If I can do only one of these things...

[closeencountersofthetwattykind]

Will be putting my flat up for sale in the next few months, with the hope of selling from end of April onwards.

I bought my flat from my HA.

Although it has double glazing, the living room bay window is awful. So draughty and the window sill is rotten. I have money saved to replace this and was planning on doing so before Xmas.

However, I also hate the kitchen. It's dated, cheap, badly fitted and frankly, horrible.

I'm now wondering if I'd be better to replace the kitchen before selling, as the window is a cheaper job for someone else to do.

I don't immediately have the entire funds for a new kitchen, but it's doable within perhaps another 4 months, although wouldn't be anything extravagant.

Is it mad to spend that amount purely with the intention to sell?

Any opinions?

Windows! That’ll reduce bills, possibly put your energy rating up too which could be a draw for someone buying if it’s a big jump.

Also if you get any benefits double check for other insulation grants, some aren’t free but we got solid wall done for £200 and the house is like an oven compared to last year.

As for the kitchen look out for second hand or clearance cupboard n drawer fronts.. or painting/vinyl wrap them depending on what they look like could be a total new lease of life for a fraction of the cost. Especially when it’s just to make it nice looking.

I’d do the kitchen. That will take your flat from ‘fixer upper’ to ‘nice’ which is a big price jump. It’ll make you money. See what you can do about the window - perhaps it’s a case of swapping the windowsill and improving insulation around it rather than replacing everything.

This is a hard one because someone might rather pay a bit less and put in a kitchen to their taste. I know I’d rather buy a house with a kitchen that needed replacing if it was reflected in the asking price then I can choose what I want rather than any old cheap thing the vendor had put in to tart it up to sell - no offence intended it’s just unlikely you’d put in a kitchen of the same quality and design you’d put in it you were staying there.

@Examssuck so you'd vote for the windows?

@JoJoSM2 The window is pretty awful. Doesn't keep the noise out all (live on a busy road) and even the handles are totally gubbed.

Maybe it does needs to be the window and see what I can fix in the kitchen without a total refit.

Definitely the window. If it causes a draught, and you can hear traffic noise through it, it's likely to put off people who come to view it. Also a cheap kitchen won't really 'up' your value that much relatively; most buyers would rather put one to their own budget and taste than that.

I agree with the window being done
A lot of people would want to pick their own kitchen anyway so it's not always a deal breaker and it probably isn't as bad as you think

I'd do the window - buyers are likely to rip out the kitchen anyway if it's not to their taste. But they'll need to get the window done if it's not done already.

Tart the kitchen up as much as you can, so long as it's useable it'll be fine.

Do the window and tart kitchen up.

Windows! When I looked at houses I was put off by new stuff that wasn’t to my taste 😂 because I knew I couldn’t justify changing it if it were new but I wouldn’t want to live with it either! Windows are windows really, but a kitchen is something people want to put their own design on if new, I think. The house we bought has an old kitchen and we plan to replace it ourselves - we looked at an identical
House 2 doors down with all brand new kitchen and I didn’t like it cos it was too white and shiny 😂🙈 (poor DH despairs of me haha)

If you're brave enough to post a pic of your kitchen we can give you ideas for how you might make improvements without spending loads

I would do the kitchen. We had a quote to replace the windows in our flat before selling and it was 20k!!! Flat sold for asking price without an issue. We put in a new kitchen and bathroom a couple of years ago.

I'd replace the window. The buyer might not like your taste in kitchens and change anyway. As a buyer I'd live with a dated kitchen rather than a drafty/noisy/cold room.

You could even spruce up the kitchen too, change the handles and worktop or some other little things rather than a full refit?

Haha @flouncyfanny My mum is always telling me about the house doctor, she was up a few nights too when she couldn't sleep but I think she's actually inadvertently reset her body clock to wake he up to watch it now!

The window, for sure.

Windows! And post a picture and let the vipers give you free kitchen cheap tart up improvement advice!

Window. I hate high gloss kitchens for example so if one was there I would be ripping it straight out. Tastes can be so subjective. A friend of mine did her kitchen for a decent sum to sell, drove past a week after completion and saw the brand new kitchen in a skip outside.

I was just going to say what @Geppili said, post some pictures of your kitchen and we can advise!

I transformed my hideous dated kitchen by painting the cupboard doors, putting in a new worktop, hob and sink and doing a bit of tiling - less than £500 and it looked amazing on the estate agent's pictures

Here goes...

As you can see, pretty bad.

Admittedly, the washing machine would hopefully, very hopefully, fit if I removed the skirting board.

How easy is it to change a whole worktop? At the corner. It doesn't even join properly.

Kitchen is "basic" but fine???

You would buy it thinking- will do it as and when not OMG it's dire.

change the window and cheaply tart up the kitchen. Painting cupboard doors and replacing worktops is cheap.

My buyers are replacing a perfectly good kitchen. I'm pleased they are but really contemplated changing it earlier

My pictures maybe don't show the flaws which i see.

I'm now thinking new flooring, fix that washing machine space, new tiles/paint, new worktop (therefore new sink), and extractor?

Yes, and if you're doing all that you might as well add new doors too (and replace that gap...)
Once you've factored all that in it might end up more costly than you expect! We are planning on doing the same ...

You are only seeing the 'flaws' because you're in there every day. I would sort out the washing machine space as it makes the room look smaller and buyers would assume their machine wouldn't fit. But otherwise I think it's not as bad as you think and a new window would be your best option.

Also put as much as you can in the cupboards for viewing as it looks a bit like you don't have enough storage space.