House going on market

Apparently, (according to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors), in the current economic climate, more people are spending money improving their existing property rather than looking to move, in the belief such improvements will significantly add to the value of their house when they do come to sell it - so they issued this list of statistics to show the real benefit of various improvements .. ​

Home Improvement -- cost £ -- benefit £ -- actual added value £​

1) Off-road parking -- 650 -- 10,000 -- 9,350​

2) Landscaped garden -- 900 -- 6,000 -- 5,100​

3)Decorating (neutral colours) -- 350 -- 3,600 -- 2,250​

4) New bathroom --3,000 -- 4,000 -- 1,000​

5) Double glazing -- 7,000 -- 7,500 -- 500​

6) New kitchen -- 12,000 -- 8,000 -- 4,000​

7) Loft conversion -- 28,000 -- 10,000 - -18,000​

8) Extension into garden -- 35,000 -- 10,000 -- 25,000​

​

I haven't typed it very well, but you get the idea​

 

The most expensive improvement I made was some landscaping and having 5 brick arches built around a structure in the garden (not sure if I've got any before and after pics), oh and the replacement windows were quite costly.

As for doing too much for the area the house is in... that is the bit I'm confused about really. It could be possible I've over-done it with the improvements made, but it is hard to find some comparisons.

Never would I dream of doing this, but here's a photo of the house. The lake belongs to my neighbour, but does provide a nice outlook:

 

The lake is natural... I am going to miss watching the wildlife

I was getting a wee bit anxious about not getting back the money I'd spent on improvements... it is the kind of mistake I'd make! The next agent is coming on Monday afternoon... see what he has to say, then I'm going to go for it... no turning back!

 

I wish you well Kazzie and hope that Dame Fortune lends a hand here,
Jenny

 

Thank you Jenny... I'll keep you posted. Don't forget to come round for a cuppa and rescue my cherry tree

 

Thank you John... I'd forgotten I'd posted photos of them.

 

Check the small print when they give you the contract to sign and make sure that they aren't claiming "sole selling rights", which means that even if you sell the house yourself, you'll have to pay them commission. Don't be afraid to tell them what you are not prepared to agree to and get the estate agent to remove them before signing the contract or else scribble them out (and initial those bits) if it's in a form of a printed contract.

Also, tell them you will only give them sole agency for a set period - maybe 8 weeks or so. That way they know if they don't sell within that period you will either move to another estate agenct or engage another agent to sell on a multi agency basis. If they try and up the fee push back. I used more than one agent on the last house and we didn't pay any more.

Keep on at them as well and ring for regular updates if they haven't been in touch.

Have a look here for more advice.