Fastest/cheapest way to market a house?
Discussion
We've just about finished a house refurb. Currently it's an empty shell. We don't have enough money in the budget to fit a kitchen or bathroom and decorate, but everything else has been done.
A couple of agents have been around to give their opinions. The house is in London and we think it should sell relatively easily at the right price. I realise we may need to do a bit more to make it more attractive to someone who wants to move in immediately, but I'm thinking we should try marketing it as is just to see what happens, so what are the best ways to do that without incurring too many costs?
A couple of agents have been around to give their opinions. The house is in London and we think it should sell relatively easily at the right price. I realise we may need to do a bit more to make it more attractive to someone who wants to move in immediately, but I'm thinking we should try marketing it as is just to see what happens, so what are the best ways to do that without incurring too many costs?
You havent finished the refurb if its still an empty shell. Plus mortgages are tough on houses without a kitchen and bathroom.
Its worth it in sale price to at least get a kitchen and bathroom in there and whitewash all the walls. You will lose more in sale price than it costs to finish it of.
Its worth it in sale price to at least get a kitchen and bathroom in there and whitewash all the walls. You will lose more in sale price than it costs to finish it of.
Edited by dazwalsh on Friday 3rd February 10:38
FurtiveFreddy said:
OK good point on kitchen & bathroom. Is there a minimum spec for kitchen & bathroom to get a mortgage? i.e would it need all the appliances installed?
In my experience, Running water/sink
Flushing toilet.
Otherwise most mortgage providers would call it "uninhabitable".
Which is nonsense, as I've had a mortgage approved on a place with leaking roof, utterly rancid filthy, no hot water, no central heating, but the bog worked so they were fine with it!
To be honest, the estate agent should be able to advise better.
As above, it's pretty much un-mortgageable at the moment as it's uninhabitable. Contract white and magnolia is cheap to buy and easy to apply yourself. No need to pay a decorator. I'd do that as a bare minimum.
If you could do it yourself you could have it something like for £1k. I'd be begging, borrowing and stealing to finish it personally or someone else is going to swoop in and take your profit.
If you could do it yourself you could have it something like for £1k. I'd be begging, borrowing and stealing to finish it personally or someone else is going to swoop in and take your profit.
Thanks, that's very useful.
TBH, I can probably find a few £k so looks like we need to go with the cheapest possible kitchen and bathroom as I'm sure a buyer would probably want to change it anyway.
What other money do I need to find up front in order to actually sell it, apart from solicitor's fees?
TBH, I can probably find a few £k so looks like we need to go with the cheapest possible kitchen and bathroom as I'm sure a buyer would probably want to change it anyway.
What other money do I need to find up front in order to actually sell it, apart from solicitor's fees?
Looks like you can get a new kitchen for less than £300! http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Brand-New-Modern-kitchen...
and a new bathroom for about the same. I don't know your circumstances but it seem like cash is tight to finish the refurb, but not having these will knock much more than their cost off the price and also limit your customer base, even if the new buyer is going to rip them straight out.
and a new bathroom for about the same. I don't know your circumstances but it seem like cash is tight to finish the refurb, but not having these will knock much more than their cost off the price and also limit your customer base, even if the new buyer is going to rip them straight out.
For online estate agents, this is a decent summary of costs: http://www.which.co.uk/money/mortgages-and-propert...
Many give an option to pay nothing until exchange (or after a fixed period of time). I liked dealing with House Network and found Purple Bricks to be a real 'no frills' experience. However, any will get it on Rightmove, which is all that really seems to matter.
Many give an option to pay nothing until exchange (or after a fixed period of time). I liked dealing with House Network and found Purple Bricks to be a real 'no frills' experience. However, any will get it on Rightmove, which is all that really seems to matter.
4Q said:
I don't know your circumstances but it seem like cash is tight to finish the refurb, but not having these will knock much more than their cost off the price and also limit your customer base, even if the new buyer is going to rip them straight out.
Yes, agreed.We had a realistic budget to begin with but there were some unexpected structural elements which have added to the cost and we're now very close to our upper limit on spend, so I've got to be really careful what I do with the last few £s.
FurtiveFreddy said:
That's kind of what I thought originally.
It's in SE London, New Cross area. Value perhaps knocking on £900k. One agent suggested £1m, but we think that's over stating it based on other properties we've been looking at.
OK I'll bite...It's in SE London, New Cross area. Value perhaps knocking on £900k. One agent suggested £1m, but we think that's over stating it based on other properties we've been looking at.
I'm not knocking you OP but I can't believe you are thinking about trying to sell a £900k dwelling without 'finishing' it.
If I'm slightly incredulous it's more to do with a London housing bubble that creates a situation where what you're suggesting is in any way possible.
dirty doug said:
OK I'll bite...
I'm not knocking you OP but I can't believe you are thinking about trying to sell a £900k dwelling without 'finishing' it.
If I'm slightly incredulous it's more to do with a London housing bubble that creates a situation where what you're suggesting is in any way possible.
I'm not going to explain the situation in full, but in a nutshell, it's a house owned by another family member and we've been using combined savings to refurb it. Hence, the budget is finite. The works have gone 25% over estimate and that's not the contractors trying it on, as we've scrutinised everything very carefully.I'm not knocking you OP but I can't believe you are thinking about trying to sell a £900k dwelling without 'finishing' it.
If I'm slightly incredulous it's more to do with a London housing bubble that creates a situation where what you're suggesting is in any way possible.
So, we're literally down to the last few thousand and have to decide on the best way to proceed.
What would you do in the same situation?
FurtiveFreddy said:
I'm not going to explain the situation in full, but in a nutshell, it's a house owned by another family member and we've been using combined savings to refurb it. Hence, the budget is finite. The works have gone 25% over estimate and that's not the contractors trying it on, as we've scrutinised everything very carefully.
So, we're literally down to the last few thousand and have to decide on the best way to proceed.
What would you do in the same situation?
I'd think carefully about how to proceed to be honest.So, we're literally down to the last few thousand and have to decide on the best way to proceed.
What would you do in the same situation?
Some careful sums need to be done but with a large asset like you have, I would consider borrowing to finish off.
No-one knows your situation like you do of course, but I would borrow & get finished if I could.
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