Are there any businesses that will assess your home, tell you want needs doing for best selling success and then arrange all the work and stage it ready to go? Like they do in the Selling Houses Australia program on Living Channel. I don't really know where to start and would like some kind of "one stop shop" option. Am I dreaming?

bunnyclan - 2021-09-14 17:51:00

If you google "House staging" you will find a few companies. I know they exist. I've not used one personally, but it's quite a popular option.

kitty179 - 2021-09-14 17:54:00

Thanks Kitty. I have looked at house staging but I can't see any that undertake repair/renovation work as well. (This is in Christchurch btw)

bunnyclan - 2021-09-14 18:08:00

bunnyclan wrote:

Thanks Kitty. I have looked at house staging but I can't see any that undertake repair/renovation work as well. (This is in Christchurch btw)

Ah. I see. When we sold our last place we found the real estate agent very handy in advising us what work was worth undertaking, and she had her own contacts who did the jobs at a reasonable cost.

kitty179 - 2021-09-14 18:18:00

Oh I hadn't thought about asking a real estate agent! That's a good idea, thanks.

bunnyclan - 2021-09-14 19:21:00

bunnyclan wrote:

Oh I hadn't thought about asking a real estate agent! That's a good idea, thanks.

In this market it be better to sell and let someone else do it up - blank canvas and add own value. Its to worth just doing a bit of a renovation (unless absolutely critical such as a leaking room for example). because it just makes there est show up.
A good REA will advise what is needed for your location and market.
Better to have it decluttered, clean, grounds tidy and have a price that reflects what is needed

aromatherapy - 2021-09-14 20:31:00

Thank you for the advise aromatherapy. I'm a bit clueless to be honest. Will have to chat to a couple of REA I think!

bunnyclan - 2021-09-14 20:35:00

The agent will likely advise you to do as little as possible, partly because in this market you may not need to do anything and partly because they'll want to get the listing ASAP.

sparkychap - 2021-09-14 20:52:00

You should just give it away to a FHB.
Be kind and all.

pcle - 2021-09-14 20:53:00

pcle wrote:

You should just give it away to a FHB.
Be kind and all.

If I was a gazillionaire and owned a bazillion houses, I would totally do this.

thumbs647 - 2021-09-15 12:26:00

We regularly watch 'Selling Houses Australia' because there are plenty of good ideas in it, and for DIY-ers it is an interesting series.
But sometimes I despair at the workmanship; bogging up structural cracks and painting over rotten timber are not good things to do.

masturbidder - 2021-09-15 12:36:00

aromatherapy wrote:

...Its to worth just doing a bit of a renovation (unless absolutely critical such as a leaking room for example)...

God help you if you know you have a leaky home and fail to disclose it.

gyrogearloose - 2021-09-15 12:44:00

There is a local agency offering just this service. Apparently they employ their own tradespeople. I have no idea of how it works.

johnston - 2021-09-15 15:36:00

The member deleted this message.

bunnyclan - 2021-09-15 18:32:00

johnston wrote:

There is a local agency offering just this service. Apparently they employ their own tradespeople. I have no idea of how it works.

Do you know what they are called johnston? I'd like to check them out. Thanks

bunnyclan - 2021-09-15 18:33:00

bunnyclan wrote:

Do you know what they are called johnston? I'd like to check them out. Thanks

Here you go.

https://www.oliverroadestateagents.com/finishing

johnston - 2021-09-15 19:22:00

Do as little as possible. Dirt is gold. People like to do their own personal touches in a home - carpet/painting and maybe kitchen/bathroom

catwoman1974 - 2021-09-15 21:01:00

catwoman1974 wrote:

Do as little as possible. Dirt is gold. People like to do their own personal touches in a home - carpet/painting and maybe kitchen/bathroom

Yuck! Nothing would put me off more than dirt. It would make me think they didn't care about the place and wonder what else they had let go.

kitty179 - 2021-09-15 21:11:00

kitty179 wrote:

Yuck! Nothing would put me off more than dirt. It would make me think they didn't care about the place and wonder what else they had let go.

Dirt is gold - dirt is what what house sits on. Of course you clean the house before it's viewed

catwoman1974 - 2021-09-16 02:06:00

kitty179 wrote:

Yuck! Nothing would put me off more than dirt. It would make me think they didn't care about the place and wonder what else they had let go.

I think they mean 'real estate' not 'unclean'.

brouser3 - 2021-09-16 08:35:00

We made a list of things we needed to do before selling mid-way through last year. Our list was two A4 refill pages long..... Got a real estate agent in who culled our list down to 3 things - repaint one outside wall (one we hadn't been able to reach due to not having access to scaffolding), fix retaining at back of section and repaint two bedrooms (the two we hadn't gotten to). We did all that in the space of a few weeks, albeit a very busy few weeks. Sold house for a price we were happy with within a week. I'm so glad we didn't try to do all the things on our list, as I don't think any of them would have increased the price we got in the end - they were mainly cosmetic.

sarahp24 - 2021-09-17 16:53:00

Coming into this thread a bit late but going through the same process of deciding how best to tidy up the house for sale

It can be a bit overwhelming deciding on what bits to do. I have a list of DIY tasks to knock off over weekends, and sitting down to consider if to renovate or sell/buy, a renovation just to fix stuff I figured would cost $80k+, and probably way more given building supplies at present.

We talked to the real estate agent, and his advice was as we expected; decluttering, paint and tidy gardens but no renovations.

The house is largish section in a good area of the North shore, and while it is unlikely to sell to a developer due to driveway access, it would be pointless to replace garage roof or kitchen cabinets if someone comes in and wants to knock down or do a major reno anyway

Luckily we got most of the tidy up work done before lock down and the hardware stores closed up, but we were only days away from getting photos and house on the market before lock down.

Will be interesting to see what happens when Auckland comes out of L4; just how many homeowners will be in the same position as us and so maybe a flood of places coming onto the market

gblack - 2021-09-20 07:42:00