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Property/DIY

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Original poster

How much primping before a valuation?

25 replies

MrsBadger · 24/01/2008 17:43

I'll clean and tidy but do I need to start decluttering and filling the place with fresh flowers etc?

Or are estate agents more able to ignore unwashed curtains, prams in halls etc than the average buyer?

OP posts:

bossykate · 24/01/2008 17:45

hmm. my view is you probably don't need to do much before the valuation but tons before the photos and obv viewings. i wonder what other people will say?

kerala · 24/01/2008 17:49

Didnt do much before valuation other than clean and tidy. I think agents can "see beyond" things - a leap you dont want to assume that all buyers can make. In fact a good agent should give you tips if you ask. For example ours told us to take a bookcase out of a small(ish) second bedroom which we did and it does enlarge it.

Nearly killed ourselves before we put it on market though. Stuff in storage, deep clean, repainting. It has to look as if no one lives there.

crokky · 24/01/2008 17:52

Valuation would not really be impacted by clutter.

However, some buyers cannot see past the clutter and I think it is better to move it out of the way and make the house look nice.

Niecie · 24/01/2008 17:54

I didn't bother too much for the agents, just told them that the house was a work in progress and we knew how to prepare a house for sale as we had done it before. It was untidy though and in serious need of a sort-out.

He actually said at the end that achieving his valuation would depend on us decluttering a lot.

So yes they can see beyond the bits you haven't got round to!

FoghornLeghorn · 24/01/2008 17:57

Sorry but I keep reading the title as :

How much pimping before a valuation ?

Original poster

MrsBadger · 24/01/2008 18:49

wasn't planning on doing any pimping...

OP posts:

noddyholder · 24/01/2008 19:39

I have always really primped and it has paid off.Not sure about atm though as thinga are volatile and it is probably more about location adn affordability tbh so don't kill yourself cleaning

MNHQ

OliviaMumsnet · 27/01/2008 17:37

Also depends on your estate agent. I tidied up and cleared surfaces but didn't splurge on flowers for agent. But I did have a load of washing on my clothes horse in my spare room and agent was quite sniffy "er, you won't leave your washing up when we're doing viewings will you?"

Be aware also on the day that they take photos of things that will "stick out" - I have a tea towel hanging on a hook that looks dreadful in the pic of my otherwise clutterfree kitchen and a cable that I'd forgotten to unplug seems to dominate another pic (they use weird lenses for house photos and things you're not expecting look weird).

HTH and good luck with sale.

sammysam · 29/01/2008 08:36

A very interesting thread...
We're going to put our first house on the market in the next couple of months and we have no idea about anything!!
So how much and what kind or primping (i also read it as pimping ) do we need to do? I was just thinking a tidy and clean but i think i've got that wrong!!!

debbiewebweb · 01/02/2008 20:42

I think you do need to tidy, de-clutter, do the gardening, touch up any damaged paintwork etc before the estate agent comes round. If they love your house and they know you'll show it well I beleive they will be more encouraged to push potential buyers to view. Just my opinion of course.

Pannacotta · 01/02/2008 20:48

I would also declutter, tidy, make house, garden and front of house all look good before valuation. Flowers etc can wait till viewings start.
Have done thid with both house sales and am sure we did better out of it in part as the agents all thought it looked "ready to go".
Agree about the odd things sticking out in photos, for us it was a large candle in the empty fireplace which stuck out like a sore thumb in the pics.
If you have lots of prams/large plastic baby kit etc might be worth sticking it all in the car boot when the agents come (and same for viewings).

blueshoes · 01/02/2008 21:19

Filling in cracks on walls, sweeping up woodworm dust around timbers, covering up mouldy/damp patches with heavy furniture, rugs?

milkmoustache · 03/02/2008 14:57

We paid someone to spray the drive with weedkiller and put a load of new gravel on it, washed the soffits, (quick job as it was a bungalow), and I repainted the front door and cleaned the 'door furniture'. Nothing very effortful but did make the place look more cared for.

JackieNo · 03/02/2008 15:01

Are you staying in the area, MrsB, or moving away?

Pannacotta · 03/02/2008 15:03

MrsB wasnt it you who thought the house you wanted to buy was owned by a Mnetter?

Millarkie · 03/02/2008 15:38

We've had places valued by estate agents who couldn't see past the tidying-up/decluttering which we told them that we were going to do. We also had a valuation by a lovely estate agent who did listen to what we were going to do and then gave us suggestions on what to concentrate on and what was not so important (he was the agent which we went with!)

A friend of mine had her flat valued and shampooed the carpets between 2 valuations - second valuation was a significant percentage higher than the first. On balance, I would get most the the decluttering/cleaning sorted before getting the house valued but not the fresh flowers!

Oblomov · 03/02/2008 15:52

It is a mystery to me that people think they can get away with NOT cleaning or de-cluttering. I mean you are going to have to do it anyway, right ?
Those , 'how to sell your house' programmes have been on for years now.
sammysam, are you serious, when you say you don't know what to do ?

chonky · 03/02/2008 15:58

Hmm, I wpondered this too (we're planning to sell in March, but still tons of de-cluttering to go).

We went to view a couple of houses yesterday, one wasn't half full of shoite - and they wonder why it's not selling?

Yes, I can see past the crap, but at the price they were asking why should we have to? Domestic slatterns

Original poster

MrsBadger · 03/02/2008 16:37

well, we cleaned and tidied but didn't buy flowers and the highest valuation was 25k higher than we expected

No-one on mn has owned up to the house we have our eye on though (and it's just round the corner from where we are now, Jackie, which is why we want it!)

OP posts:

MinkVelvet · 03/02/2008 16:40

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

JackieNo · 03/02/2008 20:05

Ah - you'll still be (vaguely) Local then. Hope it all works out. Good news on the 25k 'extra'.

GrinningSoul · 03/02/2008 22:45

we've just been through this... the house was generally pretty tidy and clean when the agents came round. we ended up using 3 different ones over the course of the 6 months it took to get a firm offer (still not exchanged tho...) They all said no no no don't worry about cleaning and tidying too much - people like to see a family home being used. when the photos were taken i just scrabbled everything out of the way before they took the shot, hid stuff behind/under tables etc. But of course i tried my best before each viewing. the people who are buying it came on a busy saturday lunchtime when another woman was also looking round which possibly helped more than anything! pressure....

gigglewitch · 03/02/2008 22:48

primping?
we took drastic measures (necessity)
hid approximately half of the furniture in the garage and then "mislaid the garage key" - into DH's pocket
sold sent the kids to MIL's house for two hours

Maidamess · 03/02/2008 22:50

I always primped before valuation.

They sometimes took pictures as they were going round, so they could show prospective buyers a property that'may be going on their books'.

Its good discipline, anyway.

Also, never let your house get messier than you can tidy in half an hour. Sage advice

badgermonkey · 04/02/2008 20:54

We cleaned like mad before the valuation but saved the furniture moving/decluttering for the photos. We had an offer on Saturday after four days on the market so we must have done something right! Now I have to spend six weeks hoping it all goes through.

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