Inherited nightmare house - what to do?

[TomHanksintheMoneyPit]

Last year I inherited my late mother's upper floor maisonette, which was in an appalling condition due to my mother being disabled and mentally ill and a hoarder, and a squatter living in the house for five months after her death who trashed the place.

The place is basically structurally sound and does not have any mould or mildew, and no problems with insect or rodent infestation or anything like that. But it's in a terrible condition and has not been touched since the 1970s. The bathroom and kitchen both need to be ripped out and replaced. It probably needs a new boiler. Every room (even the bathroom!) has stained, threadbare carpets. I've pulled some of the carpets back and the floorboards underneath are in reasonable condition albeit would need a fair bit of work (sanding, staining and varnishing) to make them look good. All the rooms except one have ancient tatty wallpaper. The doors, door frames and window frames are filthy and yellowed and would need to be deep-cleaned then re-painted white. The massive garden is a jungle with knee-high brambles and at least two fallen down sheds. The garage is so jammed with stuff you can't even get inside.

I have health problems, do not drive, and it takes me 90 minutes on (free) public transport to get to her house. I don't have anyone to help me and earn a pretty small salary, although I do have a generous cash inheritance which is in an ISA. I generally can only visit her house once a week, twice at most, and spend perhaps 7 hours there. It's taken me a year just to clear out her personal possessions and furniture. On the other hand I'm not bad at DIY/decorating and feel confident in being able to do stuff like prep and paint walls or put down laminate flooring.

I'm now at the point of having to decide when to put it on the market, and how much work to do in advance. People with experience in selling houses, and in particular selling or buying fixer uppers, would you recommend:

1. Putting it on the market as-is, as a fixer upper, in the knowledge that the sheer look of the place is so off-putting.

1. Doing superficial DIY work to make it look more appealing, eg. stripping the old wallpaper, giving the walls a fresh coat of paint, cleaning and re-painting the doors, ripping up the carpets and putting some cheap laminate floor tiles down, just so that the property looks clean, neutral, and not totally neglected. But leave the kitchen and bathroom and sell it with the understanding the new owners will need to do some work in installing a new kitchen and bathroom, new boiler, fixing the garden, etc.

1. Invest the contents of my ISA into paying someone to do it up properly including installing a new kitchen and bathroom, before putting it on the market.

I'm leaning towards #2, but I'm uncertain exactly what I should do, vs what I should leave. I keep thinking of new things that need fixing or replacing, like the garden fence, and going AAARRRRGGGHH! Any advice?

I think it would be fine to sell as is. I prefer for places that need a new bathroom/kitchen anyway because I'd rather to put my own in. And not feel guilty about ripping a brand new one out.

• becomes un mortgageable

agree with @SoupDragon, no point spending money on diy when the buyer will probably re-do it themselves

Pull up the carpets but leave the kitchen and bathroom, as others have said the new buyers might want to put in their own.

How friendly are you with the neighbours? I'm thinking if they can be bribed with chocolate or cake a couple of pics of a flat with an identical layout but modern kitchen and bathroom would help buyers visualise what they could do.

Ok I honestly think option 2 is the worst of both worlds. It won't add much if any value and you've got a bucketload of hard work to do.

So option 1 or 3 depending on your attitude to risk and how much you want from the house and how quickly.

As a buyer, 2 would annoy me. I’d feel like I was paying for it when I didn’t want it.

house clearance, sell at auction.

no2 will cause you lots of time & stress for no extra benefit.

I’d pay someone to do the heavy work of stripping it out and deep cleaning. It’s going to have to be empty and clean anyway to sell it quickly.
Then I would revise your plans accordingly. You may well see things differently once it’s cleared out.

Sell now. House prices are high and property is in demand to beat the stamp duty holiday.

I'd go for selling it as it is (though having it cleared first)

Option 3 risks too much of your money in an uncertain housing market, and given the distance and logistics number 2 will drive you mad (and probably not increase the value much if it's just topshow)

I'd say it depends on the area, so I'd seek guidance from an EA.

If it's an expensive area people are likely to jump at the chance of a cheaper fixer-upper so I would sell it as is.

If it's likely to attract buy-to-let purchasers, again I would leave it as is.

If not, I would get it into a condition where it could be lived in - it's a maisonette so likely to attract first time buyers who might want to do it up gradually.

@domesticslattern

I would do a scaled down version of 2. Pay someone to clear the garden, sheds and the garage, and rip up visibly dirty carpets (leave floorboards not laminate). Maybe strip the wall paperdepending how long it would take. Then sell it as a fixer upper. Remember your time and sanity are worth something! and no-one wants a cheap kitchen and bathroom to someone else's tastes. I'm speaking as a buyer who has seen places like this and it's really off putting knowing you'll be ripping out the brand new bottom of the range kitchen, but paying for it anyway.

Exactly ALL of the above. Good luck xx

I would sell it as it is or pay a gardener to clear the garden. We bought this house as a fixer upper and it's been a lot of work and is still not done. When we by our next house it will be another fixer upper or we will self build. Loads of people are looking for projects!
Especially considering your health issues and how long it takes you to get there I think 1 would be most suitable

Property is in demand to beat the stamp duty holiday

Yes, that's a good point and another reason to sell asap - also agree about getting the views of a few estate agents before making a final decision

Can't you see it as seen.. Knock £ off. Or go to auction.

Please don't put laminate flooring down if there's someone living directly underneath.

I'd go for number 1 probably given your health and lack of car - but first get 3 local estate agents in, and ask their opinions.

Maybe get an estate agent to come round and look at the house and value it and then give an estimate if you did xyz to it and see how much it potentially would sell for with the new bathrooms etc. Depending on the difference in value and how much you’d need to roughly spend should help make the decision.

Most people who aren't property developers have no idea of the actual cost and scale of doing up a property. It may not have mould or structural issues but a lot of people could discount it before getting to the survey stage because they assume it must have both if it looks in bad order.

A house near us sold rock bottom (probate sale) because nothing was done to it and it looked incredibly rough: I think most people assumed huge internal renovation and 'fixing' was required. But these houses are incredibly solidly built, all it needed was the wallpaper stripping/a rewire/someone heating it for a few months. The people who bought it did most of the work themselves and got a bargain.

I think most people can imagine putting in a bathroom or kitchen or boiler and price accordingly but not beyond that. I think the effort you put in depends on what you want to get out though: I'd make it look freshly painted, and I'd be tempted to do what you can to make the kitchen/bathroom look somewhat cared for/usable. I'd rip up anything that smelled and make it look habitable, assuming it is. But I think its worth talking to a local estate agent to understand what to focus on, and considering hiring a handyman to do the challenging bits.

Option 1.

Pay someone to clear out the garage for you too.

Ask the EA if it’s worth getting the garden cleared for a quicker sell or to leave it as is.

Just clear it out and sell it. You aren't in a position to do the work to make it habitable. Realistically you'll be selling it to a developer, and they won't pay extra just because you give it a lock of paint or put in a cheap new bathroom suite or whatever. They're probably going to knock it all around and change it anyway. So just do yourself a favour and get the money out of it now while the market is doing well (depending where it is £

Option 1 for sure.

Sell it. We bought recently... The house that had been done cheaply was the most off putting. It obviously needed a lot more work, but was being marketed as newly renovated. The only nice bit was the new bathroom...

Really? You'd buy a house that looked totally neglected and filthy, over one that looked clean and neutral?

I have to say I'm surprised at that. I constantly see sellers being told to slap a new coat of paint in a neutral colour on the walls, and clear away clutter. And people saying that an obviously neglected house would make them wary of structural or unseen damage at a deeper level.

To clarify, the house is completely cleared out and empty of all possessions and furniture. (Only the garage and sheds are still full.) It's just a question of, do I remove the filthy tattered carpets and wallpaper or leave them.

The garden, etc. is a different matter and I'm totally clueless about gardens.

Put it in a property auction? Ask council if they are looking to increase local social housing stock? You can ask a couple of EA to value and give an opinion.