Executor Sale - is is worth doing up prior to sale?

Obelisk29 · 21-11-2019 1:03pm #1

Hi,
My dad passed away 6 months ago and we are going to put his house on the market in January.

House is in good location, 4-bed semi-detached, 25m+ garden front and rear, good transport links, etc.

Thing is - it needs complete modernisation - rewiring, new heating system, new roof, etc. It's very dated and I think whoever buys it will completely gut/remodel and probably extend.

So for the purpose of selling should we even go so far as to give it a lick of paint?

We'll clear the house out (dad was a bit of a hoarder so that's going to be a fun job!) but my opinion is that painting it isn't going to make a difference as it will be knocked anyway.

Any advice apprreciated.
O29

Mitzy · 21-11-2019 1:21pm

The best thing to do is to have a chat with a local estate agent about their views.
If you have a budget of say €20k to spend then see what essential works you could get done for that. Then the estate agent will advise if those works will give you a return or not.

As you mention anyone buying a house like that might prefer to take it on as a blank canvas as they might want to do substantial works themselves so by investing into the house might be money down the drain.

DelBoy Trotter · 21-11-2019 1:24pm

Sorry to hear about your dad OP.
I don't think I would do anything to the house, apart from clearing everything out. I think it would be wasting money doing a small bit of the needed work, either do it all or none of it. If you did it all, you probably wouldn't get that money back from the sale

listermint · 21-11-2019 1:26pm

I'd clean it out throughly. And give only bad rooms and perhaps entrance hall a lick of paint.

That's the extent I'd go do. Don't go putting any money past a couple of gallons of paint into it.

pwurple · 21-11-2019 1:30pm

Sorry for your loss, and no, I wouldn't do much to an executor sale house bar cleaning it well and clearing out furnishings. There's no point, the buyer would prefer to do it up their way anyway.

Keep the heating on here and there, and open the windows when it's dry for a while to prevent damp and any mustiness. A good clean and clear will get you as much return as painting it.

cruizer101 · 21-11-2019 1:34pm

I wouldn't put much money in to it anyway, you would struggle to get return on it.
A lick of paint may be worth it on any dark rooms, just to make them seem lighter, airier, bigger.

Doop · 21-11-2019 1:38pm

Remove all the floor finishes too, from looking at houses that were clearly executors sales I think it creates a better impression.

Spanish Eyes · 21-11-2019 1:43pm

We are in a similar situation.

All we are going to do is get cleaners in for a day or whatever to give it a thorough clean. Touch up any areas that do not look good for photos, powerwash the drive, get the garden cleared up, and paint the windowsills, and put down a few pots in the front for photos.

Nothing after that. Whoever buys it will renovate, and even if we did some jobs like replacing the kitchen etc. there is no guarantee it would be to a buyer's taste.

Sold as seen, and I do realise the sale price may not achieve the same as a fully refurbished house, but it's swings and roundabouts.

ted1 · 21-11-2019 3:58pm

Mitzy wrote: »

The best thing to do is to have a chat with a local estate agent about their views.
If you have a budget of say €20k to spend then see what essential works you could get done for that. Then the estate agent will advise if those works will give you a return or not.

As you mention anyone buying a house like that might prefer to take it on as a blank canvas as they might want to do substantial works themselves so by investing into the house might be money down the drain.

20k would be a ridiculous amount to prepare a house for sale.

If it’s dated , paint the walls ( don’t go over board , it only needs to look well for the viewings )
Look at replacing bad and pattered flooring.
Align all cupboards and wardrobe doors , change toilet seat.
If there are net curtains take them down to allow light in. Tidy the garden, if the house was empty run the heating and air it out.

21-11-2019 4:40pm

Some good advice above. Other than a thorough clean, rubbish removal and some basic painting if areas are in bad condition, don't spend any money. You are selling potential and most likely the buyer will gut it and refurbish the lot.

Mitzy · 21-11-2019 4:43pm

ted1 wrote: »

20k would be a ridiculous amount to prepare a house for sale.

I never said they should spend any money on it. I suggested they discuss with an auctioneer to see if it would be worth putting money into it or not.
If the property needs new roof, boiler etc that may frighten off a lot of potential purchasers so by putting some investment in could get a greater return.

Alkers · 21-11-2019 5:23pm

Agreed talk to the local estate agents and see what they'd recommend.

Also have a good walk around the place from the perspective of a potential buyer or surveyor and see if there are any things that might come up in a survey which perhaps would be best addressed beforehand.

I'd be 50:50 about painting anything on the inside, buyers might think you're covering up damp, cracks, stains etc. A day or two tidying up the garden and exterior would be well worthwhile.

Houses tend to look a bit sad or sorry for themselves when they're completely gutted, as many people will have experienced the day they get the keys to a second-hand house, so I wouldn't go overboard.

L1011 · 21-11-2019 7:00pm

Something critical is to address any smells there are - another couple viewing the house I bought actually walked out after about 90 seconds due to the stench of dog piss infiltrated lino in the hall.

Any fabric - carpets and curtains mainly if you're clearing everything else + but also lino and laminate flooring can hold on to a stink.

Spanish Eyes · 21-11-2019 9:26pm

BTW if anyone has any recommendation for garden clean up/maintenance service (by PM of course) I would be so grateful.

Dublin 8 area thank you all.

Mrs OBumble · 21-11-2019 10:15pm

I did similar many years ago. Cleaned but didn't paint.

Also leave just enough furniture to help viewers get a feel for the actual size of rooms.

Obelisk29 · 21-11-2019 11:49pm

Thanks for all the replies and advice folks.

Rang an estate agent this afternoon and they are going to come over next week and do the probate valuation for a start so I'll get their view.

I think I will just clear the house out for now - gonna need a big skip! - and tidy up as best I can, maybe get professional cleaners in for a couple of days to give it a thorough clean.

The house needs a lot of work and the layout doesn't really suit modern family living. I think anybody buying it would want to completely remodel and extend so painting walls that are likely to be knocked seems pointless. Lipstick on a pig comes to mind

nompere · 22-11-2019 11:07am

Do make sure that the probate value is at least as much as he expects the property to sell for. Some valuers still think it is clever to put in a low probate value.

When you're selling, any Capital Acquisitions Tax is usually based on the sale proceeds, so the probate value doesn't matter - but if you have a low probate value there will be Capital Gains Tax to pay on the excess. That's creating a tax liability out of nothing.

Here's a good piece I've linked to in the past - it's still the way it works:

http://www.ohanlontax.ie/downloads/CGTforEstatesinaRisingPropertyMarket.pdf

the_syco · 23-11-2019 2:06am

Clear out the house. As said, any curtains, carpets, etc, remove.

Paint the walls in a warm shade of white, or a neutral colour.

Replace all light bulbs with bright LED bulbs without any lamp shades, so when showing the house in the evening, it looks nice and bright.

When you have the place cleared, check how warm the house is when you turn on the heating; you may need to bleed some of the radiators.

Obelisk29 wrote: »

The house needs a lot of work and the layout doesn't really suit modern family living. I think anybody buying it would want to completely remodel and extend so painting walls that are likely to be knocked seems pointless. Lipstick on a pig comes to mind

Maybe have an EA over, and ask if getting rid of some non-load bearing walls be of any use? And then price said work with a builder. If for example the kitchen is tiny, getting rid of the wall between it and the next room (dining room) may be a cheap idea to open up the house a bit, for the more "modern family living"

An example of with & without said wall;
Small kitchen, see picture 6 & 14; https://www.daft.ie/dublin/houses-for-sale/artane/36-malahide-road-artane-dublin-2254541/
Small kitchen without the wall, picture 6; https://www.daft.ie/dublin/houses-for-sale/artane/147-saint-brigids-grove-artane-artane-dublin-2255091/

Executor Sale - is is worth doing up prior to sale?

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