Preparing house for sale

[Isitmeyourecookingfor]

Hello
I'm supporting my best friend through the very recent death of her mum after a very long illness. My friend has no other close family and is set to inherit her mums house, where she passed after years of live-in care. The house has seen better days.
She is stressed and grievig and overwhelmed and I unfortunately live 2 hours away and work and have kids but I have got a week off at the end of the month to go and stay with her.
She wants to put the house on the market asap as she is worried that the house will get broken whilst it is empty (not sure why she is worried in particular about this) but says before she puts it on the market she needs to scrub all the walls, floors, etc and then completely repaint.
I am encouragig her to get an estate agent round first to see how much they rthnk she needs to do first, if anything but she is adamant she will clean it first. It's honestly the last thing she needs right now (she doesn't want to but insists it needs to be done) and of course I will help her to get it ready but is it really necessary do you think?
I'm thinking get the estate agents advice and the most to do is get a deep clean by a company- she can afford it and has her own property.
Thoughts/experiences?
Thanks

I suspect her reactions are as much about grieving her mother as preparing the house for sale. So if I were you I’d go and support her and not be surprised if little progress is made on the sale. Some people need practical activity at this time but for others it’s the last thing they want. You will know which your friend is.

Thank you, I did think perhaps it is part of her grieving process and 'clearing out' but she is very stressed by the thiught of getting the house ready.
She is feeling overwhelmed by how much admin there is to do (although I am doing some of it for her)

Yes it’s important to clean the house. If she can afford it get the professionals in. I’ve seen many a private sale with all sorts in it and it can really take away from the appeal. At the very least all her mothers personal belongings should be removed. Furniture can stay until the actual sale.

Definitely clean but no need to paint, if it’s a doer upper then buyers won’t care what colour the walls are.

I’ve dealt with a property like this recently on behalf of an elderly relative who has gone into a care home. In order for the house to get a mortgage, it needs to have basic facilities in place - water, working heating, electrics. If it doesn’t, you can only sell to a cash buyer of which there are far fewer.
In the end, I had to install new central heating, I arranged for it to be re wired, the roof was fixed and it was painted throughout. The house sold within 2 weeks of going on the market and I had competing offers for it that pushed up the sale price.

I would involve a local estate agent or two and ask what needs to be done to make it saleable (then you can decide what you think needs to be done). I managed to do it all, start to finish, in 7 months.

She should charge all expenses relating to the property to the estate - get legal advice early on this.

I'm in a similar situation (although my elderly relative is not dead). The estate agent said to completely clear the house, deep clean and then let them sell it. I have removed valuable and sentimental items and we have booked a professional clearance company (who also own an auction house) to deal with everything else. The estate agent have recommended several cleaning companies who will quote once they can actually see what needs doing. They advised leaving the dated (old person beige) decor as the new owner will just decorate to their own taste and may build an extension or rejig the layout.

Get someone in to do the cleaning and Painting

The need to clean is probably psychological and her way of dealing with her grief. Allow her to do it. Be by her side.

I sold my DGPs home and we completely cleared and cleaned it. We got the asking price. I know some people say to leave some furniture.

I also bought a probate home that was completely clear and clean. I really appreciated it because I could see how large the rooms were and if there were significant problems.

I am with you on this. Get the estate agent around and see what they would advise.

95% chance that the buyer is going to be someone who will completely gut the place and renovate it so I really wouldn’t waste time in repainting it etc. I’d be inclined give it a ‘light clean’ and get some plug in air fresheners to freshen up the space as well as emptying belongings.

Not sure if she has this already but you’ll still need to have house insurance on the property even if it’s empty.

Thanks all. I'm going to help her deep clean and have said that we're not sorting the house out the whole time I'm there, and we will be doing some fun stuff too, like lunches and shopping!
Hopefully once the house is clean she'll agree to get an agent round. She's already clearing the place.
I do wonder if part of wanting to redecorate is part of her grief but she is so upset and stressed it really won't do her any good, I don't think. But of course I will support her if she insists, she's just not thinking straight at the moment, by her own admission!