Bosh Bosh Bosh

SWMBO & I have decided to downsize. Handyman Towers is a spacious 3 bed semi with attached garage, much bigger than we need now the childers have gone - plus we have a lot of equity in the place - loadsamoney.

On of my happy band of regular customers was an estate agent prior to starting a family and I've been getting some advice from her.

Interesting to note that some agents value properties on the high side & negotiate hard to get the best price (and maximise commission of course), whilst others undervalue slightly & encourage sellers to take lower offers - SPQR. Best bet is to pick one when selling & one when buying - and now I know who is who.

Place is in reasonable order, just needs a bit of tarting up. Her advice - magnolia & white everywhere.

Big job is the hall, stairs & landing. Currently has slightly textured paper - think it was called 'cracked ice' at the time (not woodchip).

Stripping & filling would take a lot of time. How naff is freshly painted textured paper do you reckon?

Reply to
The Medway Handyman
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Wouldn't be a deal-breaker (IMHO). Most new buyers will want to redecorate anyway - so aim for everything looking 'clean' (hence the white & magnolia) and don't worry about stripping the wallpaper...

Folks buying will want to move into somewhere that doesn't need any urgent work - but a place that they can adjust to their own taste as time & money allows....

Reply to
Adrian Brentnall

Fine IMO. Freshly painted anything mostly is a plus - it stops the buyers thinking "yuk what a large amount of cleaning/fixing we need to do" (not that you're messy(!) - it's just that fresh clean paint gives exactly the opposite impression).

Also light magnolia/white doesn't offend anyone (apart from its blandness) and gives a spacious feel due to the light - important at this time of year.

Don't bother stripping it - they'll redecorate when they move in or soon enough anyway - and if you find the plaster under the paper is less than ideal (there might be a reason it was papered!) you'll end up with a really crap paintjob or reskimming/smoothing the wall.

Get thee down to "tradespaintRus" for a drum of "landlord's value magnolia" and one of matt white for the ceiling, lad! ;->

Good luck - I presume you'll move locally due to your customer base?

Cheers

Tim

Reply to
Tim Watts

I did the ceilings today, I'm a Dulux One Coat man meself.

Ta! Yes, we will stay in the ME postcode. I work all over town, so where I start from doesn't really matter.

Reply to
The Medway Handyman

textured

woodchip).

Some years back I was 'headhunted', and the deal was the usual 'three valuations and we buy your place at the average of the two highest' making us a cash buyer at the new place. Very little time to sort things. We "magnolia and whited" our seven bedroom Edwardian three storey detched head to foot in a week and a week-end (16 foot high ceilings!) and put 20 tons of 3/4 beach shingle over the in/out drive that was tatty tarmac - place looked superb even if we were knackered after it. Got excellent valuations. Then decided not to take the job! Twenty years later I notice that the 3/4" beach is still on the drive looking pretty good!

AWEM

Reply to
Andrew Mawson

Christ, you will work for anyone.

Reply to
ARWadsworth

I once heard of a woman who was struggling to sell her house. All the rooms were painted in bright pink. The estate agent suggested a fresh lick of paint might help sell the house. When the agent checked a week later all the rooms had fresh pink paint on the walls.

Reply to
ARWadsworth

In message , The Medway Handyman writes

Are you getting a man in ?

Reply to
geoff

Anyone watch the Power Snooker yesterday? I'm not convinced.

Reply to
Tim Streater

Of course :-)

Reply to
The Medway Handyman

Not making enough profit then with job, so you have to realise the collateral then?

Advice from an estate agent! Now that is scraping the bottom of the barrel even for you!

Plus being economical or exaggerating the truth in most cases to get that maximised commission.

Only "in reasonable order" with a man of your alleged 'abilities'...

If that's a "big job", then the work you price for must be very small...

*eg*

For you, 'naff' is normal so its quite ok, and don't forget to ask the group how you go about cleaning your brushes afterwards!

Reply to
Unbeliever

I doubt it.

I agree. But is that not a tradition when selling or buying a house?

That's what estate agents do. Good accountants are better at the same job.

Cheer up you miserable git. I have been to see a 1970 built house that is called "well maintained" when it should have said "the 1970 bathroom suite still in place".

Reply to
ARWadsworth

Not a problem at all... don't over estimate how long folks spend looking at a house. IME 20 mins is a long viewing - chances of taking away much other than a general impression in that time is slim anyway.

Reply to
John Rumm

You do put a lot of effort into your childish vendetta, don't you?

Reply to
Bob Eager

Sounds like jealousy to me, you miserable old sod.

Reply to
Tim Watts

That's probably why estate agents hate me. I actually look at stuff and if the immediate impression is good, I measure the major rooms accurately and draw a plan.

2nd viewing has me looking at the meter cupboard and a good glance through the loft hatch.
Reply to
Tim Watts

When my parents moved into their council house in the early fifties everything was pink including the wood work. The council had told the previous occupants that it had to be painted so they did.

Reply to
dennis

Not a major issue as long as it's tidy and clean IMO.

When we were buying, one thing that really put us off was the smell of smoke in the house. Someone I know who is looking at the moment said something similar last week. Dunno if you smoke in the house (I'd guess - it is your house afterall :-)) but clean paint smell is far better than smoke smell to some viewers. I'd imagine smokers are less likely to notice or care but there are plenty of non smokers out there who walk in and think "hmmm, will need to redecorate and change the carpets etc" :-)

Saying that, we ended up buying a place that stank of smoke and cat piss, and was decorated in black gloss and bright red walls! We did put in a much lower offer than we would have if it had been non-smoky and magnolia though!

Darren

Reply to
D.M.Chapman

Not everything is pink. Imagine a game of snooker. There is aways the difficult brown behind the red that needs potting.

Reply to
ARWadsworth

Serves you right for leaving the white in that position. ;-)

Reply to
Howard Neil

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