Selling houses

Although it is only ten years old, like certain makes of car, or dress fashions, the house I'm writing about today has not aged well. Let's call it Number 14 for sake of argument. Mind you, it's mainly to do with the people who have inhabited it. Over the years since buying this property (off plan), we have had such a variety of tenants that none of them has really 'fallen in love' with it and made it their home. Not like some of our other properties, which tenants have truly made their forever home (and which we are not about to threaten - a bird in the hand is definitely worth two in the bush in the rental business).

It was left in January looking sad and tired. Carpets fraying, paint faded, wallpaper peeling, bits and pieces broken off here and there (handles, radiator thermostats, toilet roll holders to name a few). This poor young house looked like it needed a holiday from the tenant inhabitants it had held. It needed a makeover and it needed it now!

So we set to - tidying the garden, restoring handles to their rightful places and repairing chipped, worn or torn bathroom accessories. Fully redecorated and with NEW carpets fitted, this house has been restored to its original (or near-original) state. Now that the garden has been tidied, and the air inside smells faintly painty and clean, and the walls are back to neutral and the toilets are sparkling clean, and the carpets have been newly laid - well, it all looks great. And again I see the potential of this house to offer a lovely home to a young couple or small family. Three beds with an ensuite to master upstairs (plus family bathroom of course), downstairs a lounge diner and kitchen and a guest wc (as the EA calls it).  Fully double glazed and centrally heated and a good size garden.

And even today as we went into the Estate Agents, I had second thoughts - 'Should we maybe just keep this house and rent it out again?'. But no, this one HAS to go. The strategy demands it.

Anyway, it's perfect for a clean and tidy couple, who will look after this place and make it their own.

But a house like this - empty, newly redecorated, with three beds, for less than £120,000 for sale in Crewe? It probably will be purchased by a clean and tidy couple who will do exactly what we did ten years ago.

Rent it out to someone else!