I have decided to sell one of my investment propertes. The house is a 3 bed semi detached in an excellent area of Dublin worth around 700k. However it has been rented out for the past 5 years and is not in great condition. There is terrible wallpaper over all of the walls, the carpets throughout are dirty and disgusting, the kitchen needs to be ripped out and it also needs a new bathroom. Do people think that I should engage in any renovation work prior to putting the place on the market to increase the likelihood of getting a higher price or should I just sell it as is?
To refurbish or not prior to selling?
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I would refurbish but not over the top.
I think that you will increase your potential market by doing this.
I think that you will increase your potential market by doing this.
liteweight
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Most of the above sounds like painting and decorating, perhaps new carpet. I would definitely do this before putting it on the market. People don't have the time or the inclination to do this kind of thing themselves and anyone who does, will be looking for a 'bargain'.
Absolutely agree - I would neutralise it so that potential purchasers could imagine themselves living there. Nasty wallpaper or repulsive carpet can subconsciously deter people, shouldn't be too expensive to neutralise it.
Edit - but I would just clean up the kitchen units, you can have them re-finished without having to install an entirely new kitchen. If the bathroom suite is white, I would just clean it up. If it's a nauseating shade of avocado, it might be worth replacing it with a simple white suite.
Thanks for the replies. I think I will rip the wallpaper off, replaster and repaint. Also will rip up the carpet and put down some new beige colour. Given that I have some contacts in the industry this should only cost me about 7k in total. Just wondering if people think I should put in a new bathroom suite and or kitchen or should I just stick with the painting. The bathroom suite is currently pink.
liteweight
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Kitchens and bathrooms supposedly sell houses. I'd do as Whathome suggests, revamp the kitchen, not replace. Replace the pink bathroom suite. Also surveys show that people make up their mind within the first 20 or 30 seconds of coming into your home. This is subconcious of course, so make the hall as welcoming as possible.
In that prices range and with the stamp duty that the prospective purchaser will be paying, they will not want a cheap kitchen or cheap carpet. If the electrics are in good order, strip the walls and paint them neutral colours. lift the carpets and sand the floors if there are wooden floors beneath. Clean everything and clear the garden if necessary. This way it will be presented as a clean organised blank canvas.
The alternative would be go go the whole hog and completely reno to sell to the prospective customer that wants a turnkey purchase. Anything in between is a waste of money IMHO.
The alternative would be go go the whole hog and completely reno to sell to the prospective customer that wants a turnkey purchase. Anything in between is a waste of money IMHO.
True but they will probably want to buy their own eventually and it wouldn't be wise to spend a lot on a kitchen that doesn't meet their taste. Better to neutralise it so that they could imagine themselves in the house. We've seen houses that have very expensive kitchens but we hated the look, we then felt bad about paying for a house with an expensive kitchen that we would have to replace with another expensive kitchen!
liteweight
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Of course it would. Even cheap carpet looks great when it's new.
One of the key things for us when looking at a property requiring improvement is -
Would we be happy in the house for a few months until we decide where and how much to spend on improvements? It's far more attractive to a purchaser when they can imagine moving in not having to organise painters, plumbers etc immediately. They can have friends over right away without having to apologise for the manky carpet or disgusting bathroom
And then in a few months they can buy the dream kitchen or bathroom suite to suit their taste.
Would we be happy in the house for a few months until we decide where and how much to spend on improvements? It's far more attractive to a purchaser when they can imagine moving in not having to organise painters, plumbers etc immediately. They can have friends over right away without having to apologise for the manky carpet or disgusting bathroom
And then in a few months they can buy the dream kitchen or bathroom suite to suit their taste.