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Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

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Original poster

I'm in Such a muddle! :(

17 replies

Mavisblewitt · 20/08/2015 20:02

hi, I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice regarding selling / buying a house?

We have decided that we want to move to a bigger house, but our current property needs a bit of work (mainly cosmetic, but also could do with new windows, carpets in upstairs bedrooms, landing and stairs)
Unfortunately cash flow is tight so it would take several months to do, plus I'm away with work a lot and neither myself or my partner are particularly DIY savvy

Does anyone have any experience of selling a house that's not up to scratch cosmetically? Obviously we would price it accordingly, but it's a small 3 bed semi, nothing spectacular!

We have approximately 70k of equity but ideally want to put this towards a bigger mortgage (we've got an appointment with our mortgage advisor in a couple of weeks)

I guess what I'm asking is whether it's worth spending the money and having the hassle of getting these bits done, or should we just put it on the market as it is, at a lower price?

Also, what's the process once we have decided and have the mortgage agreed, do we just put ours on the market and look around, or wait until we've found somewhere and then put it up for sale?

I have actually found a house in one of the areas we like, the only downfall is its only got one bathroom and I would like a downstairs loo ideally, but these houses don't come up very often in this area.

As you can see, I'm getting stressed about this already!

Any advice would be gratefully received

OP posts:

lalalonglegs · 20/08/2015 20:56

I think it is best to put it on the market "undone" but clean, tidy, uncluttered and priced to reflect it's not at its best. Lots of people prefer to buy somewhere that hasn't been tarted up. If it fails to sell, then you are no worse off and will have had a few months to save up towards righting some of the wrongs.

lalalonglegs · 20/08/2015 20:57

I don't think it is worth putting in an offer unless yours is at least on the market especially as you are not confident it will sell very quickly.

Original poster

Mavisblewitt · 20/08/2015 21:10

Thank you so much for your replies x

Funnily enough I got a flyer posted through our door from a local estate agent who has sold a house around the corner, who is also marketing the house I like so I think I will give him a call tomorrow and see what he says?

I think it will sell quickly enough if the price is right, I just wasn't sure about putting it on the market needing money spent on it!

We've lived here 18 years, had our children here but it's really too small for a family of 4, we need more space!

Thanks again x

OP posts:

lalalonglegs · 20/08/2015 21:14

If the agency think they are likely to get two sets of commission they will definitely do all they can to make sure your house sells. Good luck.

Lagoonablue · 20/08/2015 21:17

We sold our house very quickly and it needed work. I had thought about getting a new bathroom but EA said there was no point. It was clean, tidy and uncluttered and sold on the day. Granted it was in a popular area...however the EA said no pint in doing up to sell.

mandy214 · 20/08/2015 21:22

I disagree. I think it will put some buyers off and for those it doesn't put off, they would probably discount the price more than it costs to actually do it yourself. You can carpet bedrooms fairly cheaply, stairs are more expensive but will probably be one of the first things buyers would see.

Estate agents will tell you not to bother because they just want your house on the market so they get their commission and a difference in the sale price of £5 - 10k makes no real difference to their commission.

wowfudge · 20/08/2015 23:50

Interesting point, but to some extent it does depend on what price bracket you are in, local housing stock and market. If the house is sound, clean and tidy you can still sell for good money. So fix anything that needs fixing and make sure things you've put up with, but which let the place down/give a poor impression are fixed.

We sold a house last year that really needed the bathroom updating and some work on the kitchen, plus some redecorating (it had been let to tenants and when I offered to redecorate the tenants said no - turned out because they were thinking of leaving). We sold for £1000 less than a house a few doors down which was arguably in better nick. If I had spent money doing what I thought would make it a really good buy, I'd have shot myself in the foot because we wouldn't have got that money back. I had scrubbed the place from top to bottom, cleaned the carpets and washed all the curtains.

GiddyOnZackHunt · 20/08/2015 23:58

Spending 200 pounds on new carpet would lift the house and give it a clean feel. You might find that helps get an offer. The windows, unless they're terrible, probably won't make more than a few thousand difference on the price.
Get the same agent round but bear in mind that they'll price lowish to get 2 lots of commission but will work hard to keep a deal together.

neepsandtatties · 21/08/2015 06:53

I do think sometimes houses that need some work add a cachet and often garner more interest than one that has been (cheaply) done up. Watch location location location - people love to 'put their own stamp' on a property (especially if they are a first time buyer).

It would really put me off buying a house if it had been painted magnolia with cheap fawn carpets. I would much rather pay a couple of grand less for a tidy but 'honest' house, which I could then decorate to my taste.

Anyway, take the advice from your estate agent as he knows the local market.

SWFARMER · 21/08/2015 07:08

I'm a FTB. Completing Wednesday. I can tell you that in my area anything vets snapped up quickly!!

We've just bought a old.fashioned house. Just cosmetic that needs doing. Any FTB or investor just sees potential with the shell of the house and the feel.of.the house.

I wouldn't waste your time decorating. Someome else will.come in and want to put their stamp on it.

Be sure to declutter so it looks spacious and tidy. That's the selling point.

mylovelylife · 21/08/2015 09:43

I think it can depend on the type of buyer the house is aimed at.My dd is looking and as ftb with limited cash they are looking for hours without much work needed however it's not London.If on the SE it will sell irrespective of condition.

Original poster

Mavisblewitt · 21/08/2015 10:23

Thanks everyone, I'm based in South Somerset and properties in my town tend to sell pretty quickly regardless of the condition.
I'm going to get in touch with the EA and see what he thinks. I will definitely need to replace the bedroom windows, but can get my OH's cousin to fit them so that shouldn't be too expensive, just need to wait until payday first!

OP posts:

specialsubject · 21/08/2015 11:49

new carpets but tatty windows shout 'tarted up for sale but lots of hidden problems'.

sell as is, priced to reflect conditions.

Hotbot · 21/08/2015 12:16

Try and also negotiate a reduced commission if you are interested in another one of their properties .

Katie2001 · 21/08/2015 12:20

I sold mine as it was, just to get rid of it. Be prepared for people making silly offers though. There was plenty of interest in the end, as people like to add value.

SWFARMER · 21/08/2015 13:42

Mavis I wouldn't worry. You're right. Somerset and Bristol sell so fast no matter what condition. You'll be fine to sell as is

Sunnyshores · 23/08/2015 13:29

doing anything to it sounds like its going to be a difficult due to time and money. Id get it on the market, as is. If you havent sold in a month or so, you can always do work over the winter period when not much sells anyway.

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