The Lemon Fool

My Brother-in-Law is about to put his house on the market, but before doing so is wondering whether to make any improvements so as to increase its value and / or attractiveness. For context, it's a detached 4-bed, circa 1990's, with an estimated value of around £300k (based on similar property sales In the area - he hasn't had an estate agent look at it yet).

We were over for dinner and whilst there, made a list of the potential areas to work on; I'd be interested if any knowledgeable Lemons have a view on whether it's worth the hassle*:

Areas for improvement:
- some double-glazed window units have failed, so have internal condensation at this time of year
- kitchen needs replacing (as does the kitchen floor (lino))
- carpets are past their best
- Heating system / boiler is old
- garden is not well planted
- bathroom needs modernization
- some rooms could do with a lick of paint
- lawn is "scraggy" with moss
- roof insulation hasn't been looked at for over a decade.
- he could add additional parking at the side of the house (currently grass)

Any other suggestions for things to look at to improve his chances/price potential of selling also appreciated.

I admit to self-interest, as a couple of these apply to our house (e.g. the heating system...), which might be for sale at some point!

* By "hassle", I mean whether he will get back more than it costs, assuming he has the work done by local tradesmen. If current house buyers won't even make an offer without (some of) these things being done, that's worth knowing too.

Many thanks in advance

VRD

vrdiver wrote:My Brother-in-Law is about to put his house on the market, but before doing so is wondering whether to make any improvements so as to increase its value and / or attractiveness. For context, it's a detached 4-bed, circa 1990's, with an estimated value of around £300k (based on similar property sales In the area - he hasn't had an estate agent look at it yet).

We were over for dinner and whilst there, made a list of the potential areas to work on; I'd be interested if any knowledgeable Lemons have a view on whether it's worth the hassle*:

Areas for improvement:
- some double-glazed window units have failed, so have internal condensation at this time of year
- kitchen needs replacing (as does the kitchen floor (lino))
- carpets are past their best
- Heating system / boiler is old
- garden is not well planted
- bathroom needs modernization
- some rooms could do with a lick of paint
- lawn is "scraggy" with moss
- roof insulation hasn't been looked at for over a decade.
- he could add additional parking at the side of the house (currently grass)

Any other suggestions for things to look at to improve his chances/price potential of selling also appreciated.

I admit to self-interest, as a couple of these apply to our house (e.g. the heating system...), which might be for sale at some point!

* By "hassle", I mean whether he will get back more than it costs, assuming he has the work done by local tradesmen. If current house buyers won't even make an offer without (some of) these things being done, that's worth knowing too.

Many thanks in advance

VRD

The location of the property is usually at the top of a buyers list of priorities. Is it near a school, for example? A four bedroomed house will generally attract a family with 2-3 children. Although those who work from home may fancy the additional space offered by the 4 bedrooms.

If a potential buyer likes the area and the price they will look at the bathrooms and kitchens first. But your BiL could spend decent money on a new kitchen only to find his choice of colour isn't what the purchaser likes.

So I'd caution great care about doing too much to the home in the hope it will raise its value by more than your BiL spends.

However, make sure it's clean & tidy and remove clutter. When showing people around don't enter a room before they do and only have one person go around with them.

AiY(D)

From my limited experience, better to do a kitchen refresh, not whole new kitchen, and bathroom refresh, not new bathroom. Kitchen refresh is an easy win.

And repaint rooms need doing. Tidy up and declutter.

Big improvements often don't pay back, but be interested in other views.

vrdiver wrote:My Brother-in-Law is about to put his house on the market, but before doing so is wondering whether to make any improvements so as to increase its value and / or attractiveness.

So long as it doesn't look like a 'project' it's probably not worth doing much. The value at £300k isn't high enough to justify great expenditure.

Before it's seen by any agents, make sure it's clean everywhere and remove all clutter.

- Failed units worth doing probably cheap enough.
- Have the carpets professionally cleaned.
- The kitchen if functional is not worth doing it will likely be binned by the new owner, ditto the bathroom. Have the oven professionally cleaned unless it's already spotless.
- If the heating system works, leave it.. most people don't know old from new.
- Garden... years too late.... just make sure it's weeded and the lawn cut. Moss is nice and green....
- If you paint one room it will show up others.
- Next owner can create parking or they might like grass.

- Insulation.. get your own EPC done and see what possible issues it throws up. A poor EPC will knock the price. Loft insulation is cheap and easy to improve.

While selling, the house must always be clean and tidy and fresh smelling, and the frontage clean and well presented so the sale isn't lost before buyers even get the the front door.

V8

First, best ask the agents you get to value, but IME they will say "nothing".

Declutter the house and tidy the garden for selling, and repair anything obvious and simple like light fittings hanging at an angle or broken curtain poles. If you have a dark room with dark red walls and a black ceiling, then a couple of coats of magnolia will help, but whatever you do to the property will cost time and money. You could put parking at the side, they might want to build an extension, you could fit a new bath, they could just want a walk-in shower, you can refit a kitchen, they might want to knock through to the dining room, etc etc.

Blown glazing units are about £100 or more these days, they might want to fit new windows.

Unless the buyer has exactly the same taste as you and is prepared to live with the level of finish you provide from a quick spruce up, then it is unlikely have much effect on the sale.

Paul

I agree with the above comments. Set a modest improvements budget and don't exceed it, aim below. Money spent on visuals best spent: carpets, paint, overgrown garden, etc. I suggest no more than £3k for a £300k house.

bluedonkey wrote:I agree with the above comments. Set a modest improvements budget and don't exceed it, aim below. Money spent on visuals best spent: carpets, paint, overgrown garden, etc. I suggest no more than £3k for a £300k house.

You may be advised to replace the faulty windows. My daughter sold her house recently and was advised to replace double glazed windows before marketing it. Otherwise, I think most of the comments are absolutely valid. Tidy it, and you might want to ensure that paint colours are neutral and light but that is about it. Of course make sure it is clean and decluttered.

Dod

AsleepInYorkshire wrote:So I'd caution great care about doing too much to the home in the hope it will raise its value by more than your BiL spends.

However, make sure it's clean & tidy and remove clutter. When showing people around don't enter a room before they do and only have one person go around with them.

These days I am more inclined to not personally show the house to potential buyers myself, but rather get the estate agent to do that. Likewise as a buyer I do not want or need to meet the seller.

In fact there is something to be said for moving out of a house before marketing it, and then having it professionally staged. It costs a few grand but can make a big difference. Maybe not worth it for a 300K house, but it is becoming a more popular sales strategy for higher value homes.

Like others here, I would not spend much doing up the place just for a sale.

This is a useful check list, I'm selling and I need to do these things!

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/discover/selli ... e-quickly/

You need to have the mindset of a buyer - what adds value to them, versus stuff that they are OK with but wouldn't pay for, versus stuff that they would actively pay to get rid of. You then have to consider a population of buyers, some things will add value to almost all buyers, some will add value to a percentage of buyers, some will appeal to almost nobody. A relative bought a house that had just been done up to include actual chandeliers - they looked awful and inappropriate, and were ripped out immediately, but effectively they paid for them with the house when it would have been much better for all concerned for no chandeliers to have been installed for the few weeks they were there.

Also bear in mind that it adds value for many buyers to add costs to the mortgage/purchase price rather than for them to have to pay for them out of immediate cashflow - so something like a kitchen refresh may be worth more to them than if they did it themselves.

But basic maintenance like the windows is something that the purchasers will want to do (particularly at a time of heightened concern about energy losses) and it's just a ballache for them so they will pay a "premium" to have it done by someone else (or at least, it won't be a negotiating point to get the price done), it's just an unnecessary bit of friction in the transaction.

Not a lot you can do to a garden on a fundamental level, but eg a few pots of herbs will appeal to cooks, a few pots/plantings of cheap annuals will brighten the place up a bit.

I did see an article in some crappy magazine at the doctors or somewhere that the only "improvement" with a direct payback on house value was a Nest/Hive style internet-connected thermostat (and this was well before the current energy crisis). Now that article may have been sponsored by Google for all I can remember, but it's plausible, they're pretty cheap but the idea of having more control over energy usage is something that should have universal resonance.

Look at previous sales in the area and check to see the condition of those compared to your house to see what potentially you might get.

I've been on both sides as a buyer and seller. When buying, a seller was proud of his newly installed kitchen but the bright colour was not to my tastes and he was horrified when I said we would have to cost in its replacement.

Additionally what potential is there in your house. Family rooms are "in" so if yours doesn't have one could rooms be knocked through or extention added. Same with en suite if it's missing can one be added. These sort of things could be added to the description or discussed with potential buyers.

I'm not sure what the latest is with the market post rate rises. In a falling market any improvements might be swollowed by further reduction in the house price. Still it might make it more sellable compared to others.

Who are the potential buyers? Are they well off enderly with monies to improve or young time poor who want a finished article.

First impressions count, so make sure its tidy. Gardens aren't in full colour but a grass cut and weed is cheap and quick. Try to remove over size furniture. You might have 12 people for Sunday lunch every week but a giant table in a normal room with make it look small. Same as clothes not in wardrobes you might have lots but hide them elsewhere as it make it look like you don't have sufficient storage.

Any decorations should be neutral, as posted previously magnolia is your friend.

I tried to sell a rental a bit tired and dated without much luck. Took it off the market installed new bathroom and kitchen (white) magnoliaed each room and new carpet through out. Got my money back plus a bonus and there were queues to view. So it paid off. I think that generation preferred the finished article but could have the work done.

I did sell another property almost as is. Just decluttered removed some old furniture etc. I did have a few people interested before putting on the market but sold if off as I had a committed buyer for a house in that area.

Fix stuff that is obviously broken and will either put a buyer off or they will reduce the price by more than it will cost you to fix - for example the DG units. £100 each for you to fix but a buyer might price the deduction at thousands on the basis they will have to replace all the windows in the property.

Tidy up anything so it doesn’t look a tip.

The rest - well whatever you choose is unlikely to be what the buyer actually wants so they are not going to pay a premium for it.

Look a cheap options to improve things that put buyers off. I'm thinking of moldy sealant in bathroom or kitchens. A quick simple fix

personally I'd start parking his car on the "extra" parking spot to show that it can be used, even if you get a couple bags of bark chippings and spread them around. Parking is a premium.

25 years ago we were marketing our house for £325k hoping for £300k.

Cue a stream of offers of £250k. So we went to the garden centre and splurged £1k on planters, swing-seat and other general garden decoration paraphernalia. First viewer after populating the garden with our new stuff offered full asking price. Kerching!!!

Funny thing was, we took all the garden decoration with us when we moved...

Thanks to all for the hints and tips. I've forwarded this thread to my BiL to read.

VRD

88V8 wrote:Before it's seen by any agents, make sure it's clean everywhere and remove all clutter.

Just to add, reason I say this is that if the agents see a house when it's a bit of a tip, they'll assume this is how it will be presented and price it accordingly, as well as including phrases in their description such as 'room for improvement' or 'needs updating'.

V8

When I sold my place 2 years ago, it was also a detached 4-bed house from the 90s. I noticed that buyers were really put off by any obvious issues like the windows. So, I'd definitely recommend fixing those double-glazed units with condensation.

We also updated our kitchen because it was looking pretty tired. We didn't go all out but just replaced the countertops and some appliances, which made a huge difference without costing a fortune. Fresh carpets and a new lick of paint in a few rooms helped make the house feel more inviting too.

Our boiler was ancient, so we replaced it. It was a bit of an investment, but buyers really appreciated knowing they wouldn't have to deal with it soon after moving in. We also tidied up the garden a bit and added some plants to boost curb appeal.

In the end I found the easiest way to sell my house was to cash buyers. It was quick and saved us a lot of hassle with showings and negotiations. If your brother-in-law is looking to avoid a long, drawn-out process, it might be worth considering.

Mike4 wrote:So we went to the garden centre and splurged £1k on planters, swing-seat and other general garden decoration paraphernalia. First viewer after populating the garden with our new stuff offered full asking price. Kerching!!!

It's a funny business, selling a home. As somebody once put it, the usual aim is to persuade the purchaser to mentally "move his furniture in" as soon as he sets foot inside it. If you can establish that important emotional hook with him/her, you're a long way toward closing the deal.

Nearly 40 years ago, I was selling my bachelor pad - a modern two bed starter home that should have sold really easily, because they were in short supply in that area. Most of the viewers were young working class couples looking for somewhere to start a family. (Yes, those were the days when such things were attainable.) But after twenty viewings, not a sniff.

Eventually the penny dropped. My house was too much of a cool male space, and it wasn't a place where young women were feeling emotionally comfortable. That didn't take too long to fix. Got rid of the guitars and the hifi, brought in two carrier bags full of my girlfriend's stuff - girly toiletries, Cosmopolitan mags, a few pictures, maybe a few tights and T shirts drying in the bathroom. And it sold the next day. Result!

These days, of course, they might just have decided I was non-binary and called myself Lola after dark.

BJ

kltrader wrote:In the end I found the easiest way to sell my house was to cash buyers. It was quick and saved us a lot of hassle with showings and negotiations. If your brother-in-law is looking to avoid a long, drawn-out process, it might be worth considering.

Since he started selling more 15 months ago it has clearly already been a long, drawn-out process so not sure your advice will help the OP avoid that...


GS