Might have to move - WWYD to house before putting on the market?

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It’s a period house which was completely renovated - new kitchen, bathrooms, the works - by a developer approx. 14-15 years ago, then lived in by a childfree couple for 10 years so kept in pretty good nick. We bought the house 4 years ago and apart from boring maintenance stuff (e.g. repointing chimneys, draughtproofing and re-cording sash windows) haven’t really done much to it. We intended to live here a long time and our plan was to gradually update the house over the years. So far, the only obvious things we have done are to install a multifuel stove in the sitting room and (most recently) redo the patio.

It's just emerged that we may have to move to another city for DH’s career. To get the house as saleable as possible, what (if anything) should we do? Nothing is hideously dated, being only 15 years old, but not fresh and up-to-date either IYSWIM. I was thinking at a minimum to have the whole place redecorated – cracks and chips filled, fresh paint all over. Opinions much appreciated!

Sounds like you already keep it nicely.

First I'd declutter. Make sure nowhere looks bursting at the seams. Then I'd steam clean carpets and curtains and soft furnishings. Weed, prune and mow the garden and dress it as a room (nice furniture, good atmosphere.) I'd repaint the front of the house if necessary and repaint the hallway so it gives a fresh, happy atmosphere as people walk in.

If you haven't redecorated in 15 years, I probably would give it a lick of paint all over - fresh, glossy white skirtings and doors make an impact. I'd probably regrout and reseal in the bathroom so it's all fresh too. Deep clean everywhere. Update accessories such as lamps, throws and cushions.

I think satin is better for a period property, less institutional

Thanks! I guess a useful step would be to contact some decorators for quotes to touch up the paintwork inside and out. The house is quite tidy-looking on cursory inspection as I have a Thing about clutter (tend to chuck stuff into cupboards so I don't have to look at it) ... apart from DH's mancave study, which is tiny and so full of towers of crap important paperwork and books that we can barely get in the door.

The back garden is looking quite smart at the moment thanks to the new patio. I'm slightly concerned about kerb appeal as we haven't sorted out the front garden yet, it's all wobbly concrete paving and ivy.

If I was buying a period property I would want to decorate it myself so wouldn't worry about chips. I'd be more concerned about sash windows and you have maintained yours . maybe tidy the front garden a little bit and declutter the man caves so it doesn't look small in photos

Hmm, it would certainly save effort and £££ if we didn't bother to get the house redecorated! I'm glad that (so far) nobody has said we need to update the kitchen or bathrooms

....well...it depends ... usually not advised to update kitchen if yours is functional as apparently kitchens are very personal taste and someone might rip it out anyway.

But I have seen frequently where bathrooms/cloak rooms have had a bit of a makeover - replacing taps or basin or tiles etc -- if they were very dated - and this can have quite an impressive impact. But it is all about return on investment and how this relates to the specific market conditions in your area.

Painting whole house top to bottom is expensive, disruptive and time consuming - would maybe only do downstairs - ignore bedrooms?

First time I've tried to upload pictures to MN, so I hope this works. Are these bathrooms too dated? To me, they look fine (obviously you can't see the small-scale wear and tear in these pics) but I've been trawling through Rightmove/Houzz/Pinterest and feeling worried after seeing some of the trendy new stuff available.

Watching with interest to see if the general consensus is that they are dated. Have to say they look absolutely fine to me!

I would say they are fine - mine was done up to sell last year (before we moved in) and looks similar! We're not planning on changing it anytime soon!

Yay, thank you!

I personally do think corner baths look dated - however the rest of the bathroom looks bright and fresh so I certainly wouldn't both doing anything about it before you move. Just make sure all the tiles, grout and sealant look clean and well attached.

Sounds like the front garden needs work - remove ivy, remove or repair wobbly concrete tiles and some nice big pots with bright things like geraniums, make sure the gate works etc.

It might be worth decorating the hallway and stair well. Most people can manage to paint a room, but painting into high stairwells often needs long ladder (& a head for heights) so might make people think that is something they would need to factor in a professional for - and unless your children wear white gloves even in 4 years they will have left grubby finger marks all the way up the walls (or maybe I just have very mucky children)