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)

Batteriesallgone not yet but it's definitely part of the plan.

I don't trust them entirely as the best way for them to make money is to shift houses quickly, so their advice, if in their own interests, is likely to be don't bother, get it on the market and price to sell.

I think your main priorities need to be a) getting people through the door and b) making the house immediately liveable and easily redecoratable (it's a word ). On that basis I'd focus on:

Woodchip
Shower
Kerb appeal

If you can also make the garden as appealing and usable as possible, it will help a lot in terms of it being small.

As PP have said, most people will want to put their own kitchen in anyway. Ditto decor and flooring.

The last two houses I've bought were truly awful in terms of decor (not been touched since the 70s stylee) and had basic, dated kitchens but at least had working showers, potential and kerb appeal!

I think there's a difference between a tired old kitchen lacking in mod cons, and one that's actually damaged. A damaged kitchen would put a lot of people off. I don't think you have to get the whole thing done, but definitely get the damage fixed and the kitchen in a state where it's all usable and functional for a family who moved in tomorrow.

Not having a shower would put me off too, and I think this could be a deal breaker for a lot of families. I can't cope with washing my hair in the bath, so would always want a shower for this, and I think this is true for a lot of women.

I think if you want to sell to a family, it needs to be in a state where they can live in it straight away and get work done as and when. That means things like the kitchen and bathroom being fully functional, rather than focusing on decor or planning permission.

However, if you think you're more likely to sell to a developer/as an investment, then I'd get the planning permission for the loft, and nothing else.

I'd definitely speak to an estate agent re the kitchen and the bathroom. You don't want to spend more on them than they'd add to the price. However, I think a damaged kitchen and not having a shower would put most family buyers off.

RebeccaWrongDaily we did:

• new wiring
• new fuse box
• upstairs walls stripped back completely and plastered
• new boiler
• new bathroom (old was unusable)
• carpets stripped out and floors thoroughly cleaned (just debating sand and varnish or carpet when we ran out if cash - have another thread on this)
• basic d3ciration throughout
• attic boarded
• utility area created
• downstairs WC put in
• basin plumbed into upstairs WC.

Umm, I think that's it.

Roof is sound thankfully!

Oh and asbestos safely removed from conservatory

Presentation, Accommodation & Location are key when marketing a property.

Accommodation (ie space) : You cant make the garden bigger, loft extension does n't need PP and doubt anyone would want to extend/invest to create 4 beds which would leave an unbalanced top heavy house when there doesn't sound like there is any scope for ground floor extension and the garden is too small for a big family.

So the house it is what is is and anyone buying this wont be considering "potential".

Location sounds really good so think about what families would want.
Make sure that it is marketed declaring that all the expensive grunt work has been done and have guarantees/certificates to hand. This is a real bonus to families - no expensive surprises. Cosmetic is cheap.

So this leaves you with "Presentation"

• Kitchen diners are very attractive to families. Could you knock thru and put in basic white kitchen with breakfast bar and big patio doors to garden? (don't spend on integrated appliances - take these with you). Make the small garden look like a stunning courtyard that you see from the kitchen all day.

-Declutter and paint the place white. -Put in the shower - again to show that you have done the grunt work. _Kerb appeal _ aim for clean and fresh - ready to move into.

I think that you really need to work extra hard at PRESENTATION as this is the only one of the three that you can influence and will need to offset against the compromise on small garden and no scope to extend. this is the cheapest to influence and has a big impact for little effort. Do you have a budget in mind for how much you are prepared to spend?

Woodchip, definitely. You could accidentally put in the type of kitchen or bathroom that a potential buyer doesn't like, but everyone hates woodchip!

Id do wood chip and leave kitchen and bathroom.

If you do the bathroom and put a shower in somebody (like me) might be put off because they don't want to rip out a new shower and have to go through hassle of replacing. Same if somebody only wants a shower.

Bathrooms and kitchens are so personal people like to choose them themselfs. I'd be massively put off on the thought of having to get rid of wood chip as it can contain aspestos! Also having to find a plasterer and replaster is a pain.

There are already a couple of reasons why someone wont buy your house (small garden / limited scope to extend) - there are loads of reasons to buy it (good sized rooms, all the expensive grunt work done, good schools) - I would beg, borrow steal to put the icing on the cake - so that it is presented as "immaculate" and "finished" - woodchip gone, painted through-out, new kitchen and bathroom, neat garden, kerb appeal - I think a lot of families would pay the extra to have all this done - as getting trades people is slow, expensive and a hassle. I think that you could close that £50K gap considerably with not too much spend - so getting a great return on investment for your spend and maximising the equity you take with you.

another20 really useful thanks :)

I have recently inherited £60k. Will need to keep a large portion for house deposit.

I guess maybe up to £20k but only want to spend on things that bring a return.

That might not sound like not much for lots of work but we're good at shopping around. We did a whole (small) kitchen for under £2k at our old place and it looked great. (And sold quickly).

You added a lot of value from my point of view. I would really appreciate downstairs toilet, new boiler, rewiring and asbestos removal. All these are big headaches so could justify price increase. But doing only few from your list won't make your house done so you should be realistic. I would do wood chip as rewiring done already it will make walls complete. Also I would do kitchen IF you are planning to do new tiles, new floor and new units , if you are going just replace unit doors - a buyer will unlikely fall for it.

I always thought that you need "price to sell" if you really want to sell, unless you are on very popular area.

I don't think that you need to spend anything like £20K but if you have access to cash (via your inheritance) rather than the stress of loans then maybe £5 -10K investment will up your value by £10 - 20K earning you possibly another £10k for equity.
I think that if you have the opportunity and cash to finish it to an "immaculate refurb" standard (but not high end) then I think that you can put it on and hold out for a good price - I think there are lots of busy families who would be delighted to have everything done - and will pay the premium to achieve this.

So, are there no carpets/flooring in the house at all at the moment? I think again, that would put buyers off. For first time buyers, if they are spending all their savings on deposit/fees, they won't have the money to put in flooring. Most families will want carpets/flooring in ASAP for safety reasons as well.

If you want to sell to a family/first time buyer couple, who I agree will pay more than a developer, the house needs to look like they can move in and live there straight away without spending any money. If there's no flooring, the house doesn't tick that box.

At the moment, even if you've done most of the heavy lifting, the house will still feel like a fixer-upper to buyers, and that will put most families off. I do think spending your £20k on improvements could see you getting £££ more on the house.

How long are you willing to wait for the right buyer to come along?

There was a tv programme on helping to make a house sell (House Doctor ?) - they used to spend about £1k - would watching some clips help?

My view is I like/prefer a small garden. Am looking around at the moment for properties where DS is likely to go for university - don't like wood chip or lack of a shower. PP is easy enough for a buyer to obtain I would think? Basic but livable with kitchen is fine.

Would you consider knocking thru to create kitchen diner and adding big patio doors for a wow factor to set yours against others and compensate for small garden?
Why are you moving and what will you get out of your next house?

Would you consider knocking thru to create kitchen diner and adding big patio doors for a wow factor to set yours against others and compensate for small garden?

It'd be a good thing to do - but I'm not sure if it'd be worth the investment.

The kitchen is a galley kitchen. The two long sides of the kitchen (so, the vast majority of the actual kitchen) are sandwiched between the front room and the garden. Putting in patio doors and knocking through would mean totally destroying the kitchen and not adding a lot of space to the front room. I'm sure it could be done but I'm not sure if it could be done in a way that adds value for us.

Other options are to knock through front room and dining room (this would be much easier).

Or to knock through both walls to make downstair open plan. If we were staying we'd probably do this.

There is also a crappy conservatory. Extending the ground floor ito that would be an option.

Also although the garden is small, there is the possibility to extend sideways. Neighbours have done this and it has worked well. So going up into the attic doesn't necessarily create a top heavy house.

Another option for the attic room (for someone in the future) could be to put the master bedroom up there and convert the smallest bedroom into the bathroom, leaving either a box room or extra space for stairs where the current bathroom is. (The other place for stairs to loft necessitates some quite steep stairs!).

This would create a house with three doubles, a decent bathroom and an en suite instead of two doubles, a single and one tiny bathroom.

We're moving cities entirely! We're moving to an expensive city and will (again) be at the bottom of the market for what we want. But used to that so far! But it's where we need to be.

You can't make the bathroom bigger, but a mixer tap with shower attachment would make all the difference. A shower over the bath is very handy with small kids.

I think people do want potential. We certainly did, it was a strong selling point for DP, even though we haven't realised most of it yet.

If you know you're at the bottom of the market, it's reassuring to know as your income and savings increase you might be able to expand your home / add value before selling.

Don't get too hung up on only having a small garden , make what you have look as easy to use as possible , ie clean clear and well presented , modern family's don't always need a big garden , kids like computers rather than football etc ( and you can get to the park for that ) parents don't want to work all week then spend all weekend gardening just to keep on top of it , they want a pleasant area to sit outside for a bbq that's easy to keep tidy .

but a mixer tap with shower attachment would make all the difference

We have a crappy one of those! The water pressure isn't great. It's good enough for doing DCs' hair when they'll let me but an adult couldn't stand up and shower under it.

The kitchen has a larder. I love the larder

No idea why they fell out of fashion.

I do agree about estate agents raisins but I was surprised when we last moved that the estate agent said put it on for £_k. That much I said? It needs a lot still doing. Yes he said, 3 beds here sell for that. Good repair or bad, there’s only maybe £10k difference from the bottom to the top in terms of quality of internal finish. Because of the area being limited, a 3 bed was a 3 bed was a 3 bed IYSWIM. We put it on at that amount and sold it (needing new bathroom and kitchen) for only £5k less than our neighbours up the road 5m earlier, who’d done a total renovation and had a lovely house.

So in our case the estate agent was right, any money down would have been near on thrown away.

I agree that at the bottom of the market having potential for the future is a good thing- especially as house prices might fall. However, as a first time buyer, I know that I won't have much money at all left after spending my savings on a deposit and fees- any savings I do have will probably go towards buying essential white goods. So, while in the future I might consider things like improving the kitchen, or doing a loft conversion, I won't have the money to put carpets in straight after I move and might not be able to for a couple of months. It would put me off the house.

The same goes for the kitchen/bathroom. If the kitchen is dated but livable, then that's fine and maybe in a couple of years I will have some money to update it, and if not, I can live with it and maybe decorate cheaply to improve it. If it's actually damaged, then I need to do something about that ASAP when I move in, and I probably won't be able to afford to. For me (I have very long/thick hair), the lack of shower would make the place unlivable, I'd have to put one in. So all these things combined would probably make me look elsewhere, even if it felt like I was getting a lot of house for my money, because the first 6 months- 1 year in the house could be miserable.

I'm sure other people have different views, but I don't think mine are that unusual.

I'm in my late twenties, and lots of people I know have started buying houses/looking into buying. I think we fall into two categories- either people want a "fixer-upper" that they can buy for a significant discount and spend money on doing up in order to get a lot more house for their money, or people want a house they can live in straight away. Because I don't have a lot of capital and don't want to take on more debt as well as the mortgage, I'm in the second category. I don't mind superficial stuff (e.g. woodchip) but I want the house to feel livable as soon as I walk in. Equally, my friends who want a house to do up would probably want a house more in the state yours was when you first bought it. Maybe we're not quite the people you envisage buying it though?

IMO, just as a prospective buyer, I would say, fix the kitchen so that it's not got any damage and is usable straight away. It doesn't have to be flash or all new, just not obviously damaged. I would make sure every room had flooring, but go for potentially cheap options. Then, if you were willing to spend more money, I'd go for the shower. I just think doing these things would mean you had a much wider market of people to target and that will push the price up?

At the moment, if you did nothing, I'm sure someone would buy your house, put I can't picture who they are?