How much do buyers care about quality?

[peternoon]

To expand my question: I am building a house with modern installations. I know that people who view properties look at the kitchen and garden to make a decision. But can they be convinced that a property is worth more because it has quality materials?

At present I am trying to decide whether to use concrete or clay tiles for the roof. Will estate agents, for instance, point out that if the house has clay tiles they are going to stay looking good much longer than the concrete tiles? If you tell the buyers, will it make any difference to them?

[Country Girl]

Hi Peter, I think there are people out there who are prepared to pay that bit extra for better quality materials, but you'll be limiting your intended market for sale. Putting in a better kitchen or sanitary fittings will definitely do the trick (although fitting a =A320K kitchen wont necessarily gain you =A320K+ in the asking price, it depends where you're building), these 2 rooms really sell a house. I've just finished fully rennovating a run down bungalow, we had enormous interest and sold it quickly, and I would say virtually all of the viewers commented to us on the kitchen and bathroom photos the estate agent had shown them, and couldn't wait to see those rooms in the flesh - and weren't disappointed. This is dispite the property's brickwork not being the prettiest (it was a 70's self build and we're not sure if the guy had a spirit level (!) but it is all structurally sound). It just depends on who your target market is - young family / middle aged couple / elderly couple. Our market is for eldery couples due to its location in the UK, and, after being wowed with the kitchen and bathroom, were then interested in if there was anything left that could break down or need servicing / maintaining when they lived there.

As for whether you can get the estate agent to wax lyrical about the benefits of clay tiles over cement ones, hmmm. We weren't sure they would mention anything other than ...'and here is the kitchen' and leave it at that! Good luck!

[meow2222]

The kitchen cabinet industry can answer this q for us. Look at kitchen cabs from top to bottom: the top end ones are very nice quality in some respects, but the same old crap chipboard under the surface. IOW buyers care plenty about some things, and not a hoot about others. I suspect the type of tiles would come under 'others' for 99% of buildings.

NT

[The Natural Philosopher]

I think waht counts is teh overall impression that this is a house of type X, or type Y.

That is, a house that is generally rather good, with - say - some really naff tiles on the roof, will have a potential owner adding the cost of a re-roof to it.

OTOH an really naff house with good tiles won't increase value one iota.

I suppose what I am saying is that really bad single items lose value, but to increase value you need to first eliminate the really bad things, then move EVERYTHING up a notch.

as the standard advice when selling to fix really broken or awful things, but don;t go mad..then just redecorate

[Tony Bryer]

It would be nice to think so. But how many new housing estates have you seen where the developer (K&B apart) has specified something better than the minimum out of choice?

No. An astute buyer will know that the concrete tiles will probably last longer: the 1930s Wates houses in New Malden all have their original (the original) Marley tiles, whilst most similarly aged houses in Tolworth which were built with clay tiles have been re-roofed

[peternoon]

[Tony Bryer]

IIRC Redland now give a 100 year guarantee on their concrete roof tiles.

[Doctor Drivel]

Timegoesby or Mr Fowler did a list of points that sell a house. Both appear to be in the house game. Do a Google.

[peternoon]

Thanks for the replies. In the end I lost my argument for clay tiles: I wanted these and my wife wanted concrete. The main factor turned out to be that the clay tiles were going to be some =A31400 more expensive for a questionable benefit.

[John Laird]

IME, the argument would usually have gone the other way - definitely more money for a prettier appearance ;-)

To refer back to your original question, no estate agent would point out anything as trivial (in their eyes) as the nature of the roof on a property, just that it had a new roof. If you're lucky.

--=20 "Smash forehead on keyboard to continue"

[Doctor Drivel]

IME, the argument would usually have gone the other way - definitely more money for a prettier appearance ;-)

[John Laird]

I must be an atypical buyer. The house I have just bought has an awful mix of electrical fittings, lousy door handles and doors, and could do with a complete redecoration throughout (admittedly this is more difficult to see when it is full of furniture). Location and house style and a more indefinable feeling of "yes I could live here" were paramount.

I pay little attention to these makeover shows on telly, to which I suspect you are paying too much lip-service. It may be that in a strong market and an area where there are umpteen near-identical houses on sale that you do have to focus on the "why buy mine" question, but in general that is not true. I did not view one single property where the vendors had been clearly slavishly following Ann Maurice's lashings of cream paint advice. Not one. Most people had tidied up a bit, mind.

--=20 "Life is a sexually transmitted disease"

[Bob Mannix]

I must be an atypical buyer. The house I have just bought has an awful mix of electrical fittings, lousy door handles and doors, and could do with a complete redecoration throughout (admittedly this is more difficult to see when it is full of furniture). Location and house style and a more indefinable feeling of "yes I could live here" were paramount.

Ah yes, me too (so not atypical), walked in the front door and thought "I like this house, I could live happily here". Most things are fixable, a lack of good feeling isn't - list of bad things same as yours. Didn't even have garage or loft (loft conversion). Do have very nice 12'10 shed/workshop now though and the very healthy urge to de-clutter!

(you can add the word "fatal" after "a" in your sig - I prefer that version :o) )

[Guy King]

The message from "John Laird" contains these words:

We weren't interested in the decor - amused by it possibly, but not deterred from buying the house. Cabbage patterned carpets, one wall in the livingroom pink, black curtains with gold flowers, wallpaper in the kitchen had pictures of garlic, pepper mills and chianti bottles. The kitchen was out of the ark. None of it relevant as we were intending to take it all out and redecorate anyway.