Preparing a house for sale: what works are reasonable?

I am putting my house up for sale soon, and had the estate agent over during the week for an appraisal, although 'praise' was in short supply.

Havr only lived in the house for a few years, and most of the work done has been structural — including very extensive works to address some subsidance, insulation, a completely new heating system, and so on. I left most of the superficial structure of the house intact, even down to an avocado-green loo, and a kitchen that hasn't been updated since the 1990s.

The estate agent has suggested changes that I estimate would cost a minimum of €5,000 to implement, to ready the house for sale. I immediately responded that I'm not going to spend money on superficial changes, like painting and landscaping, that will inevitably be undone by the new owner. It's a waste of time and money, when all of my money has already been poured into important structural works that will stand the test of time.

Now I'm starting to doubt myself. I don't want to be penny-wise and pound-foolish, but it seems so ridiculous.

What kind of budget (say % of sale price) is appropriate to spend on a house coming up for sale? How much, in your experience, does this affect the sale price?

Although I trust this estate agent, who knows her job better than I do, I'm struggling to believe that spending €5k or more is going to make a material difference.

SmartinMartin

I sold a house 3 or 4 years ago. Painted every wall, ceiling and skirting board and outside masonry. New owner moved in and repainted everything a different colour. Don't bother your bollix, most people can see what it's like and will want to put their own stamp on it.

ongarite

First impressions count for a lot in a house sale IMO.
House buying has a strong emotive aspect and if your house doesn't deliver that, then it will struggle to sell.
No one can see structural work but they will see dated bathroom, kitchen, etc.

athlone573

I would paint it magnolia at least, clear the garden (within reason) and maybe put in a white bathroom suite, cheapest you can get from B&Q. Get a skip and have the place empty as you can.

If the estate agent reckons it needs it then it probably does

Curious_Case

I think the new heating system and recently installed insulation will be strong selling points.

Estate agents can he very "one size fits all" in their approach.

It may be advantageous to have a dated bathroom and/or kitchen - the viewer might be steered towards imagining how wonderful it would look if it was modernised.

I'm sure you're pricing it accordingly and leaving a margin for decorating expenses.

athlone573

athlone573 wrote: »

I would paint it magnolia at least, clear the garden (within reason) and maybe put in a white bathroom suite, cheapest you can get from B&Q. Get a skip and have the place empty as you can.

If the estate agent reckons it needs it then it probably does

Take this as an example. There is a manhole, which possibly creates a right of access, in the middle of the back garden, so she's saying to put a circle of gravel over it and place an urn or a table there.

At best this is deceptive, at worst, she wants some kind of BBC Garden Rescue project that seems purely wasteful.

I am willing to strip wallpaper and paint everything beige, as you suggest, but I'm not keen on the idea of shopping for an urn that will end up in a skip. Would anyone even care?

Toulouse

Tidy up the place and make sure it’s clean but don’t go to too much other bother.

When I was house hunting I was always suspicious of places with fresh paint jobs, I always wondered what the vendor was trying to hide.

odyssey06

Fix anything obviously amiss with the exterior, something that takes away from the view of the house from the outisde \ drive by can put people off.
If there's an overgrown tree, take some action on it.

Don't worry about interior decor, once the place is neat and tidy nobody is gonna care about colour choice, wallpaper etc.

Atlantic Dawn

If it was me I would paint any room looking poor, patch up any cracks with polyfiller/caulk and that's it. You could go to the expense of putting in a new kitchen and new bathroom and they could be the first thing the potential buyer hates and will throw out. A new poverty spec bathroom would instantly get replaced. I would cut any grass front and back to give an idea of the potential around the house for patio, sheds, etc. €5k is insane, I'd spend €200 on paint and give it a good going over, paint the external wall that meets the street outside if there is one.

Hontou

Paint makes a place look clean. Clean psychologically removes other peoples dirt......a turn off. Paint it.

I'm selling a rental house soon. I'll tidy up the garden and repaint every surface inside and out. I'll expect it to cost a few thousand for labour, paint and wall repairs. I'll do nothing else as the area has a ceiling price and the house is at the lower end of the market.

However, if you are in an expensive area then the buyers may expect high end fittings so it may be worth putting a few in. Many buyers in these areas are cash rich but time poor and with the price of labour these days they like to see it already done.

Put a plant pot over the manhole and take it with you when you go.

marto501

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

I am putting my house up for sale soon, and had the estate agent over during the week for an appraisal, although 'praise' was in short supply.

Havr only lived in the house for a few years, and most of the work done has been structural — including very extensive works to address some subsidance, insulation, a completely new heating system, and so on. I left most of the superficial structure of the house intact, even down to an avocado-green loo, and a kitchen that hasn't been updated since the 1990s.

The estate agent has suggested changes that I estimate would cost a minimum of €5,000 to implement, to ready the house for sale. I immediately responded that I'm not going to spend money on superficial changes, like painting and landscaping, that will inevitably be undone by the new owner. It's a waste of time and money, when all of my money has already been poured into important structural works that will stand the test of time.

Now I'm starting to doubt myself. I don't want to be penny-wise and pound-foolish, but it seems so ridiculous.

What kind of budget (say % of sale price) is appropriate to spend on a house coming up for sale? How much, in your experience, does this affect the sale price?

Although I trust this estate agent, who knows her job better than I do, I'm struggling to believe that spending €5k or more is going to make a material difference.

The most important question here is where is the house. The area alone may be fast moving. I can tell you in Dublin stuff is moving needin 50k spent on it

jrosen

How are other houses selling in the area? If your in a high demand area it could sell fast no matter what. What type of property is it? appealing to singles/couples/families?

But things we did. We did a clear out, nothing makes a house look smaller than clutter. We touched up any areas of paint on the walls that needed it. No color changing as everything was neutral enough but needed a freshen up. It required nothing much. But during viewings we kept the place spotless, left a lamp on if their was a viewing in the evening.

Glenster

I sold a house a few years ago.

We repainted everything in cream tones, removed a lot of furniture, and did up the garden.

I don't think it's worth doing up the bathroom or kitchen unless they're actively unpleasant.

KaneToad

Toulouse wrote: »

Tidy up the place and make sure it’s clean but don’t go to too much other bother.

When I was house hunting I was always suspicious of places with fresh paint jobs, I always wondered what the vendor was trying to hide.

I'd somewhat agree with this. But I think you should go to some bother.

The place needs to be tidied to within an inch of its life. Remove all bric a brac and clean every floor/wall/ceiling/skirting board/architrave/light switch/socket/lamp shade/kitchen appliance etc...

Every cupboard/wardrobe/drawer needs cleaning and remove 60% of what was in it. Storage looks so much better when it's not bursting at the seams.

Oil every hinge. Tighten every wonky window/door handle. Clean the track of every sliding door.

No need to spend money but I'd definitely spend time.

If your fixtures & fittings are old but sparkling clean the buyer will consider them to suffice until they can afford to change. If they're old but also grubby/dirty the buyer will feel like they need to change immediately and adjust their budget accordingly.

Tidy up your garden too. No need for any extravagance but I'd be cutting the grass and clearing back anything that is too overgrown.

Treppen

Cover a manhole is a good idea.

1. Aesthetically it isn't the best to be looking at a sewer manhole and sniffing the air whilest sipping your aperol.
2. A manhole is asking to be inspected, probably grand but you never know.
3. If I see a manhole in a garden it starts to make me wonder where it lies in relation to a chain of houses if on a terrace, if you're last on the line expect problems to 'flow down' to you.


All of these are just small things but it can all add up.

You've had subsidence correction which you're delighted about, if I heard there were any subsidence issues in the past it's a straight NO from me. Sorry but I've had enough dealings with builders to know they can patch things up to work for a while until their company has disolved for the 100th time and now registered in a relatives name name.

Subsidence + sewer lines is a real headache... just a few inches mvt. can crack a pipe.

Avocado bathroom,, ya you're right if I were moving in I'd be ripping it out and spending >5k . This is another thing that will be "adding up", it might show that the house hasn't been renovated since the 70s... so then there's going to be questions about plumbing and electrics. Might be easy for you to answer.. but still question marks!
If you spent the 5k on a basic cheap makeover then there's no questions and it gives the owner a few years use before getting around to changing it, plus reduces their room to negotiate after they get their valuer in there.
Believe it or not there are keen buyers out there who just want ZERO hassle when moving in, and they are willing to pay to avoid that hassle.
After modernising our first home... believe me when I say I'd love for my tool box and tools to stay in the shed forever.

I know it's a sellers market (depending on location) but you really want more than one bidder. We spent about 2k sprucing our house up (between a small bit of plastering/painting and carpet and I was surprised at how good it looked.

People often forget estate agents are professionals :pac: and they do know a few things having sold a few houses, I doubt they're just telling you because of personal gripes.

jrosen

jrosen wrote: »

How are other houses selling in the area? If your in a high demand area it could sell fast no matter what. What type of property is it? appealing to singles/couples/families?

3-bed family home with possibility of a fourth room in an attic conversion which is currently a very cold studio. No houses have sold on my street lately, but the area itself is pretty desirable, it's in Dublin 6. The house will definitely sell. But I would have to take out a loan to do anything more than basic refurbishments, because I just dont have that money.

So am keen to know what % of the asking price is normal to spend on a house, once all structural issues are sorted, which they are. I don't want more debt.

marto501 wrote: »

The most important question here is where is the house. The area alone may be fast moving. I can tell you in Dublin stuff is moving needin 50k spent on it

50k? Ah no, I cannot believe that anyone is spending 50k on readying a house for sale. That's nuts.

boege

When it comes to property I hate to say it but 'lipstick on a pig' actually works. Remember, you are not selling a property you are selling to the hopes and dreams of the next buyer. Always, give the property a good lick before putting on the market. Focus on the superficial stuff as first impressions are everything. Sure they will change the paint on the walls after they move in but that's missing the point.

enricoh

First thing I see on most houses that get sold is a big skip dropped off! The market is hopping at the minute apparently, I'd keep spending to a minimum.

Tails142

Bids will probably be going up in 10k, if you can keep one more bidder on the hook for a bid longer it will pay for itself

dennyk

Giving the place a thorough cleaning and painting it a neutral color and doing some basic landscaping to make the outside and the back garden look nice and tidy are definitely good ideas; as others have noted, first impressions mean a lot when buying a house, and a little sprucing up can have a big impact, even if the buyer will be repainting regardless. It's much easier for potential buyers to picture a spotless freshly painted neutral interior as a blank canvas that can become "their new home" than some dingy place full of fading paint and peeling wallpaper and the detritus of the current owner's life. Those shouldn't be too expensive, a couple grand at most if you're willing to do some of the work yourself.

A new bathroom and kitchen just to sell the place might be a bit pointless, though, especially in this market. As long as the current fixtures and fittings are in good repair, clean, and functional, it should be fine. If they're in really dire shape, though, then you might want to consider some inexpensive replacements just so the place doesn't look like a dump and it's truly a turnkey property for a new buyer.

K.Hawksworth

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

50k? Ah no, I cannot believe that anyone is spending 50k on readying a house for sale. That's nuts.

Not uncommon at the upper end of the market, but I think what that poster meant was that even properties requiring 50k worth of renovations are selling like hot cakes at the moment.

K.Hawksworth

My own take on this, from current experience selling our house is that anything will sell if priced right, regardless of condition. If the house needs 5k work, then it would probably sell as is for 5k less. Just may take longer. If you're looking for a quick sale get the work done, if not I wouldn't bother. As others have said the new owners will likely change everything or even gut the property depending on age.

alias no.9

There's a market for walk in houses but there are plenty of buyers who'd rather 5k off the selling price than 5k of updated fixtures and fittings that are still not to their taste.

If you clean it up and maybe a lick of paint then get it on the market, you'll always have the option in a month or 6 weeks of doing some kitchen / bathroom updates if the interest isn't there.

mugsymugsy

Paint it yourself if you can and tidy up inside/outside. A load of paint wont cost too much and leave it as tidy as you can.

Best of luck with sale

Outkast_IRE

Have it clean and tidy inside and out , if there are any out of control hedges etc get them trimmed back .

Every buyer I know when they walk in and see fresh carpets and new paint just think Jesus Christ they should of priced it a few k cheaper and not bothered as they would all be changed anyway.

It's this simple know how much you want for the house and don't sell for less.

dennyk

dennyk wrote: »

some dingy place full of fading paint and peeling wallpaper and the detritus of the current owner's life.

Excuse me?? What kind of slob do you take me for! I lived there, you know.

I agree with you though, that's solid advice. Thanks. Am going to press ahead with the paint work and hire a skip, any other renovations like landscaping are OTT

K.Hawksworth

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

3-bed family home with possibility of a fourth room in an attic conversion which is currently a very cold studio. No houses have sold on my street lately, but the area itself is pretty desirable, it's in Dublin 6.

Maybe I'm naive but this is the first time I've ever heard of subsidence in a Dublin
property. Thought it was confined to mainly west coast, Midlands. Any neighbors had issues too?

It wouldn't put me off buying anyway so long as I had a detailed engineers report,( independently verified ) of the remedial works carried out.

K.Hawksworth

K.Hawksworth wrote: »

Maybe I'm naive but this is the first time I've ever heard of subsidence in a Dublin
property. Thought it was confined to mainly west coast, Midlands. Any neighbors had issues too?

There was very bad subsidence in an extension at the back when I moved in – the area around the kitchen door (back door) is visibly slanted, it was that bad, and the
foundations were almost non existent. Maybe worsened by the fact that the house is on a slight hill.

I wasn't aware that subsidence was a particularly geographic thing, what's that about – soil type?

Fol20

Unfortunately, your ea is right.

Im very familiar with letting and sales and most of the work you did is more important however for the average buyer, they normally care more about the aesthetics of place rather that all the work you did.if i was house hunting again, i would prefer your type of place as i can design it the way i want when you did all the boring important(but expensive work). Most people dont want the hassle though and just want a turn key place. ​

Due to demand right now and lack of supply, the market is very hot so no matter the condition, you more than likely will have a lot of interested parties if you are in dublin and cork.

As buying a home is an emotive purchase, at a minimum, i would paint the place with magnolia. If say you put 5-10k worth of stuff into the property it can go a long way in attracting as many bidders as possible. Again the above depends on the value of your property. If you have a 200k apt, then sell as is with painted walls. If you have a 500k home, bidding goes up quickly and the 5k work you did, may potentially lead to an extra 10-20k in the sale price.

Your not going to be living there, your just trying to modernise the place to make it more appealing for the new owners.

Options to consider
-Painting the wall 200 and your own labour.
-new flooring 2/3k
-toilets will be very expensive so best to try and minimise the work here however it sounds like your toilets are very dated. Even though they are dated, i probably wouldnt renovate given you probably wont get this money back. Is there any way to cheaply make your one look cleaner and better?
-Kitchens 7k - you didnt mention this however most families appreciate a good kitchen.
-Again your objective is to go for cheap stuff that are aesthetically appealing - there are loads of flipping videos on youtube that are based in america that can give you guidance on how not to over spend and where people mainly look at when buying so a seller can get the biggest bang for their buck

0lddog

K.Hawksworth wrote: »

Maybe I'm naive but this is the first time I've ever heard of subsidence in a Dublin...

Not uncommon what between ancient collapsed culverts and places like Sandymount

listermint

Paint 200 euro.

Bag of stones twenty euro. Cover the manhole.


Van rental 60 euro . Ballymount dump 60 euro.


Don't bother with a skip. Waste of money.

Deagol

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

I am putting my house up for sale soon, and had the estate agent over during the week for an appraisal, although 'praise' was in short supply.

Havr only lived in the house for a few years, and most of the work done has been structural — including very extensive works to address some subsidance, insulation, a completely new heating system, and so on. I left most of the superficial structure of the house intact, even down to an avocado-green loo, and a kitchen that hasn't been updated since the 1990s.

The estate agent has suggested changes that I estimate would cost a minimum of €5,000 to implement, to ready the house for sale. I immediately responded that I'm not going to spend money on superficial changes, like painting and landscaping, that will inevitably be undone by the new owner. It's a waste of time and money, when all of my money has already been poured into important structural works that will stand the test of time.

Now I'm starting to doubt myself. I don't want to be penny-wise and pound-foolish, but it seems so ridiculous.

What kind of budget (say % of sale price) is appropriate to spend on a house coming up for sale? How much, in your experience, does this affect the sale price?

Although I trust this estate agent, who knows her job better than I do, I'm struggling to believe that spending €5k or more is going to make a material difference.

Sold my house last year for exactly the asking price after 1 month on the market. Didn't do anything to it - buyer has since done extensive work to it so I'm glad we didn't bother. EA did suggest painting a few rooms etc... I didn't see the point.

beauf

Clean it till it's spotless.

Leave only the essential fittings strip every thing that isn't needed.

Professional paint job in a bright neutral colour, ask the painter what he recommends.

You could sell a cardboard box at the moment. It's unlikely to make any difference if you spend anymore.

If the house was slow selling in a slow area and had some issues like a poor layout, or very out of touch with its competition. Then it would make sense to update to reach its potential. But that's unlikely to be true in the current market. You'd just be wasting money.

A professional paint job I would invest in. Makes a big difference.

marto501

50k? Ah no, I cannot believe that anyone is spending 50k on readying a house for sale. That's nuts.[/quote]

No I meant they're estate sales and the new owner would need to spend 50k bringing it into the 21st century. To give you an idea we viewed a house off the navan road at 420. Needed huge work, at least 50k. It went sale agreed at 452. It really doesn't matter what the condition is, if its in a nice area of dublin it'll sell over guide at the moment

SmartinMartin

As an aside, why are you using an estate agent? In the current climate there's not much point. I'm selling another house at the minute, and I'm doing it sans EA. I've agreed a price 31k above asking. It was a rental, so I emptied it completely and allowed viewings. People were delighted to be able to view, and were telling me horror stories about other properties where they had to make a bid just to see a video of the place. I've found it a pleasant experience so far.

SmartinMartin

SmartinMartin wrote: »

As an aside, why are you using an estate agent?

For reach. They can put the property into a newspaper, and also, they will have the keys to show the property (i live 160km away).

I'm curious about DIY sales though. What do you do yourself, advertise on Daft? Might be limiting your reach, no?

3DataModem

They'll be looking for photo appeal (which these days is more important than kerb appeal).

A lot of EAs are useless, but some give good advice. Dressing a house for sale is appropriate for *some* houses.

SmartinMartin

Yes, daft for 400 quid. It goes on property.ie as well. I had 8000 views in 2 weeks. I showed the place to 30 interested parties. Got a bid of asking price on first day. No need for signs etc in this age of Google maps.

Sparkey84

you surly lose appeal with some people who are more focused on aesthetic value. but there are enough wise people out there who will understand just how more valuable the structural work is.

awec

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

For reach. They can put the property into a newspaper, and also, they will have the keys to show the property (i live 160km away).

I'm curious about DIY sales though. What do you do yourself, advertise on Daft? Might be limiting your reach, no?

It depends how much of your own personal time you are willing to give up really.

No EA means you are personally answering every single phone call from every tyre kicker, everyone asking questions, all the bids, organising and performing viewings etc.

Some people would struggle to do viewings of their own homes as they can't deal with viewers being critical of things.

If you do it yourself you should definitely get a temporary phone for it.

SmartinMartin

Yes, I used a throw away sim in a spare phone.

Treppen

enricoh wrote: »

First thing I see on most houses that get sold is a big skip dropped off! The market is hopping at the minute apparently, I'd keep spending to a minimum.

It's not about selling the house, it's about achieving a higher sale price.

People selling their house get skips dropped off before putting it on the market too (we got two as we had a clear out), last thing people want to do moving is to bring everything!

...and people not selling their house get skips too.

Muahahaha

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

For reach. They can put the property into a newspaper, and also, they will have the keys to show the property (i live 160km away).

I'm curious about DIY sales though. What do you do yourself, advertise on Daft? Might be limiting your reach, no?

Ive a mate who did a DIY sale just last month. House was worth 450k and the agent wanted a 1.5% fee, so just under 7 grand to sell it.

Instead his costs were a Daft ad for 400 odd euro, he got a professional photographer for 140 and a painter for 800 to paint absolutely everything white. He held an open viewing day for approx 15 interested parties. He had more enquiries than that but he filtered the tyre kickers out by asking for proof of funds/mortgage approval before allowing them a viewing, estate agents do this themselves anyway so its not unusual.

He said that in the current market people were very happy to be able to actually view a place so that seemed to gather lots of interest. He also purposely scheduled the viewing times as over lapping, the cute hoor wanted all the potential buyers to see that other people were interested. So he had it set up so one couple would be knocking on the door while another were inside viewing, at one point because of delays he had a small queue of five couples outside waiting for their turn. He said he thinks that worked nicely because in the end there was a bit of a bidding war and it went for 492k.

Lmkrnr

Muahahaha wrote: »

Ive a mate who did a DIY sale just last month. House was worth 450k and the agent wanted a 1.5% fee, so just under 7 grand to sell it.

Instead his costs were a Daft ad for 400 odd euro, he got a professional photographer for 140 and a painter for 800 to paint absolutely everything white. He held an open viewing day for approx 15 interested parties. He had more enquiries than that but he filtered the tyre kickers out by asking for proof of funds/mortgage approval before allowing them a viewing, estate agents do this themselves anyway so its not unusual.

He said that in the current market people were very happy to be able to actually view a place so that seemed to gather lots of interest. He also purposely scheduled the viewing times as over lapping, the cute hoor wanted all the potential buyers to see that other people were interested. So he had it set up so one couple would be knocking on the door while another were inside viewing, at one point because of delays he had a small queue of five couples outside waiting for their turn. He said he thinks that worked nicely because in the end there was a bit of a bidding war and it went for 492k.

Reminds me of 2007 !! It's a good time to be a seller.

Muahahaha

Muahahaha wrote: »

Ive a mate who did a DIY sale just last month. House was worth 450k and the agent wanted a 1.5% fee, so just under 7 grand to sell it.

Instead his costs were a Daft ad for 400 odd euro, he got a professional photographer for 140 and a painter for 800 to paint absolutely everything white. He held an open viewing day for approx 15 interested parties. He had more enquiries than that but he filtered the tyre kickers out by asking for proof of funds/mortgage approval before allowing them a viewing, estate agents do this themselves anyway so its not unusual.

He said that in the current market people were very happy to be able to actually view a place so that seemed to gather lots of interest. He also purposely scheduled the viewing times as over lapping, the cute hoor wanted all the potential buyers to see that other people were interested. So he had it set up so one couple would be knocking on the door while another were inside viewing, at one point because of delays he had a small queue of five couples outside waiting for their turn. He said he thinks that worked nicely because in the end there was a bit of a bidding war and it went for 492k.

That actually sounds like fun, oddly enough. I do somewhat resent paying thousands to an EA for running two viewings a week. Would happily work up there from the house for a month and do viewings, that's no problem, but I wonder how much of a limitation is advertising only on Daft.

I need to do more research on this, thanks.

Mad_maxx

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

Take this as an example. There is a manhole, which possibly creates a right of access, in the middle of the back garden, so she's saying to put a circle of gravel over it and place an urn or a table there.

At best this is deceptive, at worst, she wants some kind of BBC Garden Rescue project that seems purely wasteful.

I am willing to strip wallpaper and paint everything beige, as you suggest, but I'm not keen on the idea of shopping for an urn that will end up in a skip. Would anyone even care?

Put a whiskey barell planter with flowers- shrubs on top of it , nobody likes moving those

beauf

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

That actually sounds like fun, oddly enough. I do somewhat resent paying thousands to an EA for running two viewings a week. Would happily work up there from the house for a month and do viewings, that's no problem, but I wonder how much of a limitation is advertising only on Daft.

I need to do more research on this, thanks.

I would say you are mainly paying for the EA experience in negotiation in getting you the best price. Not just for opening the door a few times a week.

Muahahaha

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

That actually sounds like fun, oddly enough. I do somewhat resent paying thousands to an EA for running two viewings a week. Would happily work up there from the house for a month and do viewings, that's no problem, but I wonder how much of a limitation is advertising only on Daft.

I need to do more research on this, thanks.

If you're willing to put in a bit of leg work yourself then it can be a good money saver.

I dont think you are limited at all by only advertising on Daft. At the end of the day them and Myhome have the market sewn up but anyone who is seriously house hunting is going to cover their bases and check both websites anyway and not restrict their search only to MyHome.ie. You can pay extra on Daft to get your house listed as a premium listing so it stands out.

One thing my mate said about selling his own house was that meeting buyers gave him the opportunity to explain to them all the upgrades he had done over the years. Stuff like telling them the attic had been insulated 3 years ago, brand new windows 5 years ago, etc. He had his paperwork showing the works done photocopied and handed out to give to buyers so they knew he was being straight up. Doing that helped him get the highest price in the estate going by the property price register. Of course it helps that we're in a rising market too but in his own words he said he could explain and sell his own house far better than any estate agent ever could.

I think with tools like the property price register its a lot easier to sell your own house these days. It gives you a benchmark of its value compared to what neighbouring houses sold for so you are not blind in the market like we were before the register came in. Also the data there is actual selling prices rather than asking prices so its a lot more accurate.

JimmyVik

Nobody is going top have the same taste as you, so dont even try.
Paint it (Magnolia, white) and tidy it up.
Dont worry about things like settlement cracks etc. Just fill and paint over them. They look unsightly, but are no issue and totally normal.
Though you would think a house was falling down when some people see a settlement crack in a ceiling or where an extension has been built.
Thats all.

Anyone buying is going to put their own stamp on it.
If they want to trim trees, paint a different colour, choose method of insulation, replace heating, they can do all that to their taste.

Not magnolia everywhere. It went out of fashion several years ago. Stick to white or very light grey.

Dolbhad

You don’t need to do much is this climate. Paint walls a neutral colour - yellow and Magnolia I like when they have been painted over, even if white.

Main thing is to clean the house. House we bought wasn’t cleaned - you could see the mould around the place. Handy for us as we knew what we were getting into but if I was selling, I’d have gotten rid of it. Same with cobwebs etc. And de clutter the house and organise the garden abit.

Also think in this climate it might be worth spending the money on a aucitoneer who is very IT Savy. Some auctioneers couldn’t take a decent photo - doubt they could to be walk through videos and virtual tours which is important to get legitimate offers in. You don’t want someone to secure the property and then view it in person and pull out.

If I had the cash to spend I’d be happy to have a good aucitoneer (operative word is good) just cause I wouldn’t want to deal work offers and bidding and viewings. Generally would want nothing to do with the purchaser. But I rather do it myself than a **** aucitoneer.