Better and faster to sell vacant or with us in possession?

[Chiana]

A bit of backstory: DH and I have been living abroad for going on 6 years, and during that time we’ve let out our 2-bed flat to various tenants. We’ll be moving back to England end of March/beginning of April next. The current tenants have a lease until the end of April next, so we won’t be able to move right in and have a seamless transition. We plan to dump the feline marauders on my in-laws temporarily and rent short-term furnished for the month of April, then move back into the flat. The catch is that at the time we left, DS was 1 year old, and DD was not even thought of. The flat was a good size for a couple with a baby, but with 2 schoolkids it will be a bit of a squish. Also, DS and DD have never shared a bedroom before, and we foresee potential conflict. So we intend to put the flat on the market as soon as possible after we move in, hope for a quick sale, and upsize to a house.

Yesterday my BIL suggested via email that the flat might sell faster and for a better price if we stayed in the short-term furnished rental longer and sold the flat vacant. Trying to keep a home looking bandbox perfect with 2 kids in residence is quite a task. But I’ve always thought homes look sort of depressing when they’re empty. On the other hand, they may be depressing, but at least prospective buyers aren’t tripping over Lego and judging my housekeeping standards.

In our shoes, what would you do? THank you.

[Chiana]

Thanks Pipbin. We've decided we'll take selected pieces of furniture out of storage and "stage" the flat that way.

Saw EA this evening, and damn is there ever a lot we have to do prior to putting the house we're in now (abroad) up for sale. EA doesn't have kids of her own, that's obvious. She wants us to put half our things in storage, and most of the kids' toys. Good advice, no doubt, but how we're going to get the DC to agree I do not know. She also suggested that when we put the house on the market, we send all 3 feline marauders to a cattery for the duration. One is an injured and traumatised stray we haven't had all that long. I shudder to think how she'd cope in a cattery.

Sorry to natter on like this. I thought the house looked fine. New paint job, clear up some clutter, but evidently I was wrong.

[Pipbin]

I think you need some furniture in there so you can see how things fit. For example, that a double bed will fit in and leave enough room to manoeuvre.

We sold our house about 6 months after the house next-door. Next-door was slightly bigger but empty. We sold ours for the same amount.

[Chiana]

Thanks ladies.

[mrsnec]

I think it depends on the market for the property. Selling ours vacant and empty didn't do us any harm ours is sold stc and an identical property fully furnished on the same street is still unsold but the market in that area is mainly buy to let and that market knows what they want without needing to see it furnished if your market is first time buyers you might need to stage it.

[JustAShopGirl]

Vacant to me always suggests either there is something wrong with it - e.g. why hasn't it sold whilst the buyer has found a new place.. or that someone died there. Both would make me offer lower.

[HortenMarket]

I think putting some beds and sofas etc in and a few homely touches is a good idea of you have them in storage. After all show house developments spend thousands dressing a show home - they are never empty. Good luck.

[noddyholder]

I have found empty and vacant gets lower offers as people feel detached from anything that doesn't feel like a home and make cheeky offers.

[UsedToBeAPaxmanFan]

I think vacant but basic furnishings. For some resson, properties do look smaller when empty. We viewed some empty properties and they looked a bit sad.

When we viewed our house, the owner had moved out but left furniture behind. No clutter though, so it gave us a good sense of how the rooms could really be used. You can also make the rooms look more usable if you aren't living there. eg push your dining table against a wall to give a feeling of space, whereas you might have to have it in the middle if the room if you were actually living there.

If your furniture is quite large, it might be better to
buy a second hand small sofa rather than put your own sofa in, iyswim.

[Chiana]

Oh God, now I don’t know! I really don’t want to cram us back in there with the kids the ages they are. What if we took some of the furniture out of storage, just enough that the place wouldn’t look totally empty? Say, sofa, dining room table, beds etc. I shouldn’t be asking MN, I should be asking an EA. We’ve got an EA coming next week to look at our house here, and I’ll ask her what she thinks. I mean, she wouldn’t be our EA in London, but she’d surely have a professional opinion on the subject.

Thanks very much, though.

[HortenMarket]

EA told me all properties sell quicker if furnished. People can lack the imagination and sometimes rooms actually look smaller if unfurnished. Of all the places I looked at we only offered on one vacant one (but we are talking enormous victorian house so it felt very big). Other vacant ones seemed to languish forever and/or drop prices (in London so market pretty solid).

[OnePlanOnHouzz]

I agree - empty - fresh lick of paint and a tidy up generally and it should sell much faster ! Good luck with it all !

[Chiana]

That makes a lot of sense. Thanks!

[Tambajam]

Vacant.
Emphasises lack of chain.
People can imagine their own belongings in situ and won't be distracted by your possessions.
Flat will look much larger - especially if you'll be squeezed in.