do up house for sale or leave as is

ssm

Registered User
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hi everyone

are properties starting to sell again?

we inherited family home between us and no one in family wants to buy it out.

a couple of questions -

is property starting to move again? its a 4 bed semi in a well established estate in Leixlip

is quite "old" on inside in terms of decor etc. (eg has carpets rather than wooden floors, green bathrooms etc) - should we put money into it to "house doctor" it or leave as is for someone else to do to their taste? my fear is that if any other houses with less work come up in the area they will be bought first.

thanks for any advice.
 
Small things make a hugh difference. De-Cluttering, cleaning, gardening and some small painting works wonders.

Go down to your local DIY store and plant flowers that have already come on in store. Cut the grass, sweep the paths, powerhose etc.

Inside, white or cream colours make rooms look clean and bigger than what they are.

By all means, if you have time to lay a wooden floor, and rip out the bathroom, go ahead.
 


+1

a little effort goes a long way. No need to spend a fortune reallly.
 
thanks for replies.

My feeling is that we should do at least do the wooden floors but the others think that whoever moves in will probably just gut it anyway....which they probably will......but at considerable expense, money they might not have immediately after buying.

there is also a lot of emotion surrounding the house which i think is also a lot to do with why they just want to sell as is. in fact 2 of them havent even been able to walk into the house since the death.

but in this climate i think we need to do something with it.

thanks again for replies.
 
The Irish Times property supplement often has some good tips on doing small things in a house to help with selling.
 
I really wouldn't do floors bathrooms etc. I viewed a house once where this was done. It was very obviously done extremely cheaply in an effort to tart the house up. It put me completely off as I felt it would be a waste to replace it immediately and it was awful.
You aren't going to put anything in expensive enough to impress so don't waste your money on it.Sometimes its better to have something you know you can do your own way when you move in. Paint and declutter at the most
 
Imagin you were going to see two semidetached houses for sale. Both priced the same price. The 1st done up in the mid eightys and nothing changed since then and the other done up in 2005.

You may not necessary like the style in the 2005 revamped one so consider the 1980's one, but obviously at a discount to reflect the work that would be required revamping kitchens, bathrooms new flooring etc.

I know I would want the 1980's house less my predected expences to bring it up to 2009 style.
 
I'd do it up a bit. new coat of paint and a major clean up. I'd tackle the bathroom if its any worse that a green bathroom, i.e if the bathromm also has horrible tiles and a carpet.

Clearing out old style furniture is really important too. You don't want anything else pointing out that the house is outdated. get a friend to have a look over with a critical eye too.

I'd do thi yourself if your siblings are not into doing it, it should pay back. Its likely that the market is falling rather than rising so its important to sell asap.
 
on the plus side the garden is beautiful and very low maintenance and the house itself has been structrually exceptionally well looked after -a lot of money has been put into it in that way.

hopefully this will help!