How To Sell A House In Need Of Repair UK

Options for Selling a House in Need of Repair

Below is a comprehensive list of the options you have available to you if you need to sell a house in need of repair in the UK. Make sure to consider all your options and assess what will be the best option for your situation to maximise the value of your home sale.

Working With An Estate Agent

You could sell your house privately without using an estate agent, giving you the most amount of control over every aspect of the sale and may give you the flexibility you need to change price in order to make a sale.

Obviously, your other option is to hire an estate agent to manage the sale of your home. After all, they are the experts, and can advise you on the process and even help you make some small tweaks to your home that may increase the value.

Even when selling your house by yourself, it’s advisable to consult with an experienced estate agent.

This can be a great option if you can’t perform all of the repairs that would be needed to sell your home. However, the likelihood that a family or first time buyer would be interested in your property is slim to none. More often than not, these properties attract the attention of a property investor looking to completely refurbish the property.

Selling at an Auction House

Another option available in this situation would be to sell your house at auction.

There’s a multitude of different properties sold at auction, but, you will be charged fees and there’s no guarantee that someone will want to buy your house.

The main advantage of auction houses are that you choose the reserve price, which means it can only go higher! However, as mentioned above, if you go too high, your house may not sell.

The reserve price will need to be set prior to the auction, this tells the auctioneer the minimum sale price, and they can’t go below that number.

You should always try and be realistic when setting reserve price, especially if it’s already been through auctions previously and hasn’t sold.

If the house has deteriorated, for whatever reason, and it’s time to let it go, quick sale companies may buy your home fast for cash. You can sell your house as quick as 7 days!

However, you should always read everything that they give you, so you know exactly what they’re offering.

Sell the Home Yourself

If you make the decision not to hire an agent or sell using an auction house, you can meet potential buyers yourself.

You will however, need to take on a lot of work, doing things like valuing your home, taking care of viewings and dealing with solicitors.

One of the most overlooked aspects of trying to sell your home privately, is the need to advertise your sale in the appropriate places and get the best value out of your listing to reach more potential buyers.

Find a Cash Buyer

If you’re in a situation where you can’t afford to make the repairs yourself but still need to sell your property, then you may want to consider selling to a cash buyer. All of your legal fees will be included in the process and carries more of a guarantee that your property will be bought despite its current condition.

An estate agent should be able to explain this process to you if you do make the decision to find a cash buyer, so you know what to expect. Even when your property is in major need of repair, it’s a fairly straightforward solution to selling your house.

Should I Repair My House?

If your house is worn down to the point that it is derelict and has structural damage, it can be challenging to sell, so a quick sale firm would be your best bet unless you want to finance the repairs to try to get a better sale price.

If your house is run down to the point where it has structural damage and is derelict, it will be a challenge to sell through traditional means, so a ‘cash for houses’ company would be your best bet unless you want to take the risk of financing the repairs in order to secure a better sale price.

Selling a rundown house can be done, but it’s difficult.

Often, making small improvements such as fixing broken window, giving the place a fresh lick of paint, and a deep clean throughout the whole property can raise the value of your home if there’s no significant structural damage.

However, if your home has been suffering from structural damage for an extended period of time, it could cost a fairly monumental amount of money to get the property to the point where it is structurally sound again.

If you make the decision to sell it, you’ll have to go through the full house to make a checklist of everything that is currently wrong with it. Then an appraiser can give you estimates of what the house would be worth even with the damages.

A lot of the time in this situation, selling your house “as-is” will be your best choice.

The one downfall of selling your house “as-is” on the open market is that it may sit there for a long time, but if you have the time to wait it out then great!

You Can Get a Better Price for Your Home

If your home is in a prime area, even in really bad condition, it will sell for much more than a home that isn’t in a great location.

Homes in popular areas will always tend to go for more, so if take the going rate in your location, and subtract the cost of the repairs needed, you’ll have a rough idea of the base price for your home.

After this has been done, find an estate agent to help with the house because if you don’t you could be missing a significant opportunity to up your price.

You should always consider the location of your home before selling, and how much demand there is to be in that area.

It is essential, when considering a buyer, to understand that there are certain criteria you should be on the look out for.

The first, is how the home will be financed.

The second, and probably the most common one people get wrong, is to assess the reliability of the buyer.

If you’re not 100% sure that they’re serious about buying your home, then don’t count on them seeing it through to the end.

The final consideration is the reduction in price because of the repairs, if they were to make a counteroffer, you need to decide whether selling at that price will actually be worth it to you.

A logical way to do this would be to consider how much lower the offer is versus the amount of work that the home will need, if you think that it seems equal and fair, then taking the offer may be a good idea.

If you think their offer is too low, the buyer will be getting the best end of the deal through the sale. You will want to recover some share of the homes price, especially if the structural damage isn’t too bad.

Making sure that you know what all of the problems are with the home, and discounting the price of the sale in line with those issues will help you coming to a reasonable price, but you shouldn’t cheat yourself.

The home and property still have value.

You deserve the asking price if you’ve given the fair value. Perhaps you can go a little lower for a quicker sale, but that’s solely up to you. For more information call North East House Buyers today.

If your home is in such a state of disrepair that it has became uninhabitable, your best bet will be to get a quick house buying firm to purchase your home.

This way, you will be able to recover some money from the property without having to pay for repairs or fees, and the burden of a derelict home will be off your shoulders.

This is always your best choice for handling the sale of a home in this condition, as an estate agent won’t even be able to assist with it being uninhabitable, so you would be left totally on your own.

A lot of the time, old, breaking down homes will sit on the market with little to no interest and deteriorate more and more until, eventually, they must be torn down.

This is why it’s in your best interest to take sell these types of homes before it gets to that point. There are even citations for derelict homes.

If you waste time you could end up owing fines or fees to the city because your home will be an eyesore. The local authorities don’t want to see old, rundown houses in their areas, so will actively try to deter people from owning these sorts of properties.

Being in this situation will be stressful and selling your home to a quick buy company may be in your best interest.

At the end of the day, you don’t want to end up stuck with fines and worries if you’ve waited too long, and still have to sell your home anyways.

Taking a deep look into the pros and cons of all of the different options you have to sell your home, then decide which is best and lay out a game plan.

You don’t want to leave things to the point there is that much pressure you have to rush into a decision or get yourself in trouble.

So get it sold, and get it sold quickly!

Save Money with DIY Home Repair

Provided that there aren’t too many repairs, you could consider doing some of the work yourself in order to save a few pounds. This could include, painting, new kitchen counters, replacing broken cabinets and windows, as well as filling in any holes that there are.

However, for anything that needs doing to the plumbing, electrics or the structure of your home, you’ll need to call in the professionals.

Prioritise All Repairs

When considering the list of repairs that need to be done to the home before it can be sold, it is vitally important that you prioritise everything. Major work will take a long time to do which can delay the sale of the home.

You should always remember, in order to sell your home in need of repair in the UK, you need to make a good first impression. This means trying to improve the curb appeal of your front garden, freshening up the paint and making the home look loved.

If new carpets are out of your budget, having your current carpets professionally cleaned is a small and relatively inexpensive job that can end up resulting in a higher value sale.

Selling the Home As Is

Maybe you don’t have the time or the money to deal with the repairs, and you just want to sell the house as it is.

If you decide to go down this route, then you will have to prepare yourself for offers that are significantly below the value of your home if you did make those repairs.

Fixer upper homes won’t appeal to everyone.

Selling a home in disrepair as it is will cut down your potential buyers market significantly.

The vast majority of potential home buyers are looking for newly refurbished or turnkey homes that need little to no work, and aren’t anywhere near as interested in fixer upper opportunities.

FAQ

Still have questions about selling your house in need of repair in the UK? Below is a brief FAQ to answer some of most common questions.

Do banks give loans for fixer upper homes?

Yes, any potential buyer should be able to find multiple mortgage opportunities for a fixer upper home. Most of these types of homes are approx. 8% below market value, meaning the buyer will pay less in taxes, as they are calculated based off of sale price.

Are the renovation costs on fixer upper homes realistic?

You can achieve a much better price for your home when you make repairs before putting it up for sale. So, it’s likely worthwhile for your to make the necessary repairs on the home in order to add value. Some cosmetic improvements and garden upgrades can have a significant effect.

Was the low offer made because the buyer would need to do structural work?

If you’ve already received a low offer on your home, it could be due to the structural work and other repairs that would have to be done to your home. After inspection, there are still some repair requests a buyer shouldn’t make.

If there are larger issues with the electrical, plumbing or heating systems, these would be considered reasonable requests. However, smaller cosmetic issues and inexpensive repairs such as failed seals on windows should be avoided as they will likely have no bearing on the sale price of your home, especially if the buyer that requested them was to pull out.

How long has your property been on the market?

If your home has been sat on the market for a lengthy amount of time and you still have no offers, you should probably consider marking more of the necessary repairs or reducing the price.

Do local amenities get figured into a sale price?

As mentioned above, even if your home needs repairs, you may still get more value out of it depending on the amenities the area offers. Curb appeal is also a fairly large factor when considering the value of a home.

Is your home within walking distance of food and beverage establishments? How far away is it from the closest transport links?

Are you selling a detached house or a terraced house? Have any modernisation projects been done to the home since it was built?

All of these can factor into the asking price of the home, even when repairs may still need to be made.