Want to put house on market but it needs work

[OhLordyWhatNow]

Background: I've changed jobs and my office is in a city 30 miles away, although I can commute I don't want to long term so am looking to sell and move this year.

On one hand I could get the house up to date and looking great for buyers, on the other is there much point if people would prefer to put their own stamp on?

Property doesn't come up very often in my village, in fact my house was the last sold 6 years ago, so I imagine will generate a fair amount of interest as the village itself is well thought of.

Since here the bathroom has been replaced, as has the double glazing, and a double sided wood burner has been installed (which has been great in power cuts).

Last summer my mortgage company valued the house at £275,000 when I remortgaged to get a better interest rate. Using Nationwide HPI I think the value is close to £295,000 now, I have £10,000 that I could spend on making it look pretty but I can't help feel it would be a waste as the next owner wouldn't want to pay for my taste.

Is it worth my time and energy replacing the kitchen and some of the flooring or best to leave as is and let new owners do the work?

Extra info: it's a 3 bed end of terrace with a decent garden, which faces East but gets some sun for almost the whole day, on street parking always available. It has positives but are they enough to attract buyers so I can sell quickly?

If the kitchen needs replacing I'd do that - kitchens sell houses and if yours is really awful it will put people off. A nice fresh kitchen will ensure that buyers will come - you say you want a quick sale so you need to make the place really attractive .

I am currently in the process of trying to do up my house to sell, as it needs to go on the market quickly. However, that's because I have some non-urgent DIY jobs that make the house look appalling eg/we had a leak and a hole had to be cut in my ceiling - it's been repaired with a square of grey plasterboard but needs plastering and painting.

The approach I'm taking is to make everything look clean and presentable - quick coat of white paint in kitchen/hall/living room to cover up the row of foam stickers that my children put on the wall/hand marks etc. I'm also having a huge declutter.

My kitchen needs replacing and that's the only thing I'm not doing. I think the house will sell anyway and I don't have the money to spend on a new kitchen right now. But I have agonised over it a bit and I'm worried about the impact - I'm hoping if everything else is clean, freshly painted and well-presented, then a couple of wonky doors in a kitchen won't be an issue.

It probably also depends on the market you're trying to capture - mine is a small 2-bed that will probably attract a FTB. If you have a house that is aimed at a more luxury, affluent market then a crappy kitchen might be a complete deal-breaker.

But in general, I think that there's no point spending thousands unless your house is currently in desperate need of basic maintenance or you think there's no chance that it will sell. It's currently a seller's market so if it's half-decent then you should be fine.

It's a family sized 3 bed; 2 double bedrooms, large single, downstairs loo, separate sitting room, and semi open kitchen/ diner. It's about 925 sqft.

For sale in the village at the moment there's a 3 storey 4 bed with same sqft for £325,000, and a slightly larger 1000 sqft 2 bed for £375,000, neither come with parking.

The kitchen is small and dated (but quality solid wood doors) having been put in about 30 years ago. I would replace it with something light and bright if I was staying but from an environmental point of view I'm loathe to replace only for it to end up in a skip in 6 months time.

The most likely thing a new owner would do is enlarge the opening and knock through between the kitchen and dining room which would necessitate re-jigging the kitchen anyway.

But... if I don't replace it will I get interest?

If I get £295,000 (Nationwide HPI) for it I will have recouped all the costs of the wood burner, bathroom, glazing, oh and replacing and increasing loft insulation, and still made a profit.

Ask your locate estate agents but I would say don’t bother. My kitchen is so old it is falling apart but I sold within 24 hours. People have their own tastes in kitchens. Clean, declutter and fix things.

Sell it as it is. The market is great for selling right now. Wasting time putting in kitchens etc at your expense will delay. This may also bring you into the summer months where the market goes quieter before it picks up again in autumn. You don't know what priced will be later this year. The market could stall. Right now is perfect for selling fast. The chances are the purchasers will put a different kitchen in anyway.

I’d just make everything clean tidy decluttered and get it on the market.

It’d be a waste to upgrade the kitchen when the new owners will have different taste and will likely rip it out and start again.

I’d only do any diy jobs that stand out but not a whole kitchen - if it’s priced to take into account that needs updating it’ll sell regardless.

I’ve spoken to two estate agents recently because we are looking to sell next year and we need this summer to get the house in order. Both estate agents said not to do anything with it and definitely don’t put in a new kitchen, a new owner will just come in and rip everything out. Declutter, finish any niggles and clean.

Don’t do anything beyond freshening up/fixing anything obviously broken. Don’t repaint or install a kitchen, there is nothing worse than a house that has a new kitchen that you don’t like, as it’s then so hard to justify the expense and waste to replace it.

When I sold last year my kitchen was 15yrs old but still looked good. I know it will have been replaced as it wasn't modern - but it would have been a waste of time and money for me to replace it.
What I did do was replace the stairs carpet as the cats had ragged at it and I also redecorated the spare bedroom. I replaced a double glazing panel too as it was very noticeably knackered.
We were messed around by buyers so decided to redecorate our DD's room and replace the carpet in case we were there longer than anticipated (looked like a dismal spare room and we changed it to a light and bright nursery) - it sold the morning after the redecoration.

The stairs carpet was the best change we made and the others were done cheaply, ie reduced price wallpaper and carpet roll ends at an excellent price. The glazing cost about £150 but we had to wait weeks for it due to Covid shortages and I wish I hadn't waited to market once fitted. Estate agent also said I should have marketed before the improvements were done.

Declutter as much as you can. We eventually removed a few massive pieces of furniture and it made a huge difference to how the house looked and felt. Wish I'd done it originally.

I’d sell it as a doer-upper. Lots of builders are looking to flip houses.
put it on the market as it is and see what happens, no point in spending money in something that someone else might not like.

Don’t replace th kitchen and put a cheap one in, it would be more off putting than a dated one. Just go to market.

When my mother died, my sister and I thought about spending £10K to £20K to make her very very dated house presentable. The estate agent advised just to make it clean and tidy, as new owners would probably do everything to their own taste. It sold in about 5 days.

I wouldn’t change the kitchen. Kitchens are quite personal and loath those pale wood ones - I like some colour - but a lot of people prefer white.

Think about what attracted you to the property - I loved our old houses large hallway, so I made sure that was decluttered and got rid of the table in there, for example.

Make sure everywhere is decluttered and clean, check everything by doing your own photos first so you can see what buyers see.

Then get the estate agents round.

It really depends on your local market. Where I live all the detatched family homes go for a premium despite their dated early 90's decor and needing everything doing to them. The semi's tend to need a bit more selling. However, yours does sound like it has lots of potential. I wouldn't bother if I were you, just price accordingly and save your cash for moving fees and your new place.

ours was a terrace on a nice street, in good order.

Clean, presentable, decluttered and anything obvious done. We had a dodgy bit of plaster under a window, problem fixed but it was bobbly. Got that replastered.

also got front wall fixed where render had come off.

the kitchen that was 25 years old, the bathroom same…we left them. It sold to first person through door. He ripped out kitchen, bathroom and the en suite we thought was quite modern…

that was just pre pandemic.

You basically need your house to look like the best version of itself. Agents can say that the vendors planned to replace kitchen but are selling sooner and it's priced accordingly. If everywhere else it's tidy and in good repair I'd just market as it is.

Would it be worth painting the kitchen cabinets and replacing the handles? It wouldn't cost you a lot of money but would really freshen up the room.

I would fix anything fundamental, structural or utilities — wiring, boiler, guttering, DPC etc — and then get it on the market. Why waste your time and money? Moving’s going to cost anyway, and you’re more likely to want to spend money on the house you move to rather than the one you’re leaving.

I know not everyone’s the same but when I’m browsing Rightmove/viewing houses I tend to be in the ‘what would I change’ mindset anyway.

@OhLordyWhatNow
I feel as others do that you should not spend on the kitchen. A new kitchen won’t make much difference in my view.

What you should do is make sure there are no issues that s surveyor will find as negative. So rotten windows, failed drains, roof tiles missing etc. Don’t give a buyer an excuse to lower the price. Price fairly.

What you must do is ensure buyers really do see the plus points. Make sure the garden looks great. Paint rooms if they look shabby. Clear out excess “stuff”. Make sure buyers see a lovely lounge, main bedroom etc. Ensure the features that are attractive look attractive!

You should speak to various agents but I would guess a new kitchen will not get the money back.

Our old house was falling to bits, structural issues in one wall, old kitchen, bathroom etc... but it was the only small 3 bed detached in our area that was up for sale. Went to a builder for our realistic but slightly ambitious asking price. He's spent £60k on it and it looks lovely.

My opinion is make the kitchen clean and presentable but don't change it. You are right people will want to do the kitchen in their style and you will begrudge spending on it and choose the cheapest fittings etc to make it look new which someone may pull out once they move in.

Make sure all other rooms are fresh and inviting and make your kitchen look its best without a refit.

How dated do the solid wood doors in the kitchen look? If they are dark brown, perhaps you could paint them a more fashionable colour.

I'm not sure how you can be so very confident about the price when no house has been sold in your village for 6 years!

It might go for much more than you think, or not. Supply is low there and demand may or may not be high.

Whatever the price set, there is no need to do much to the house except declutter and clean it very well. Make the garden look cared for front and back too.

Good luck.

Totally agree. You're just making a load of work for yourself if you do the kitchen and it's a lot of work and mess that you don't need. 'Best version of itself' is an excellent way of putting it.

Sounds like the area will sell it fairly quickly, so I'd make sure your frontage gives kerb appeal - anyone in doubt may drive past and that visual 'oh it does look nice' may tempt them to come and look round. Look at planters, hanging baskets and pots - you can take them with you so it isn't money wasted.
Then interior I'd declutter as best you can, even rent a storage room and start packing into it, and freshen up any paintwork that needs doing, I'd probably leave the kitchen as is, it is/was quality so at least the doors aren't hanging off, if you can paint the grout of tiles to refresh that always looks good, and maybe look at replacing the lighting for brighter LED if not already replaced, that makes dark wood look brighter.