Selling/renovating an old person s house
Discussion
My grandmother passed away earlier this year and my father now has the unenviable task of selling the house.
It’s a good-sized three bed 1930s detached, but as you can imagine it needs a lot of updating. Rewiring, central heating installed, replastering throughout etc. It’s structurally sound though, and if you did all the above it’d be a very serviceable family home. Bathroom and kitchen are newish. It’s also one of the ‘best’ houses on a road of similar houses (bigger garden, bigger rooms).
The problem is that it’s struggling to sell as viewers are put off by the amount of work needed.
My question is, is there a ‘sweet spot’ in terms of renovating houses to maximise return? My father is against spending any money on it, but I wonder if there are a few improvements that could be made to maximise its appeal.
I would imagine most buyers would want to extend, so I think a new kitchen would be pointless, but a rewire and some radiators adding has got to be worth it, right?
Happy to be educated on this!
It’s a good-sized three bed 1930s detached, but as you can imagine it needs a lot of updating. Rewiring, central heating installed, replastering throughout etc. It’s structurally sound though, and if you did all the above it’d be a very serviceable family home. Bathroom and kitchen are newish. It’s also one of the ‘best’ houses on a road of similar houses (bigger garden, bigger rooms).
The problem is that it’s struggling to sell as viewers are put off by the amount of work needed.
My question is, is there a ‘sweet spot’ in terms of renovating houses to maximise return? My father is against spending any money on it, but I wonder if there are a few improvements that could be made to maximise its appeal.
I would imagine most buyers would want to extend, so I think a new kitchen would be pointless, but a rewire and some radiators adding has got to be worth it, right?
Happy to be educated on this!
Been through similar where I was the odd one out thinking it should be renovated
I would say a lick of paint and some tidying, maybe carpets etc if needed, would help.
Anything more the question is can you sell it as is for the same amount minus those costs eg. Is it worth the effort.
Also in its current condition are you going to get bid down by people thinking you are desperate for a sale.
I would say a lick of paint and some tidying, maybe carpets etc if needed, would help.
Anything more the question is can you sell it as is for the same amount minus those costs eg. Is it worth the effort.
Also in its current condition are you going to get bid down by people thinking you are desperate for a sale.
jmn said:
If you do start renovations you may be shocked by the cost of materials and some labour.
I think that s what s putting people off not so long ago it probably needed £20k spent on it to get it into a decent, but not brilliant state for a young family. That s probably north of £50k now I d expect.Edited by Mr Creosote on Tuesday 14th July 19:11
You can throw some paint around cheaply and stick some new carpets in, but anyone with a decent eye will see through it and know what needs doing. Depending on what else needs doing (windows, kitchens, bathrooms etc?) then you could be spending the money and not get any benefit if the buyer knows it needs to come out again for other work.
The biggest issue is that buyers are not keen on them these days - the cost of labour and materials makes it barely worthwhile especially at some of the prices agents seem to think they're worth. If you have a nice house someone might be in for 10 years or more it's an easier sell, but for your average property then it needs to be cheap enough to leave some margin for the person doing the work.
If you're struggling to find a buyer then don't worry, it's a buyers market. If you need to sell it then reduce the price until someone does think there is value in it. Low offers are not people taking the piss, they're the level at which it makes sense for them to take it on and do the work. If your agent thinks it should be worth more tell them to find a buyer at the higher price!
The biggest issue is that buyers are not keen on them these days - the cost of labour and materials makes it barely worthwhile especially at some of the prices agents seem to think they're worth. If you have a nice house someone might be in for 10 years or more it's an easier sell, but for your average property then it needs to be cheap enough to leave some margin for the person doing the work.
If you're struggling to find a buyer then don't worry, it's a buyers market. If you need to sell it then reduce the price until someone does think there is value in it. Low offers are not people taking the piss, they're the level at which it makes sense for them to take it on and do the work. If your agent thinks it should be worth more tell them to find a buyer at the higher price!
Dog Biscuit said:
I'd bang it on the market and see what kind of feedback/offers and then do the maths from there
I'd agree with this^We are in the same situation with FiL's house, he died in January.
We're leaving it as is, most folk will want to change the kitchen anyway so why fit a new one.
Carpets too are a personal choice.
Place next door was in a similar situation a couple of years back, new folk moved kitchen to a bedroom etc etc.
Rewiring is dependent upon final layout.
You should weigh up the potential gains against the risks of taking much longer to sell.
New PM, rising interest rates, who knows what the market will do?
Plus, there are costs in owning the house, it will want heating over the winter, council tax, insurance.
It may vary with the location and who you are trying to sell the house to.
Many people want something as cheap as possible so long as they can get a mortgage on it.
Others can't imagine what it will look like painted a different colour. Some won't even like the look of anything that's not expensively furnished.
Unless the electrics and plumbing are broken or dangerous, you might do well to leave well alone.
A good deep clean and painting a few walls light colours worked for us.
It did help that we used an estate agent who sold a lot of those houses, so people could see what they looked like furnished.
New PM, rising interest rates, who knows what the market will do?
Plus, there are costs in owning the house, it will want heating over the winter, council tax, insurance.
It may vary with the location and who you are trying to sell the house to.
Many people want something as cheap as possible so long as they can get a mortgage on it.
Others can't imagine what it will look like painted a different colour. Some won't even like the look of anything that's not expensively furnished.
Unless the electrics and plumbing are broken or dangerous, you might do well to leave well alone.
A good deep clean and painting a few walls light colours worked for us.
It did help that we used an estate agent who sold a lot of those houses, so people could see what they looked like furnished.
I have renovated houses for a long long time.
The only way to make money is more space.
If you want to do a basic quick paint job to make it look tidy then fine but let someone else take on the job and loose their shirt.
If you do it there is only one way - all in and do it properly and that will cost you £££
The only way to make money is more space.
If you want to do a basic quick paint job to make it look tidy then fine but let someone else take on the job and loose their shirt.
If you do it there is only one way - all in and do it properly and that will cost you £££
Depending on your situation, and how much you want for it, I'd be tempted to just get everything out of it then get it into a property auction to get rid of it.
Guy down the road passed away and his nephew who lives over in Ireland didn't mess around. House clearance company in, open house viewings for a day, then straight into the auction and sold.
Guy down the road passed away and his nephew who lives over in Ireland didn't mess around. House clearance company in, open house viewings for a day, then straight into the auction and sold.
Had similar last year with my grandmas house.
That didn’t even have central heating. All the EA’s recommendations were to sell it as is. They said anyone moving in to such a house even if it was fully renovated would probably want their own style kitchen/bathroom/carpets, so no point having it all fresh and brand new
This was a highly desirable area and it sold within days of going live, so results may vary.
That didn’t even have central heating. All the EA’s recommendations were to sell it as is. They said anyone moving in to such a house even if it was fully renovated would probably want their own style kitchen/bathroom/carpets, so no point having it all fresh and brand new
This was a highly desirable area and it sold within days of going live, so results may vary.
Imo sell as is. The market is slow. You're going to spend a lot amount on renovation - the trades market is a completely different world to 7/8 years ago (as in the costs are high) and materials are very expensive too. You may end up spending a lot and not getting much back.
Just do some basics, paint/decorate bad areas. Garden in reasonable shape ie not over grown. New carpets in bad areas. Re silicone any mouldy areas in bathroom/kitchen.
Rewiring or doing anything more can get out of hand very quickly.
Just do some basics, paint/decorate bad areas. Garden in reasonable shape ie not over grown. New carpets in bad areas. Re silicone any mouldy areas in bathroom/kitchen.
Rewiring or doing anything more can get out of hand very quickly.
Skyedriver said:
Dog Biscuit said:
I'd bang it on the market and see what kind of feedback/offers and then do the maths from there
I'd agree with this^We are in the same situation with FiL's house, he died in January.
We're leaving it as is, most folk will want to change the kitchen anyway so why fit a new one.
Carpets too are a personal choice.
Place next door was in a similar situation a couple of years back, new folk moved kitchen to a bedroom etc etc.
Rewiring is dependent upon final layout.
Mr Creosote said:
menousername said:
Also in its current condition are you going to get bid down by people thinking you are desperate for a sale.
Yes, my thinking too. Plus, I think people generally struggle to visualise how a house could look with a bit of love lavished on it. Several of the EAs around us are using CGI room images - I don't like it and they don't always make it obvious, but it does instantly give "what it could look like" look.
Be interesting to see the listing, but appreciate you might not want to put it up. Around us (West Cheshire villages) it never ceases to amaze me that people buy houses for only a little below full market value, do a "flash" refurb, then put it up for a laugh-out-loud price only for it to sell almost instantly. I don't know why our area should be different to anywhere else.
Is it good enough to mortgage, pass a survey, for a hardy couple to move in (and do up while living in it), if the answer is yes, then do no more.
I know it s just one example but we tided our house up in prep for sale, and ended up spending best part of 8% of the value, and best case it speeded up the sale and added 4.5% to the value.
Not only did we not get the money back, we also had to deal with several trades people over a 2 month period (which is a ball ache).
I just bought a house lived in by the same chap for 50 years (now near 90 years old) the house is very tired (kitchen, heating bathrooms and electrics all over 40 years old), some rotten windows etc
The seller understood , that there is no point doing anything unless he is willing to do everything. Which once started could end up at £100 sq ft bill.
I know it s just one example but we tided our house up in prep for sale, and ended up spending best part of 8% of the value, and best case it speeded up the sale and added 4.5% to the value.
Not only did we not get the money back, we also had to deal with several trades people over a 2 month period (which is a ball ache).
I just bought a house lived in by the same chap for 50 years (now near 90 years old) the house is very tired (kitchen, heating bathrooms and electrics all over 40 years old), some rotten windows etc
The seller understood , that there is no point doing anything unless he is willing to do everything. Which once started could end up at £100 sq ft bill.
Edited by Wilmslowboy on Tuesday 14th July 22:02
You will be very unlikely to add as much value as it will cost you to do any work. If it’s just very “old person” then you could consider showing it as an empty canvas - remove any old carpets & anything like hideous light fittings for something that doesn’t catch the eye. Dint touch the kitchen or bathroom, you can’t do a half job on those. Maybe paint hallway (for first impression) and some reception rooms to freshen them up.
Stick it on the market and reduce the price until it finds a buyer who thinks they can take it on (and probably underestimate how much it will cost them). Their loss will be your gain, even though you think you had to take a hit on price.
Stick it on the market and reduce the price until it finds a buyer who thinks they can take it on (and probably underestimate how much it will cost them). Their loss will be your gain, even though you think you had to take a hit on price.
Mr Creosote said:
Thanks for the insights, everyone! Do nothing seems be the right choice then.
Well, having said what I did - who is likely to buy the house? If it's beyond the likely budget of an energetic young couple (probably with sets of parents helping out both practically and financially) then most older families are going to want somewhere they can just walk into - it's too disruptive to do a lot of work.
Older people downsizing seem to buy a lot of the family homes around us and they're prepared to spend money on them - but the house hasn't got to be too big in the first place.
However the bottom line is that if it isn't selling then it's too expensive.
My parents have been selling my aunt's house, a nice 3-bed semi off a private road with plenty of garden and room for parking. It found a buyer quickly, a couple in the middle of the village, but they have had a *heck* of a job finding a buyer, lots of sales have fallen through. Mostly I think because their house is right on the extremely busy and noisy A-road and has no driveway, you need to park in bays opposite or in the village square, and lug your heavy shopping in the rain. On top of that, their neighbour put their house on the market and three other similarly awful houses within a short walk, and none have sold yet. That buyer is now going to auction, and my parents seem to think that they won't be expected to pick up the shortfall...
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