Selling an outdated property

“Outdated property? What do you mean? That wallpaper is beautiful!”

De gustibus non est disputandum

De gustibus non est disputandum it’s Latin for there’s no accounting for taste and it’s perfectly fine until you want to sell your property. Potential buyers may not love the pink bathroom suite as much as you do, even though it was a posh and expensive set – way back when.

When selling a house a good estate agent should guide you on what changes would be the most beneficial to attract buyers. Usually, as a rule of thumb, we can say that neutral is best. Of course, it may happen that a red wall loving seller will find a red wall loving buyer and that would be a match made in property heaven but unfortunately, often potential buyers will see a red wall as an obstacle. It is important to remember that you’re selling your house, not your home.

Currently, the property market observes a high demand and not enough supply, but still, some properties are on a market for months without much interest. We will show you what is worth doing to receive the asking price.

Paint

Thanks to Farrow and Ball’s rich navy shade – Hague Blue, dark colours entered British living rooms with an impact. And although dark colours may be appealing to many a worn out, yellowed wallpaper will not attract potential buyers when you’re selling your home.

We advise using bright neutral colour. A fresh coat of paint will make the space look bigger, lighter and cleaner. Most buyers will be able to imagine themselves in a gently coloured house.

Clean

This one should be self-explanatory. To get the best price when selling the house property needs to be clean. Outdated properties often suffer from a layer of grime not touched for years.

Clean the windows, let the sunshine in, allow the walls to glow. In buyer’s eyes, clean means looked after and with great potential. It’s important to get rid of any bad odours lingering, especially if you own pets. Cleaning, if you do it yourself only costs time.

Declutter

Most people are guilty of owning more items than they need. And it’s ok, many items often mean many memories. As we said earlier, you’re selling a house, not a home.

The sooner you sell it the sooner you can make a new home elsewhere, and over there estate agent will not be telling you what to do. So let’s start with putting away multiple picture frames that have been gathering dust in the dining room.

Then let’s pack all the knick nacks and souvenirs. Precious to you, but a potential buyer will feel as if invading your privacy, and you want them to feel welcome.

Decluttering is time-consuming, that’s a fact. But if you do it once, it will help you move house quickly.

Remove what’s outdated

Your personal taste is great – for you. We’re trying to make a good impression on the majority of potential buyers. Old floral tasell finished armchairs are surely, very comfortable but you need to decide if you want to sell your home we suggest moving the old fashioned furniture out from your current home. Brightly coloured carpet or carpet in the bathroom will definitely be a big ‘no no’ when selling your home

Pastel coloured matching bathroom suite may be cost a lot to change so try to keep the room neat and neural until it’s sold. Similarly, the kitchen would be expensive to update so the second best is clean, tidy. Empty countertops will give the impression of more space.

Property with outdated interior might be hard to sell so ask local estate agents for advice. They know the area best and will tell you what the property’s most valuable asset is.

Outdated property often means outdated wiring and that is a safety issue. Selling an old house comes with a price that you will pay either before after putting it on the market.

So far we focused on the inside of the house but if you want to sell quickly and move on to the next property, something that needs to be looked at is exterior and other problems. Depending on the property type buyers will be looking at different aspects before you exchange contracts.

When buying a property the outside is equally important as the inside is. We can talk about the so-called kerb appeal. Meaning what leads to the front door.

Wheely bin has seen better days? Move it out of sight. If there are trees or bushes give them a trim so they take away all the sunshine. Another example of adding to the kerb appeal would be fixing the gate and if possible give the fence a fresh coat of paint.

It only takes a few seconds to make a first impression so what buyers see before entering the house is sometimes crucial for the whole process.

Buyers will most likely order at least a structural survey and there are many things that may affect the sale and even a new buyers potential mortgage.

For example:

any cracks –

could be just easily fixed cracks but it may happen that the house is in the area affected by mineshafts and the cracks could be early signs of subsidence which will be much harder to sell.

single glazed windows –

In the current market when energy prices are skyrocketing good insulation is very important for homeowners.

Unfortunately, old single glazed windows – especially sash windows can be very drafty and can let a lot of warmth out. It can definitely affect the end deal.

fungus and mould –

there is one place sellers don’t think about very often but it can say a lot about the condition of the house you are trying to sell. It’s a loft; a loft can indicate many issues. For example, mould and fungus mean that there’s moisture excess which can lead to mould and sometimes dreaded dry rot. So make sure that there are no obvious signs of infestation. Dry rot is a very serious issue and can lead to structural damage to the house.

roof problems –

If you went to the loft check any wet patches, anything out of ordinary. Is there a possibility that the roof is not sealed? Is it leaking? Buyers will want to know what is the state of the roof. Sometimes it’s an easy fix other times it may prolong the time it takes to sell your home.

old pipes –

The new property has the benefit of new wiring and a new drainage system. That doesn’t mean it will be faultless but at least there’s a warranty. Old, outdated properties usually mean the piping hasn’t been maintained or inspected in a while. That may affect the price unless you are willing to pay for the survey and then potential repairs. If it’s a period property the pipes may be made out of lead so worth checking if the tap water is not contaminated.

The alternative solution to selling a house through an estate agent

So you put your house on the market, you were expecting multiple offers and not much has happened? Or maybe you realised that there’s a lot of work needed to be done to achieve a good deal? You even thought about putting it up for rent?

We have another solution for all the homeowners of a troubled house. You can sell your home to a professional property buyer. It won’t cost you anything, you will receive a cash offer within hours and money in your account on earlier agreed terms. A company like us, House Buy Fast will deal with all the paperwork to ensure that the selling process goes smoothly and your property finally will be sold.