How much to do before selling house?

[reeee]

We're thinking of moving to a bigger house. We've been in ours for about 10 years and have done loads to it -- new kitchen, loft extension, most of the house redecorated (although inevitably it could probably do with being redecorated again).

What we would have done if we'd stayed would be the family bathroom which is functional but dated/tatty (mouldy silicone, a bit of torn wallpaper, etc) and the hall floor which is uneven due to historic movement.

The question is, should we address these things before putting the house on the market? How perfect does it need to be? We're in a good area, and the house is overall in good order.

On Mumsnet? Perfect and dressed to within an inch of its life.
In real life as long as it is neat and tidy and priced well you don't need to do much. We sold our previous house in a condition that definitely wouldn't have met Mumsnet standards, and we bought our present house in even worse condition.
Price is always the answer.

I would have it valued as it is and ask the ea whether you would at least get the money back if you updated those things. You may already be at the ceiling price for your area. Also you could market it at a price that takes into account it needs a new bathroom etc.

Could you get it valued then see how the price would increase with a new bathroom and if it's worth it.

I've got estate agents coming round next week and will quiz them. But my impression is that they just want to get houses on the books ASAP and aren't too bothered about the details. There's quite a shortage of family houses round here so I hope we won't struggle to sell (though we might struggle to find something).

I'd say don't do the work, but price accordingly, or price bullishly, but be willing to reduce by price of the work needing doing.

We didn't do any work that needed doing but I cleaned and I mean scrubbed with a toothbrush and bleach on grout and everywhere.

I would just redo the moldy silicone as it's easy enough to do yourself and give the house a good tidy and declutter then put it on the market. Save your money and time for your new house.

House is pretty clean but could do with a major declutter. TBH the hall floor is more of a worry than the bathroom. It almost put us off as it has a major dip in the middle. But it would be quite a big job to sort.

Did you have a surveyor look at the floor and say it was okay? If so, I'd have that report ready for anyone looking round to see if they wanted to so you pre-empt that problem.

Far more important to have the paperwork to hand to set buyers' minds at rest over the hall floor / historical movement than faffing about with interior design.

Honestly the silicone would be so easy and cheap to fix, I would just do it. Mouldy things like that can look like you haven't maintained the house properly and can be off-putting. The floor however would be a much bigger problem. If there is a noticeable dip then a lot of buyers would run a mile without hanging around for explanations. Personally, I would rectify it before you put it on the market.

You're right that every EA will say it makes no difference, just put it on the market as is - they just want it on their books asap.

Yes to quick fixes for the bathroom but I would be tempted to sort the floor - if movement comes up, lots of buyers would be put off irrespective of whether it's historic / you've got paperwork saying it's not an issue.

You have to pack your things to move do d the decluttering now. You don't want potential buyers to think there isn't enough storage.
As pp have said, get whatever paperwork about the floor, fix the grout, just clean (and declutter) the rest.

Me and a friend sold our houses at a similar time. Her house was larger, had an additional bathroom and in a slightly better postcode. She put hers on the market with no changes, no decluttering, just a tidy up. I did indeed preen mine to within an inch of its life. I did it all myself, so minimal money spent. I hired a skip and prepacked where possible to get rid of clutter. Painted a few bits. Bought new towels/tea towels/ fancy shampoo for the bathroom. Cleaned like a fiend. My house sold for £20k more than hers. I'm now spending that money on renovating the new house. Well worth the effort.

I’d also give it a good clean and declutter, fix the mouldy silicone and buy some wallpaper repair paste ans stick down the torn wallpaper. Then price to sell.

Definitely do the hall floor . Partly as this is one of the first and last things they will notice .

We had our house valued in September by three EA's. Two were great, very professional and had done their research first I.e nearby sold prices, what we bought for, had our energy certificate expired

The third EA turned up and we felt it was a waste of time her coming in. I think she'd valued the house via street view before coming out. No interest in looking around, valued it lower than the others. We have always felt she wanted to get it on and sold as quick as poss so valued it low. We didn't use her and sold above her valuation

Get feedback from friends and EA's. They will see things you can't

I put a very ordinary house on the market recently having done absolutely nothing to it other than a good clean and retouching a couple of patches of paint, had 25 viewings booked immediately, paused viewings after that and had I think eight offers within the two days it was shown by the EA. Definitely priced to sell, though, although the offer we went with was 30k above the asking price. It was a bit whirlwind.

I sold a flat this summer - it needed a new kitchen and was was priced to reflect that, but every viewer (FTBs) said they didn't want to put in a new kitchen so did not offer

(hence my username) - do a tart up, the bathroom wont cost much to redecorate, see what you can do about the floor
I think its always worth decluttering & redecorating : houses sell on emotion and making it look cared for and nothing to do is v attractive. I expect you would get money back
Ignore EA; they are working for themselves so want a fast listing vs best price for you

Your taste isn’t to everyone else’s taste. A lot of people tend to replace bathrooms, kitchens ect.

We’ve just out out house on the market and the bathroom is awful (brought 3 years ago quite run down and although bathroom was first on the list we’ve somehow managed to do every other room except that one) - but we’re just leaving it as the next person will likely rip it out.