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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think, if you're trying to sell your house for half a million...

131 replies

AndOutComeTheBoobs · 27/04/2019 19:45

..then you should really vacuum the stairs and hall way?

Seriously, it was absolutely covered in crap. I saw a toe nail.

Same goes for people selling stuff on Facebook.
"Could do with a clean".
Are you kidding? Clean it!

OP posts:

c75kp0r · 28/04/2019 07:52

Half a million pounds is exactly the same amount no matter what part of England you are in

no it's not - look at the price of a pint in London versus other cities. Also it is quite common for the same job for the same company to have a different rate of pay in London from other cities

across countries, exchange rates kind of ensures that money is worth the same amount as you move around the globe - and within Britain that is why you see jobs with London weighting

iano · 28/04/2019 08:09

Op the reason people are mentioning the £500k is because you brought it up in your title. You can't really complain about people discussing your specific question.

PurpleDaisies · 28/04/2019 08:11

Once again it's nothing to do with how much it is.

Then don’t call your thread To think, if you're trying to sell your house for half a million...

HolesinTheSoles · 28/04/2019 08:16

I think you're being silly op. If you sell something on Facebook it's fine to say 'it needs a clean' but you'll probably sell it for a bit less than you would if it was immaculate. Likewise if you're selling the house for a good price no one in their right mind will care that it needs a vacuum.

Lots of people would vacuum their house if they were expecting visitors regardless of selling it but apparently this family don't care.

NomNomNomNom · 28/04/2019 08:23

OP you're assuming it's a buyer's market and that isn't always the case especially depending on the price. Even if you're selling your house for 3mil if similar houses are for going for 3.2 Mill it won't matter if there are some crumbs on the floor.

Likewise on Facebook selling lots of people are just looking to get rid of loads of stuff quickly. So they sell it cheap and the buyer can clean it all because they're getting a good price.

GnomeDePlume · 28/04/2019 08:23

The house marketing fashion at the moment seems to be 'lived in'. A lot of homes are photographed with messy kitchens and unmade beds. Makes me wonder if the estate agent goes round a carefully tidied home and jumps on the beds and empties the kitchen cupboards before taking the photographs!

Beerincomechampagnetastes · 28/04/2019 08:25

I took op to mean, why wouldn’t someone clean up if they’re trying to sell and have viewers in their home?

I agree op

Mind boggling

Bluntness100 · 28/04/2019 08:27

I think some folks are missing the point and deliberately.

Sure a house in need of a bit of a Hoover isn't a big deal. But, irrelevant of the cost, if you walk into a dirty house, it seldom elicits "oh what a lovely house, I'd love to live there". It usually only attracts people who want to low ball the seller and get it cheap.

I do think though, that some people just live dirty. Dirty dishes piled up in the sink, sticky crumb laden work surfaces and floors, dirty towels and bed linen that's not been changed for weeks, floors that need hoovering, rubbish laying about, clothes all over the bedroom floors.. I genuinely think it's some people's norm. For a variety of reasons, mental health, laziness, not caring,

The op is right. If you want the best price for your property then cleaning it and tidying it up, presenting it at its best, is one of thr basics. And if you present it dirty, then it's either going to put people off or attract the kind of person who sees it as an opportunity to low deal the seller.

speakout · 28/04/2019 08:28

I have owned a house that was a pigsty for viewings, dishes overflowing in the sink, full ashtrays, urine on the bathroom floor- there is any number of reasons that may happen.

I totally understand.

BogglesGoggles · 28/04/2019 08:28

Half a million would be really really cheap for a lot of properties.

DonkeyHohtay · 28/04/2019 08:37

Second viewings are before the offer.

First viewings in my experiecne are fairly quick, look around, decide whether you want to make an offer.

If you go home and decide that you are 100% interested and DO want to make an offer, that's the point when you go back and measure the space for the cooker or measure for curtains.

stucknoue · 28/04/2019 08:42

I viewed a house with dirty tissue and a used (I think) condom on the floor but it was a sale forced by divorce so she had no desire to sell, it was also £50k overpriced for the street

Answeringonlyyesorno · 28/04/2019 08:47

Average house price in the UK is £231k. So I think 500k is a lot of money regardless of what is buys. Average salary is 20 something.
It's just small pockets of the UK where 500k gets you a pokey flat.

madmother1 · 28/04/2019 08:48

2 out of the 3 houses, I've recently viewed hadn't bothered to make their beds.

Vulpine · 28/04/2019 08:56

It still wouldn't bother me. If I liked the house I wouldn't care what state it was in

Original poster

AndOutComeTheBoobs · 28/04/2019 09:09

I took op to mean, why wouldn’t someone clean up if they’re trying to sell and have viewers in their home?

YES. Exactly this.

I think some folks are missing the point and deliberately.

Very much so. It's weird?!

OP posts:

speakout · 28/04/2019 09:16

Yes they are missing the point.

I have sold a home in a dirty state.
Any number of factors caould cause this to happen.

iano · 28/04/2019 09:21

It's really not weird op. You asked a very specific question about a £500k house.
The answer is that no I don't expect a £500k house in London to be spotless, because it'll probably have some problems and is more likely to be a forced sale or tenanted property.
I do expect a property in an area where prices are lower and therefore competition at that level will be higher to be clean.

MRex · 28/04/2019 09:27

When I was selling I hadn't been home for 5 days and my cleaner had been 4 days before. Accumulated crud on the floor from people traipsing through the house was incredible, it looked like the house hadn't been hoovered in a month, despite being spotless elsewhere. One particularly filthy viewer had even left half a sandwich in its wrapper on the side in the kitchen stuffed by the microwave, at least use the bin! So I don't know that you can always blame the owners. I also was frequently asked about doing a viewing the same day while I was at work; I wouldn't say no just in case I hadn't made the bed or washed the breakfast things or taken the laundry off the indoor hanger. That said, I would have sent apologies through the estate agent and the house was sparkling clean and tidy in all other respects.

MRex · 28/04/2019 09:29

Years ago I viewed a house where the children were in the bath; the mum was saying "oh just go in" but the room was tiny so she didn't fit as well as me and these poor kids were there playing with their ducks and boat. It was weird. I've never seen such a messy house before either. The reason I didn't buy it though was all the wonky walls including a corridor that narrowed almost to a point.

TeacupDrama · 28/04/2019 09:33

i live nowhere near London but I just went on rightmove and put in 3 bedroom property within 5 miles of canary wharf
maximum price 400,000 and there are 687 results, there were plenty of 3 bed terraces some had off road parking and gardens as the price dropped there were more flats some were really nicely presented too
like this /www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-70823626.html or this www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-69681754.html or www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-59027043.html all of these houses would make perfectly good homes for a family

at 500k there are almost 2000 results

500k is a lot of money whether you buy a smart 2 bed property or a 5 bedroom detached farmhouse in Wales 500K represents for most people a lot of hard work

but I am with the OP I can understand if the house is occupied by tenants etc who don't want to move but I can't understand why some selling their own house would not tidy up even superficially for a known open day

OwnerOfThatChocolateBar · 28/04/2019 09:37

It depends really. We live in a wonderful gated community of houses £650k plus and some for that are only 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
Many a council property can be 3 bedroom, 2 bathroomed and cost less than £70/80k
Not all are big, beautiful, half a mil properties in the countryside

OwnerOfThatChocolateBar · 28/04/2019 09:38

Although yes you would expect at least the place to be vacuumed and clean bathrooms etc

YoureAllABunchOfBastards · 28/04/2019 09:41

DH viewed a house where he had to step over an open, used cat litter tray to get between two of the rooms. 🤢

Confusednewmum1 · 28/04/2019 09:49

Have you been to View OP or are you going by the pictures.
The reason I ask is I have recently sold my house and got it cleaned professionally first, carpets, floor buffed whole 9 yards. (My house is always spotless) I wanted to make sure it looked amazing. The photographer turned up and was like I don’t know why people make an effort even the dirtiest houses don’t really show up on camera. Baring that in mind, how minging is the house in real life if you can see it’s dirty in pics

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