Should we 'do' our house up before trying to sell it WWYD?

[rosieposey]

Just wondering if anyone has any advice/opinions about this? DH, myself and DC's are moving out of our house to a bigger one in December. A family member has very kindly agreed to put up some money to cover what this house would sell for until we sell it meaning that DH has gotten a mortgage for the rest (and the loaned money is acting as a bridging loan so we dont lose the house we are buying whilst waiting for this one to sell). Obviously we need to sell this one asap to pay them back (or even to actually pay for our new one if we manage to sell it before we move) and we put it on the market a couple of weeks ago.

I know the market is slow atm and we have had 5 viewings and a couple of them have said that its too much work/needs updating. I moved in with DH a couple of years ago and we haven't done much to it since as it was a bit of a batchelor pad when i moved in and i have spent quite a bit of time making it look more like a home though and it looks so much better than when i moved in (alot less 1970's style brown).

Estate agent thinks it isnt worth updating that much as people will want their own carpets/paint/kitchen units ect but i am starting to think that if we replace the kitchen (with a basic type) put new carpets in as these are buggered and at least 10 years old and paint everything to freshen it up then it will probably sell faster.

There are a few new builds around here which are marginally more expensive than our property is on the market for they are pristine but with small gardens/no garage and i just thought that when we moved out in December that we should take our house off the market and update it a little (it really is only cosmetic) then put it back on 'done up' in January but not increase the price at all, we do want to sell it and it does seem to be on at a realistic price compared to the other properties around here i just think that it might shift a bit faster if we spend some time and effort on it and it is empty - what do you think?

I would just repaint

Can you clean the carpets?

I'd try putting some stuff in storage, decorating and cleaning the carpets first before you go for the expense (and disruption) of having a new kitchen fitted.

Yes paint plain, cheap oatmeal carpets, totally declutter, remove pets and anything that is broken, leaking or smelly.

Tidy the garden by prunig radically and weeding and mowing.

I think your estate agent is right.

People want to put their own stamp on things.

I wouldnt bother except for doing the above things previous posters have mentioned re rpainting and thorough cleaning.

Right-oh Will do that - declutter ( i.e. we are moving out in 7 weeks so wont look cluttered at all then ) fresh paintwork and new cheapish carpets ( i would get them cleaned but it looks like the old owners had a cat that liked to dance with tar on its paws given the unexplained black marks on it - oh and the purple carpets in one of the bedrooms!). It is throughly clean it just looks pretty Jaded because the paintwork is about the same age as the carpets so i suppose looks a bit manky too.

I think what you are proposing will make it look like theres not much to do to it. Some people have no imagination when it comes to looking through things.

What has the feedback been from the other viewers ?

Also don't forget the "kerb appeal" touches:

-repaint the front door
-make sure all windows and exterior paintwork is clean
-tidy front garden
-maybe put a couple of planted pots either side of the front door (you can take these with you when its sold)

We didn't on similar advice and took ages ot sell, even though it had recently been painted magnolia in key rooms and had a white bathroom and ensuite. Eventually sold ot a couple who wanted a buy to let after 10 motnhs , with one sale falling through, and ripped it apart anyway. I'm not sure would have got much more for it but we might not have had to wait so long.

Yeah thats the thing LIZS feel obligated to sell as quickly as possible due to our family member helping us out. I think it will sell eventually just would like to give it a bit of a helping hand thats all.

carrotfly we haven't really gotten any feedback from the other viewers bar these two as we have only had 5 people around, possibly things might pick up but am just trying to think ahead and the fact that we are moving out in 7 weeks that perhaps we might improve things a little and help things move on.

Norbert Unfortunately our house has not that much kerb appeal ( the real selling point is the garden - its huge) did put a couple of potted plants either side of the front door, new mat ect ect but i think that it isn't making much difference. No front garden to speak of - its all a a bit 'bricky' out front im afraid but hopefully if we paint it and recarpet it it will seem a bit more appealing iyswim?

clean it as its never been cleaned before especially kitchens and bathrooms. Polyfill any holes in walls and paint all the walls a flattering shade of white/cream. Steam clean any carpets but don't bother replacing them. Declutter like mad so as to show size of rooms to max advantage. Tidy up garden. What I want is a house which is clean and tidy that I can live with while I gradually put my own stamp on it.

Def neutral walls with all holes/cracks filled, really clean (don't forget windows), and new, cheap and neutral carpets.

That way, people won't have the 'euch' factor, and that thought that it needs everything doing to it iyswim