What's better for selling: a bit fixed up or not fixed up

[Mingmoo]

We are going to have to sell our house for personal reasons and we haven't lived in it for very long (less than a year). Prices are rising here and it's a three-bed house in a very good location but it needs work. At the moment it's liveable in but very, very dated. My feeling is that we'd attract more buyers if we made some improvements - sort of a way of showing people it would be worth doing the rest if there was new wiring, better decor and the three bedrooms were functional (one isn't at present). At the moment there's a lot to apologise for and not so much to show off. A builder I saw is giving me a quote but he pointed out we might have all the hassle of the work and not gain anything financially by the time he's paid. As a buyer, how would you feel? There isn't one 'nice' room at the moment, but it all has tons of potential.

(There's no chance of us redoing the whole thing; it would take over a year and it would cost a fortune we don't have.)

From what you've stated, I'd just sell it as a doer-upper.

Personally, I'd prefer a doer-upper. When we were looking for a house I saw lots of houses that were nicely done up, but not to my taste and I wouldn't have been able to justify ripping out and starting again, but didn't love enough to offer on.

You could try marketing as a doer-upper and, if it doesn't sell, you can reconsider.

That's a good point. We aren't planning to buy again for 2/3 years so we're not in a mad rush to sell.

I think it's partly that I really wanted to do it up - that's why we bought it! All the thinking and Pinterest wasted...

I like doer-uppers. People who don’t want the hassle, would probably prefer a finished house. Doing the wiring and bedrooms will still leave the big ticket items like kitchen and bathrooms to do so you’d probably still get a doer upper price for it.

I'd just try it as it is. And if it doesn't sell you'll have to think again. Sometimes people go in a rip out kitchens that have hardly been in any time at all because they're not to their taste.

Make sure it's clear of clutter so people can see the potential and give it a go.

I'd market as a doer upper.

People who are scared of building work will still be put off even if you do a bit of tarting up.

People who aren't scared of building work would rather do it all themselves than pay for the bits you've done (which may not be what they would choose).

Agree about decluttering though. I think people can envisage new decor and even new layouts if they can see the rooms properly (well some can!) but it's harder to see a room's size and potential if it's stuffed full of things.

Oh and also make sure it is clean. Even enthusiastic doer upper shoppers can be put off by eg mould problem or cigarette smell.

EA told us not to bother because we'd never increase the value by as much as we'd spend doing it up. It didn't have internal doors and desperately needed new windows/front door but sold pretty easily.

No mould problem. It's just massively dated, including the wiring and the bathroom, and the bathroom is only accessible via the third bedroom. We thought it would cost x to do it up and we would do it over five years but it looks as if it will be 2x and we'd need to do it now!

I think it's a good idea to see if it gets any interest. I'm going to talk to an estate agent who sells this kind of house and see what he thinks too. Much worse houses are selling in this area for development. I don't know why I think no one else would think the same as we did.

Just be wary of EA advice. They want your house on the market now so they get their commission. The difference at 1% commission between a sale at £200k and £250k is £500, he'd much rather have £2k in his bank account in a couple of months than £2.5k in a year!

I think sometimes do-er uppers can be as popular and renovated houses - people think they're getting a bargain plus the opportunity to put your own stamp on it.

If the bathroom is through a bedroom, it’s quirky. That won’t be popular with families and won’t be just a doer upper. It needs an expensive revamp to make it family friendly. The third bedroom is effectively a passageway. Could you get plans drawn up to rectify this? Adding a bathroom off the landing would be good.

Defo just leave it as a do-we-upper.

Even things like rewire I’d rather do myself so can choose number and location and style of sockets etc.

If the bathroom is through a bedroom, it’s quirky. That won’t be popular with families and won’t be just a doer upper. It needs an expensive revamp to make it family friendly

It’s relatively common in some styles/areas. But agree it’s a 2 bed plus study.

A doer-upper being resold after less than a year would certainly raise some questions with me so you may want to think through what your/the agent's response would be to those.

Both my dds have bought houses that were very dated but were clean and evidently cared for, and perfectly liveable until there was the time and money to do them up.

Some people will always want a place that looks like a show home, and some will never want all the faff and hassle of renovations, but there's always a market for doer-uppers, as long as they're priced accordingly.

If you can afford to then I think you would make your money back by doing some of the work. I've done up 3 houses and made money every time. I wouldn't get into debt over it though. Even painting some of the rooms in a light neutral colour could help. If you can do the bathroom reconfiguration then I would. Maybe leave the kitchen as it is? People don't have as much of a mental block about getting a new kitchen as they do about moving walls.

What do yo need to do to get the bedroom to function?

Would not re-wire - as if someone knocks walls out and changes the house layout / replaces the kitchen you will have put light switches / sockets in the wrong place.

Do a thorough search on RM to see what similar houses have sold for in the past year BEFORE you see (at least 3) EAs.

Agree that they can under value to shift or over value to get your business (and then property doesn't sell and price has to be reduced).

I would rather buy a complete renovation job than one that was half or partially done.

If the wiring needs doing it's not worth doing anything else anyway as it will likely get damaged during the rewire as walls will be chased out and floorboards lifted.

If it's being sold after less than a year, there may be a suspicion that you've unearthed something very wrong and/or very expensive though!

We're moving for work reasons - nothing to do with the house at all, although it's an old house and my fear is that if we start working on it the work will snowball (i.e. rewiring leads to replastering and so on and so forth). We'd been looking into renting it out but we'd need to do some of the work first and we're not all that keen to be landlords, especially as we'll be living in another country.

Ive been looking for a doer upper and im sure there are other buyers like me.

Leave it how it is unless you have time to shop around or do lots yourself, renovation can be too costly.

Also try to wait till you've been there a year and then get it on the market, so less assumptions may be made as to why you are moving.

I have just recently sold a house and the EA over valued. Several agents were offering similar houses for around the same price but when I looked at sold prices, they were not achieving the asked for price. My house was also the smallest but you could just move into it. I had to reduce by £10,000 to the "sold" prices that were actually achieved because everyone can check them out these days! As I did whenI realised the EA was kite flying. The house was 15 years old so condition was pretty similar to everyone else but some have garages, more floor space, a conservatory, new kitchen and bathroom etc which slightly affected sold price, but not by much.

If it needs doing up, do not start. Be honest about why you are selling and then it should be ok. Lots of people move for work. You will just have to price according to similar properties (with the bathroom through the 3rd bedroom because this will make a difference and is a "no no" around here for a 3 bed family house) and take money off for the work that needs to be done. If it is good value, someone will have it. If there are loads on the market and prices are falling, so buyers can be choosy, yours may not be the first one to walk off the shelves unless it is a bargain.

Leave as a do-er upper. When we were selling my Grandparents' house (no central heating, avocado bathroom suite, barely updated since the 1960s), the identical house next door went on the market at the same time. Next door was 'done up' - not to an especially high standard, but a B&Q kitchen, white bathroom suite etc. Ours sold immediately, via sealed bids, for £85K more than the updated one next door eventually sold for.

People were going mad for the fact they could 'put their own stamp on it'. Doer-uppers sell for a premium!

We're actually looking at buy a house now. The one thing we hate are the ones that are a bit fixed up; for example you see a photo of what looks like a recent kitchen, nice bathroom and neutral walls (a blank canvas) only to find that the kitchen's 30 years old and just been painted (badly) in a fashionable colour, the bathroom's just had the tiles painted (badly), and the neutral walls are hideous 1980s artex which has just been painted (badly). Needless to say, the estate agent photographs the house cleverly so you can't tell until you visit, thus wasting precious time.

Be honest and sell it as a fixer-upper, there are people who want houses to do up and there are people who want ones that they can just move into; no-one wants one half-way between the two.

Thanks, everyone. You're right, @Mondy I think knowing what to expect probably helps when you're looking at houses, so you don't get disappointed. A lot of houses on this road and in this area (a historic one and very close to the city centre, so sought-after) are in a terrible state having been in flats or not well looked after. This one is just old and dated. I'll try not to despair. (I mean, we bought it...)