putting home on the market

You are not unreasonable and glad you put the estate agent in her place. There are poor estate agents out there and she is one. Sell with another.

Your house will appeal to the right buyer, someone who may want to put their own stamp on it anyway, someone who can see potential. Oak doors can be painted nowadays and will anyway be better quality than cheap chipboard/mdf ones.

Some 'trendy' kitchens now [a few I've seen in showrooms/tv] are going to look dated in the future, and quite quickly, anyway. Fashions change too quickly in so many areas nowadays [clothing/shoes/furniture/flooring/bathrooms/garden design/cars etc. etc], just good ways to keep the economy/capitalism going, make the big boys rich and appealing to the Jones's who get their identity from showing off to their peer group and think spending wasting money is impressing their friends. So many fall for it.

Back to the point. You will find someone who appreciates what your home offers as you do, every home suits someone, it's just finding the match. And pricing it correctly. Houses sell themselves. Good to have a reputable, polite estate agent as the middle man though, not someone who sounds quite amateurish.

Sagoyou have been fortunate in the estate agents you have dealt with. I have dealt with agents who overpriced property, even though we queried it and then blame us for the over pricing when it did not sell - because it was overpriced, encourage us to bid for a property and when we chased them up because we got no response, told us they didn't know why we had put an offer in as the house had been under offer for weeeks and contracts were about to be exchanged.

I am pretty sure that an estate agent would act like this especially with an older woman on her own.

Foxygloves

What are you implying Sago ?

I’m implying that no agent would say such a thing, it is not in their interests.
We have bought and sold 15 houses never have we been told to change anything, every agent knows you could spend 30k putting a new country style kitchen in and the target market would want a hi gloss minimalist kitchen.
The classic phrase is “ in need of some updating”.

I’m afraid I don’t believe that any estate agent would tell any potential client, let alone an 80 year old lady, that they had to ‘rip out’ the kitchen and bathroom in order to sell the house. They might say that the value they put on the house is perhaps disappointing because it needs some updating, but such houses, appropriately priced, often sell quickly because they represent an opportunity for a buyer to profit from some work. So I rather doubt that any agent would use the words the OP quotes.

I wouldn't dream of suggesting that the OP is making up her post, but maybe the EA said that in order to achieve a particular price then work would need to be done, which is not quite the same as saying that the house wouldn't sell without it? Sometimes it is the implications of what we hear that stick, rather than the words themselves. I know a friend of mine thought he should get the same price for his house as the neighbours had; but they had an extra bedroom and bathroom in the loft, so of course their house was worth more. He could have got the same price if he built into his loft, but nobody was saying that that is what he should do - he just needed to be more realistic about what his house was worth as it stood.

I would have thought that the time taken to get a new kitchen and bathroom would work against everyone's interests, particularly in a falling market. Neither are the sort of thing that can be done in a couple of weeks, and the time taken is time lost to viewings. Having said that, I think a lot depends on who is likely to buy the house. As I've said, we bought a 'do it upper' when we were young, but I wouldn't do it at my age now. An older person might want something ready to move into after a lick of paint and new carpets, but a young couple might be looking ahead to a time when they can afford to upgrade, but in the meantime be glad of somewhere near the schools they want for their children. A bungalow with work to do might stick, but a family house in the right area will usually sell if the price is right.

I was an estate agent for 30 years. If I was asked, I always advised people not to change kitchens and bathrooms but to adjust the price accordingly.
As others have said people like to put their own stamp on the property.
As an aside, when we moved to our current house 6 years ago we inherited a dated solid wood kitchen. We had the cupboards painted, changed the tiling (floors and walls) new handles on the kitchen units and improved the lighting. An excellent, fashionable and good quality kitchen for less than £3,000.

I wouldn't dream of changing the kitchen or bathroom. Let it be reflected in the price. I moved last year and all I did was move out a few chests of drawers from the bedrooms to make them appear more roomy. They were stored in my son's garage.

It is said that when the property market is on a downward trend, this fact is often not accepted by vendors who are not happy to be told their house isn’t now worth what it was just a few months ago.

If they then insist on it being marketed at too high a price it will languish on the market.

It’s the old conundrum though isn’t it? Vendors want as much as they possibly can get for their home, and buyers of course are on the lookout for a bargain!

We have new neighbours. Our previous neighbours did nothing to the house or garden fir their first 10 years, then 18 months ago they set about extensions, kitchens bathrooms made the garden look beautiful , must have spent a fortune, but the new neighbours have ripped everything out, including the entire garden, sold the brand new greenhouse and lovely raised beds, and are starting all over again. Sadly they are extending the extension…..
My first new kitchen was in this current house. I had had to wait 25 years and with mortgage rates open eye watering 18% always kept whatever kitchen bathroom etc that was already in the house. If it was clean and not falling apart that was good enough for us.
Do nothing OP, just clear clutter if you have any and give everything a nice polish. Good luck with the move.

I agree with other GNs here. Definitely seek another estate agent. (Perhaps ask a few in, and find someone you feel that you can work with.) Explain the situation and ask the agent to be realistic about the price you can expect, assuming that the house is sold "as is". Other than that, de-cluttering and keeping the house clean and tidy is important, IMO. Also (maybe) the odd bit of painting. Good luck!

She’s being an ass and very rude
Just out my house up for sale and it needs a nee kitchen and bathroom and I have been offered over the asking price
Get another EA

Agree with you - don’t listen to the obnoxious EA - people always put their own ‘stamp’ on the homes they buy! Your selling! If the price reflects that then it’s definitely not your problem! Change the EA and definitely don’t have them as exclusive! Good luck

I've just completed on the sale of my house which we happily lived in for years but definitely needed a new kitchen and some other modernisation etc. The house was simply priced to reflect this.
I used a personal estate agent from EXP - his commission rate was 1.5% and he ' held my hand' every step of the way. Every viewing, even the buyer's survey of the house, he said
'Take the dog for a walk, I'll be here to deal with it all'. He kept me informed, allayed my anxiety/stress and absolutely nothing was too much trouble. I couldn't recommend more an estate agent like this rather than the High Street chains

I'd leave it and let new buyers change it if they please. I moved into a lovely house in a good school area and houses did not come up very often in this area. The only downside was sellers had just installed a new kitchen. I felt like I had to live with it as we had paid a lot for house and the new kitchen would have been some of that price. It was only after about 12 years once it was no longer looking new did I feel I could have a kitchen of my own choosing. I'd much rather have had an older kitchen and cheaper house price so I could pick my own kitchen. I chose solid oak too OP. I know it's not fashionable but I like it and I have little herb and spice drawers too which I've not seen in more modern kitchens and I use those a lot.

I've moved house many times and think it's a waste of money to have things like new kitchen/ bathrooms installed before putting up for sale. The first thing we've always done once moved is to completely change/update these rooms to suit our particular taste. I think your estate agent is probably not very experienced and definitely very rude - find another if it's not too late.

Sounds like the estate agent is an air head.

If the EA isn't enthusiastic about a house, how are they going to sell it to potential buyers? They need to find ways to accentuate the positives, not look for things that 'need' to be changed. If they can't do that even when they are hoping to get your business, it doesn't bode well for getting a sale.

Definitely change EA. In our previous house we replaced our bathroom less than a year before selling it. Shortly after moving I drove past and saw our lovely new bathroom fittings on the drive waiting for the skip.

Interestingly we have put our house on the market and our estate agents advised against renewing kitchen and bathroom. Although not modern they are in good repair and we were told people often prefer to change them anyway. Once you are out of contract it might be better to change agents to one that that is able to sell the positive aspects of your home which sounds very comfortable. In all our houses we have lived in we always ended up changing the kitchens and bathrooms when we cou,d afford it!

We bought a 1990’s built house 3 years ago that had all the original kitchen, bathrooms etc, including the artex ceilings. Had absolute great fun gutting it, and starting from scratch with new bathrooms, kitchen, windows etc and decorated to a more modern style. It’s nonsense to say potential buyers won’t look at houses that need updating, sometimes it’s just what a buyer wants.

You have 'Homes under the hammer' programs where houses need new bathroom and kitchen. Or normal house sales where location sells the house regardless of decor. If you are in between, with prices coming down anyway, I would not change anything and sell as it is for best price. Get lots of quotes. Good luck

When we bought our house it needed work! We did the essentials before moving in and planned to do other things as we could afford to. Sadly my ex husband and I parted company within the year and I eventually kept the house which I could only afford due to an inheritance allowing me to overpay the mortgage to make it affordable. Needless to say none of the desired renovations have happened and 20 years later I'm looking to sell. It will most definitely be as a doer upper! There are horribly dated kitchen and bathroom, threadbare carpets, damp and a bit of mould in a room I don't use. however my neighbours when I first lived here had what I considered a perfectly nice home which new owners ripped apart doing what to me seemed unnecessary work. When they moved the next owners did the same again! I see no advantage in doing the place up, even if I could afford to, as my tastes will not be everyone's! I'm trying to tidy up my garden a bit - it is huge and overgrown - to increase kerb appeal. Of course I won't get anywhere near the price that appears on Zoopla which probably assumes at least 2 full renovations in the last 20 years. It will go to someone who can see past the faults to the potential of the house. Many houses sell, then the builders arrive to do the renovation before the new owners appear. I guess that will happen to mine. We couldn't have afforded it in the first place if it had been pristine.
Obviously I'm going to be looking for somewhere ready to move into, hopefully with decor to suit me, as I won't want to have much work to do at my age. If the kitchen and bathroom are not to my taste then it will depend how bad whether they are a deal breaker. If they are fully serviceable, then probably not!

Totally ignore them ! The asking price is far more important. I’ve just sold my elderly parents house and I literally did nothing other than clean and market it at a sensible price.

Mabon1 NO, you are not being unreasonable. Potential buyers often have a visionary take on a space when they see it, and would probably change/remodel to their liking whether you leave as is or spend money to change things - just to appease the realtor (estate agent).

A GOOD realtor would be able to sell your house without the upgrades. There ARE buyers who want to purchase what they see as “fixer-uppers.”

Get a different agent and don’t take her abuse or condescension! She’s bad.
Good luck!
USA Gundy

I moved a year ago and a couple of the estate agents who came to value the house told me that I needed to redo the kitchen and bathroom. Yes, they were dated but I felt that I had covered this by lowering the price slightly. I don't see why someone would go to the expense and disruption of having this done before they moved. In fact I was moving because I didn't want any more building works done (I am too old for the hassle). As it happens I went with a different estate agent and had no difficulty selling! Change your estate agent! (And good luck with the sale)