How much does presentation add ?

[Mylady]

My estate agent hss said do nothing - my instinct is to paint and primp. (Mid centuary bungalow needs updating but not msny bungalows in this area ) havnt brought or sild for 15 years so wonder what are your current thoughts and expeiences?

Yes to paint & primp.
IME estate agents are eager to get houses on the books. But every house I've ever seen an estate agent sell that they've owned, it's always looked polished and presented.
Even if it's in a easy sell area, having it look good means people assume it's well maintained and if they feel there is less work to be done, they may be keener to bid.

Yes i feel the same - thanks

I think it's not worth doing anything major like redoing the kitchen or bathroom (as you probably won't get back what you spend on it), but a new coat of paint and some decluttering makes a world of difference!

I think it depends what state the house is in too. Some people's homes are very show home ready and photograph beautifully even a few years down the line. Also how much value is it likely to add, I imagine bungalows sell quite well in most areas, more so than houses I find.

Well. Our agent said not to bother, so we didn’t. After a couple of viewings (and watching another thread on here where everyone said to bother!) we have repainted fully, painted the outside (stone) windowsills and wall and are about to get the living carpet replaced with a cheap offcut. Has cost us about £250 and looks heaps better.

living room carpet not living carpet (it wasn’t quite that bad)

I'd bother. If your place is dated, a lick of paint, declutter and lovely presentation with flowers etc could take it from a 'refurb job' to 'its homely and we can do some work over time but nothing needs doing immediately'.

Thanks for confirming my fealings - get the feeling the estate just wants in on the market as quick as possible :( now wondering if i sjould go to an online one

I've bought and sold 3 times in past 8 years. I've decluttered and repainted where it was needed. I mean MAJOR declutter and staging almost. We sold and made profit each time. Declutter is just first stage of packing anyway.

It's about looking good in photos now. One or two weekends worth of decluttering, cleaning, painting over anything lurid or very scruffy is definitely worth it, plus some cheap bright accessories (supermarkets, dunelm etc). It may not increase the agents valuation but it will attract more buyers, more likely to get an early offer rather than hang around until you have to accept a lower price.

The estate agent's attitude is strange. Why wouldn't you present it as well as you could? Maybe he is trying to be polite and is implying your house is lovely as it is.
However, the attitude does ring some alarm bells. What are their photos like, are they equally uncaring about those?

When we sold my dad’s house, we used the same estate agent as everyone in the village - he’s a great old fashioned agent, really earnt his commission.

He told us to declutter and recarpet/ paint the boldest room (a bright red entrance hall). In the end we also painted a room that had discoloured behind lots of pictures. He said not to do the kitchen as people like to do that themselves (kitchen was liveable).

If anything very obviously needs painting - e.g. peeling and v shabby - then I'd do it, and if there's a load of clutter then some tidying up is called for, but the most important thing IMO is that it's clean and looks well cared for. Some people will always prefer a place that looks like a show home, but many won't be bothered.
Depends on where you are, but bungalows are often scarce and highly sought after by downsizers, so maybe your EA has that in mind.

I reckon your estate agent is spot on, Donald. A lot of people have zero vision and can't see past clutter. We're hanging on for a couple of weeks and putting ours on the market just before Easter. Nobody's going to look at it in this weather and we don't want snow in the pictures.

My agent said the same. I agree with her. I was worried about the pictures on line but they look good - it was decluttering and staging rather than anything major that made the difference.

For viewings I want the house to look well-maintained. It is but it needs to look it. I haven't repainted as it's money I'd rather not spend and it looks ok as it was done fairly recently. If it doesn't sell I may re-think!

I’m going with the “decluttering is the first stage of packing” approach and a couple of touch ups of paint. That’s based on estate agent advice but also just makes sense to declutter now

Declutter deffo our house is just in the process of being sold. We had about 7viewers all loved the house but the main bedroom too small. We decided to remove my dressing table for the next viewing and it worked the 8th viewer bought

The last house I sold I had a major declutter, which was very satisfying, I also redecorated as it was a bit tired. We then moved out some larger items of furniture to make it look bigger (stored in a friends garage). The ruse worked as I sold it within 48 hours. Oh, and I replaced the stair and dining room carpet as the dog had chewed them. I always think it is funny how people are so easily, well, fooled, but I suppose some just can't visualise if there's a lot of stuff in the way.

bungalows are often scarce and highly sought after by downsizers, so maybe your EA has that in mind.

Downsizers are likely to be elderly so may want something that's ready to move into.

Surely the The House Doctor on C5 can't be wrong!

I think that if you get a down sizer, they would still re do the kitchen and bathroom. My mum did.

I think de cluttering allows possible buyers to see the potential of the rooms more clearly. It is difficult to see past lots of furniture and stuff. We have removed walls in our house and de cluttered at the same time. Walls always have furniture against them! It’s amazing how much bigger the house looks.

I would repaint any very off the wall/bright colours. If it’s a very tasteful scheme, that’s different. I would replace any dreadful carpets and make sure it looks in good condition all round. For me, that would include the garden.

There is no need to market this week. Don’t let the EA make the running on that. Small EAs in small towns often have knowledge of who wants a bungalow and they will know what they want to pay. Not making improvements (and a lower price?) might be directed at the budget of someone on the waiting list! You should try to get the maximum you can.

I think selling with daffodils out (or spring flowers) looks more inviting than snow and frost!

Yep lick of paint and spotlessly clean and tidy. Fix anything obviously broken and declutter.