Preparing previously rented flat for selling - advice

[Eatyourcrust]

We are getting ready to sell our old flat, and a bit puzzled by estate agent advice.

The flat has a small garden and it’s a nice area of SW London. It’s been rented out for a number of years, with the same tenants, who have been great but the place is tired and needs a bit of attention.

The tenants are moving mid summer, we thought we would spend a few weeks replacing a couple of worn carpets, re-paint and ‘dress’ it slightly for viewing. The estate agent advised to spend no money on it, list it immediately and buyers won’t mind the tenants being there as long as they are in the process of moving out.

The tenants are great, they have said they don’t mind viewings, but it feels like we won’t have control over how the flat is presented.

We want a quick sale but also want to get a decent price. Any thoughts, would tenants and tired decor put you off?

Tenants would as you are never quite sure if they will actually go on time. I often take estate agent reconditions with a pinch of salt. I mean they are working on commission. So if they are getting 1% for example. You could do it up and try and get a bit more money say it’s worth an extra 50k and takes 3 months to sell, probably worth it to you? For the estate agent it’s an extra 3 months work for £500 quid and they have people on their books looking for bargain doer uppers. Possibly a cheaper, faster sale would be in his interest.

Im a bit cynical though.

I think in London the reality is you often have to just accept that many flats on the market have tired decor and tenants in situ - though it's not ideal.

My daughter saw a procession of such flats during viewings a couple of years ago, so did I as I was often accompanying her. I think the owner of the property she eventually bought could have got at least 5k more if it had been presented a bit better though, and minus the tenants.

EAs always want people to list their properties with them quickly, before they change their mind of sign with another EA. But if it were me selling a flat with tired decor and tenants in situ, I would take my time in smartening the place up after the tenants have left, and then put it on the market to achieve a better price. It's also fairer on the tenants who shouldn't really have to put up with viewings unless they are paying a reduced rent.

If the flat will be vacant and unfurnished once the tenants leave, a lot of people struggle to imagine how it might be to live in / whether their furniture will fit and it can be more difficult to sell - perhaps that’s what the agent is thinking about.

Personally I’d wait for the tenants to leave before marketing and then do some sprucing up, but I wouldn’t bother with pricier things like replacing carpets as plenty of potential buyers will be thinking of simply ripping them all up in favour of hard flooring anyway. Repair any damage and give it a thorough clean and a coat of paint, get the garden looking tidy and well maintained. Consider staging it with furniture at least for photos so the room sizes and layouts are clearer.

You also have to think, alas, that the EA may have an eye on it for himself or a friend. My DM wondered why she had had no viewings after two months - naice flat in Westminster - found later that EA was hoping she'd get desperate and would accept a low offer from his son. The details hadn't even been sent out.

Yeah, I was wondering about this. It’s a possibility that the EA has targets for new listings, not just sales commission, and keen to get it on the market.

In all honesty a quick said would be ideal (mortgage has jumped from £800 to £2200 a month, plus taxed on the rent as income, so we’re losing money each month now) but if it makes a £50k difference to the sale price, it is with us spending £2-3k to do so.

But it doesn’t feel right marketing a place without a basic freshen up.

That’s interesting, we didn’t realise tenants in situ might be commonplace in London now.

Ignore the agent. They are just trying to get the listing. The difference in commission is £100 per 1% for £10k of sale price so they don't care if you could get £40k more they want it sold now.

Thanks, this is what I’d been planning - getting a second hand bed and sofa from gumtree, re- coat of paint and a tidy of the garden.
The tenants are boys with lots of bikes and things, and don’t seem very good about opening windows! Although they have said they are happy about viewings and are reasonably tidy, nobody is going to want to offer on a smelly flat full of sports gear.

Shocking! At least with Rightmove etc we can track that it is being advertised.

Yeah I'd take that with a pinch of salt. Personally, I'd wait until the tenants were out, give it a good scrub and tidy. I wouldn't spend any real money on it, but showing/viewing a house is not something I would leave to someone who has no investment in it going well.

Difficult to nail down a reason for the EA’s opinion.

I’m guessing the market isn’t dropping too much in London so still worth waiting and sprucing up imho.

Regarding how to present, it’s interesting how taking furniture out of a room doesn’t necessarily make the room look bigger. When we sold some bedroom furniture from my late parents house, removal of a wardrobe, dressing table and chest of drawers seemed to make the room look smaller than it was. It was furnished as a double guest room and also had 3 other pieces of furniture and a double bed in. I know it was a big room because it had two single beds, wardrobe and all my childhood stuff in when it was my bedroom. Somehow without the wardrobe and drawers it looked like they’d never have fitted there 🤷

I sold my rental flat in London last year without doing anything to it. I would assume most buyers will want to redecorate anyway. It took nearly 6 months from offer to completion even though it was chain free so take into account you might lose a lot of money having it empty (Council tax as well).

Doubt spending £3k will get you £50k more - people aren't stupid. And I'm sure most can see beyond bikes and other paraphernalia. If they are moving midsummer then you will be marketing it late summer/early autumn, when the market traditionally cools. I'd get it on now.

I sold an ex rental, executors sale. We cleaned everything and gave it several good airings, so whilst was a bit tired looking it didn't smell bad, did some minor repairs, tidied up the tiny garden and painted the garden fence. It sold easily for good money, there were no cheeky offers. Paint it and furnish it if you want but it really isn't necessary. We didn't market until the tenants had moved out.

As you can't make any guarantees that current tenants will actually leave when they are due to it really is better to wait until they are out. Your agreement with the agents also comes to an end then so you can market with whoever you like (that's probably why the agents are suggesting now). The one thing I do agree on is not spending money. Make sure it's fully cleaned and get it straight on the market - it's possibly worth freshening up paint wise if you do it yourselves but if you have to pay someone I wouldn't bother. Don't do anything except make carpets/flooring as clean as possible- you won't get the money back and if it isn't to someone else's taste a buyer will resent paying for it. Make sure things like tile grouting and mastic are sound as that's noticeably. Basically water tight and fully functioning with no grime or smells that way it's up to a buyer if they want to renovate anything but can 100% use as is if they want to.

Thanks all, lots to chew over.

I’ll have another chat to the outgoing tenants and see what works for them.

I’ve recently sold ex rental flats in London and would agree with the EA’s advice. Mine were zone two west London and the market is flooded with ex rentals. Get it on the market now and take any reasonable offer. It’s what I did and for context had between 40-60 viewings before getting offers. It’s a very tough market and you need to be extremely realistic in your pricing. From going live to completing took between 5-9 months. In my opinion you will lose time and money if you follow advice from other posters on here who may not have recent experience.