Selling house, needs deep clean etc

When we sold mums house, we cleared everything. Ripped out the carpets, which were ok but very dated. We sold the house as ready to be refurbished. We got a reasonable price and sold in a week

If the carpets are going to the tip, rip them up first. It’s easier to deep clean with everything out.

Jennerdysphoria

AuntieE

I do not understand why are bothered about the carpets - surely the house has to be emptied of all your furniture when the new owner takes possession?

I would throw the carpets out, get a cleaner in, if you cannot do the cleaning yourself, or don't want to, and leave it at that.

Auntie E, it is the ORDER of tasks I am asking about. Clean first, or rip out carpets first?

Carpet ripped out first, deep clean, old floors may be fine.

Deep clean include carpet clean, carpets may be fine.

AuntieE

I do not understand why are bothered about the carpets - surely the house has to be emptied of all your furniture when the new owner takes possession?

I would throw the carpets out, get a cleaner in, if you cannot do the cleaning yourself, or don't want to, and leave it at that.

Auntie E, it is the ORDER of tasks I am asking about. Clean first, or rip out carpets first?

I do not understand why are bothered about the carpets - surely the house has to be emptied of all your furniture when the new owner takes possession?

I would throw the carpets out, get a cleaner in, if you cannot do the cleaning yourself, or don't want to, and leave it at that.

Sago

Just make sure the whole house is gleaming, windows clean and the garden tidy.
Fill any holes in the internal walls and get rid of all rubbish.
Clean the carpets last.

Brilliant advice.

Just make sure the whole house is gleaming, windows clean and the garden tidy.
Fill any holes in the internal walls and get rid of all rubbish.
Clean the carpets last.

Clean the carpets during deep clean. Even if you replace them most people would just pull them up and throw them away anyway.

Sago

Jennerdysphoria

I should add that my priority is to get the house off my hands as soon as possible, rather than maximising profit.

Is the house yours, is it occupied?
More information is needed to give proper advice.

Thanks for reply, Sago. the house is mine, and unoccupied.

butterandjam

Jennerdysphoria

The carpets also need replacing. So remove carpets before deep clean, or after?

I'm not going to buy the house/ pay more because there's a cheap new house-selling carpet in a material and colour I didn't choose. If the carpet is really ripped/stinking of cat pee, dump it . The type and condition of the bare floor beneath is useful information to some viewers .

When I view property I'm not remotely interested in the decor, carpets, houseplants or the sellers personal taste and domestic habits.

I agree, I wouldn't want new cheap carpets that I'd not chosen, so it would really be money down the drain. It might be worth asking the cleaning company whether they thought the carpets would clean well, if they are wool they can probably be improved and the buyer can use them until they are ready to re-floor. Otherwise I'd get them to rip them up, dispose of them and clean the floor well underneath, perhaps putting some carpet laying paper on the floor to make it look cleaner.
When we bought our property it was a probate sale and the owners son had cleaned well and laid a cheap cord carpet which we ripped up and threw away pretty quickly.
So long as a property is reasonably clean most people will be happy. It isn't worth putting in a new carpet, still less a new kitchen and bathroom which may well not be to the buyers' taste anway. Most buyers will have their own idea of what they want.

Jennerdysphoria

I should add that my priority is to get the house off my hands as soon as possible, rather than maximising profit.

Is the house yours, is it occupied?
More information is needed to give proper advice.

Jennerdysphoria

Is it worth getting an estate agent to come and look and advise on what to do about carpets and cleaning? Or perhaps the local authority empty houses team, as they want to get empty houses occupied as soon as possible?

Yes, get advice.

Most, people desire fixing a home to their standards, my opinion.

We read that here. Should I paint white? NO boring, YES, neutral. Should I have new carpet fitted? YES, choose well, NO redo wood. Should I paster or just skim the Artex over and be done with it? NO, YES. And on and on.

We've added up, out off the back, never bothered to change much, leaving most things my grandparents had accomplished in the 50s. Our home is clean and tidy, apart from clean I doubt most would keep our home as it stands.

I should add that my priority is to get the house off my hands as soon as possible, rather than maximising profit.

Is it worth getting an estate agent to come and look and advise on what to do about carpets and cleaning? Or perhaps the local authority empty houses team, as they want to get empty houses occupied as soon as possible?

Similar here Flip. My DF was a lovely man, I saw him every day, but after looking after my Mum until she died, he wanted to be out and about, rather than bothering with his home surroundings and he didn’t want me to take control, as he said he couldn’t cope with all the upheaval.
It was clean, but stuck in a time warp with Artexed walls, swirly whirly carpets, a pink bathroom suite, plus the original kitchen and heating system. The house itself was structurally sound.
After he died, I had it valued and was told it was a ‘builders project’ and as such, would be worth well below market value. Having a bit of a chat, the EA said if I could afford it, I could get the work done and benefit financially from the result. So, that’s what I did - a full refurb, including the garden and the bungalow sold for a realistic price to the first viewer, a local chap who had been following the builders progress with interest.

M0nica

I have just looked up what a deep clean entails and it rather suggests that if your house needs a deep clean before you put it on the market, it is probably rather rundown and in need of some tlc, and is possible the kind of house someone buys to renovate.

In that case there is no point in worrying about expending money on deep cleaning. Just tidy the house and clean everything you can see. The price will reflect condition, clean or dirty, so why spend money that cannot be recuperated from the sale.

We are house renovators, even in our 80s, When we went round the house we are buying at the moment, we could see past the mess and the rubbish to the beautiful old house that lies behind it all.

Some people want a walk-in house, others want a start from scratch house. Neither wants what the other is looking for.

Not always the case. My ex and his wife both passed away last year. She had dementia and he was a hopeless alcoholic and chain smoker. Their lovely, structurally sound, Perthshire bungalow was in a terrible state. We thought it was beyond redemption and would have to be sold as a renovation project at a greatly reduced price: filthy kitchen, bathrooms to make you retch, a layer of orange nicotine over walls and ceilings and carpets covered in a layer of filth.
The Solicitors thought otherwise. The carpets were taken up and a team of cleaners went in. The difference was genuinely astounding. The house went for market price a week after it went up for sale. My children, who inherited, would have lost more the £100k if we had not bothered with the deep clean which cost around £1k for four days of very hard work.

Monica sorry. I’ve misunderstood your posts on another thread about the 18 months and thought yours was the first offer they’d had in 18 months😳

I’m following your moving with interest because I think you may be moving to a town that I moved from a few years ago. Or one nearby.

Also I ended up sofa surfing for about six months which was a new experience for me,

And lastly this hose I’m in needed a fair amount of work and I’ve done the main things but seem to have run out of steam so I’m hoping for updates from you to inspire me again.🙂

Anyway, off thread. Hope your house buying is still going well.

Lathyrus3

But the house you’re buying had been on the market for ages hadn’t it MOnica? Waiting and waiting for the one person who could see past the the mess?

I suppose it depends on how long the OP wants to take to sell.

We were actually the first people to view the house when it first came on the market and wanted it immediately because of its location, as well as seeing the possibilities of renovation. The delay was because it took us time to sell our existing house, meanwhile there were 2 more offers for the property, that failed for reasons unrelated to the state of the house. Three offers in 18 months and then to sell to the first person to view it, does not suggest that project houses necessarily take a long time to sell.

You are selling, correct?

You're asking if you should deep clean and remove the carpets, correct?

What is under the carpets? Perhaps if wood, just remove carpets, sand floors, deep clean house, seal floors? People love beautiful wood floors.

If under the carpets is bad, perhaps just tidy, clean well, and list as stands. I don't prefer another home, I'd rip out new items as not to my sense of home. Don't waste money on carpet, it won't sell your home - my opinion.

But the house you’re buying had been on the market for ages hadn’t it MOnica? Waiting and waiting for the one person who could see past the the mess?

I suppose it depends on how long the OP wants to take to sell.

I have just looked up what a deep clean entails and it rather suggests that if your house needs a deep clean before you put it on the market, it is probably rather rundown and in need of some tlc, and is possible the kind of house someone buys to renovate.

In that case there is no point in worrying about expending money on deep cleaning. Just tidy the house and clean everything you can see. The price will reflect condition, clean or dirty, so why spend money that cannot be recuperated from the sale.

We are house renovators, even in our 80s, When we went round the house we are buying at the moment, we could see past the mess and the rubbish to the beautiful old house that lies behind it all.

Some people want a walk-in house, others want a start from scratch house. Neither wants what the other is looking for.

Most buyers make up there minds in minutes that they don’t want a house and the number two reason is worn, tired furnishings and decor.

If buyers have experienced a negative feeling in those first few minutes, it’s almost impossible to change it.

So while they might not buy because of new carpets, what’s important is that first overall impression that clean unworn carpet will give.

It’s part of the overall message of the house.

Jennerdysphoria

The carpets also need replacing. So remove carpets before deep clean, or after?

I'm not going to buy the house/ pay more because there's a cheap new house-selling carpet in a material and colour I didn't choose. If the carpet is really ripped/stinking of cat pee, dump it . The type and condition of the bare floor beneath is useful information to some viewers .

When I view property I'm not remotely interested in the decor, carpets, houseplants or the sellers personal taste and domestic habits.

Is the property empty? If so, a deep clean is easy to arrange. Are the carpets included in the sale? If not, they should be removed, before the deep clean.

If it is still furnished and occupied, I think you just have to do the best you can, a good clean before hand , with a final hoover round once the furniture has gone. That’s how the houses we have moved into have been, with carpets left down.

Again, I think it depends whether or not the carpets are included in the sale. If nothing has been agreed, the buyers probably will replace the carpets, but may be glad if you leave them until they can get new ones. Or not! It is probably not worth your paying to get carpets deep cleaned separately as they will soon be ripped out.

I’m assuming the carpets are worn, not just in need of a clean.

Remove carpets
Have deep clean
Lay new carpets

in that order