How much work did you do before putting property on market?

[Positivelypatient]

I've been avidly reading any relevant threads about prepping for house selling but I'm still so stuck on what to do with my own. It's a mid terrace with recent external wall insulation (a plus I think) so it does look quite smart from the outside. Inside its looking a bit tired, decor is probably going to need updating though its modern enough and hallway carpet is the same as when we moved in 18 yes ago. It had bath & kitchen done about 15 yrs ago but you know, it's just a bit not up to the standard I see in some houses on the market. Its definitely no showhome!

Id say its a do-er upper with lots of potential to add value and is a good central location (sml SW city) with some lovely seaviews from bedrooms.

I've got a month to get it ship shape before I get the EAs for valuation and get it up for sale.

Can I ask what you did before you got the EAs in?/ put up for sale?

I'm majorly decluttering and it will be clean/tidy but do I spend £000s on carpets or not bother? And you know that problem where you do one area and then the others look shabbier.

I've just sold my house. I just decluttered and made sure it was clean and smelled fresh. I haven't decorated for 7 years and the bathroom suite needs replacing but it still sold quickly and easily. I think if you are realistic about price you won't have any problem selling.

@Roselilly36 thanks I hope it doesn't take too long, I think September is the best window of opportunity for me to get the house sold.

Yes yes to realistic pricing, I have to factor in taking a bit less to potentially paying mortgage for longer. I'm not buying straight away so any savings on outgoings will be welcome.

Yup I'm suit the neighbours will find out but interestingly there have been quite a few houses in the area that didn't have signs outside and had I not been an avid RM/zoopla follower I'd not have known.

We just deep cleaned and decluttered, then got 3 different EAs round and asked what else they thought we should do. They all said not to do much at all, certainly not any painting apart from the front door (ours was in a bit of a state), as buyers would expect to decorate themselves.

We had a for sale board, it helps people find the house easily if they want to do a drive-by before booking a viewing.

@SatinHeart good point about the For Sale board being a navigation help I hadn't thought of that.

I'm just waiting for my DP to rehang a couple of kitchen cupboard doors before I invite some EAs around.

Do make sure it has kerb appeal. My last house was diagonally opposite a (very quiet) pub car park. That and the junction nearby put folk off, but actually the car park hedge kept the noise away, and the junction slowed everyone down so you could easily exit the drive.
I added hanging baskets and tubs across the front and prettified my last house, the eventual buyers had ruled it out on paper due to pub and junction but happened to drive past to see another in the same road and thought a) it looked pretty and b) they could see the big hedge hid the car park, and that the pub itself and the car park exit were a long way off so as to not cause issues, and they liked the junction slowed people down - they'd viewed one further up and found the traffic a nightmare.

@Ariela absolutely! I've had a large for the space cherry tree cut down earlier in the year and will be refreshing the potted plants once this heat inferno goes away and i can get some grass to regrow!

I'm glad next door have had their scaffold taken down this weekend, it's a large HMO that has been being renovated for MONTHS, so much noise and drilling but i think they are ready to let it out now so at least prospective buyers won't be subjected to all that in viewings.

Progress update on house declutter, did a car boot this morning and managed to shift some stuff, the rest is going to the charity shop tomorrow. More garage sorting got done this afternoon and next week I'll be doing some internal furniture rearranging which will entail several items going tm on fb marketplace.

All of this! We have sold homes in the USA where it's commonplace to use stagers - de clutter and remove personal items. Remove EVERYTHING from the bathrooms. We used shopping bags for each room - removed anything that wasn't nailed down and stashed them in the loft. Fresh flowers, green apples in kitchen, plain white bedding and air freshener in each room. We had a launch day and had multiple offers from that one morning. Grateful as cleaning like that is a NIGHTMARE with a dog and kids!

Re grass - I put the sprinkler on for DC a few weeks ago and that area is now lush and green. It doesn't take much water for grass to grow back, you could even use washing up water or bathwater.

@sevenandtheraggedtiger love the username! Yes I have a list of things to do before the photos are done and viewings.

I've got EAs coming next week for valuations, Im feeling a bit nervous about it, I hope they like it.

Just for a bit of perspective - I sold a btl property recently which was decoratively quite tired, definitely needed at least a new bathroom. Spoke to agent. Said not to bother. It went on at £200k, had a busy morning of viewings and received offers at £190, £195 and £200k.

@TheWayTheLightFalls that's great news congratulations!
I've got my DP here this weekend who will be helping with some last minute jobs, mainly some dodgy kitchen cupboard doors then that's it really.

I was trying to get a window cleaner round but omg I didn't realise you had to book way in advance. I've got one of those water fed brushes so I'll do the job myself and save the ££

Clean. And clear EVERYTHING, (especially the garage and loft). Recent time buyer here.

The new owners will want to decorate to their taste so don't waste time and money painting / decorating. But leave it so its as easy as possible for the new owners to do their thing.

We just bought a victorian cottage and the loft will take days to clear of random boards, dust and other assorted crap before we can start to insulate and board it properly. The garage is full of rubbish we need to get rid of.
I would have paid significantly more if I didn't have to deal with all tho old owners / tenants crap!

Sounds like you are doing the right thing by decluttering, it will also benefit you as removal costs will be less and less stressful and you won't be taking a load of tat to your lovely new house.

We use the water fed brushes for window cleaning as we find it more convenient than having to give a window cleaner access to all the windows.

I’d paint if it’s at all needing it tbh, it’s cheap and easy enough.

Carpet - depends how bad it is, but replacing a hall carpet isn’t hugely expensive in house sake cost terms. I’m getting hallway and stairs done this week for £300 including fitting.

If you’re my landlord you don’t set foot in the place or update it for 15+ years then stick it on the market for £1.4m. Fun times.

I cleaned but that was it, the kitchen, bathroom and carpets etc were all old but I didn't want to spend a lot/put loads of effort into a house I was selling. it was priced accordingly so no bother. Glad I didn't add it was bought as a buy to let and he completely gutted/refurbished the place (had a sneak peek in the rightmove listing)

I'd de clutter, give the carpets a clean, maybe wash down the walls/skirting if you can be bothered.