Selling your house in 2024? Join me in house sprucing!

[Yemelade]

Been scouring for a similar thread, but not seen one so far!

I'm planning to get my house on the market this year, hopefully by May 2024. There's a couple very noticeable things that will put people off straight away if we don't sort out prior to listing (fascia boards/uPVC drainage near roofline is broken and has holes in and looks a mess, plus also no hand rail on the stairs) But also some cosmetic things we need to spruce up to improve curb appeal, as well as the need to declutter.

Tasks on my list also include sanding and reoiling our oak worktops (not been done since they were fitted in 2019) as well as finally getting around to putting a door back over a cupboard opening. The biggest one is sorting out our garden and putting gravel in the driveway that we lined with railway sleepers and membrane last year but never filled with gravel!!

Anyone else care to join me and list what you're hoping to achieve prior to sale? Part of me thinks "I'll just list it as is" but I know not doing these things will go against us financially, plus I'm keen to see how mortgage rates change in the next few months so I'm not in the biggest of rushes!

Please join if you're in the same boat 😊

I've been wondering the same... We did outside paint work, hall and kids room in autumn gearing up to sell in spring. Still some areas to touch up but decluttering is top of my list! Don't think DH will pull out all stops till we've listed though he did clear the garage last week so fingers crossed.

Selling mine in the Spring
Just had it painted top to bottom, tiling re grouted, new floor laid downstairs, internal door removed and new stairs fitted, new utility room, lighting changed. Fireplaces are booked, reroofing garage.

Then need to get a new hedge planted, carpeted, utility painted and the externals painted. Plus loads of tiny odd jobs.
Thinking about getting planning permission.
Getting rid of so much stuff and furniture.

It is a dust nightmare and I might be regretting it.
You have my sympathy

Good luck everyone!
when does the spring market starting exactly?

How much did it cost to repaint everything?
And how disruptive was it? I dream of this

Not sure as they are doing loads of work- with me for a month with 7 workmen there on one day!

Plus it is a 6 bed townhouse and so it needs a lot of paint. They are much quicker than I would be and it is looked great so far. Had some plastering done as well.

The dust is unbelievable -luckily we had somewhere else to decamp to for a few days.

To add, the agent we spoke to in the autumn when we were buying another one said that in the current market houses need to be very well presented. People need to max the mortgage and so dont have money for jobs when they buy.

Good to hear from you all! Sounds like you've had a lot going on and completed already @HarrogateHouseSale. I don't know about you, but we plan to buy another do-er upper after this, so it feels like I have at least a year or two of disruption on my hands!! Not looking forward to that, though I am looking forward to it all being done. Me and DH absolutely hate disruption and workmen being in the house. What are you thinking about getting planning permission for? Are you doing this in view of you completing an extension, or making your home more sellable if it includes planning permission for e.g. a kitchen family room? I also think you're right re. Having it "move in ready".

I can understand where your DH is coming from @Cuppacharplease. It's so hard to find the motivation. I am also dreading trying to keep everything pristine everyday with 3 animals! Luckily invested in my own carpet cleaner last year which has been a godsend.

@cupcakesarelife my understanding is it's best to have your pictures and estate agent ready for release on or just before April. Whilst I'd love to make this deadline, me and DH work opposing shifts so we don't have that much time together to get things done. Though we have taken this week to get some jobs done, will have to post worktops "before and afters" here to help us all keep motivated!

@fromBodentoBandM my colleague at work just got a quote for 3k for a 3 bed townhouse - Gateshead (North east). It's expensive! But also a job I loathe.

Great to meet you all!! 😊

Mine is for nxt tear but I'll join anyway. Not dome much since moved in 24 yrs ago. Got facade of kitchen units and counter top to.be replaced late March. Need painting throughout and also decluttering. Big job. Good luck everyone.

I spent a lot of last year thinking maybe I'd try and move in 2024. I did have a bit of a declutter in preparation last year - streamlined what's in the loft down to stuff I actually want - mostly just Christmas decorations. I had all kinds of ideas about what I might start doing this year to prepare to sell - possibly getting a storage unit to get my house looking emptier and more neutral etc. Then saw the house I wanted to buy - panicked, whizzed round with the hoover, threw a few bits in the shed, hid my bubble bath collection in a wardrobe and boom, on the market. Fortunately I accepted an offer on the first weekend, so I don't have to worry about anything more hardcore and I'm definitely glad I didn't spend any extra money on anything.

It has previously had planning for a 2 bed house in the garden and is in Central Harrogate- so unusual even to have a decent garden

So I might try and get planning. Plus there is a massive unconverted loft that has full head height.

Sanding and re-oiling kitchen worktops today... And upcycling some old furniture to make a "utility/laundry" area in the kitchen as we dont have a utility room, and it's always been a mess to the side of the washing machine!

That will look great. Oak worktops are the best.

Not my way home to see what the builders/decorators have done before a weekend of cleaning and disposing

Joining in here too, hoping for motivation and to write myself a bit of a to-do list.
Got 5 rooms left to paint, one being the dreaded hallway and stairs.
Also need to finish off an entryway to a new bedroom we put in when we moved in a few years ago which includes a bit of making good the walls, a box to cover pipes etc.

I want to be ready for the less rainy weather as a few of the large pavers on the drive are wobbling and all fences and sheds need painting. I would like for the house to be done by early spring so I just need to do outside then am good to get listed.

Well already behind
Got home and the painters hadn't finished- so no cleaning and they are doing the stair treads today so no running up and down either.
Studying Rightmove and Zoopla sales and trying to get a value in my head before I get agents round.

Planning seems very complicated so a weekend working that out

Have your painters finished yet @HarrogateHouseSale ?

We got our guttering soffits and fascias done yesterday and it's made a huge change to the facade of the house!! Though it has also made it look like painting the render is seriously needed now... How is everyone doing?

Mine going up for sale soon as the photographer is coming on Friday - desperately trying to make the house look more presentable than usual - teen is in charge of sorting out their room
I was going to start a thread with tips as haven't been a seller for a while!

Oooh let me know how it goes!

I'm just in the process of shortlisting estate agents. Some of them responded straight away with the level of detail I was seeking about their services, others have either not responded at all or taken several days/weeks just to say "I can call you to discuss" without answering my specific questions, so I'm probably not going to be pursuing those ones!

Let us know how the pictures go!

Us too! To be honest we're not doing much; the house was tenanted for a few years until about 6 months ago and there was some damp/leaks that didn't get reported. The source of that has been sorted but now have a couple of rooms to paint. The hall is really tatty but it's such a big job to paint I think we'll just leave it and hustle viewers in quickly.

We had to declutter anyway with moving twice in 3 years, but DC2 bedroom is the smallest- it's actually still a double but has an Ikea Kura bed in there as they like the den underneath which makes it look smaller. So will empty that out as much as we can to see the floor space. And generally swipe things off surfaces and wardrobes etc.

I think buyers will replace the bathroom but it's all functional and non offensive so a new bath mat should do it and a new plant. I might touch up some masonry outside too.

The house does photograph well and is on a popular street so hopefully that will work. Hoping to finish up by next week to get photos done.

Just waiting for the garden to look nicer, instead of drab, spring will bring the flowers out. Need to paint the hallway and declutter. Going on the market end of March hopefully

Morning all,

How are we all getting on?

I've had the fascias, guttering and downpipes replaced on the house and wow has it improved the exterior so much!!

On Tuesday, we have a joiner coming to fit a new staircase and a cupboard in the spare room over the boiler. After that, we just need to purchase some gravel, give the back garden a tidy and maybe paint the rendered portion of the front of the house and do some paint touch ups inside. Then I think we are pretty much there! Really hoping we can be on the market by mid to end of April! Have bought some new bedding and curtains for the main bedroom as realised I've been putting it off for the last 18 months as "we'll be moving soon and buying a bigger bed" but in the meantime, our linens are looking worn out and not the best.

Unfortunately, as of 2 weeks ago a tiny crack appeared in our shower tray. We bought some resin fixing kit thing on Amazon and that seemed to work, however yesterday I realised water was coming back through again. DH says he doesn't think we need to prioritise replacing as will end up needing to retile everything too plus it's just a 1 inch hairline crack that he thinks a plastic soldering kit that his friend has will fix. I have absolutely no idea if it will but I'm not sure I like the prices I'm finding online for replacing a whole shower/shower tray. How would you all handle this?

So far we've done the major structural corrections, replastered the living room. Now onto the smaller jobs but it's still a lot of expensive and time consuming work, argh!

I always think it's daft that we do all these things to sell, rather than having done them before to get the benefit from them ourselves! DP is the master of the 95% done DIY job, so our house is full of niggling little issues that annoy me on a daily basis. Now we are looking to sell they are finally getting done and it is so much nicer.
We've had new curtains in the living room and it had made such a difference that I wish we'd done it ages ago.
DD is away for 2 weeks with school so I'm taking the opportunity to paint her bedroom. It's taken me a week so far and I've only just finished the white undercoat. It took 3 days to sort and pack up her stuff. When I took down her posters etc the walls were a state and needed loads of filling and sanding. It's going to be a surprise for her 🫣.
My other job is to get the garden tidy. I'm on the lookout for cheap bedding plants too fill any gaps and bring some instant colour. In also getting my favourites into pots so we can take with us. Our trying to take cuttings at least. I'll be most sad to leave my garden.

We having been going at it since January
Plastered and painted kitchen stairs and landing. Decorated bedroom, kitchen and just having dining room done this week. Repainted kitchen units
New utility created
New boiler
New garage roof
New tiled floor in hall
Cooker professionally cleaned
3 old fireplaces installed (most are original but 3 had been removed in 1970s)
New hedge going in this week- trenches been dug
Carpets being fitted this week
Rehung curtain poles and curtains put back up
bathrooms regrouted

I always think it's daft that we do all these things to sell, rather than having done them before to get the benefit from them ourselves!

I feel the same. We replaced the flooring in the kitchen and it looks so much better. I kept thinking, why didn't we do it years ago?

Still on my list is finish the decorating, get the garden looking nice and a bit more decluttering. Also replacing all the family photos on the walls with neutral pictures.

I am hoping to get it on the market in May.

I have the valuers coming round next week.
Well, I have 2 coming round- the 3rd didn't reply to the email that I sent them.