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.)

Don't touch it. Re snowball affect (once you start on one thing etc) can absolutely confirm that as a renovation issue (currently sitting in a house mid-renovation). Our neighbours did a bit of work next door before putting house on market and not only did buyers rip out absolutely everything but they also built out at the back so the dinky balconies the previous owners put on just went on the skip. Recently sold my mother's (not touched for decades) home and got the same information from EA - you'll be wasting money. House went for 10% over asking price because it was the location and garden that sold it, not the interior.

In theory I think doer upper. In practice I've seen a couple not sell initially, then the sellers whacked a load of white/ cream paint over the wallpaper and pulled out the carpets to help buyers see the potential a bit better, and they did then sell.

I wouldn't go to the expense of rewiring or doing any fiddly bits.

I think it depends on other factors such as school catchments. In the most sought after areas people will bite your hand off for a fixer upper. Elsewhere the house might have to work a bit harder IYSWIM.

I once went to view a flat that obviously needed complete renovation - only for the EA to phone when I was at the end of the road to say seller had taken it off the market to 'do some work on it'.

A couple of months later I did view it - he'd put a horrible, really cheap and nasty new kitchen in, and we found out after eventual purchase that the electrics were completely botched/unsafe.
I'd have bought it anyway, since it had a lot of potential - he could have saved himself the money and trouble of a new kitchen that only ended up at the tip.