16k of work to add 45k in value

[hettyGreek]

My self and my DH have a small stake in a house through inheritance that is going to be put on the market.

It's in a good state but could do with a few blown windows (just the glass) replacing, having a new bath (just the bath - sink toilet are fine) and having the loft converted (straightforward conversion as windows and lots of the boards have already been put in).

One EA has valued it at 265k, but with this work done they say it would go for 310k.

We've had three builders in and the quotes came in near the same and the average is 16k.

This doesn't seem right that 16k of work would add 45k, I understand they wouldn't have the hassle of doing it but I would of thought this would save maybe 5k - not 30k.

Does this seem right?

If it is then we may as well spend a few weeks doing the the work before selling it.

Unfortunately yes it makes that much difference -

Some people won't buy houses that need work - others have no vision to see how it would look -

Each bedroom is around £30k so you are adding an extra room with the loft -

Nobody wants to live in a house with builders and dust -

You also have to remember there's a difference between what you can borrow to do work and borrow to buy a house that's already done.

When we were looking to buy a while ago there was a house we could get for £300k that with around £50-60k of work would have been closer to £400k in value, we could borrow £350k to buy a house but not £300k to buy and another £50k to do the work, I was pregnant and about to drop down to mat pay so we couldn't afford to pay the builders from our income , and so bought a different (smaller) house that was ready to move in.

In your position I would get the opinion of more than one estate agent. Have a look on rightmove and see what difference th improvements would make and which improvements would be most cost effective.

Are you sure that the builders and estate agents have the same vision? For example, there is a difference between updating a bathroom (modernising flooring, fittings, tiling and parts of a suite) and changing the bath. That difference is both on price paid and price achieved!

Remember someone will need to maintain the rest of the property too. Mow a lawn etc. whilst you wait for builders. Could one of those inheriting do a list of tasks like that for a weekly £?

Thanks yes getting it seen by several estate agents, only one so far.

Not sure if they have the same vision, maybe the EA is overvaluing how much the work is. It really doesn't need much.

It is difficult as it involves several people but seeing as it's empty maybe we should just borrow the money to do the work.

If it was a 16k to add 20-30k in value that would kind of seem right. But getting three fold on the investment does seem extreme. Surely when you sell the house you sell it with the potential priced in?

DinosaursRoar - that's another fear, if we did spend the money the house maybe "worth" that, but it could price out lots of people putting it in a new bracket and make it more difficult to sell.

Have you looked at what comparative properties have sold for as a PP said? If there is enough stock to do that. It does seem crazy but yes, people often just don't want to do the work and would pay more than the work costs for that convenience. Especially things like a loft which is messy and disruptive. If it were me and I was only doing the work to sell though I might not bother doing anything to the bathroom as buyers might want to put their own stamp on that anyway. The windows are worth doing as buyers might think they will cost thousands to sort out and take that off their offer.

my current house is/has been a renovation project, it's been a long haul (living here and doing stuff as and when we can afford) ... If I moved I would like a house that's in a fairly good state because I know what a nightmare it is.

House prices are on the up and I've certainly seen a lot of properties going cheap, being done up and going back in sale for a LOT more but freshened up.

Sadly not really enough stock recently to compare it to.

Are house prices really on the way up right now?

I wonder if these ones freshened up are actually achieving these much higher values?

Are you sure the agent is not just 'bigging up' what he can get for you - so that you instruct him?

Without knowing the specifics of your area and market, nobody can really say how much, what sounds like fairly minor improvrments, will/will not add to a final price achieved.

I've had agents come round in similar circumstances and say not to bother with any improvements because you'll only get about 2/3rds of the cost back if you immediately go on the market - because these days everybody can find out what everything costs and you can't make people believe you've done £50ks worth of work if you've only done £10k - apart from old folk of course - sadly for them they are still regularly ripped off.

If you get other agents round it will give you a better picture - take everything with a very large pinch of salt.

The first agent might have thought you won't instruct him if he recommends you do nothing - he might have picked up a vibe from you that you think you can make more by refurbishing - so he's telling you what you want to hear.

If the other agents disagree, the first agent knows he's already whetted your appetite and your less likely to believe the second agents because he says he can get you more... and in a month he says you need to drop the price...

I really dont know. The agents I guess just want the work at any cost, everyone likes to sell at a high price.

I think its the extra room that will add to it, however if we do it it might make it harder to sell as there are several different ways to do it.

It's just turning into a headache. Seeing as its split with several people. Even 30k more isnt that much more per person really.

I've always at least doubled my money with work on a property, so those figures don't sound too off. It does need to be the right work, though. Adding a bedroom, as long as it doesn't leave the house too top heavy or too short on bathrooms, is a winner. And all the work needs to be fairly neutral and done to a good standard.

It's not just the outlay of cost for the builder, remember, it's the hassle of managing it all. And it is hassle.

A loft conversion for £16k sounds unrealistic - whether it has been boarded or not it will need steels added to strengthen the structure, a staircase that meets building regs, a ton of insulation, wiring and, as pp said, probably it's own bathroom. If it doesn't pass building regs it can only be advertised as storage not a bedroom.

I thought 16k sounded cheap even for a loft conversion alone.

I see, this was several builders that suggested it was about that to convert the loft. It is a small bungalow.

However its turning into a big deal just dealing with everyone that owns a stake, can't see us ever organising doing work on it!