would defffo take advice from an agent. If you rewire you might need to reskim affected wallls and remove flooring, so that could be expensive.

The damp issues I would be tempted to get sorted as the smell and spores may put off any buyers interested in doing it bit by bit. Also to me damp= not well maintained generally, and that isn't an association you want to encourage!

[bimbabirba]

I agree that it depends entirely where it is. In sought after locations I would say not to bother because you will probably manage to sell at the price of a done-up house take away the actual cost of modernisation.

[Wingedharpy]

Thank you for your thoughts.
It's not a smelly minging house and no sign of fungus or spores etc.
The only bathroom is immaculate and was re-fitted 12 months ago.
My thoughts too were that a buyer could carry out the work prior to moving in if we sold at a cheaper price.
Could we offer a wad of cash towards the cost of the work too as an added incentive or is that sort of thing considered illegal and money launderish?

[lalalonglegs]

I really think if the price is right, you shouldn't need incentives too. There are plenty of people who prefer to buy projects, let them decide how much they wsnt it.

[purplewithred]

You really don't need to offer incentives for a doer upper beyond sensible pricing and an agreement to be tolerant of the buyers having detailed surveys beforehand and letting the buyers in frequently after exchange of contracts so they can get organised for the work to start the minute they move in. If you live in a mostly done-up-already area your house will sell very quickly to the weirdos like me who are never happier than when they have plaster dust in their hair.

[7to25]

It really depends on where you are in the council tax bands.
It makes a lot of sense for somebody to buy a fixer-upper just below a band rather than spend a lot more to "cross" a band.

[AKissIsNotAContract]

I'd much rather by a house that needed refurbishing than one that had just been done.

[Wingedharpy]

Thank you wise MNetters.
You've given me hope!

[DENMAN03]

I've always bought doer uppers.. Nothing worse than ripping out a new kitchen because you hate it! Would much rather pay less and put in things to my own taste.