If you were buying a new house, what would you prefer:

Kivaro

A semi-shell: The walls are plastered. The kitchen cabinets are installed. The showers/toilets/bath are installed. You would paint the interior and get the bathroom walls tiled. And you would decide on the flooring (except for the kitchen, utility and bathroom floors, which are already tiled).

Everything done already including the interior paint and tiling, which means I would be picking the colour scheme, tile selection, and flooring.

The background to this question is that I have the opportunity to completely redo the interior of a new timber frame house as a result of a serious attic water break. I am trying to decide whether to create a semi-shell, so that the potential buyer can decide on colours and flooring or have it in a "walk-in" state where everything is done already.

What would you prefer as a potential buyer?

Danbo!

A poll on the thread would be a good idea. I think everyone has their own taste. Personally, I'd love to buy a wreck of a house cheaply, something seriously in bits, and spend 6 months to a year doing it up. However, my girlfriend is the complete opposite, in that she thinks thatd be too much stress, and would like to buy a house that was fully decorated.

My reasoning is that it would probably work out cheaper, you'd have a lot more houses to choose from (as in, you might see a nice house in a nice area, but the decor isnt to your taste) and apart from choosing colour schemes etc, you could oversee all work and ensure its up to a decent standard.

Count my vote as empty shell!!

Kivaro

Stee wrote: »

A poll on the thread would be a good idea. I think everyone has their own taste. Personally, I'd love to buy a wreck of a house cheaply, something seriously in bits, and spend 6 months to a year doing it up. However, my girlfriend is the complete opposite, in that she thinks thatd be too much stress, and would like to buy a house that was fully decorated.

My reasoning is that it would probably work out cheaper, you'd have a lot more houses to choose from (as in, you might see a nice house in a nice area, but the decor isnt to your taste) and apart from choosing colour schemes etc, you could oversee all work and ensure its up to a decent standard.

Count my vote as empty shell!!

That's my dilemma. Your girlfriend would prefer the completed job but you want the shell. I know it's down to personal taste but I figure if the finished job is impressive enough then it would be preferable. But then I have to pick the tiles and types of flooring. To offset my own preference, I would get a number of people to decide on the final colours etc.

Danbo!

Kivaro wrote: »

That's my dilemma. Your girlfriend would prefer the completed job but you want the shell. I know it's down to personal taste but I figure if the finished job is impressive enough then it would be preferable. But then I have to pick the tiles and types of flooring. To offset my own preference, I would get a number of people to decide on the final colours etc.

To be honest, I work in architecture, so I would have some links in the business and knowledge of work required along with an idea of price in my mind, so I may be biased here. What you need to do is choose very neutral colours and materials, obviously nothing extreme whether you like it or not. I would definitely say that asking a number of people would be the best option.

Seeing as its only wall finishes and floor finishes, it shouldnt have too much impact on choice compared to a fully furnished house. Best of luck with the sale.

Seoid

Personally I'd also prefer the semi-shell, as long as what remained to be done was mostly cosmetic because as soon as I moved in I'd want to redecorate anyway. So everything would be finished but not painted or as you say carpets and bathroom tiles would still to be chosen put in but fixtures would be there already.
If you put them in i'd probably have different tastes to you and want to change them anyway.

If you were to include the rest of it or just the labour to get floors & bathroom tiles done into the sale price so I could just choose and go, that would be even better

Kivaro

Seoid wrote: »

Personally I'd also prefer the semi-shell, as long as what remained to be done was mostly cosmetic because as soon as I moved in I'd want to redecorate anyway. So everything would be finished but not painted or as you say carpets and bathroom tiles would still to be chosen put in but fixtures would be there already.
If you put them in i'd probably have different tastes to you and want to change them anyway.

If you were to include the rest of it or just the labour to get floors & bathroom tiles done into the sale price so I could just choose and go, that would be even better

I hope that the majority of potential buyers will think this way, as I intend to do the work up to the semi-shell stage.

tHE vAGGABOND

Im single, lazy and usless so when I was looking I wanted it all done for me

ZYX

Kivaro wrote: »

I hope that the majority of potential buyers will think this way, as I intend to do the work up to the semi-shell stage.

I would think it very unlikely that the majority would think this. The extra cost of fitting it out should result in an increased price. There have been loads of TV programms showing this very thing. People buying a property, fitting it out and selling for a higher price. People buying the "semi-shell" would look for a serious discount.

Kivaro

ZYX wrote: »

I would think it very unlikely that the majority would think this. The extra cost of fitting it out should result in an increased price. There have been loads of TV programms showing this very thing. People buying a property, fitting it out and selling for a higher price. People buying the "semi-shell" would look for a serious discount.

I intend to give an allowance or a discount, whichever they prefer.