Be Excellent To Each Other

I am going to look at doing the house up.

Where is the best place to spend money? This is not going to be my forever home, more to do up and sell.

I have put in a new boiler
New external doors
The garden is being looked at.


It needs a new bathroom and double glazing.. which is on my list.

If you are going to sell it:

Get an estate agent around to value the house, then ask them what doing that would do to the value.

And then buy a new house.

Just price it accordingly as is and spend your money on the new place.

I think I will be here for the next few years as it is the same town, as where my son is.

Kitchen, bathroom and bedrooms. Make them airy and neutral. Boring, but true.

Double glazing and new external doors made our house a lot nicer to live in - less draught and quieter, but they're expensive and if you're selling in a couple of years it might not be worth it financially..

Loft conversion could possibly add the most value to your home £ for £.

No bright doors either.

I have new doors, with a 10 year warranty, the boiler has the same length warranty.

Garden office.

How many bedroom is it and are you close to local schools? Bus routes? Main transport links etc? Knowing who you are likely to be marketing it to will help loads.

Also neutral doesn't have to be boring, just clean and fresh.

No brightly coloured kitchen either.

I've always fancied a rumpus room. Could you excavate downwards?

3 Bedroom (2 Double, 1 Single), I am on a bus route and 400m from a primary school.

..... but presumably getting further away by the second.

Perfect family home then, that's who you market to.

Get your bathroom done before you replace any of your stair carpet.

Families want child friendly and practical. E.g. when you do your bathroom, consider a vanity unit under the sink for extra storage. Considering gardens, keep them simple. They will want a safe place for children to play, not something that looks like it wants a lot of work. Functional is better. This can all be easily dressed to sell the lifestyle too. Happy to go through anything with you in more detail and make suggestions. I've penciled you in for a video call on Wednesday evening.

Brilliant

Houses on your street usually go within a couple of weeks, not sure it matters what it looks like tbh (I like to keep an eye on the market locally, no idea why)

That's good to know, if it's in a sought after area, and presented nicely, it could be worth more.

I know this is very 'What would you do if you won the lottery?' "Oh, I'd probably buy a new biro, then invest the rest" (Thanks, Jack Dee), but if you have spare cash, stocks and shares ISAs are your friend. Even at our great age you've 20odd years for it to sit and grow; starting with some of the lump sum now then (crucially) topping up each month ought to do well. Scottish Mortgage, where I have half of mine, made 100% last year (admittedly thanks to Tesla, which is a wild ride).

Jem and I went to look at the (detached, not semi) house at the very end of your road (number 1) before we moved to where we are now - it was way out of budget though, so you should be larfing.

The detached are silly money. I think mine was valued at £190 recently. My house looks tired and dated and just after pointers on where to make it better.

When I remodelled my house, I did exactly the opposite. Replaced the lawn with decking and flowerbeds, knocked through the kitchen and dining room into one massive kitchen, took out the chimney breasts, basically completely customised it to be a perfect house for a childless couple in their mid-30s and a terrible house for anyone else.

Then I got divorced and got absolutely shafted on selling it, for obvious reasons

The key learning here is to listen to me on this subject and not Craster.

You might find it just wants a lick of paint and new flooring more than anything. It's amazing the difference a freshen up can make.

However, I've seen your bathroom, I'd change that.

Yes it is top of the list.

L shape bath and proper shower.

Yeah. The shape of the bath is the issue.

Oh the god awful pink suite.

That will be gone ASAP.

Oh definitely, especially if it's only been valued at £190k