Preparing property

sparkledrum

I've had 2 estate agents come to look at my house for valuation etc. It's been rented out for some time. The first estate agent said there's no point in painting it as I'd been planning. The second said I most definitely should. What do you think? It would definitely look better. Is it cost effective?

Cienciano

We painted ours and it made the world of a difference. It depends how bad the place is. But if people are viewing it and it's painted, it'll look far better. If it's already looking like a bit of a fixer-upper, don't bother.

Immy

I think it’s worth it

As a viewer, I like to go into clean houses, I hate dirty smelly houses.

Even if the house is old it looks 10 times better if it’s clean

random_banter

Went to view a house recently that there had been ZERO effort made in. It was also a rental property. If the smoke smell had been removed and a lick of paint given and it was clean, I would have felt much better about it. But I was instantly turned off that there was zero effort made.

We sold a family home which had been a grandparent's home a few years back. Typical decor from decades ago. We took the carpets out and put in some cheap neutral carpet, painted the walls neutral colours and then put in some basic IKEA furniture and it was praised by the EA, we definitely got better offers. So I think if theres small changes you can make you might get more interest from buyers. But it's a personal opinion. Not everyone has the vision to see the potential of somewhere once it's cleaned up.

KaneToad

I would clean it to within an inch of its life. Not just hoover and tidy.

Every skirting board, door handle, light switch, power outlet and, most importantly window(!) needs attention. Then, declutter. Remove all knick knacks, clear out all presses/drawers. Finally, fix all the little things that you never got round to - squeaky doors, broken jacks roll holder etc...

Painting should be the last thing on your list - unless you've peeling walls!

tricky D

Do a search for 'staging a house for sale' for tonnes of articles with tips.

https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=staging+a+house+for+sale

drunkmonkey

I wouldn't bother, would turn me off if it's not a proper job well thought out. Unless it's a turnkey property I'd assume a real buyer will want to put their own stamp on it.

wildwillow

Agree with KaneToad.
If it is dirty and smelly lots of people will be put off. Smell is your worst problem. People see that it can be cleaned but are always wary of smells.
Give it a great thorough clean and get rid of anything personal and excess furniture.

Clean windows and remove curtains if they are manky. Leave bare floors rather than have smelly carpets. Put in some new lightbulbs to brighten up the place. Tidy and clean outside and tidy garden and empty sheds.

Open windows for a while if there is a smell.

Paint if you have the time after cleaning and only if you can do a good job. If there are a lot of different colours it will look better and bigger with the same light colour throughout.

Better just clean than have it badly painted.

JustAThought

OP - if it has wallpaper in the walls I would be somewhat wary of painting over them unless they were dark brown or dreadful - I grew ip knowing how much harder it is to get wallpaper off walls once it has been painted.

All things being equal a lick of paint makes a difference - certainly a good paint job in renting would be expected - but spending thousands on a proper entire house professional paint - particularly when you can guarntee the house will sell if it is anyway reasonable - I’m not sure I’d bother. Particularly if it is an inheritance - you are really only generating more tax income for the government. A bad paint job is almost as bad as no paint job. It will still need redoing, only with undercoat for corrections.

I would certainly get the hot water and Cif out thou. Dunno where everyone is coming from with their smelly interiors !!

sparkledrum

Thanks for the advice everyone. It's actually very clean and doesn't smell at all! Just the paintwork and the floors need a bit of tlc. I think it's better to do it. If I was a potential buyer I'd definitely be more enthusiastic about a fresh looking property.

DubCount

I think it depends on your target market. If you are selling to a first-time-buyer young family type, then I would say you need to paint and repair everything as your buyer is likely to be heavily mortgaged and will not have funds to do the work when they move in, so will be looking for ready to move in condition. If you are selling to a mover uppers, I don't think you'll get a return from the investment, as they will probably look to redecorate anyway, even if you paint everything in advance of selling. Consider who is likely to buy your property, and consider what they would likely want.

ChewBerecca

sparkledrum wrote: »

Thanks for the advice everyone. It's actually very clean and doesn't smell at all! Just the paintwork and the floors need a bit of tlc. I think it's better to do it. If I was a potential buyer I'd definitely be more enthusiastic about a fresh looking property.

Don't forget about strategic furniture placement. We thought the house we bought was decently painted until we bought it, moved in and spotted the furniture in there when we viewed the house was hiding multitudes of marks.