interior design to sell

[jacobsmummy]

hi my mum wants to sell her flat and the decor is a bit dated now, she wants a quick sale when she does put it on the market. can anyone reccomend any websites or books that can tell her (and me) what to do to modernise at the smallest cost, obviously carpets and new kitchen etc, but money is tight and also we dont want to put too much of our personality into it cos like i say she wants a quick sale!
thanks guys :-)

[steve2010]

why waste money,sell it as it is,because the new owners will change it anyhow

[pingping]

i think you are more likely to achieve your asking price if the house has had a lick of paint etc, so while i appreciate what steve says, i think that most buyers would be more likely to choose yours if it looks clean and 'new' inside. You can't really go wrong with the house doctor's advice: de-clutter, de-personalise and make rooms neutral. this doesn't mean that you have to spend loads as a a tin of paint and a couple of matching cushions are fairly inexpensive.

is it possible to leave the kitchen carcasses in, but just replace the doors and handles? this is a much cheaper way of updating a kitchen as the carcasses add a lot of expense. if you choose a similar colour wood to your current one, but just choose a more modern design then it will look like a new kitchen.

matching cushions to curtains and candles also brightens a room without costing the earth.

have tried to find a website, but no luck i'm afraid.

[jacobsmummy]

house doctor? r there books on this? i no the new owners will change it, and make more money for themselves which is y we want to do it, shes also thinking about letting instead of selling, do the same rules apply to decor?

[pingping]

house doctor: http://www.housedoctor.co.uk/books/index.php

re: letting instead of selling, again you're more likely to get more rent if it is a nice clean place, so yes, same rules apply.

[Clanad]

Take a look at this ... Scroll down to the "Quick Check List". We have friends who either own their own real estate agency or are licensed real estate sales people here in the western U.S. Invariably they agree that the few, simple things one can do to enhance a sale are:
Clean... a house (or flat) must be exceptionally clean, including smelling fresh and appealing.
Paint... a gallon of inexpensive paint will go a long ways in brightening an otherwise dull appearing place.
Remove... all personal mementos, such as pictures, figurines and other such. This may seem unneccessary, but think about it... You want the buyer to picture the quarters as they would decorate. (No dirty laundry tucked behind the door or in the closet!)
Light... If you know there's going to be a showing, turn on all the lights in the house. This adds to the bright cheery air that you want that will appeal to the prospective buyer.
Flowers... If you plan an open house, a bouqet on the dining table or even on the kitchen counter will say a lot about how you've cared for the house. It really is the overall atmosphere that you're trying to produce.

[jacobsmummy]

cheers guys, all help is greatly received and if u think of anything else please say so! thanks again :-)

[mormess]

My mum has sold 3 houses recently - all lovely houses, but she went all out in staging them. Finish all unfinished odd jobs, neutral paint throughout, consider neutral carpets, table cloths, bedding. One one the houses was beautiful but the decoration was like Hammer Horror - clashing stripes and florals and patterned carpet. We lifted one of the carpets to find a beautiful tiled floor which we polished up. With a neutral paint job and new carpets, sold at around 150% of the original price she bought it at a couple of years previously.

Other thing is that we all had to move out as living makes a mess! No kebabs or curries when we were there, or fish! I appreciate your mum may not be able to do this...

Keep new towels and pillowcases and tea towels that you can put out just before a viewing.

The house next door to us took a year to sell. Nice terrace with garden and front yard, but the new owners have gutted it and it turns out the interior was stuck in a time warp, as well as being damp and having RATS! Vendors were unable to do anything to present it due to ill heath but a bit of a tidy up would have gone a long way.

I've also viewed houses where there was underwear on the line and on radiators - yuk! Far too much personality on show there :-)

If you spend as much as you can afford, you can make up to four times that amount back by increasing the value.

As pingping says, beware the new kitchen. just make it presentable as new owners will want to model it to suit their specs!

Good luck to your mum!