To think you ought to tidy to a reasonable basic standard before people come to view your house?

[LeapingUpstream]

Trying to settle a debate with DH. I'm not talking about making it look show-home perfect, I'm talking about making it look like a reasonably tidy and welcoming, albeit lived-in home.

YANBU: A basic level of cleanliness/ tidiness is both expected and kind of important to actually selling the place.

YABU: No, it's fine to let people look round whatever state it's in, even if the master bedroom floor is mostly invisible. (And therefore leaving it in said state for your heavily pregnant and not-very-well wife who can't currently bend over to deal with, having done nothing about it all weekend, despite saying you would, is totally acceptable. And she's being the unreasonable one for thinking it ought to be tidy and for being stressed and upset that it isn't.)

😡

Does you DH actually want to move? I've read that sometimes people leave their houses in a state because they don't want them to sell.

I’ll be honest, I personally haven’t got the imagination to see beyond clutter. I find mess very distracting when I’ve been viewing property and see why house builders spend so much on show homes and styling. Other posters are so right, when you present a house, you’re selling a lifestyle. Buyers want to imagine themselves relaxing in a calm living room or preparing food in an efficient kitchen with plenty of preparation space. Bearing in mind how much estate agents charge for minimal work, I’m surprised they don’t give people a bit more direct feedback.

I also find it hard to understand how someone can be messy - but clean. To me, to clean anything properly you need to move it completely to have access. There is no way someone is going to move everything off a completely covered kitchen work surface, wipe it down and then put it all back surely? I’ve looked around homes with dishwashers, yet the sink has been full of washing up. Just shove it all in the machine until your viewers have been, likewise piles of dirty washing.

You have my total sympathy. If your DH is keen to sell, he should be pulling his weight in its presentation. Remind him that so many of these property programs show that you don’t need to spend thousands, just a deep clean, strategic furniture arranging and a fresh smell is sometimes all that is needed. It’s a pain having to be fanatical about tidiness when you’re selling, but it’s hopefully only short term and once you’re in your dream home, you can chill and relax!

His 50% of equity in the divorce will be a bigger £ if he tidies up.

Could you postpone the viewing until your DH is available to help tidy it up? Tell the estate agent that you are not well.

I appreciate what you’re saying, and it’s a view widely shared on here, but I’ve never found it to be the case myself. I’ve never made any particular effort unless it was a ‘difficult’ sale, or if we particularly wanted a quick sale, and we’ve sold for well above our asking price, plus we’ve bought dirty, messy houses. You’re at an advantage if you can see beyond mess, dirt, or an eccentric/dated/ghastly decor, and other people can’t.

The one time I made a significant alteration to a house I was selling was because I knew the type of person (aspirational lower-middle class with money) who would want to buy it, and that they wouldn’t take to there being laden bookshelves throughout. I took them all down, restored the walls, and stored the books while we sold. The type of person who would buy our current house would be very different.

I made mine look really nice for viewings and did stuff like paint the front door/kitchen cupboards/put flowers out. It wasn't expensive, but a hard market and I think mine was the one that sold in a street of similar where 4 were on the market. Similarly I saw some where they looked messy - washing out etc. Fine if you're buying a doer-upper but if you aren't it makes a difference.

What difference does it make whether there is washing out, whether you’re buying a doer-upper or something you just plan to walk in to? The washing goes with the vendors…?

I’m guilty of lacking imagination and whilst washing on the floor isn’t exactly or should be a deal breaker, it still sends a message to me that the owner is either over confident that their house will sell regardless or not that bothered or committed to selling anyway - both red flags about what they might be like to enter into a business deal with.

If it's his stuff on the floor get the kids to put it in bin bags and then put it in the shed /garage / his car/ the wheelie bin....on repeat until he deals with it.

Does he not want to sell the house? Sounds like laziness and selfishness to me.

The do-er uper will prob have bigger problems, so you're looking at something cheaper with the view of investing in it. If you're buying something that's effectively good-to-go then, and I could be wrong, it basically has to be as close to perfect as you can make it (obviously you can't do everything!). So certainly wash up, clothes away, made beds, clean, nice smell etc. And even I was selling I made cheap touch ups so it looked as good as possible. There's articles about it. People don't want to sidestep a pile of trainers etc

I once viewed a house that was a complete tip, there was an enormous dog in the garden which had done an enormous crap outside the house. The garden was shoulder height nettles with a shipping container in it and the finishing touch was going into one of the bedrooms and finding a couple in bed!

I'm not an estate agent but I'm in an industry where I'm often visiting homes that are up for sale or just sold and I never fail to be amazed by some people.
I went in one recently that was for sale and it had mouldy plates of food everywhere, dirty underwear hanging around and generally stank. I don't expect houses to be pristine for me but I think it's polite to at least have a quick once over.

A messy house is a red flag for me when looking to buy. I think if people can't be bothered to tidy, then they probably can't be bothered to do maintenance to the home either.

I think the general feeling is, an immaculate home is well taken care of. Less likely to have other issues if it's well cared for.

Why wouldn't you want your home to look it's best for selling? Laundry outside or thrown around the floor is all going with them, but it looks sloppy.

Having bought and sold many houses over the years, I would not consider buying a filthy house. It would indicate to me that maintenance might not have been done, since the two so often go together.

I always made sure our houses were spotless and smelled good when potential buyers were coming, and yes, I did it while working and raising children. It's difficult but certainly not impossible.

The idea is to make your home as attractive as possible to attract buyers, so, yes, I would make it look nice.🤷‍♀️

I don't think the OP's house is filthy, just a bit messy. That's never put me off. I can always tell what's going with the vendor.

I viewed a nice house once that had, in the master bedroom, a pair of jeans on the floor next to the (made) bed - they were crumpled and rumpled as if they'd been shoved down her legs into denim pools before the wearer stepped out of them to continue her day. The gusset of her pink knickers was prominently visible within the jeans.

I didn't make an offer but mainly because they also had an illegal (no building regs) loft conversion. YANBU

Personally I would make it look showroom perfect. I went OTT. I put all the shit in my car before viewings. I filled the plastic laundry baskets with shoes, post, any other crap that was lying around. Moved the kitchen bin in to the garage, moved the microwave, put air fryer away. Bought fresh flowers for the dining table, another vase in front of the fireplace. Sweep patio. If you want to sell it, I would go to town.

If they live in a pigsty and can't be bothered to clean the place up to live in themselves, why would it surprise you that they couldn't be bothered to clean it for anyone else ?

Some people live in squalor and they just don't care about it or what anyone else thinks about it.

It's the obvious conclusion to draw.

I think there's a difference between "mess", "pigsty" and "squalor"😂

What I would do is get a cleaner in to help me for 3-4!hours and give him your partner the bill

The same goes for estate agents photos. The seller knew when the photos were going to be taken. So no washing on the line, draped over radiators etc.

I wouldn’t buy a house that’s in a mess. My thoughts would be that if the sellers are that uncaring then what is hidden that they’ve left unattended ( damp, windows,roof etc).

Why wouldn’t you want to present your home in the best possible way??