What to do re selling when you know your property has problems

[InescapableDeath]

We want to sell soon. Our house has more land (garden) than others on our road (lots of potential to extend) but probably more problems. The kitchen needs redoing (cupboards blown/damaged) and the double glazing is clearly rubbish (kitchen window has a small crack, same in living room).

I don’t want, as per other threads, to sell, get to the point of making offers on houses, then renegotiate - we do not have additional savings to cover that and then risk getting our mortgage turned down. We want buyers to understand they’re buying something that needs a little work (and fine price accordingly). But how do you convey that without putting people off entirely?

My fear is selling low then people realising what needs doing and wanting even more off.

Best thing is to get a couple of local estate agents in to see the house. Our house is a bit like yours - it was valued (and priced) accordingly. When the estate agents presented the property they mentioned the work and had also obtained a few rough quotations as to how much it would cost.

Well, it sounds like the problems are blindingly obvious on a viewing, so I can’t see why a buyer could backtrack later. There are plenty of CFs around though.

When we sold we had a few concerns like this. You're in the right - you are NOT selling your house on the basis of there being absolutely no problems with it. You are selling your property “as is” and people view it to see if they want it. They then have the choice of getting someone in for a survey (at various levels of detail) presenting them with a report for their use, or not having a survey at all. Their lender may require it though.

We knew of a couple of problems with our house, neither of which was very serious, but would cost us money and time. We decided to sell without attending to those matters. We had already spent time and money on house-doctoring and obviously all routine maintenance and replacements etc had been done.

Their surveyor charged them for a twenty page report, culminating in eight points ‘for attention’. We had a good relationship with the buyer, and sat down to look at the paperwork. I was able to show her that seven points out of the eight were wrong. Simply non-existent. The only correct item was a deteriorated gate that anybody could see. I happily renewed that for her.

Neither of the two (easily seen) bigger items we knew about were mentioned. So much for expensive surveys.

It’s best to remember that when buying, and conveyancing is complete, the property is conveyed to you with all of its qualities - good and bad. There is no going back after that, although people do try it on of course!

If your selling price allows for the weaknesses I wouldn't worry.

Does your house have any structural problems that won’t be obvious to potential buyers when they look round?

A good estate agent should be able to make it clear that the property needs some work and market to people who want a renovation project. The potential to extend should make your house very attractive to those kinds of people because nobody wants to pay extra for a lovely new kitchen if they’re going to build an extension and rejig the downstairs layout.

I’d ask some local agents about how they would market your property, what are its selling points, what will make it harder to sell. Basically explain what you’ve said here and ask what their approach will be. And don’t go with the ones that you think are bullshitting you.

People can see a dated kitchen and that’s ok if the house is priced accordingly.

However,I’d get basic repairs done, eg the cracks in windows. Changing the glazing isn’t that expensive but it will make the house appear well looked after. I can also imagine that inexperienced buyers could think you need to change the whole windows costing thousands.

If there are loose screws/new hinges needed in the kitchen cabinetry, then get those fixed. Buyers could otherwise see a complete fixer upper and not a place that just needs a handy man for a couple of days.

Thanks everyone - I think it would need to be priced accordingly. Average Mid terraces here with smaller rooms and no parking go for 285. Nice ones with a conservatory go for up to 340 (or try to). We are end terrace with parking and think we would go for 300 - with a view of accepting from 288 up. At least those are my hopes.

Have never thought about fixing the windows - we are not handy in the least!

speak to an agent. There is no point forking out to fix some things that a buyer may change because it's 'not to their taste'(replacing kitchen for example). Accept that your sale price will be lower than if it were perfect, but on the other hand, if there is anything you can do simply to improve appearance, do it. things like repairing and painting hairline cracks, making the place look as clean as you can and having an attractive and tidy garden. I have bought houses with problems (not structural), and it's all about the ambience. If you like the house you tend to overlook minor fixable faults. Don't go round pointing out what's wrong though - it will sound very negative.
By all accounts it's a good time to sell at the moment, so crack on.

We are in the process of looking for a house. Personally, I'm goping for something that requires a few bits of work like this so thay we can get something bigger for our money and do it over time! As long as you're completely up front and it is priced accordingly that would be ok in my view. Anything that can be fixed fairly cheaply, I'd do it before you sell (especially cracks in windows as it makes it looked un looked after in my opinion).

We are one of those people who have tried and failed to renegotiate post survey, but there were loads of things wrong with it as a normal person ie not a builder we had no idea about.

Our current house was owned by an elderly couple who obviously loved it but it was dated and in need of a lot of renovation. However it was marketed and priced accordingly. Just be honest. If nothing comes up on the survey that you didn’t know about already, you’ll be fine.

I would rather buy a house that needed a bit of work than one that had loads of diy/work done badly that needed sorting.

What @JoJoSM2 says

It’s relatively cheap to change the glazing unit in a window which I think from your OP is what needs doing. I’d fix small cheap issues which will as others say make the house appear well looked after and also hopefully prevent potential buyers seeing obvious problems like cracked windows and wondering what other problems there are to be addressed which they can’t see and which cumulatively may add up to needing to spend a lot of money to fix.

I wouldn’t worry too much about the kitchen-it obviously needs replacing and a buyer would factor the cost of this into any offer.

You need to get it valued op and realistically, and not just go for the highest valuation someone gives to get the business.

You also need to compare it to other properties but with condition in mind. Bad windows and kitchen can knock at least thirty to forty k off the price. And would concern most buyers as to what else was wrong with it if it looks like it hasn’t been maintained. In addition what condition are things like the bathroom, the flooring Ie carpets/laminate etc, the decor, the electrics, the plumbing, it all gives a general feeling as to how well the property is maintained and how much work it needs, which impacts ultimately what someone would pay.

Hi - I can't stand conservatories so I would consider these a negative rather than a positive. There are many of us who would prefer to come into a property and make it suit our own taste, so don't worry about the kitchen being outdated etc.
The core fundamentals - parking, size of garden etc. - are to your advantage.
Don't undersell it based on the gloss of nearby "done up" houses which don't have your unique selling points (parking, room to extend). In this climate, no-one wants to pay a premium for a kitchen, no matter how nice.
Get around 3 estate agents and don't feed them any negativity. Then see what prices are advised.

We bought a house like this, not major work, but expense.

Our seller wanted 'top dollar' for the house so it stayed on the market and we bought is after they had repainted and tried to hide the issues.

They sold to us for 75k less 🤷‍♀️

My suggestion would be price fairly, do your own viewings (being honest about the work), personally I would not leave it to the estate agents as most will say anything for a sale. They work only for themselves ime no-one else!

Good luck 🍀

As a guide, we changed some glazing, new front door, boiler, dishwasher, cooker, painted, new bathroom- cost 50k- we budgeted for this and hence the price reduction.

Those sound like pretty minor issues!

Lots of houses have much more serious things wrong like roofing, electrics, damp.

I would get the windows fixed but not worry about the kitchen. It sounds like you're under valuing it

Those are visible issues, not discovery upon survey issues.

As a potential buyer, I'd be fine, even happy, with replacing a kitchen, if the price took it into account. I'd much rather choose my own than live with something that wasn't to my taste.

The alarm bell that is ringing for me is that you haven't even thought of getting a damaged window replaced. This suggests you are clueless about looking after a house and will not have maintained it properly.

Maintenance is essential. If you haven't done it, other problems may have developed that are in the 'discovery by survey' category.

How long have you lived there?

Frankly those issues would not put me off as a buyer. I would just expect the price to reflect the fact that some work is needed. Structural issues is what puts people off.

You might want to get an idea of how much it would cost to fix the windows and kitchen and then adjust the asking price accordingly, You can also then tell the buyer that your price is taking into account that they will have to spend a few thousands to update the property.

If it is priced fairly it will sell. What I can't stand are people who try to flog houses that need serious work/full refurbishment and have not been maintained properly for years at a ridiculously high price. On principle I refuse to even look at these properties...

We looked at a house like yours because it was similar but cheaper to others we were considering.

The thing that stopped us proceeding is the muffling doubt that if the seller can live with cracked windows (for example) that are not enjoyable to live with (draughty) and simple to fix what other nasties are there lying beneath that will show up on a necessary expensive survey.

Cracked pane of glass should be able to be replaced by a glazier for £100 ish a pane.

I agree. The buyer can see the issues so there’s no reason they would try and renegotiate. That woods happen more if issues were thrown up post survey, eg damp or roof problems.

Requinblanc
…If it is priced fairly it will sell. What I can't stand are people who try to flog houses that need serious work/full refurbishment and have not been maintained properly for years at a ridiculously high price. On principle I refuse to even look at these properties…

Agreed, but also conversely, there are viewers who tot up a mental list of prices such as new kitchen £30k, new shower fitting £2.5k when in fact the real cost is far far less than that. Then they hit you with a stupidly low offer. As a seller it’s virtually impossible to come to an agreement with chancers like that.

I’m sure OP that you’ll experience some idiocy with viewers. We had a string of loonies asking/telling us all sorts of madness. Just move on. The right buyer will see it for what it is - an opportunity.

Generally you go for a higher price than you expect or need and when the faults are pointed out by the buyer or their surveyor, then you drop the price to allow for repairs.

@puzzledpiece

Generally you go for a higher price than you expect or need and when the faults are pointed out by the buyer or their surveyor, then you drop the price to allow for repairs.

Eh no you don’t. You price it to reflect the condition. Otherwise folks won’t bother making an offer.

It will depend what the survey says. When we sold our last house it needed rewiring, we knew that and thought it was priced accordingly but the surveyor told the mortgage company it needed doing. The mortgage company insisted that the buyer got a quote and reduced their mortgage offer by the cost. The buyers couldn't complete without the additional mortgage so we had to agree or start over again.

Hi OP

I am about to put my house on the market, I did a long list with all the jobs I was planning on doing before it went up, mainly decorating and gardening, then I thought I'd get a valuer in, just in case I didn't need to do as much as I thought. He said apart from 3 or 4 minor things don't do all this extra work, it's not worth it, it won't put more money on your house, there's a ceiling price houses go for in an area, so, as long as you know the amount it's worth without doing the work I'd leave it, definitely get a couple of valuations now as they will help you with any jobs that might be worth doing that aren't too costly or big to do.

Double glazing units can easily be replaced without changing the frame and won't be of significant cost. The interior trims can be popped out and the sealed unit replaced with similar sized replacement. There are also some glass crack repair glues available if they are small.
Many people rip out kitchens when the move houses anyway, a friend saw her 12 month old kitchen in a skip when travelling past her old property, obviously not to new owners taste! Maybe see if you could get replacement doors or move the offending doors to a less visible location. Most modern hinges are only latched on to the hinge hangers so can be popped off and swapped quickly.
Get some quotes for any work that might need to be done then if prospective buyers try to haggle you can fend them off with realistic figures.
Personally I'd rather buy a house that needs some work/ alterations so I can make it my own. Some buyers have vision others won't so try and market it along the lines of a solid house that it suitable for extension, especially if this can easily be done within the governments current permitted development guidelines. If you have previously extended from the original footprint this sadly won't apply and full planning will be required.

Our place had damp issues and needs rewiring. We were happy it was priced to account but the surveyor threw a paddy and wanted a massive retention. We argued it out with the bank who in under ten minutes threw out the surveyors report and approved the whole amount. The sellers had been clear they would not budge below what we paid, it had sold for that sum three times previously to people who could not then raise the capital.

As luck would have it the damp cost £25 to fix, the wiring is waiting until we decide if we want to convert the loft.

Had we not been regarded as safe enough for the bank to make an exception I suspect the sale would have fallen through again. This was a few months pre Covid, 25% deposit, borrowing 50% of what the bank were prepared to lend us.