Sprucing up the house for sale

[hwjm1945]

Not sure if this is the right forum, but want to do something other than tax return, so here goes.

How much does having a nicely newly painted interior actually add to the value of your house? How much does de cluttering add?

In a good market, which I understand the current one is, will people look beyond dated decor, and look at room size etc, or do you think that this would have a big effect on price?

All fundamentals are sound, just a bit tired.

Come to think of it the houses I have ruled out have been mainly those with 'passable' kitchens and bathrooms, that just needed decorating, and had replacement windows.

But then I'm not after a buy-to-let, I want to live in a house I love, that I can walk into and feel enlivened by the light through the original glass, which is always a bit wobbly - I want to look at the outside and see something beautiful, I want to feel the creak of the old floorboards and the coldness of old tiles.

I've looked at so many places that had only the vestiges of their original character left - perhaps a tiny window no one could be bothered to replace, or one solitary old fireplace not boarded over, or maybe a pretty old garden full of weeds (which don't matter).

But the sheer amount of work needed to get rid of the sense that you have walked straight into Homebase, full of laminate and downlighters and stainless steel lightswitches, and new cheap floor tiles with grey grout that are just hideously ugly - that thought was terrifying, even though the house was 50 grand under our budget. There was just nothing left of the old 'self' of the house.

It had basically been ruined.
The one we've offered on isn't like that. It does have a relatively recent kitchen, but it's a plain, sort of shakery style one without any pretensions - it looks in place in a Victorian house - it's not ultra modern and they have only put vinyl over the boards so I can pull that back at some point and restore them.

The bathroom, the same - the windows have been KEPT (oh joy) and the feel of sash windows in a house is wonderful. There's a beautiful, beautiful original fireplace with its old tiles and marble surround, with its old slate hearth and all the coving and bannisters and doors are still there.

You can tell the house is loved for what it is. It hasn't been ruined. Mainly I think it's UPVC that does it - even the survey recommended we put in UPVC windows. No effing way, sir. Can people not see the horridness and the damage they are causing by doing that?

Anyway bit of a rant but there you go. I suppose if I was a potential landlord I'd be looking for what is modern and 'acceptable' but I'm not, and I like to think we're saving a house from being smothered and suffocated in modernness.

We are selling up and I recently asked an estate agent the same question. It won't necessarily add much value but he did comment that our freshly painted walls in neutral colours add to "sell-ability". I think de cluttering and making sure everything is clean and tidy really helps give a good impression. It helps if buyers can picture themselves moving straight in upon completion.

Definitely de-clutter and make sure things are spick and span. Give everywhere a darn good clean. No need to redecorate unless you have tired decor or outrageous colours. Do make sure any little maintenance jobs you've been putting off are completed or viewers may think there is more which needs doing or that there is potentially a lot to do to bring things up to scratch. Try to look at your home as just a house and with a critical eye. Make a list of jobs and prioritise the most important ones.

When we last viewed a couple of years ago there was one house with loads of jobs which needed finishing because the husband clearly wasn't bothered about moving but the wife was (they'd inherited the house from his parents) - bits of unfinished decorating, loose wires on the landing where a light switch was needed, a missing cabinet door in the kitchen and he'd embarked on removing the coving in the dining room! The house we bought has bags of potential but was so filthy even my OH noticed . We chose to move the day after completion so professional cleaners could get in and scrub the place. Well worth it.