AIBU to broach the issues with my parents house sale?

[RhymingRabbit3]

My parents are thinking of putting their house on the market to downsize. They live in quite an old house but recently (about 5 years ago) added a large extension.

The "new" part of the house is gorgeous. Nicely decorated, great for family living, underfloor heating and modern decor including a lovely new kitchen. The issue is the rest of the house. The "old" part of the house (75% of the building) is single glazed, the carpets and threadbare, there are cracks in the walls and ceilings, ancient avocado bathroom suite, wallpaper hanging off. You get the idea. My parents just seem unable to see these issues.

My mum is convinced their house will sell in no time and for a high price because of the lovely extension. WIBU to try and explain that the rest of the house is letting it down and they need to address some of the issues before sale? Would this sort of thing put you off buying - it certainly doesnt make a good first impression.

There's a house that's just sold not too far from me, it's very dated inside, the usual green bathroom suites, dark brown wood kitchen, it needs gutting and starting again but it sold very quickly because it has a large garden, sweeping gravel drive and in a good location, it will be worth over a million when done up, so it really does depend on where it is and what potential it has rather than the state it's in now.

Also - new carpets and replacing a bathroom is hardly major work.

My MIL is the same. She's thinking about selling and is convinced it will fetch half a million because of the area it's in. But houses in her street which are far newer fetch that. Hers is a 1970s bungalow (usual in Oz) with dated everything...nothing's been replaced for 40 years!

I leave her to it.

But if she's got a bigger plot, if she's the only house on the street that isn't overlooked by another property, she may be right. I had elderly relatives who lived in Woking, in the shabbiest house on the street. A house they bought as a new-build in 1962. They'd done nothing to since then. But the garden was double length because of the way their estate was designed, they had no one overlooking them and there was an area of private bluebell woodland on one side, meaning that when they came to sell their old wreck of a place went for more than any of the done-up and developed properties on their road.

Get quotes for a repaint, recarpet and replacement of avacado suites and watch a few house sale shows like love it or list it etc with your mum so she can see where money is best spent for her return. Also suggest you start boxing clutter etc as it will only help with the move itself as well as the sale.

Why?? This is completely unsolicited interference! Surely people don't go around treating other people like this??

It is truly weird isn't it vivacian?

Yes I think you need to leave them to it, as good as your intentions are.

My parents are exactly the same, they seem to develop a sort of blindness to the cracks in the plaster, peeling wallpaper, no heating in the back bedroom etc and their bathroom! Drives me mad, having a shower at theirs is like standing under a dripping tap and no way can you rinse your hair properly. They are of that make do and mend generation and just put up with it.

But...I just keep my opinions to myself now, it's their house and they are sentient adults.

Sigh. You have my sympathies OP. My DPs have a figure in mind for sale of their house, based on the prices of others in their road. They cannot get their heads around the fact that everyone else in their road has done up their house in the last 20 years / done an extension and that's why they're commanding a premium. They've gone on the market three times in the last 5 years and every time withdrawn the house three months later when they're not managing an offer starting with the 'correct' number...

I wouldn't mind if it weren't for the fact it's a two storey house, my dad has very limited mobility and frequently falls. Their refusal to accept a lower price (on some level, because they want to ensure an inheritance for my siblings and I!) means they're in a house that is increasingly less suited for their needs and has me worrying on a daily basis that one of them's going to break a leg and require more in-depth care.

Unfortunately, my parents (and yours by the sound of it) are relatively young and compos mentis, so there's bugger all any of us can do about it.

I'd rather buy a house I can do up to my taste rather than one decorated in someone else's taste.

cracks in the plaster, peeling wallpaper, no heating in the back bedroom etc and their bathroom! Drives me mad, having a shower at theirs is like standing under a dripping tap and no way can you rinse your hair properly.

@Vintagevixen I think you must be my sister, that's a perfect description of my parents' house (I'm still washing shampoo out of my hair having spent a week at their's for Xmas!)

😂 Dollywilde I only have a brother so definitely not your sister, but your sister in soapy hair over Christmas 😂 and three layers in bed at night. It's good to know I wasn't the only one!

My parents are otherwise lovely so I keep my mouth shut, but I was ever so pleased to get back in my own shower I can tell you.

I think some posters on the thread are missing the cracks in the walls/ceilings part of the OP.

Maybe I am imagining it as something more serious than it is, but to me that sounds like a potentially serious problem. If big problems turn up at Survey etc, then that could cause a lot of problems with selling.

Do you/your parents already know the cause of the cracks? If not, then this is the one thing it might be worth investigating before selling.

If big problems turn up at Survey etc, then that could cause a lot of problems with selling.

Then the house owners will deal with that. There’s nothing in the OP to suggest that they are vulnerable or lacking in capacity in any way.

seems odd that they spent money on an extension rather than bringing the rest of the house up to a good standard - but that was a few years ago.
they'd probably spend more getting double glazing / repairs done, etc than they would see reflected in the sale price - and have the time and hassle of having the work done.

@SansaSnark many old houses have very cracked walls and ceilings. Depending on the cracks they could be anything from no problem at all to a big issue. The general ‘rule‘ is that anything larger than a £1 coin thickness requires investigation, but that’s by no means absolute. You can guess at what might be causing a crack by drawing a line perpendicular to the crack and looking there. An old house demands a full structural survey, I would be really put off an older house where the cracks had been hidden, but less worried by cracked plasterwork.

Cracks can be serious but also harmless and due to natural movement. Cracks are very very common in older houses and houses can shift and move depending on the weather conditions and their foundations.

Seriously worrying cracks include:

Cracks that can be seen on both sides of the wall
Cracks that run diagonally up the walls in a "step" pattern- often a sign of subsidence
As Fox said, cracks that are larger than a £1 coin
Cracks that are getting bigger and bigger in width and depth each year
If you have serious wall cracks and the internal doors start sticking, doorways appear crooked or cracks start appearing just above the doors then you must get those checked out as they can also be a sign of subsidence (eg as parts of the house sink down, cracks will appear above doorways and doors will not shut properly etc)

All the above should be checked by a structural surveyor.

The extension is immediately liveable in, which means the house is an excellent fixer-upper.