Red walls - and we need to sell!

[WasSparklies]

We're in the process of decluttering in order to finally put our tiny 2 bed house on the market, hopefully in the next few months.

I'm the first to admit the house isn't in immaculate condition (e.g. living room carpet needs replacing, kitchen and bathroom are 30 years old and it shows) but we're intending to at least brighten the kitchen up a little with new drawer fronts and lino or whatever. The bathroom is more tricky as apparently some pipes are in a non standard place and it would need completely retiling if we replaced any of the suite. Basically, we'd need to do a LOT of work to the place in general to make it smart but we have 3 preschool DCs, DH works fulltime and we just don't have the spare time or available space (no friends/family to stay with or help us etc) to do too much. Obviously we'd have an asking price reflecting these fairly major works that need doing.

However there are a few more minor things we could do. For instance our bedroom has bright red walls. We're talking crimson here - with black painted radiators. This seemed like a fab idea 7 years ago when we moved in child-free and unmarried and wanted to be "different" but now it's quite clearly yet another black mark against our house.

Given the rest of the place needs some work, do you really think we'd get much benefit from chucking magnolia (or whatever the fashionable neutral is these days) over the walls? If somebody is already interested in spite of our ancient avocado bathroom suite (yes, really.. hey, it works, we're not fussy!) are they really then going to decide no because the bedroom walls are red?

Basically our current plan to put the house on the market, see if we have buyers, if not then paint it neutral - is this a good one or should we pre-empt with the pastel right away?

Incidentally if we did repaint it (I am a complete novice at decorating) is it easy to just paint over bright red with something light or do we have to do something special? Same for the black radiator paint stuff..

Thanks for any thoughts!! :)

[kickassangel]

i would say yes to painting it. a developer wouldn't mind, but a young couple (most likely purchasers) might think 'we're getting a good price, so can do the bathroom', but then just find ALSO repainting just one thing too much.
if the bathroom is the only thing wrong, people will accept that, if there's a lost of improvements to do, it can be too much.

painting over red/black is meant to be a nightmare. go to a diy store, admit your shame, and ask what they have - you may well need a special paint to go on first, then paint it neutral.

[7to25]

you need to paint first. The red walls will make the room look smaller and your first viewer could be a potential buyer who doesn't look again because of the "small" bedroom.
As above, take advice about priming before painting.

[nocake]

Yes, paint it. You'll need a few coats of primer to block out the colour before putting on a top coat. Or you could slap on lots of coats of cheap white emulsion then a top coat.

For the radiator, avoid radiator paints. Just use a normal gloss or satin wood. Rub the paint down first then you'll need several coats of paint to cover the black.

[ShoutyHamster]

Yes to painting - as others have said, not so much to make it look great but so as to make the room look BIGGER.


On the bright side, if you've priced it so as to reflect the work that needs doing, you may be onto a winner. People LIKE projects!

[WasSparklies]

Thanks everyone - I suspected this might be the case which is why I asked here first! Have never sold a home before, so it's all new.

Will probably pop into B&Q this evening and ask what they would recommend for fixing the red - ah, I can always say it was like it when we bought it!

It's got to be so much easier for a buyer to fix the issues like the kitchen/bathroom when they're not living in it or at least aren't bursting at the seams like we are. So we'd rather take the financial hit I think.