What do you need to do before you sell?

[Saxie]

I think we should do the majority of things a viewer & surveyor would notice, repainting hall, & generally de clutter, but my DH & I can't agree if we need to do things like fix guttering, repoint chimney, paint windows etc. If we were staying we would definitely need to do these jobs this year and if we don't sell for ages then might have bigger consequences. In the context if the house prices it's not going to be more than 2.5% of the price of the house.

WWYD?

I'd take care of them. If you don't it will only be reflected in the surveyors valuation, and you will end up haggling over price. Not worth the grief imo.

I would do things a buyer is likely to notice or be worried about - like the windows, for example.

It's also worth getting your boiler serviced if you haven't done so recently.

I agree. I'm just struggling to persuade DH because he's mean (not really, I'm just a bit more profligate than him)

We have no time to do these jobs so we have to pay someone to do them and sometimes it feels like a lot of money for old rope!

I think it depends entirely on what the property market is like in your area. Where we live, there is a very high demand for houses, and offers have to be made immediately. So in our area, from a buyer's perspective there isn't time to worry about guttering or decoration really, and there is really no point in re-negotiating prices, because there will be a whole load of other people queuing up to the buy the house if you start messing around. So in our case it would have been a waste of time.

If you live somewhere with a slower turnover, then it might be more worth your while doing some of the more obvious things.

As Jampot says, you'll need the boiler to be serviced anyway, so you may as well arrange that.

Do the easy things and the things that could lead to deterioration if you don't do them.

I'd be worried about buying a house where the guttering wasn't in order because I would worry about any invisible damage that might have been caused by water getting in.

If you don't do them you're limiting your pool of potential buyers to people who aren't bothered. Mabel has a good point - the speed of the market in your area will affect how much that matters.

I live in London so the market is very hot here. I really want to make sure that when we out the house on the market it sells quickly because we have two small children and keeping the place spotless will cause me to have a nervous breakdown!

dodgy gutters, iffy windows and unpointed chimney says 'neglected house'. Even in London.

The windows just need a lick of paint, they are essentially new; the pointing came out over this winter, I know this because the roof has been regularly inspected and the guttering is mostly fine, just a few areas need attention.
Believe me, it is not a house suffering from neglect. I just want to make sure that the barriers to selling are minimal so it sells quickly and for a fair price.

Well, if it's definitely NOT neglected there's no point in letting it look like it is - if the windows only need a lick of paint, give them a lick of paint

Quotes for all this work are in the post.

Thanks for all your help & advice.

Good luck!