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?

Having bought and sold many flats and houses in my lifetime I'd just make sure it was empty of all possessions and put it on the market. The effort it'll take you to get to option 2 just isn't worth it. Get some estate agents round and get it on the market.

It really depends on where the property is, and therefore who is likely to buy it!!

If you were in a desirable area (e.g. London), it would definitely be worth doing option #3. But project managing can be stressful. On the other hand you could make some money out of it.

I think option #2 would only be worth doing if you are somewhere where property values are very low and you think someone might buy it and slowly do it or ent it out cheaply.

Do you know a decent builder? If you do, go for 3. Otherwise in your situation, I'd go for 1.

I'm not convinced 2 would add enough value vs. time, effort and cost.

Ideally, get a couple of estate agents in and ask them to value the three scenarios. Then you can make a more informed decision.

You can't get a definitive answer here. A local estate agent will be able to advise you with full knowledge of the local market!

Get on the phone and ask one or three agents to view it.

I would go for 2 with a very strict budget, as big cosmetic issues will put off a lot of people who might fear deeper issues but be up for a new kitchen, bathroom etc.

I’d ask a local builder how much it would cost to: totally clear out, strip carpets, paint walls magnolia and ceilings white, and cut back garden. If you can get that for a couple of grand it will likely be money well spent, as the house will be a lot less scary a project for buyers—far bigger pool will consider it like this.

I think I'd just empty it out, take the old carpets up, clear the garden, make it as clean as you can, maybe put a fresh coat of paint on the walls and put it on the market. Unless it doesn't attract any interest I wouldn't even put carpets or flooring down as people can be very divided over carpet or laminate and it's waste to put it down if someone might immediately want to change it.

I do appreciate the replies, though, genuinely!

I've pretty much decided to do the bare minimum and try to put it on the market as soon as possible. Just debating where to draw the line on what the bare minimum is!

Don’t waste your own time doing any decorating. It’s absolutely not worth painting walls, flooring etc.

Realistically, anyone who buys it will probably be a developer. They’ll be savvy about what it’s worth and will cost to do up and won’t pay you extra for freshly painted walls and flooring.

Get a house clearance round, strip manky carpet and maybe clear the garden (pay someone, don’t do it yourself), give everything a good wash and get it on the market ASAP.

I'd leave it tbh. Option 2 just seems like a waste of materials to me because unless it's all "properly" done the buyer will just rip it all straight out again.
Also based on how long you've taken to clear it out, option 3 sounds like it would take you ages.
Just clear everything, clear the garden, and leave it as is. I would leave wallpaper and carpets unless they're truly filthy and hanging off.

also if you've had a structural survey and know it's sound (sounds like you have?) I would make sure that's included in the listing - it removes an element of risk for the buyers.

@TomHanksintheMoneyPit

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.

It's more that it is a waste of money as someone is going to come in and gut it anyway. Ditch the carpets so people can see the floorboards are in good order and clean it. There is no point doing anything that costs money.

A garden company will clear the garden (ask neighbours for recommendations)

I had a similar problem with my mothers house. I did live locally which helped. She had dementia and had left the tap on upstairs and gone out and locked herself out as well so there was a lot of water damage. She went into a home. I had the house valued by an estate agent and the difference between selling as it was and doing it up was around £45000
But a lot of the work done was covered by the insurance. I think i spent about £5000 on it myself. I also did quite a lot of decorating and clearing of the house. It took us about six months but the house did sell very quickly once it was on the market.

It's London btw.

Fortunately my mum already owns lots of power tools including a a heavy duty sander and a massive steamer (for wallpaper stripping).

I reckon based on past experience that I can pull up carpets (will take the advice to leave the floorboards bare - thank you!), remove wallpaper and re-paint very cheaply. Not to be presented it to potential buyers as a finished property, just to present it as more of a neutral canvas.

Just make sure it's as clean as you can manage and pull up the carpets. It will be sold to someone looking for a project or investment. Especially as a maisonette it will probably be a buy-to-let.
Have you ever watched Homes Under The Hammer? There are some real messes on there that are bought and done up. Unfortunately you're not in the position to do it yourself so leave it to someone else.

Option 2, rip up carpets, don't bother repainting, remove the wallpaper (it takes out any old smell with it too). Wash down the painted surfaces with zoflora or similar smelling stuff, and leave it be. Don't put too much work into it - someone like me would happily rip up cheap laminate and paint over anything magnolia, so it's a waste of time when the house needs to be renovated in any case.

@Thegoodandbadlife

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.

I'd suggest this.

Though if you put on market as is and get no-where auction might be worth considering - it depends on how much work/time/money you think is worth spending.

Though clearing the garden - cutting back generally clearing so it looks as big as possible would probably help.

In the current market, properties are selling quickly if priced competitively.

Is it in a popular area? If so, I'd put it on now as is. But maybe get some quotes too for the most basic redecoration job, and consider that if after a month you've had no interest.

A few years ago I had to help a friend renovate a property on zero budget - we concentrated on just painting over everything, cleaning thoroughly, and removing old carpets (managed to replace a few for free from gumtree etc). However in her case she needed to sell the property for a specific amount to clear debts and couldn't afford to take lower offers. Unless you have that same financial issue, I'd say sell as is, someone will buy it at the right price.

Get the carpets ripped out, and someone to blitz the garden so a buyer could see the 'bones', then put it on the market. Many people can see past the wallpaper, bathroom and kitchen. It's not worth risking your health if you have issues already and you have to factor in all those 90 minute bus rides in winter.

I think house prices in some if not all areas are as high now as they will be for the next few years. If get it on the market ASAP and sell. Agree with others... painting carpets etc will take a good few grand, your time and will likely be ripped up by buyer anyhow. Sell.

Don't repaint! If the new owners decide to rewire or replaster it's a complete waste. Anyone buying a project like this doesn't need newly painted walls to see the potential.

I think you’re wise to do as you set out—if the house is London then it is worth a fair bit and there are likely to be first time buyers, etc interested who will be terrified if it looks like a horror show but keen if it’s a blank canvas.

@SoupDragon

I would get someone to clear the garden so that the size and potential can be seen and I would rip up the carpets and give everything a clean but leave it at that.

This. Good luck 🤞

I would probably sell it as it is but ask a couple of estate agents for there advice x

Well yes, lots of people will buy a house that is (forgive my wording) a shit hole. But it has to be priced accordingly - it can't be on for the same price as others in better condition. if you are hoping to get top money for it then it has to be all done. But if you just want to sell it - and you will probably not make much extra profit after you have paid for everything needed in option 3, then just sell it as it is.

Selling as option 1 is pretty straightforwards, the EA will obviously market it as a doer-upper. But marketing it as number 2 will be tricky. It will look ok in pictures and people will come to view it thinking they're getting a decent place, but when they turn up they'll realise there's actually quite a lot still to do. So I agree with pp that option 2 is the worst of both worlds.

If the flat is clear enough to take pictures that show the space and potential then just go straight for option 1. Only way that option 3 would make you any extra money would be if you were a builder or plumber etc yourself, otherwise with the cost of labour and materials now you might even end up spending more overall.