What jobs to prioritise for putting house on market

[movingonbackwards]

Getting my house ready to put on the market and trying to work out where my time and money is best placed.

The house is generally in good condition in a good area and likely to sell in any condition really but I've done all the jobs myself and although I'm enthusiastic, my skills aren't perfect and some things I think will need attention/fixed before it's on the market.

So any advice on what you look for or what might put you off when looking at a house.
I'll include some of the things I think need to be done and maybe you could help me prioritise some of them.

-we had a couple of leaks which have all been fixed but have left some damage (a damp looking patch/bubble in the ceiling). I'm thinking this is important to rectify?
-a door doesn't open/close easily since getting a new carpet
-fence between us and neighbour is old and manky looking. Some of it has come off at the bottom.
-taps/sink in the toilet look old and if I were staying I'd replace.
-doors and skirtings need to be painted.
-garage is a total mess.
-paint touch ups in some rooms.

Essentially if I wasn't moving I'd want to get these jobs done but what do you think is important or is anything not worth my time doing?
Thanks!

Paint or sorr out where leaks were.

See how much fence would be to sort.

Then declutter, clean and tidy. I wouldn't bother with anything else.

-we had a couple of leaks which have all been fixed but have left some damage (a damp looking patch/bubble in the ceiling). I'm thinking this is important to rectify? Yes important,
-a door doesn't open/close easily since getting a new carpet . Not so important, depends on what it is, if it’s a bedroom or loo it’s important,
-fence between us and neighbour is old and manky looking. Some of it has come off at the bottom. Give it a powe wash and paint it.
-taps/sink in the toilet look old and if I were staying I'd replace. Don’t worry,
-doors and skirtings need to be painted. Depends on how bad,
-garage is a total mess. Tidy it out.
-paint touch ups in some rooms. Touch up.

Anything that looks like it could be expensive or difficult to fix. So in your case, where the leaks were and the fence.

Leak and fence. Big declutter, deep clean.

The door/carpet - I tend to leave all the internal doors open if someone's viewing the house, to make the most of the light. So if it's a door they don't have to open, leave it. Otherwise fix it.

Thanks all.
Have had a really expensive quote for the fence. Have left messages for other companies. I feel like it would fall down if I power hosed it
Will definitely be getting the leak areas sorted.

If it is expensive for you, then a buyer will want a discount. It is expensive for them too! Especially if they are paying stamp duty.

I dislike manky taps. They are cheap to replace. If the whole bathroom is manky, do not bother. It will be ripped out but that's another expense. If it is only the taps, do it.

Paint all damp marks and blotches. They will get noticed.

Doors and skirtings not painted. Looks like you do not care. Buyers might wonder what else you do not care about.

De clutter and tidy up the garage. Door not opening over carpet - just looks lazy. Another sign of not bothering. Sorry.
Buyers who are discerning might not like unfinished and work not done that was pretty easy to do. I would do it all.

A lick of paint does wonders for a fence! I did mine today in preparation for photos. Looks a million times better.

Definitely remedy the leak/damp looking spot. Use stain blocker paint and make sure it's fully dry.

I wouldn't care about taps, so long as they're functional (even nice ones are hardly a thing of beauty). I've numbered the jobs how I would prioritise them. None of those jobs jump out as being massively costly for the buyer to fix to their own taste. Painting over the leak would be top of my list as buyers may think it's an ongoing issue and potentially costly to repair. Tidying the garage costs nothing and you'll presumably want to declutter before moving anyway. Being able to accurately assess how much storage the garage offers will be important to a lot of buyers.

-we had a couple of leaks which have all been fixed but have left some damage (a damp looking patch/bubble in the ceiling). I'm thinking this is important to rectify? - 1
-a door doesn't open/close easily since getting a new carpet - 3
-fence between us and neighbour is old and manky looking. Some of it has come off at the bottom. - 5
-taps/sink in the toilet look old and if I were staying I'd replace. -7
-doors and skirtings need to be painted. - 6
-garage is a total mess. - 2
-paint touch ups in some rooms. - 4

Thanks all for the advice. I plan to do all these jobs (except the taps probably) but having never sold a house before I was just looking for some input. I care very much about my home and am definitely not lazy.

A buyer comes in sees a dirty carpet or scuffed paint and immediately thinks thousands when actually less than £100 to deal with.
Leak: number one priority
Garage: you have to clear it when you move so do it now;
Taps: wouldn't bother much but depends how awful they look - it is not too difficult to replace;
Paint doors: easy peasy weekend job;
Door rubbing on carpet: you have to take door off to shave it. I'd leave it frankly (I had this problem but it was rubbing a wood floor and leaving a mark so did get it done);
Fence: tough one without pic. Replacing a panel or two looks bad unless you paint the whole lot. But a falling down fence really is an eyesore and I'd be inclined to it suck up - it will be cheaper to fix than the amount a buyer may discount for it in their minds.

Well you do have quite a list of jobs. I’m not saying you are lazy but buyers might think you cannot be bothered if the property has a list of things obviously wrong. It’s that simple.

Some people might not care about taps but others will. Discerning buyers might not want all these jobs rondo and another property might have a lovely bathroom. So if your bathroom is pretty poor, don’t do anything. If it’s just the taps, change them. Don’t spoil the shop for a ha’peth of tar.

I would get the opinions and valuations of a few estate agents and take it from there, especially if houses in your local area are selling well. Lots of people will be wanting to buy asap to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday. If the EA's can get decent looking photos where you don't notice these flaws then you can always keep working through your list of jobs whilst you wait for them to get it on the market.

Unless you're retired/have lots of spare time most people don't have immaculate paintwork all throughout their house. It's easy to fall into the trap of perfectionism as home decorating is a lot like cleaning, that is never 100% complete!

that should read “ship” - can’t type today. You get the gist though.

Do anything that looks like a structural/damp/leak problem without a shadow of doubt. Don’t spend too much, they will want to put their own stamp on it. Tidy the garage and de clutter, you will need to do it before moving anyway.

I see lots of houses with perfect paintwork. The whole thing about selling a bog standard property is to offer something others don’t. So paintwork, cupboard with doors that don’t fall off and decent floors and carpets can sell the house. It’s not a race to the bottom to cover up flaws. If your house looks good it might sell!

Remember in coronavirus times the buyers can’t touch any of the doors so if it is a door you keep open at all times you could leave it as technically buyers aren’t allowed to be touching anything and just ask the estate agent to leave all the doors as found. We got the estate agent to leave all our doors open so they didn’t accidentally lock a cat in.

Anything that looks like it might point to a structural issue is a must. Anything really disgusting (like a pukey carpet) should be minimised or covered.

After that, anything you can do cheaply that makes the house look cleaner, more spacious and nicer is a plus. It makes people more likely to want to live there, and gives an impression of better condition than it actually is.

There is of course a premium on houses that are move in perfect—however this is rarely worth it unless you’re planning to get value out of living there yourself, or you’re a professional who can do it cheap.

However it is amazing how fresh paint can make a house look way fresher, more light filled and welcoming. Especially crucial if it’s an older new build competing with new new builds.

Don't forget kerb-appeal.
Things in the house (eg lick of paint) can be done relatively quickly. Things in the garden (eg several weeks' of growing) can take longer. Sowing seeds and/or summer bulbs now will pay dividends later.

Defo paint where the leak was and anything that would make a buyer anxious.

I would de clutter and repurpose each room.

Make it look as bright, light and airy as possible

Placemarking for ideas

We just moved into our new house a week ago and I wish our new neighbours patched up any plaster cracks and filled in screwholes . Taking us bloody ages !
We did this in our house before we moved out and just cleaned everything properly.

Neighbours? I meant previous owners 😂