House selling question re decorating and stuff
Discussion
I've just paid approx £3K to have my ceilings 'smooth lined' and painted ( open plan house so scaffolding was needed inside); bathroom retiled and vinyl flooring laid, fix new shower head; external wall and 3 sets of eves painted; gutterring removed/cleaned/replaced with new clips. Also included was new fusebox, extractor fan and replacing a fire type safety socket to an everyday one for appliances. New front door lock as well.
I intend ( and have already done the bathroom) to paint the walls, gloss the internal door wood/skirting boards, paint the shed and re-stain the front door.
I have approx 20 paintings around the house, is it better to remove the picture hooks and plaster over the holes before painting? thereby the prospective buyers will be able to start afresh or should I leave a few in place so it feels more homely? Similarly I have shelving in the kitchen which has often used appliances on (rather than tucked away in cupboards), I think it's a good idea to keep them up, and also I have a spice rack attached to the wall.
Similar ( to the kitchen) shelving is up in the bedroom and I'm not too sure whether to leave that or not.
I've looked into placing a lot of things into storage as when I view houses on rightmove, they all seem to have practically nothing in them. Very minimalist. On the other hand, I still have to live here until the property is sold so I need a few things around ie bed, chair, TV, comp etc. When I do put my stuff into storage it will feel a bit like camping in my own home for a few weeks, but nowadays that seems to be how you have to do it. The alternative is to rent an unfurnished house and store them all in there.( Only problem is that I intend to move approx 150 miles away). House prices are more expensive 'darn sarf' and once I've chosen a place to live down there, I'll have no intention of moving again.
So storage or rent a house down where I intend to be? Since I'm unemployed this is all coming out of savings, so need to get the most from my house to fund the move.
Thanks
I intend ( and have already done the bathroom) to paint the walls, gloss the internal door wood/skirting boards, paint the shed and re-stain the front door.
I have approx 20 paintings around the house, is it better to remove the picture hooks and plaster over the holes before painting? thereby the prospective buyers will be able to start afresh or should I leave a few in place so it feels more homely? Similarly I have shelving in the kitchen which has often used appliances on (rather than tucked away in cupboards), I think it's a good idea to keep them up, and also I have a spice rack attached to the wall.
Similar ( to the kitchen) shelving is up in the bedroom and I'm not too sure whether to leave that or not.
I've looked into placing a lot of things into storage as when I view houses on rightmove, they all seem to have practically nothing in them. Very minimalist. On the other hand, I still have to live here until the property is sold so I need a few things around ie bed, chair, TV, comp etc. When I do put my stuff into storage it will feel a bit like camping in my own home for a few weeks, but nowadays that seems to be how you have to do it. The alternative is to rent an unfurnished house and store them all in there.( Only problem is that I intend to move approx 150 miles away). House prices are more expensive 'darn sarf' and once I've chosen a place to live down there, I'll have no intention of moving again.
So storage or rent a house down where I intend to be? Since I'm unemployed this is all coming out of savings, so need to get the most from my house to fund the move.
Thanks
condor said:
I'm about to start and remove some paintings and fill their fixture holes up, so the walls will start to look quite bare.
I'd still like to know if other peeps think this is a good idea.
Id remove them all, if it looks too bare then its easy to put a couple back up again.I'd still like to know if other peeps think this is a good idea.
Do you mind me asking roughly how much your place is going to go on the market for? Reason I ask is that you seem to be spending a lot of money and time on this and, unless the house is currently very rundown (I assume not) you could be wasting your money and time.
Personally when viewing, I preferred places that were lived in without being cluttered. A completely bare kitchen makes it hard to picture where your stuff will go, but if you have the common appliances out (microwave, kettle, toaster etc) but the rest is uncluttered, viewers will see that their stuff will fit in easily.
As long as everything is tidy and clean, you should be ok.
That said, I did actually spend a bit of time on the photo's - moving stuff out of shot and making it more minimalist for the photos that it actually was. This was purely because, in my mind, it's harder to give the impression of space in a photo as it is in person.
Good luck.
Personally when viewing, I preferred places that were lived in without being cluttered. A completely bare kitchen makes it hard to picture where your stuff will go, but if you have the common appliances out (microwave, kettle, toaster etc) but the rest is uncluttered, viewers will see that their stuff will fit in easily.
As long as everything is tidy and clean, you should be ok.
That said, I did actually spend a bit of time on the photo's - moving stuff out of shot and making it more minimalist for the photos that it actually was. This was purely because, in my mind, it's harder to give the impression of space in a photo as it is in person.
Good luck.
The problem is it's a one bed open-plan starter home, ideal for a single - OK for a couple but not for any more than that. Likely to be put on the market about £115-£125K with the expectation of getting £110K. It's at the end of a village and got great views over fields, which may make it go for more. Needs to be below stamp duty limit though.
It's not rundown property wise, as in it's 25 years old, had new double glazing/patio doors 2 years ago, new megaflow water heating system 3-4 years ago. It's just the decor needs work done to it. I've worked for the last 30 odd years and relaxation time has been just that. I've had a go myself at redecorating, and employed others to do it in the past ....it's just now that I'm unemployed I have the time to do it up, but to capture the Spring market it needs to be finished by early March. My garden looks best in Spring-time too with the daffs, tulips and grape hyacinths all out in force
I have family pieces which are way too large for the house, but they've been given to me and I'm expected to pass them down. Plus there's 25 odd years of treasured possessions gathered, which would look like clutter to a prospective buyer.
It's been suggested that I leave the washing machine, fridge, cooker, wardrobe and bed in situ as they've been around some time and for me just to buy new ones when I move ( or they may already come with a new build).
This is the first time I've sold a house, part of me doesn't want to leave it...and the other part wants me to make it look as good as possible.
It's not rundown property wise, as in it's 25 years old, had new double glazing/patio doors 2 years ago, new megaflow water heating system 3-4 years ago. It's just the decor needs work done to it. I've worked for the last 30 odd years and relaxation time has been just that. I've had a go myself at redecorating, and employed others to do it in the past ....it's just now that I'm unemployed I have the time to do it up, but to capture the Spring market it needs to be finished by early March. My garden looks best in Spring-time too with the daffs, tulips and grape hyacinths all out in force
I have family pieces which are way too large for the house, but they've been given to me and I'm expected to pass them down. Plus there's 25 odd years of treasured possessions gathered, which would look like clutter to a prospective buyer.
It's been suggested that I leave the washing machine, fridge, cooker, wardrobe and bed in situ as they've been around some time and for me just to buy new ones when I move ( or they may already come with a new build).
This is the first time I've sold a house, part of me doesn't want to leave it...and the other part wants me to make it look as good as possible.
Edited by condor on Tuesday 9th February 15:58
When we moved a few years back we also spent some time on internal decoration. We started by washing tiles, radiators and paintwork because often that's all it needs. Light beige or white emulsion on the walls that were painted, brilliant white on the ceilings, all simple stuff with no re-papering, etc because whatever you do the next owners are likely to change it. We also replaced the hall carpet because after decorating it looked grubby and it's the first impression your buyers get. We replaced it with end of roll offcuts which look fine and are cheap.
Outside I made sure the roofing, gutters, facias, etc were painted, replaced a couple of dodgy bits so that any surveyor wouldn't have any come-back. Washed the front door, letter box, etc, and tidied up the garden so the house looked presentable from the road, emptied the garage & garden shed of rubbish, etc. If you have garden space then it doesn't hurt to show that it's usable - barbeque/cheap garden set, etc, especially if you have good views.
Inside we moved as much personal stuff although we didn't take down pictures. We weren't aiming for a modern minimalist look but just to show off the available space and try to make it look as open/large as possible. (hence the white ceilings, etc) If it looks crowded then you'll put folks off, even if the items you have on show are things they'll likely have themselves, so I'd just stick to basic essentials.
Outside I made sure the roofing, gutters, facias, etc were painted, replaced a couple of dodgy bits so that any surveyor wouldn't have any come-back. Washed the front door, letter box, etc, and tidied up the garden so the house looked presentable from the road, emptied the garage & garden shed of rubbish, etc. If you have garden space then it doesn't hurt to show that it's usable - barbeque/cheap garden set, etc, especially if you have good views.
Inside we moved as much personal stuff although we didn't take down pictures. We weren't aiming for a modern minimalist look but just to show off the available space and try to make it look as open/large as possible. (hence the white ceilings, etc) If it looks crowded then you'll put folks off, even if the items you have on show are things they'll likely have themselves, so I'd just stick to basic essentials.
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