Redecorate before selling or not?

[noitsnotteatimeyet]

We are planning on relocating in the nearish future (will need to be in our new location by September 2019). So although it's a while away we've started thinking about timings and what we'll need to do by when.

We've been in our house for 17 years and if we were going to stay here we'd be redecorating at some point. However, redecorating a 5 bedroom, 3 storey house in south London is going to be expensive... and I'm loathe to spend a small fortune when we're not going to be here.

So our dilemma is do we redecorate and fix any other small problems and get the maximum amount possible for the house or do we take a bit of a hit on the price and let the buyer redo everything to their own taste?

I'd say redecorate. Think it gives the impression of everything being clean / well maintained and that's valuable. If it looks old / tired / like it has problems, people will think it's not been maintained and will discount the value accordingly. You'll also limit your market to appealing to only those who are willing to do the work and have the disposable income to pay for it.

We did. It really lifted our property and meant we could get a great price for it.

We just painted everything white/off white and patched a few things up (eg rotting wooden porch and loose kitchen doors).

Hmmm .. prices round here are so ridiculous that the only people who can afford to buy don't appear to be short of disposable income. Every house which has been sold in the last few years has been immediately gutted and refurbished whatever its original state.

If we redecorate we will have to get a loan .. decisions, decisions...

In that case no I wouldn't. But are you sure your area is still selling well? In my part of SW London it's stalled quite noticeably.

What the housing market going to be like when you sell? Prices have dipped a bit recently so I'd hold off doing anything but a lick of paint yourself

I would, to make it look decent and fresh when buyers first walk in, no to give them a feeling of dinginess and neglect (no offence intended). Use simple plain light colours. They won't like your scheme and will redecorate whatever you do, so I'd say white ceilings and beige or off-white sort of walls. Use matt emulsion.

Well we're thinking of putting it on the market in about 15-18 months time so god knows what the market will be like by then but the only house on our street which hasn't sold is massively overpriced (all the neighbours went "you what???" when we discovered what their asking price was )

We are lucky enough to have a lot of equity in the house so if we have to get a loan it won't be disastrous in the long term