Which home improvements most important to buyers?

[raisinsarenottheonlyfruit]

My house needs more work than I have money for! But we want to sell. So I want to prioritise the improvements that will help sell it / make the most money back.

Which do you reckon are the most attractive to buyers in this list / will add the most value?

Get rid of wood chip in front room, plaster & decorate
Get kitchen up to reasonable standard
Decent flooring
Decent shower (in addition to small bath currently there)
Planning permission to convert loft space (large bedroom with en suite)

Woodchip.

Don’t replace the kitchen. It’s so personal. A lot of people like the ‘excuse’ to get a new one themselves. Do make sure the kitchen is equipped for mod cons if you are ‘handy’ enough - plumbing for dishwasher, extractor hood etc. So it will be a straightforward replace, not replace plus building Work. If you see what I mean.

Wood chip is a nightmare to get rid of, as a buyer that would encourage me to offer less money as it's such a hassle. In my experience the kitchen is the first thing people change when they move into a house because it's not to their taste. So I'd just tart it up and leave it with the assumption the buyer will want to swap it anyway. The shower is worth doing because plumbing is such a hassle and people expect a shower.

I'd say the 200k your neighbours sold for isn't comparable.. a loft conversion is expensive and adds value as does a huge garden.

Strange point you make it that you can't 'price it to sell'.

Personally as a buyer I wouldn't give a damn about any planning permission as at the end of the day you never did it so would make me wonder why you just obtained it but now moving? Just think you'd just be wasting your money there.

Wood chip and shower would probably be worth spending on then just get the place clean with all the snagging jobs done.

Kitchens are personal I agree - but it could impact on your offer prices if you haven't 'priced it to sell' in the first place

I'm not thinking of putting a beautiful kitchen in. Just something functional and not totally crap.

We did a kitchen in my first property for under £2k before we sold (about half the size of this. We shopped around a lot for tiling to get decent tiles at good value ( [[https://www.al-murad.co.uk El Murad They were excellent) and bought the cheapest cupboards we could find that looked passable (Wickes take away kitchens IIRC).

Shame we can't do door replacement but there aren't mod cons like a dishwasher / extractor and two of the cupboards are damaged from an on going leak we had (and didn't discover till the damage was done).

I think I feel a spreadsheet coming on

I'll try that link again! We really shopped around and were really pleased to find this lot www.al-murad.co.uk

In case anyone's interested, my top tip for cheap bathrooms is the pile 'em high shop that sells to trade, towards the Archway end of Holloway Rd. (If they're still there that is!)

You don't need to be trade to shop there There's no pretty sales room or pepole trying to sell you a lifestyle. Just stuff for sale and people who can answer practical questions. Exactly how I like it!

As another poster said, Potential is as important as location.

Planning permission is a good idea as is removing the woodchip.

Show the house in a basic, but as good condition as possible and market it to someone looking for a 'fixer-upper' or investors.

I am fascinated as where you could buy a house in the SE for £130k 5 years ago ....?

See I'd think kitchen because people will see that as a big cost to improve.

But I'm unusual in that woodchip, artex etc really don't bother me.

TBF you can't compare your house with a tiny garden to one with a massive garden, unfortunately it would be a deal breaker unless it's south facing for lots of people.
For me the interior makes no difference at all and I'd be looking at the structure and roof.
Obviously there will be a market increase to when you bought BUT have you made any real difference to when you bought it?
Buyers will look at street price, market value etc, what it was sold for and any improvements that have been made.
A house no matter what is only worth as much as someone wants to spend. Yes you can up the price of the street value but it takes loads of work.

unfortunately it would be a deal breaker unless it's south facing for lots of people

Yes I know that. But we're not competing with the other houses on the street. They are in a different price bracket.

We are competing with other houses in the same price bracket in this town. From lots of house hunting when we were looking for this, they tend to have smaller rooms and small gardens (a surprising number of family house type properties with small gardens in town).

This house will be a godsend for people who can't afford the next price bracket but need space (internally).

Clacton might be low prices in the SE.

I am sorry but I think there are problems with this house. A kitchen refurb is not cheap but the sound of yours is a real disaster. So you have to do it. A small bath and no shower doesn’t scream family either. So can you replace the bath and get a decent shower in? Again it will cost.

The small garden is a massive problem. As it is small it will not attract a family over other houses with better gardens. No-one has mentioned this but it’s w massive deal breaker for a family. However with one child or first time buyer it may not matter but it needs to be a real oasis. A lovely place to relax and not a strip of grass and manky fence panels.

Yes to kerb appeal. So a smart front garden and a front door that is welcoming.

I wouldn’t worry too much about floors but wood chip is awful. I do think you have got a lot of work to do and money to spend if you don’t price to sell. I think you are being unrealistic and I would be worried about spending more than it’s worth and still no-one wanting a 3 bed house with a small garden. On this basis a loft conversion is silly.

This is comparable to what the house was like when we bought it. We've done a lot of work already to make it liveable!

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-70307558.html

And you’re sure no one would want to save and restore the 70s units that are there?

The small garden is a massive problem. As it is small it will not attract a family over other houses with better gardens

I know. But thankfully there are lots of family houses in this town with tiny gardens (and tiny rooms!). We're competing with them and the house will be priced accordingly.

The people who can afford this house will need to ask themselves whether space internally or externally is a priority because at this kind of price you can't get both here.

We prioritised space internally - and buying a house by the good schools before the school deadline ran out!

I'm confident it will sell to another family stretching their budget to buy their first family home like we were.

And you’re sure no one would want to save and restore the 70s units that are there? yes sadly since the leak they're damaged inside.

We have a small garden and 3 kids

I hate gardening and we live near loads of parks and things to do.

OP asked for advice on things she can change!

We have a small garden and 3 kids

I hate gardening and we live near loads of parks and things to do.

OP asked for advice on things she can change!

@another20 it was £140k but advertised at £160k IIRC.

You can still get a 3 bed property advertised at £160k or less in the SE. Here are 76 three beds in the SE advertised between £110k and £160k.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E94376&minBedrooms=3&maxPrice=160000&minPrice=110000&radius=30.0&propertyTypes=bungalow%2Cdetached%2Cflat%2Csemi-detached%2Cterraced&includeSSTC=true

OP asked for advice on things she can change!

Thanks Batteriesallgone :)

Have you asked local estate agents OP?

The bathroom is an issues it's tiny! But we can't make it bigger without losing a bedroom.

Again, this house is for people who understand they need to make compromises to afford a house full stop.

House with big rooms (which we do have) decent size garden and bathroom (which we don't have) are about £50k + more than ours!

i think do a snagging list, on each room. However anything damp / leak stained /mouldy would have me running for the hills- nobody wants to buy a house with a damp problem or a leaky bath, you never know when it's going to come back!

a garden is a garden is a garden- nothing you can do about the size of it.

if the walls are woodchipped i'd imagine there needs everything doing and would likely be going back to re-skim in that room?

when you say you did the big jobs but ran out of steam/cash what did you do? New roof/ windows / boiler etc.?