What to do to house before selling?

[Readyforanap]

Looking for a bit of advice regarding a house I need to sell - basically we found a house we loved so put an offer in as chain free with the thoughts of renting out the house we were living in. My heart wasn’t really into renting it out, but I had family influencing me. Since moving out into the new house we have bought I just want to sell it - I don’t want the stress, and I don’t know if I would be a good landlord.

The house needs some work doing to it - list below! We were in the middle of slowly doing it up when we saw the house we were moving to and wanted to move.

New stair carpet, Bedroom 1 carpet

Painting walls/some new wallpaper where walls in bad way

Paint woodwork

Paint outside door

Kitchen is very old - thinking either completely redo as cheap as possible, leave completely, or maybe just paint cupboards, new lino?

Small hole in kitchen airtex ceiling where my husband knocked it with a mop (don’t ask!) and awful lights.

Front garden fence between us and neighbour has partially come down - it is their fence but I know they’re not able to replace. Do we ask if we can fix/replace/put new fence up next to theirs? It’s a long line and in bad condition

What is worth actually doing? It’s a 2 bed house, fairly popular area, probably best for FTB or landlords, or maybe people looking to extend (corner plot)

Any advice much appreciated

I’d sort out the fence but nothing else. That was the advice we were given when we were sold. Estate agents I’ll give you a steer on what’s worth doing

Fence, absolutely,, first thing to get done.

Outside door. If a house looks like it hasn't been maintained from the outside I will not even open the avert.

Maybe cheap lino will turn the kitchen around? Cupboards can be shrink wrapped for cheap ish these days, idk what it is called but there are a ton of videos on YouTube with people applying rolls of vinyl with hairdryers. But really everyone has such different kitchen tastes that it might not be worth the effort.

Mend the damage and give a coat of paint to any very dirty or scruffy areas: you don’t want potential buyers seeing things which make them think you haven’t taken care of the property and they might be buying a house full of issues to fix. Sort out the fence, even if it means paying for one yourself: people like to know where the boundary is and that they aren’t going to have issues with the neighbours.

The rest, just clean thoroughly as best you can. Don’t spend money replacing kitchens and carpets and wallpaper: your buyers probably won’t appreciate your taste and won’t think of it as added value if they’re of the kind they’ve just got to replace it all again anyway.

Definitely the fence. Otherwise I would tidy/clean/declutter but nothing else. As a buyer you can tell when stuffs been done up cheaply and it puts me off. People want to chose their own paint, floors etc.

Totally agree with @Lcb123 & @instantpotnoodle
No point messing with the kitchen or going out of your way to decorate and replace flooring. It will be priced accordingly and buyers will rip and and replace/decorate themselves.
Sort the fence so they won’t have to start negotiating with the new neighbours then just make sure it’s clean.

If you don’t love the house then I really wouldn’t invest time or money into it. It sounds like you’ll need to spend at least £15k to do that work - that’s on the basis of having a new kitchen fitted.
Get the fence fixed, maybe a lick of paint where it is desperately needed and get it up for sale!
There will be other houses out there that will be better for you. Just take the time to find what is best and what works well.

Hi everyone, thanks so much for your advice, I really do appreciate it.

I'm a bit worried the small hole in the kitchen airtex makes it look as though there was a leak - is it work getting this plastered as I'm worried that will put off people?

Is it also offensive if I ask my neighbour if I can replace their fence? I hope it isn't but I worry about these things

@Readyforanap If I had a broken fence that I couldn’t replace for whatever reason I would be over the moon if your offered to replace it. Everyone is different though. There is no harm in asking. The worst thing they can say is no and it’s not like you will have to carry on living next door to them now!

I would echo the advice given by @ComtesseDeSpair. People will start worrying about what else is wrong if they see things that should have been mended that haven’t been. That fence would be important to sort out as would be the hole in the ceiling. Very dirty, stained or mouldy paintwork would need redoing too.
If the kitchen is useable and clean then I would leave it as is. If the cupboard doors are missing or hanging off then it would be best to fix them. As long as it looks like it’s been looked after, even if things are old, it should still appeal to a buyer.

I agree with pp - do the fence (from experience I'd say your neighbour won't be able to believe their luck!) but don't spend loads of money or time on other things apart from the front door. As long as the house looks 'honest' and generally loved and looked after, it will do okay. So it needs to look as if it's been your much loved home as far as possible but obviously decluttered and cleaned till you're sick of it. Potential viewers will drive by quite often before coming to look so the outside is important - some pots of flowers and definitely a newly painted front door!

We once replaced a fence - neighbour was so thrilled he actually gave us some money towards it.
Another time it was the other way round and we were thrilled.

Id say you either do a FULL refurb, and sell the house in a "move in ready, this is the house of your dreams" condition, or dont bother doing any cosmetic work and sell it as a house that needs updating.

I agree with the fence, and maybe just cover the whole in the ceiling, but honestly, anyone who buys it is probably ripping that kitchen out, ceiling included, and putting in a new one!

Unless there is something wrong with the front door, I wouldnt bother with it either

Hello,

im looking for some help in regards to selling my house. It’s been on the market now for nearly 2 months, we have had viewings but not as many as I would have hoped and still had no offers. I’m really wanting to sell so we can move closer to family as we have none around. I will link the add of the house. We don’t really want to lower the price anymore than we have but if anyone could give us some advice that would be great.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/137440307

I wouldn't bother with the kitchen, as a buyer I have a specific kitchen in mind that suits my disabilities... I will be ripping out any kitchen instantly no matter how new or old.

I think theres no harm in 'tidying' up the property, fix the fence and a lick of paint etc... but I wouldn't wallpaper (very subjective to taste) and if you do replace carpet/flooring I would go pretty neutral.

A lot of buyers want to make a home their own so I wouldn't put to much into 'renovation' of fixtures.

Declutter. Clean it until it gleams, no air freshners.

Replace fence. Clean windows. Get rid of any rubbish.

Its the house people would be buying. The carpets just happen to be there. People will redecorate to their taste. The kitchen would be replaced. As long as it's all clean it'll be fine.

Maybe shampoo carpets if you have pets.

People love a doer-upper like that where it's all cosmetic.

Kerb appeal - fix the fence, spruce any garden and if it's bad, paint the door.

Hole in the ceiling - I'd patch it and, if it's really noticeable, paint it.

Kitchen - I wouldn't touch. If its a cheap replacement/wrapped the new owner will earmark straight away for replacement & you've wasted your money.
Carpets & walls - ditto.

As PP said, declutter and clean, clean, clean.

Start a new thread… click the “property/DIY” link right at the top and click “add thread” from the buttons at the bottom of the page. Posters often only reply to the OP… as evidenced! Good luck.

Sorry this is my first post and thought I had done it. Managed to make my own thread now though! Thank you :)

Mend the fence - I’m sure neighbours will not object. Deep clean and tidy the garden. No more. It is a doer-upper and the price will reflect this.

Get a good house agent in and ask them to advise you. We did, and got excellent advice- where not to waste our money, and where we'd get a return on what we spent.

(tip: woodwork often looks masses better if you just wash it)

Just price it right, no need to mess about with what are really to most people, minor jobs.
Halifax have just reported a 1.9% fall in value from July to August which will be sharpening the minds of potential buyers. If next months fall is anything similar - it's going to be panic stations - so don't hang about or try to "test the market" if you have decided to sell... Get ahead of the curve.

Ugh- zombie thread.

My limited knowledge of property suggests that you should decorate and do some maintenance work on your home before selling it. This will help make the property more attractive to potential buyers. It will also increase the property's value, resulting in a higher sale price. You can access additional information easily, as there is a wealth of online articles and resources covering various aspects of selling your house like this one: https://www.tumblr.com/umegalettingsblog/721651137122533376/maximizing-the-value-of-your-property-with-expert?source=share

Buyers don't want to pay a 'higher' price to move into a generic house designed blankly for tom, dick and harry.

Buyers want to pay a 'lower' price and have the money left do the work themselves to make it THEIR home to THEIR taste. Lots of people also like 'old' character not just 'modern' grey houses.

If you put in a cheap kitchen that will NOT make me offer more, I'm going to rip it out regardless and you will just have wasted money.

Things that might add value is fixing a leaking roof or damp etc... not 'cosmetic' changes.