Spending money to sell house

[almostbutnotquite]

STBX thinks IABU but I'm off to buy stuff to make our house look better ready for it going on the market next month. He thinks it'll sell no matter what and people will see past the clutter etc

I'm only talking a few storage baskets, small cabinet and some plants. Is this not what people do?

You definitely should make it look as tidy as possible- you want to make it as easy as possible for people to want to aspire to live there, not to have to look past clutter and imagine what it could look like.

You are NBU at all. In many cases decisions to buy/not buy a property happen within a few minutes of entering. Not everyone has vision and won't see past the clutter. It needs to look as attractive as possible for the purchaser to imagine a lifestyle there.
Unless it's an obvious doer-upper.

People are really unimaginative and can’t look past clutter. When we were trying to sell ours, we put some stuff in the loft in storage. We like a lot of stuff being out on display but we know others don’t.

They need to see it emptier/tidier so they can imagine their stuff there.

Have you ruthlessly decluttered? Remember that you'll have to move all that stuff when you move out. No point spending money to store things you don't really need.

It's totally ridiculous that people can't see past clutter that won't be in the house when they buy it, but that's apparently true. As to whether it will sell regardless, that depends on your local market conditions and available comparables.

YANBU

I viewed a house once that was lovely and newish (5-6 years old), spacious (I think), but it was so full of clutter that it was virtually impossible to imagine it as a clean, modern, blank canvas. Also, the huge motorbike on display in the rumpus room didn't help matters either. Needless to say we passed on that one.

Declutter, clean up, fix or throw out anything broken and a lick of paint won't hurt. A house down my road still hasn't sold after a year on the market because it looks shabby, dirty and worn out on the outside. People are put off by the exterior so don't make many appointments for internal viewings.

I'd recommend that you shampoo your carpets if you have any because people become nose blind to the smell of their own homes. Carpets are a big source of dust, dirt and smell so clean it before you put it on the market. The first thing I notice when I go to a new house is its smell. So air the rooms daily, eliminate sources of bad odours and buy a good quality reed diffuser.

Stage your house so rearrange the furniture and decorations to present your house in the best possible way. This doesn't have to cost money, a good few days of deep cleaning and decluttering will help.

Yes definitely buy some stuff

declutter and clear shelved and put 1 or 2 personalised items on the shelf.

They say to declutter but no deporsonalise

emmyrose

Wtf is a 'rumpus room'?!

I want a rumpus room!

The main thing I'd say is to declutter. That should be the first priority over plants etc. Then think about other things.

It's not a good time to be selling at the moment, so unless your property is very desirable or in an area where not much comes onto the market, I wouldn't rely on the inherent shiftability of property whatever condition it's in.

The house we bought was hygge to the max. They even put a book on hygge on the bedside table.

Our house had the smallest rooms of all the ones we looked at, but the best arrangement of them. I go by floor plans, but it definitely looked its best.

Thanks all. I like a floor plan too and thankfully we have some good sizeable rooms so I think it'll be great for attracting families. You've given me lots of food for thought.

What do you do with kids bedrooms though? They are cluttered to the max due to me clearing the rest of the house of their toys. Do people see past kids rooms?

Sinxe you’re moving out anyway can you pack a few boxes already and put them in the garage/ loft / storage?

Box up the bigger toys (have to do that for moving anyway) and stash them in the car/shed or parents loft etc obviously not the favourite favourite toy (do this when dc are not around otherwise all toys are suddenly their favourite!) to show the room's size and potential.

We've just put our flat on the market last Monday. 10 visits so far and a 2nd one tomorrow who will make an offer (squeeeeee!!! Hope it's a good one!)

We've seriously decluttered. Put bikes out on the back staircase (waiting for neighbors to complain but it's in a bit that nobody needs to go past). Everything has gone in cupboards and drawers including photos that aren't on the wall.

Toys are all tidied in boxes/under the bed or in cupboards (much to disgust of D.C.!)

Almost all surfaces are clear. We want the viewers to imagine themselves here, not look at our stuff

Ha! rumpus room is Australian term for casual second living room for play, hobbies, general slouching and mucking about. Basically you can kick up a rumpus and it's ok unless you are doing house viewings

It's definitely worth decluttering and doing a deep clean, but I have looked at quite a lot of houses where everything looks incredibly clinical, like no one lives there. That can be off putting too!

Firstly, make sure the exterior of your house looks tidy and well presented. No weeds, rubbish, bins, etc on show. This is setting out your stall, so to speak. Also if you have a drive and park your vehicle on it, move it if you have viewings, as it will show the property better. If your house looks good on the approach, that will make people want to view the interior.
I wouldn't go buying baskets. Buy storage tubs which will be useful when moving, and fill these when you de-clutter. Store these away where they won't be seen. Buy daffodils in pots which can then be planted when you move. Make sure any paintwork looks fresh and everything is clean and tidy. If it's cold outside, get the heating on. Make sure the house is well lit if being viewed when it's dull or dark outside.
Another thing is to thin out bottles etc in your bathroom. Just store these out of sight until the viewing is over.

TheSnowFairy
A rumpus room is a games room/family room/playroom/extra TV room/casual hanging out room. Although in the case of the house I visited with the motorcycle, perhaps they had confused it with a garage! (Despite having a five car garage).

Clear out the clutter, honestly most people really can't see past it, nor can they imagine what a room might be.

Curb appeal is a must, do any repairs, paint the fence, weed and tidy. Doesn't need to all be new but does need to look cared for. We re-concreted in the step that had been loose for years, bought more gravel to top up the front garden etc.

I culled DD's toys (put some in off-site storage, got rid of the rest) so her room looked really tidy and like a bedroom. Of course it was obviously a children's room, but I made a point of her bed being a single size so people could see what it would look like as an adult bedroom.

Also check your Rightmove ad etc. Make sure the photos show the best bits about your house and that all the information is in the blurb. A floor plan is key to avoid buyers not realising it's not suitable for them before viewing. I wrote our advert based on the ones I thought were useful when we were buying and DH retook the awful photos. As a family home I included school info, local train station details and made a point that our drive could fit two cars (unusual on our estate)

We sold our house 12hrs after going on the market for the asking price.

We've taken a storage unit to get rid of the clutter and it's unbelievable how much better the house looks for it.

Get all the clutter out I used to put bins of toys in my car when people came to view nothing worse than a house full of peoples stuff lying around , very offputting

Any toys the kids don't play with send to the charity shop. Same with old house hold items, charity shop the lot, get rid of paperwork and deep clean your house.