How 'put together' does a house need to be for it to on the Market?

[bigtalltrees]

I bought our house using a government scheme in October 2023. It's only my children and I, one of which is disabled and we were homeless. I chose this house because it was there and seller accepted £2k under asking. The house is not suitable, it is in an area we have no connection to, we have to drive to schools, walks, shops, friends. We are isolated to a degree. The house also had a lot of issues which I was not prepared for, and through a mix of help and loans, it has had:
*New upstairs bathroom (including installing a bath where none was previously)
*new front door and side cladding
*new flat roof (on the one room extension tacked onto the back of the house
*partial rewire
*External insulation and cladding under windows
*upvc fascia coverings
*new ceiling in vestibule after rain leak caused it to crumble (see new flat roof)
*plastering in one room
*bedroom and kitchen new flooring
*bead insulation to the one room extension.

The house still needs so much tidying and work, it will never reach that description I see in some marketing as "immaculate condition".

I am so ready to move on from it, for my youngest son to be in the catchment area his current PS feeds, for my eldest to be able to see friends, to drive less. Also, my mother is now unwell, and my grandmother has dementia, so I would like to be closer for them.

The house a 15 minute drive from Edinburgh. I had a valuation done about 3 months ago, the EA came back with a price 40k higher than I bought it for. That seems a lot to me.

I have been signed off work with burnout, and although I am taking steps to get better, the house takes up so much mental space, Perhaps I feel so bad due to the circumstances of us moving in. I would be relying on the sale of the house to buy another.

Do you think you're well enough to move it doesn't sound like it?

Sounds like you bought a great house that has increased in value, I would concentrate on getting better then tackle the house by doing a pre move de clutter and sort out and THEN put it on the market.

In my experience it doesn’t need to be perfect, it just need to show what you do have in the best light. So ruthless decluttering and clean the house. Obviously things like hoovering etc, but all of the boys like wiping down skirting etc. it doesn’t have to be proper tidying, you can shove stuff into cupboards or even start packing.

I agree

You can sell any house, at the right price.

Put it on the market and see how you get on.

Remove all clutter.
Make sure the beds are made up properly ideally with all white bedding.
Make sure the kitchen is clear of clutter.
Cut the grass.

Take one room at a time and start today. Hide things in the boot of your car for viewings.

Hiya, in answer to your question, I think it has to be say about 70% done. I have sold only three flats so far, all my own and not top end at all, so I've had to do what I could with them.

I always think, 'what would the new owner like to do with their new house?' In this way, I live there and do it to my spec, but when I want to sell, I don't do more things. I leave some for the new owners to choose.

If you house is still a bit of a building site with ends that need tying up, I would do what you can and tidy what you can't. Get rid of clutter as people have said, and clean it up, but otherwise let them see it for what it is, bearing in mind they can then decide honestly, and plan to their spec not yours.

Another thing I do is price honestly from my heart - not too high, don't do people over, but not rock bottom, just fair for what it is and its' place on the market. There is always someone who will want what you have to sell, and if you pretty it up and affirm in your mind that 'this house is GOING to sell, because I am moving...' then it will sell - good luck.

You’ve done a lot of great work. Partial rewire was really smart! The electrics are one of the main reasons buyers knock down the asking price. Good move! Be proud of what you’ve done to the property and don’t waste time focusing on what you haven’t completed.

Can you pay someone to clean it? Scrubbing it up really helps, massively! My kitchen is ancient. But I cleaned, scrubbed, and polished the place from stem to stern. In your position, I’d hire someone.
Clear your surfaces too. If you can minimise clutter and max out on the cleaning, viewers have a clearer view of a property’s potential. Even if the kitchen is ancient, for example, they can visualise what they can do with it.
Get an essential oil diffuser and keep it running throughout viewings so that the place smells nice. Open all of your windows and air out the property daily. Keep it fresh and clean and the property will sell faster and for a good price.

One person's idea of immaculate condition can be totally different to another person's ! The housing market is bonkers at the moment but if I was you I would just go along with what the estate agents have said and see how it goes. Just make sure the house is clean and tidy for viewers, they will probably want to change things anyway. Having said that though, are you sure you are up to the hard work and upheaval of moving house at the moment ??

It doesn’t need to be perfect, it just needs to be priced according to its condition. Any house will sell at the right price.

Thank you very much for taking the time to reply.

I think i am pegging my health on moving. I would love, more than anything, to move back to the village we grew up in, but I have been priced out, which I feel resentful about, which eats me up inside somewhat.

Things like, the hallway needs decorated, but I can't reach the walls, there is no skirting board in the upstairs bathroom from when it was renovated, I paid a lady decorator a lot of money to put lining paper on some of the walls, two rooms have had to remove it and plaster because it was so bad. The flooring in the hallway needs replaced as the click boards have come apart in a few of the boards.

I had such a bad experience buying the house, the EA I bought from were terrible, at one point my mortgage broker told me he didn't want to do business with them. I want any buyer to have a better time than I did.

It's a 3/4 bedroom, with a large garden, but it's near a main road, when people turn onto our street because it's a big straight road it is used as a race track, and I am obsess over this. There is triple glazing in and I put up a fence in the front but I can't move past it. I don't know who would buy this house.

It sounds like you have a lot of emotion attached to the house and some negative feeling. I mean this in a nice way but you bought that house and your neighbours have bought/rented their houses. Someone will want it if it is priced right.

Don’t worry about decorating, the buyer will want to put their own stamp on it. The flooring, the buyer might want to replace a few boards or pull it up and put something completely different down. As long as the price reflects this then try not to worry about it. Our last house, the new buyers ripped out the brand new carpet in the bedroom which we had replaced after DS spilled paint all over the carpet. In the house before that, the buyers changed nearly everything, new kitchen bathroom etc but left the conservatory in place when they sold it again. This was a single glazed conservatory that was awful when we lived there. The house still sold again.

Honestly OP, those negative feelings you feel (understandably) won’t be transferred on to viewers. What you might find off putting won’t be a shared view. It’s hard not to project. I was incredibly down on my own property. My buyer absolutely loves it. In turn, I’m buying a property that needs a lot of love and work, but I could immediately see past all that when I viewed it.
People move in and redecorate. People looking at your property will view it knowing that it’s not turnkey and immaculate but it’s a good, solid property to which you’ve done a lot already. If the bones are good, that counts for so much.

The reason some listings say "in immaculate condition" is because most houses aren't! However be wary that some things can drag the price down more than they really ought. Laminate boards parting, tired decor etc are really superficial and I wouldn't worry about those, but the skirting board missing probably would look really suspect and make people think that work was being left unfinished, which makes people worry about the quality of work. In general I think it's better to have work look like it was never started, than started and not finished.