Selling property. Living room is half decorated. Do I finish it?

[mrsjackrussell]

I have inherited a property. All rooms look ok apart from the living room. Half the wallpaper is off and the flooring has been pulled up.
Would it be worth paying to get it decorated before selling?

An estate agent said no but I don't know whether they just wanted to get it on the market asap.

I have been told by neighbours that property along this road get snapped up quickly.

What would you do and how would you feel going to see a property with a rubbish living room?

I would try to figure out what the absolute basics you could do to make the room look presentable would be and be very detailed in how much that would cost you. Then I'd ask how much additional value that would add to the property at point of selling. Most people will want to redecorate anyway. I'd think about the quality of your walls. If they're bad I'd be tempted to plaster but if they're in good condition then I see no reason not to leave it as it is since a new owner could paint and carpet quite easily and cheaply.

We're looking to buy at the moment and what I'm looking for is space, issues with damp or mould, anything structural that would need done and how able we'd be to move in as is and redecorate as we go with a toddler. I wouldn't care about presentation of the living room if the floor size and layout is good and the walls and ceiling are in decent condition.

I sold a property last year, ex rental, and was very shabby. A half decorated lounge with the mankiest of carpets. I followed the estate agents advice and put on the market as it was. It sold within a fortnight.
Unless you are going to refurbish to a high standard the buyer is like to rip it all and start over. So a waste of your time and money. The key is to agree a reasonable price allowing for the condition of the property.

If the overall house is reasonable, then maybe just take rest of the paper off and make good the floor in whatever way you can, even if bare boards. Presumably viewers are seeing it empty anyway, so just make it look presentable enough that they can see what work might need doing (e.g. full replaster of walls, or a skim and easy to redecorate) and to help them imagine putting their own stamp on it. It wouldn’t put me off in any way though, especially if it’s in a high demand residential area, your EA will sell it as not occupied, needs renovations or similar.

Thankyou for your replies. The living room at the moment is not useable. It needs wallpaper stripping. New lining paper. Painting and flooring. At the moment it's just what look like MDF floorboards.

You are right. If I was personally going to buy this property I think I would redo the whole property so the living room would probably be redone anyway. It's ideal for a retirement home.

It’s not going to look great in photos is it? You won’t get top dollar for a house with a living room that’s not usable. I normally advise people not to spend much money getting a house ready to sell, but in this case a room in such a poor state would be seriously offputting. I would get that room finished and looking nice before instructing an EA.

For me it would depend on how the rest of the house is. If it's old and dated and needs everything doing anyway it wouldn't bother me.

If it's done ok and is something I'd do up bit by bit it would put me off.

The risk of decorating is it won’t be to someone else’s taste. I would just strip the walls put the lining paper on and paint the woodwork white.

Just do the basics to get that room presentable. Do both the floor and walls in neutral finish. It's not so easy to sell at the moment so give yourself the best chance to interest as many possible buyers as you can. No need to spend big bucks. Good luck, don't overprice.

I agree - stick with neutral colours and you can’t go far wrong. Give the house the best chance of selling at a decent price.

And by the way @mrsjackrussell EAs always tell you just to put the property on the market whatever the condition. They are often right but not always. Mainly they are worried about losing the business if you delay.

Strip the rest of the wallpaper - 1 days work?

Does it absolutely need lining? Or can you just paint it with a base coat from polyfiller (designed for uneven walls) and then a coat of off white over the top.

If I could find a room sized off cut of neutral carpet I'd also put that down. The whole lot is a couple of days work and maybe £500.

I'd finish it. Kitchens and bathrooms sell houses, but a room ripped apart would put off a lot of people. For the EA thinking of their commission, they'll be thinking of the difference this will make to them and a few hundred to a thousand pounds to you on the sale price could be very little to them, plus they always want to get your business and get things on the market.

I would strip the wallpaper and decorate in a neutral paint. People do usually want to decorate but that is often months down the line and they won't want an unusable living room.

It will appeal to more people if you make it neutral and livable. Yes people will want to decorate etc, but lots of people want to move in & then do it but by bit.

I was having this conversation with a friend yesterday and he said if you can do some work to tart the place up that will only cost £1500, do it. Anything more, and you're just wasting your money, as you probably won't recoup what you've spent. I would strip the wallpaper and paint the room and that's it.

I would at least get it liveable with flooring and walls finished. It won't present well otherwise.

If your market is retirement people, I would absolutely make it presentable in a neutral style.

We have been trying to sell my grandma’s bungalow for nearly a year. It is in good condition. The bathroom and kitchen are a little dated but perfectly fine. Everyone who has looked has said they don’t want to do any work including stripping all the wallpaper and redecorating. People want to just move in.

I would get it presentable, especially if you're thinking it would appeal to retirees who I imagine would be less inclined to start big decorating jobs.

For £600 or so, get the walls sorted with a basic plaster skim/lining paper and paint magnolia. Get a carpet offcut. You've spent the bare minimum but I bet it'll really help it look attractive & better presented. It also helps people to envisage it as a home to live in if it's in liveable condition

Get the wallpaper off. If the walls aren't even enough to just paint over, then roll-on plastering is another easy DIY solution.

Thankyou you all for your replies. I think go ahead and decorate neutrally. I can't do it myself and will get a decorator in. Now to get a quote for decorating.
It's a big room so may leave the floor and make the rest presentable. I know that flooring will cost a lot even if it's laminate flooring and not everybody likes that.
May just pop some nice rugs down.

Just do a cheap job so it's finished, but with the assumption they will change it when they're ready. Slap of paint and cheap carpet

A lot of people that view properties can't see past what is in front of them, they don't have a vision

A house should be presented in the best possible state