Advice please on selling DF's house

We put a couple of table lamps on timers in a couple of rooms. But tell neighbours ! Good luck

I'm in exactly the same position .. I've de personalised her house and cleaned it . I got the carpets and windows cleaned but then sold as it is ..
Someone will buy it as a project so don't spend money on it . More hassle than it's worth and it might not to to the buyers taste

It's all a ball ache .

I totally cleared my in-laws bungalow (registered house clearance company) although left carpet and curtains up and gave it a clean as in washed windows, removed cobwebs, cleaned bathroom and kitchen and hoovered/swept the flooring. Basically it allowed the prospective purchases to see the bare bones of the place and imagine its potential. Priced it accordingly as we knew it needed gutting inside and outside along with the garden and outbuildings. On the market and had an offer in three weeks.
insurance was sorted with the insurers already used. Just explained the situation and they were happy to continue cover. We had to visit overnight once every 28 days. We left the heating and electric connected right up to handover of keys.

We told the insurance company and they withdrew some cover until renewal date as a result even though someone stays every 60 days and my brother checks weekly.

At renewal they want us to move insurer to.one they recommend that covers this type of risk which they dont once the annual renewal date arrives.

So you will have to find out what his particular cover requires by asking them.

No. Don’t fix “damp” ceiling patches. They are not always straightforward!!!

I would add even if not 100% structurally sound - it’s still better to go ahead and sell it. Structural issues take even longer to fix and one repair can unearth deeper problems as you say OP, eg asbestos.

@Gingerpoppy just to give you hope - as we had very little 8 months ago.

I was very frank when asking Estate Agents to look - none batted an eye at looking and some said they’d seen worse (very hard to imagine!) Valuations given when it was still rammed full and gave us an idea of value sold as seen.

EA who worked with builders showed builder around when it was slightly less cluttered and still offered. He knew the area and the houses and was keen because we were able to sell quickly. Offer was reasonable based on all agents’ valuations.

We didn’t have to get a survey - solicitor said ‘sold as seen’ means it is on the buyer to discover issues - and solicitor often sees sales where sellers in these circumstances live miles from the property and might not even see it themselves.

We did not have to clean (as they were going to knock walls down and strip everything).

We did not have to mow. Garden was a mess of brambles and garage was a shambles (cutting the grass at the back wasn’t realistic!). Clearance firm cleared garden and strimmed the grass in the front.

Our time was needed on the sifting of contents. It was still a LOT of work to sort through and some of us were at a distance.

Specialist insurance is important and talk to the neighbours if you can, who may keep an eye for you.

Estate Agents earned their money - as it’s tucked away I’d say it’s about finding the right EA.

Good luck 🍀

Another “no” to repairs. Can be very stressful and expensive and can take months/years. I’ve done a few repairs at my mother’s home. Getting quotes, dealing with builders at a different address, the length of time it takes for even simple things - all very stressful. Leave it to those in the trade. Just clean and empty it basically to show it off at its basic best.

Clear it out of all furniture. Give it a clean, but leave the old carpets down to prevent things like mice coming through the floorboards.

Price realistically for a quick sale. Take what EAs suggest as a valuation with a pinch of salt and look to see what the actual sale prices of recent properties in similar condition were

By the way, yes, you have to let the insurers know. The insurers if the house were happy for 3 months then write to tell me they no longer insure empty houses so I had to go with a specialist one. A condition was that I had to check it once a week

I’ve just had to do private and sell a house “ in need of some modernisation” but in the catchment area of best local schools.
The estate agent didn’t batt an eyelid at the artex/wallpaper/ancient but working back boiler etc ( there were no big holes or damp though) and said empty most furniture, clean, cut the grass etc.
I cleared all of the furniture except the best bedroom, left that in situ to show how much space there was even with a king sized bed. Had many trips to the top to declutter, gave some furniture away, got a local man and van in to dispose of the rest ( much cheaper than house clearance)
Employed a grass cutter once a fortnight to keep it neat and weed free.
Paid a local cleaner ( £200 for a 4 bed one bathroom, one downstairs toilet) to go through the house.
Put it on the market when I applied for probate and it sold the first day - they were prepared to wait as it was near the school they wanted, a decent size and price.
It didn’t bother them at all that the decor was “ tired”, no redecorating had been done for 30 years.
The neighbours tell me they’ve already replaced the heating, stripped the walls etc
As long as it is structurally sound as will be seen in buyers survey, my advice would be to sell “ as seen”

We had exactly this with my parents house. I got a clearance company to clear it out, cleaners in to very thoroughly clea it, a gardener mowed the lawn and city back the overgrown garden but did nothing re damp, poor decor, a broken boiler. Obviously that was reflected in the price but better to reduce price than manage the work.

I'd clear out all the possessions and leave it with basic furnishings and sell it as is - talk to a few estate agents about value and saleability, but also think about an auction.

I wouldn't bother doing any repairs, staging or otherwise preparation for sale because it sounds like a total refurb job so the buyer will probably replace the ceiling anyway. Plus if the roof is leaking then until that's fixed, it's likely that the damp will return so pointless repairing the damp patches.

You can commission a surveyor yourself. We've always done this when buying as wanted a more detailed survey than the mortgage company would do.

Can you get a surveyor to do an independent report on it? Is there such a thing, or do they just work for lenders?

I definitely feel the 'worst house in the best street' logic applies here. As long as there aren't shockingly difficult issues to resolve, it should sell OK. It's definitely a seller's market, we have my mother's house up for sale right now and it is a bit like your dad's, ie v dated and poorly maintained, and have had 17 viewings booked and an offer in 2 days, though some of the feedback has been fairly insulting!

Speak to your insurer. There are conditions attached to having an empty property and the normal insurer might refuse to continue insuring. We used Towergate for empty house insurance - that required someone to visit weekly to check all was ok.

If you're not local you can put it on a management contract with the estate agent (slight higher % charge) and they will do the checks, pick up post etc, keep a log of visits and who has been when.

@Gingerpoppy you must speak to insurers if the house is unoccupied even if you visit- they may continue the policy subject to conditions eg heating left on. We had to get specialist insurers when it was empty.- towergate i think.after the original policy ended as they would not renew.

also speak to council re council tax- you should get a break from it.

I would clear it.

Put a sign up in garden:
House for sale - open for viewings
10 am - 2 pm
Saturday, Date and Sunday, date

I'd do this rather than pay absolutely thousands to an estate agent

@Gingerpoppy just did this in very similar circumstances.

Talk to lots of Estate Agents and ask if they work with builders/investment buyers.

Then treasure hunt for what you want and get clearance in.

We didn’t do any repairs, just cleared as much as possible. There were 2 ceilings down and mould, artex and wood chip wallpaper. Builder was literally looking for places to strip back and had done several similar projects.

Edited to add - the right Estate Agent sold it for us ‘off market’ and reduced the fee as no marketing needed. We did need to do the Energy Performance Certificate.

Two examples : When we sold my parents house , it had artex on the ceilings , a late 1970s kitchen , years of painted on textured wallpaper , a blue coloured bathroom suite ,, and separate , in a tiny room blue w.c .
It sold .

A few years previously , sold our home to move to another area .
We had modernised it to a high standard , both the bathroom and kitchen were immaculate .
New buyers kept the kitchen but the bathroom they ripped out and changed to suit their taste .

Personally I'd save yourself the hassle and sell as is . Just make it non cluttered , clean & tidy .

I'd fix anything that could cause further deterioration eg hole in roof, leaking gutters. Or that is dangerous. Bearing in mind it can take months to get to completion so you don't want to risk the house getting a lot worse.

In general, updates increase the speed at which a house sells but don't increase the value by more than the renovation cost. But it will vary by house and area, so get some estate agents round to value it and ask them what they think.