High end finishes

[Spirallingsometimes]

We have a large property which we intend to sell in the near future. Square footage puts it in a certain price bracket but the estate agent says we need more of a high end finish to get the money we want. I’m intending to change all the light switches to more expensive ones and upgrade all the taps as some of them aren’t great, is there anything else in a house that gives it a “high end “ finish? The floors are all decent carpet upstairs, fitted wardrobes from Hammonds, ceramic tiled bathrooms, solid herringbone engineered wood downstairs, quartz worktops on kitchen and utility, hillaries blinds on all the windows. I’m not disagreeing with the estate agent at all, I’m just wondering what other high end finishes we can add that won’t bankrupt us and involve lots of disruption.

Do light switches and taps really put houses in the next price bracket? I'd be surprised .

professionally decorated, as a decorators daughter nothing puts me off a house more than dodgy paintwork that's not been prepped or painted properly.

It’s not that it will push it to the next price bracket, he said it’s more that in the price bracket we’re in people will be very picky for that money and want a high end finish. So if we’re not going to get cheeky offers or overlooked in the price bracket that the square footage places us in- we need to improve some of the finishes

Obviously it's difficult to say without having seen the property, but "high-end finish" generally means kitchens and bathrooms, rather than light switches.

It's unlikely that anyone buying an expensive high-end property is going to be convinced by some different light switches.

Light fittings, upmarket white goods, de-clutter, fix scratched scuffed paintwork, outdoor space tidy, nice patio furniture. Did he actually say what needed upgrading?

I would get the EA to define what they term a HE finish and what you "need" to do.
You could spend several £k changing switches/sockets/taps for it to make no difference whatsoever to the value.
When they have advised what they think you need to do, you can make an informed decision on whether you think it is worth it.

I agree you need to ask him exactly what he means. Tell him not to worry about offending you, as he may be dancing around what he really thinks!

I would ask him how much he thinks you need to spend to pull it up, and how much he thinks that would add - you need this to be financial decision, so you need to get the figures before you decide.

I think buyers expecting high end finishes are a but more savvy than switches and taps.
You look at everything. Ie the woodwork, solid wood etc... height and mould of skirting, not cheap contract chamfer. The quality of the doors and handles.
Ceramic tiles aren't high end, natural stone is
If you really want to get top price high end there needs to be no niggly things that need doing either
I dont think tarting up will fool anyone sadly

I would take that as an estate agent trying to tactfully say that the house isn't worth as much as you think it is.

Spray paint finish looks way nicer than brush / roller, but I'm not sure many people would notice.

What kind of high end?
Farrow & Ball and genuine antiques?
Massive wine fridge full of champagne and a walk in wardrobe full of designer handbags?

I do think you're on the right track with light switches and taps. I've heard that it's the bits that you touch which give a feeling of quality to a house.

Without seeing photos it’s really difficult to tell

I suspect this too. The brands OP mentioned are not really high end, just nice. I'm not being snide, I have "normal" fixtures and fittings, not walnut shelves and hand woven carpets.

When you talk about the price bracket you’re in — is that the EA’s assessment or yours?

While size matters, it’s not the only thing that matters, but I think finish has to be supremely high end and combined with an amazing, up-to-the minute luxury kitchen and bathrooms to make a difference to the price.

So I would say the brand you have mentioned (Hammonds are Hilary’s) are good quality, but I wouldn’t consider “high end”. High end I would be thinking bespoke kitchens and bathrooms. (I should say I am definitely more of a John Lewis/Hammonds - good quality but I’m not paying x amount for a unit that looks more beautiful).

What did EA value your house at versus what you want?

As others have said I would be going back, because if he’s saying you would need to rip out your kitchen and barrooms probably better to just take the hit. High end though (rather then say “tidying up/updating a bit/staging) would make me think it is that rather than just a bit of paint and new fittings.

The extra things I would pay for are;

Decent quality tiles and bathroom fittings.
Good quality flooring tiles
Clean classic lines, not trendy stuff that dates quickly, eg grey paint, twiddled taps etc - already dating.

A good kitchen layout. Cabinets can be replaced easily if the layout is good.
Good quality heating infrastructure
Good quality exterior windows and doors.
Properly finished outside - edging for gravel & lawns, door steps etc. Gates, fences. Garage doors. Light fittings. Plenty of parking

My house is 120 years old and I've spent time ensuring it is well pointed & maintained, chimneys, flashing, guttering, drain covers are all in good repair.

I'm indifferent to light switches. Quality Door handles and carpets are a bit more important but not much.

@Meadowfinch whats a twiddled tap?

Sorry , a typo, but generally overengineered taps. Boiling water taps, telephone style shower attachments, plated taps etc.

I'd never leave my instant boil tap behind. It's bloody brilliant 😂

You should discuss the EA what they specifically mean when they say "high end" finishes, however I suspect this is the EA trying to tactfully tell you that the house will not go for as much as you might want it to.

I wouldn't consider taps and switches as high end finishes on their own. I would consider finishes like good quality flooring (such as real wood or stone), bespoke lighting, high quality/ bespoke kitchen/bathrooms.

High end finishes are things like bespoke solid wood kitchens, mitred tiling in bathrooms instead of edging strips, programmable lighting systems through the house, etc, etc.

Just to add (as I can't edit my post) that there is a difference between 'high end finishes' and making your house sellable.

If it is the latter, then a lick of paint here and a declutter there will make a big difference, but changing some taps and switches won't push your house up to the top of the price bracket of it isn't already there.

Take out lots of stuff, rent furniture if necessary. New door furniture, lighting can make a big difference. Colours of walls could be changed, pattern a bit more fashionable now.

@Spirallingsometimes I'd be looking for underfloor heating, quartz/marble worktops, solid wood or stone/porcelain flooring, landscape gardens, exterior electric gates in a house with a premium price. The type of things that are expensive to fit especially retrospectively rather than light switches and a paint job.

Thanks everyone, some good things to consider. The doors need upgrading for sure but we were always intending to do that and some of the paint needs touching up before it goes on the market. The kitchen is a diy kitchens inframe shaker which is about three years old, with quartz worktops, so it’s not a really cheap kitchen but it’s definitely not high end. When we did it we were refurbing the whole house top to bottom and intended to stay here long term so we put in what we could afford at the time. I’m not going to start ripping kitchens and bathrooms out now, just wondering if there is anything relatively simple we can do to make it more attractive. There is £50k difference from what this estate agent said to an estate agent who valued it two years ago, so we were hoping to get that £50k but if we can’t we can’t.