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about to try to sell a house - how far would you go re 'staging' it/doing up to sell??

38 replies

norkmaiden · 21/02/2009 21:35

Nightmare time to try to sell, but needs must unfortunately..

So, my question is how much to do to the house before putting it on the market - main Q is about the kitchen, which is a bit tatty (not horrendous, but fraying a bit around the seams iyswim). New kitchen doors is s definite - new appliances? Ours are white, and I'd go for cheapish (??) stainless steel. Probably new worktop and sink too, all for as little outlay as reasonably possible!

ANy suggestions for how far to go with doing up/setting up a house to sell in the current climate?? Thoughts would be appreciated..

OP posts:
InTheScrum · 22/02/2009 15:03

Resealing bathrpoom and kitchen great idea. Also, get a grout pen to draw over grubby grouting and make it all shiny white! Saves scrubbing with bleach and a toothbrush.

BoffinMum · 22/02/2009 17:04

What I do is walk around the house trying to have new eyes (very hard if it's your house, but it can be done) and say to myself "What is the story I am trying to sell here? Who is most likely to buy it, and what will appeal to their vanity?"

Then I strip out all the personal stuff, finish outstanding DIY jobs (most important of all), spring clean the place, move out anything that is not beautiful or immediately useful, and then the fun starts with the props.

In the living room - How would they watch TV? How would they spend their leisure time? Could they have friends around for drinks in there? I would have fresh flowers, glossy magazines and holiday brochures that said "Affluent family".

In the dining room - What would Sunday lunch be like in here? What would dinner parties look like? I would set the table and make it look like a magazine setting, with a low flowers arrangement in the centre of the table, which should seat 4 or 6. The story here would be "Fun and generous host".

In the master bedroom - How elegant is this? How relaxing? How good would the nookie be in here? Is there a restful, stylish atmosphere? I would hang up a designer frock on a padded hanger somewhere obvious and discreet at the same time, dress the bed well with lots of pillows, a nice throw and matching cushions, have a few of the latest hardback books by the bed and make sure it smelt subtly inviting (eg vanilla, rose, narcissi). The story here is "Happily married couple who still have a bit of night time action". Put a stylish picture of yourselves as a couple on one of the bedside tables or the (mainly clear apart from Chanel perfume and a couple of upmarket ornaments) dressing table.

In the nursery - How broody can this make people feel? Lose the plastic toys and make it somewhere that says "Peaceful, happy, designer baby".

Other bedrooms - Put a double bed in if you can, with space either side to walk past. In a single bedroom you can put extendible Atlas beds from IKEA and have them at 3/4 length to create the impression of extra space. Again, dress beds nicely so Goldilocks would want to get in. If the bedroom is really tiny, consider putting in a futon and giving it an Oriental theme with lovely lighting through rice paper lamps. For a double bedroom, you should always have matching bedside tables and lamps to balance the eye.

In the kitchen - Does this tempt you to try new recipes? Get the oven/hob/extractor fan professionally cleaned by Ovenu. Get rid of all your everyday stuff, and then go to Waitrose and buy groceries purely on the basis of their looks - upmarket bottles of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, Dijon mustard, expensive pasta in jars, biscotti, amaretti, that kind of thing. Have stainless steel accessories - get these from the pound shop if you can, and buy a stainless steel kettle and toaster. Keep a fruit bowl filled with attractive, exotic fruit. Replace the doors or paint them cream with special kitchen door paint and add new handles. Paint tiles cream if necessary and apply tasteful tile transfers to break up the monotony. Put out designer cookbooks in a little pile as if you are about to use them. The story here is "Delicious cooking and sophisticated treats".

In the bathroom - This should be spotless. If your suite isn't white, have towels in the same colour as the fittings and paint the walls cream. Clear away all your toiletries and buy designer ones from beauticians, hairdressers and so on, and put these out instead. Have brand new soaps by the sink, and consider putting in a new toilet seat. The story here is "Sophisticated spa".

In the garden - Make sure you have a nice green lawn, and also somewhere to sit out and eat - consider buying a wooden table and four chairs. If you are short of plants, consider having three or four large terracotta pots and filling them with winter flowering pansies or other seasonal plants, positioning them where you would like to draw the eye.

Warning - once you have done all this, you won't actually want to move ...

Fizzylemonade · 22/02/2009 19:13

Totally agree with BoffinMum, we staged our last house to the same extent, and everyone who viewed it wanted it and put offers in.

Even the estate agent said she wished that I wasn't moving so that I could do her house before she sold.

I even did the whole colour coding my husband's shirts from dark to light colours in the wardrobe. You are not just selling the house you are selling a lifestyle.

My trick is to have a few large-ish seagrass baskets in the lounge meaning that when someone unexpectedly calls for coffee or to view I would chuck everything that was out (toys, magazines, post) into the baskets so it looked like it was tidy

This may sound wanky but it works.

I wouldn't spend a huge deal of money on the kitchen if you are going. We changed everything except the carcasses when we moved into a house and that was some serious money even though it was ikea worktop, screwfix sink and tap, cheap stainless steel hob and oven, doors and handles were from B&Q and we still spent £1200!!!!

BoffinMum · 22/02/2009 19:33

I agree, I have even done inside the wardrobes and also stocked the fridge with fantasy groceries to make it thoroughly consistent, but it depends how far you are prepared to go. I have parked a friend's posh car in front of a house before now, and put wooden toys on tasteful display in a nursery, Cath Kidston accessories in a kitchen with home baked brownies in a glass jar, and long haul holiday brochures in the living room next to the copies of Vogue and Wallpaper (our holidays are never that interesting ...). Posh carrier bags in the recycling area under the sink and independent school magazines casually lying around, but of course it depends what your target market is. Some of this might put off young singles, for example.

We have kept a lot of the room staging stuff and moved it from house to house, and we really enjoyed eating the food treats, reading the books and mags, and so on, so it's no hardship really.

noddyholder · 22/02/2009 20:00

Well I have been developing and selling for years and have never done those extremes although have always sold at asking price.You are all quite mad

GreenEggsAndSpam · 22/02/2009 20:03

Loads of ideas on this thread. I agree touching up, cleaning and de-cluttering is the way to go.
In the current market though, best way to sell a house is to price it right. Not even the best show home will sell if it is overpriced. In fact, if you make your house look like you are really posh, any vendors will feel less guilt about hacking you down on the price - they will think you can afford to take the hit. If you look more 'normal' or like them, they will empathise with you, and be more recticent about asking you to take a big hit on price.
I think all those selling at the moment need to recognise that if they want to actually complete, there will be significant negotiation on price. I personally would want to ask a reasonable figure, but get the agent to suggest that you are open to offers, so vendors feel like they are getting some kind of deal.
Best of luck.

norkmaiden · 22/02/2009 22:23

Wow, so much great stuff here - thank you!

Noddy, we're in Yorkshire since you asked way back down the thread. Houses are moving here, but there's been a really noticeable reduction in asking prices.

I'm a bit surprised so many say not to bother with the kitchen refit. BUt I think we may still do it, at the very least doors/handles, as a couple of doors are literally hanging off, and one is severely scratched/peeling. (It's easy to get carried away and think - and the worktop and sink, oh and the appliances why not...and then that's pretty much everything bar new carcasses!!)

Staging to look as good as Boffinmum's place (I wish!) will be fairly doable. We had new carpets recently (were expensive - we weren't planning on moving!!) and everything is fairly clean/neutral anyway. Decluttering like mad, though, and boxing stuff up, as well as cleaning and touching up a bit with paing (okay totally repainting 3rd bedroom, sigh)

Thanks so much for all the tips you ace MNers - will have another read and work out exactly what to do next...

OP posts:
norkmaiden · 22/02/2009 22:25

oh any house-stagers extraordinaire know of a cheap place for an iron bed (single) by any chance??

OP posts:
BoffinMum · 22/02/2009 23:46

Repro one from John Lewis?

Like this

Or this

abdnhiker · 23/02/2009 09:04

I redid the doors on my old kitchen for £200 by getting them on sale at B&Q (buy the cheap ones - they look fine!) I'm sure it helped sell our place, although I replaced the doors for myself a year or so before. Otherwise, we just decluttered like crazy so every surface was clean and organized. It isn't a waste of time as it helps you get organized for moving too.

ChippyMinton · 23/02/2009 20:34

ve cheap bed

even cheaper in white

I think DD has the second one, it looks the part as long as you don't get too close!

norkmaiden · 23/02/2009 21:10

Chippy that second one would have been perfect, but it's out of stock at the moment..

Thanks for links Boffin - I found a white one of these for £180 in a local shop today, so I might go back and get it tomorrow I think.

Kitchen doors - £7 each in B&Q! Handles from Ikea, about £5 for 2, and we need about 14 doors/drawers, so I reckon I might beat £200 at this rate

Thanks to all for tips and thoughts

OP posts:
ChippyMinton · 23/02/2009 21:36

oops,didn't notice that in my excitement at finding a bargain!

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