Hi

Maybe this isn't the right newsgroup to ask this, but I can't find a better
one.

I want to sell a house in Cardiff which needs (in some people's eyes) double
glazing and a new bathroom and kitchen.

Four Estate Agents have valued it, and said that as it is it might fetch
£90k, £100k, £90k and £100k. They all said the cost of renovation wouln't
put the price up enough to be worth it, although one did suggest that
spending £1k on proffesional decorating might put the value up by more than
that.

Do people think they're right?

(It was pointed out in an ourproperty newsletter recently that Estate Agents
have an incentive to pursuade vendors to accept low offers because the extra
work they have to do if you wait for a good offer isn't worth any extra
commission. I don't know if this has a bearing on it.)

Many thanks in advance :-)

Rog

Roger Davies wrote:
Maybe this isn't the right newsgroup to ask this, but I can't find a better
one.




I want to sell a house in Cardiff which needs (in some people's eyes) double
glazing and a new bathroom and kitchen.

Four Estate Agents have valued it, and said that as it is it might fetch
£90k, £100k, £90k and £100k. They all said the cost of renovation wouln't
put the price up enough to be worth it, although one did suggest that
spending £1k on proffesional decorating might put the value up by more than
that.

Do people think they're right?

That's what I'd do - the decorating, that is.

Roger Davies wrote:

I want to sell a house in Cardiff which needs (in some people's eyes) double
glazing and a new bathroom and kitchen.

Four Estate Agents have valued it, and said that as it is it might fetch
ï½£90k, ï½£100k, ï½£90k and ï½£100k. They all said the cost of renovation wouln't
put the price up enough to be worth it, although one did suggest that

That is mostly true... certainly installing things like double glazing
would cost you way over what you could hope to achieve.

spending ï½£1k on proffesional decorating might put the value up by more than
that.

That is true. Cosmetic stuff can have a big impact in the "appeal" of a
place.

With the kitchen it is probably not worth doing much other than giving
it a good clean and lick of paint. Tatty/unfashionable cupboard doors
etc can be painted as well if required.

With a bathroom the same applies unless it has a really naff coloured
suite. In which case spending a few hundred on something simple and
white to replace it would help. Again if you have to pay to have it
installed however it may be an economic non starter.

(It was pointed out in an ourproperty newsletter recently that Estate Agents
have an incentive to pursuade vendors to accept low offers because the extra
work they have to do if you wait for a good offer isn't worth any extra
commission. I don't know if this has a bearing on it.)

It would depend on the agent I would have thought. They probably would
not be doing you any favours by holding out for the best price since the
market is not that strong at the moment.


--
Cheers,

John.

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In article , John Rumm
wrote:
Roger Davies wrote:

I want to sell a house in Cardiff which needs (in some people's eyes)
double glazing and a new bathroom and kitchen.

Four Estate Agents have valued it, and said that as it is it might fetch
#90k, #100k, #90k and #100k. They all said the cost of renovation wouln't
put the price up enough to be worth it, although one did suggest that

That is mostly true... certainly installing things like double glazing
would cost you way over what you could hope to achieve.

spending #1k on proffesional decorating might put the value up by more
than that.

That is true. Cosmetic stuff can have a big impact in the "appeal" of a
place.

[Snip]

The big question is "What are similar houses in the area fetching?". If you
have bought a house below the average price because it's tatty and do some
work on it then you might get a profit. Buy one at the average price then, no
matter how good it looks, you'll be hard-pressed to make that extra. You need
to buy AND do the work AND get a profit out of a price that is reasonable for
the area.

--
John Cartmell john@ followed by finnybank.com 0845 006 8822
Qercus magazine FAX +44 (0)8700-519-527 www.finnybank.com
Qercus - the best guide to RISC OS computing

The big question is "What are similar houses in the area fetching?".

www.rightmove.co.uk will let you look at the land registry prices online.
Although this gives no indication of overall condition, it should give a you
a reasonable impression.

Séan Connolly wrote:

The big question is "What are similar houses in the area fetching?".


www.rightmove.co.uk will let you look at the land registry prices online.
Although this gives no indication of overall condition, it should give a you
a reasonable impression.

as will http://www.nethouseprices.com/



--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

as will http://www.nethouseprices.com/


That's better actually as you don't have to register

On Tue, 27 Sep 2005 09:39:48 GMT, "Roger Davies"
wrote:

Hi

Maybe this isn't the right newsgroup to ask this, but I can't find a better
one.

I want to sell a house in Cardiff which needs (in some people's eyes) double
glazing and a new bathroom and kitchen.

Four Estate Agents have valued it, and said that as it is it might fetch
£90k, £100k, £90k and £100k. They all said the cost of renovation wouln't
put the price up enough to be worth it, although one did suggest that
spending £1k on proffesional decorating might put the value up by more than
that.

Personally, I'd re-decorate (Magnolia walls and cheap green carpet
where required).

What work does the kitchen/bathroom need? perhaps you can spruce them
up with some cheap white tiles anf new lino?

I'd look into getting a *cheap* quote for double glazing..add the cost
onto the asking price.

If/when a viewer mentions the windows you can show him the quote and
knock the cost off the asking price.

sponix

In message , Roger Davies
writes
I want to sell a house in Cardiff which needs (in some people's eyes)
double glazing and a new bathroom and kitchen.

Four Estate Agents have valued it, and said that as it is it might
fetch £90k, £100k, £90k and £100k. They all said the cost of renovation
wouln't put the price up enough to be worth it, although one did
suggest that spending £1k on proffesional decorating might put the
value up by more than that.

Do people think they're right?

Whose eyes are suggesting that it needs double glazing, kitchen and
bathroom? If the kitchen and bathroom are reasonably serviceable, and
the windows are OK, not rotten, and are merely "not double glazed",
replacing them is probably not necessary to sell. However, if they
definitely need replacing because they are knackered, it is probably a
good idea to do it.

Having said that, I was an estate agent for 17 years, but I cant tell
you the definitive answer, and you will never actually know:

There is no doubt that the house will sell more easily if you make the
improvements.

There is also no doubt that the agents will be motivated to get the
house on the market now, rather than wait for you to do the work.

They will also have no guilt about suggesting a price reduction if their
suggested price proves too high.

In addition, people make money by buying houses in need of a bit of
refurbishment.

Decorating is definitely worth it.


--
Richard Faulkner

Hi,
Before you invest in a kitchen I would make sure it does not require a
damp proof course. If you look in past posts on this forum you will see
some discussions on dpcs it can be a bit of a con so you may "require"
one even if there is no sign of damp, in order for your buyer to get a
mortgage or they can buy it with the condition that they get one put
in.. There is little point in spending time and money on a kitchen only
to find out that all the plaster needs stripped to 1m and the kitchen
needs lifted out.

I would be tempted to just decorate. Perhaps in the kitchen consider
new door handles and tile paint possible doors. Once you start ripping
the place appart you tend end up doing more and more work as you find
more problems. I would just try and make it look clean, modern and warm
so someone can imagine living in it. If you are busy and slow to do
work and it is lying empty with you paying a mortgage on it consider
hiring a decorator. If you are keen all the info you need is on this
forum.

Jake

Well many thanks for all the amazingly quick responses. Much appreciated :-)

And identical house (probably in good condition) sold for £113,250 in May,
but now Estate Agents say the ceiling for the estate is £110k.
I'll do some decorating then: I've been looking at the FAQ page and I've
done a fair bit of that sort of thing, but I tend not to have the patience
to make very neat borders on paint etc, unless I really slow down and try!
(With masking tape)

Waiting for a structural surveyor to have a look at cracks in the end of
terrace wall. One estate agent said they might be due to ties rusting away.
(The house is circa 1970, and I bought it in auction for £28k in 1993,
intending to live in it, but had to move and let it out cheaply ....so can't
complain too much.)

rog

Roger Davies wrote:

Hi

Maybe this isn't the right newsgroup to ask this, but I can't find a better
one.

I want to sell a house in Cardiff which needs (in some people's eyes) double
glazing and a new bathroom and kitchen.

Four Estate Agents have valued it, and said that as it is it might fetch
£90k, £100k, £90k and £100k. They all said the cost of renovation wouln't
put the price up enough to be worth it, although one did suggest that
spending £1k on proffesional decorating might put the value up by more than
that.

Do people think they're right?
Unless you are a skilled builder, yes
Trat it up and flog 'as is'

B -in- Law went through similar exercise.

By the time alternative accom and general loss of his time was taken
into account, it was a no brainer. Flog and run.

All you need to do tarting wise is to show what it COULD be like if
totally renovated...