Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Chat

Join the discussion and chat with other Mumsnetters about everyday life, relationships and parenting.

Estate agents, property developers, people who buy houses...honour me with your opinions please!

45 replies

Shodan · 19/09/2020 18:20

The situation is this:

At some point, a house needs to be sold. It's a 1930s semi-detached cottage, in original format. Downstairs bathroom, pine-clad walls, brown tiles, blue bathroom suite. This is the only bathroom.

Kitchen is small, with outdated units. Dining room and sitting room are separate, decorated with white paint over wood chip paper. Carpets are brown and tatty.

One kind of dodgy 'garden room', one tatty attached garage.

3 bedrooms, one a small single. None have been decorated for many years. Main bedroom has fitted wardrobes from about 30 years ago.

Very pretty cul de sac street in a popular and expensive large village in the South East. Most of the other houses on the road (same style of cottage) have been extended/modernised and have families living in them, mostly two-(large) car families.

We have two divided opinions on what to do to the property before it's sold. One party says that a coat of fresh paint will work wonders and will boost sales. The other party says that no painting is necessary, as the potential buyers will be the sort to want to knock down walls/extend/modernise.

What would you do?
A. Paint.
B. Don't paint.

(Trying to keep this as unbiased as possible!)

OP posts:
ALLIS0N · 19/09/2020 19:15

I agree don’t paint.

Ilovesausages · 19/09/2020 19:46

Don’t paint. Sounds like a lovely project for someone keen!

SuzieCarmichael · 19/09/2020 19:52

Partly depends if it needs major works too. How is the state of the roof, electrics, boiler, damp proof course, floorboards? No point painting if it basically needs stripping back to a shell.

Shodan · 19/09/2020 20:02

@SuzieCarmichael I can't say for certain but I think those things are in reasonably good repair- Mum was quite good at keeping up with that kind of things I think.

OP posts:
TSSDNCOP · 20/09/2020 09:34

Don't paint. It sounds exactly like MIL's house. Estate agents priced based on potential, which was evident from practically every other house in the street.

Bluntness100 · 20/09/2020 09:38

Don’t paint, it will be like putting lipstick on a rhinoceros. It’s not going to pretty it up any. The fundamental issues are not that it needs a lick of paint.

wowfudge · 20/09/2020 09:42

An untouched place ripe for renovation can go for more than you would think. Painting it would be time and money down the drain. If the place needs things like the electrics and plumbing/heating updating then the decor is going to need redoing afterwards anyway.

Chicchicchicchiclana · 20/09/2020 09:48

Where is this cottage? I'd love to have a look at it!

jackstini · 20/09/2020 09:53

Landlord here, don't paint
Just looks like you are covering stuff up and sounds like there will likely be walls knocked down, rooms combined/extended etc.

Far more important to check heating, wiring and windows/doors are ok

And show your brothers this thread! Wink

MeridaTheBold · 20/09/2020 09:54

Don't paint. It won't make it look that much better and will make people wonder if you're trying to cover something else up eg damp stains.

MrsMoastyToasty · 20/09/2020 09:55

I wouldn't paint but I would consider applying for planning permission to make the best of the house, but not actually do the improvements.

Shodan · 20/09/2020 11:40

And show your brothers this thread!

I confess, the thought did occur to me Grin

@MrsMoastyToasty That's a good idea, thank you. I hadn't thought about that.

Having looked at the photos of the interiors of some of the other houses on the road, I now have serious house envy! They look soooo different to Mum's house.

Thanks to everyone for your opinions and advice.

OP posts:
ApolloandDaphne · 20/09/2020 12:35

I am in the don't paint camp. We sold my FILs house as it was. The young family who bought it planned to renovate it completely and painting it would have been a waste of time and money.

GOODCAT · 20/09/2020 13:22

Don't paint. Anything that needs completely redoing is only going to fetch so much anyway. The newness of the paint will make no difference. The walls will need repainting once it has been subjected to all that work anyway.

user1471538283 · 20/09/2020 14:22

Don't paint. When we sold my grandparents house we scrubbed it until it sparkled but didn't do any decorating. It will not increase the viewers or the selling price

ohdearmymistake · 20/09/2020 14:44

I'm another saying don't paint.

If you want to get more then put the time effort and money into getting planning permission.

I hope you show your brothers this thread because they may think that they know what they are talking about but clearly they don't.

I hope they apologise to you and your sister particularly as she actually sells property for a living as well.

Just because you are older and male doesn't make all your opinions correct.

ChicCroissant · 20/09/2020 14:54

In the circumstances you describe, I'd also say don't paint - if the basics of the house were in order then fine to paint, but it does sound as if a lot of the basics (eg bathroom) probably need replacing so I don't think paint would help at that point (and as other posters have pointed out, would probably make the tired bits look worse!)

PeppaPigMakesMeGrrrrr · 20/09/2020 16:33

Don't paint. No point. You could do white and they hate white and paint over it. You could do a colour but which one? I'd just leave it.

Choosingmyring · 20/09/2020 16:35

Don’t paint.

If it was just a bit unloved and tatty I’d say too but the house is too far gone.

clareykb · 20/09/2020 16:41

We sold my granddad's similarly dated house last year. We didn't paint but we did clean (it did smell a bit) and remove all furniture...sold it shortly after that

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread