House of Horror - The Challenge (How Much To Put It All Right??)

shylittlefraggle

Hi,

I'm a first time buyer and complete DIY/house improvement novice. I've fallen in love with a 1920s/1930s 3bedroomed semi but reckon it's probably not been touched since then! :-)

To my untrained eye it needs:
Central heating (not a new system, just some!)
New bathroom
Kitchen (nothing at all at present!)
New windows (single glazed at present in metal frames with original stained glass features, 24 in total)
Couple of minor (non supporting) internal walls knocked down
Probably replastered
Minor work on roof - essentially sound
New carpets, decor etc

To those in the know, what's a ballpark figure to put it right? It's on the market pretty cheaply and I'd give anything to live there but don't want to bankrupt myself doing so! Time is not a problem because if I can afford to do it, then this place is worth it (though a timescale might also help in planning the logistics...)

All suggestions and advice very gratefully received!

nimbo

shylittlefraggle wrote: »

Hi,

I'm a first time buyer and complete DIY/house improvement novice. I've fallen in love with a 1920s/1930s 3bedroomed semi but reckon it's probably not been touched since then! :-)

To my untrained eye it needs:
Central heating (not a new system, just some!)
New bathroom
Kitchen (nothing at all at present!)
New windows (single glazed at present in metal frames with original stained glass features, 24 in total)
Couple of minor (non supporting) internal walls knocked down
Probably replastered
Minor work on roof - essentially sound
New carpets, decor etc

To those in the know, what's a ballpark figure to put it right? It's on the market pretty cheaply and I'd give anything to live there but don't want to bankrupt myself doing so! Time is not a problem because if I can afford to do it, then this place is worth it (though a timescale might also help in planning the logistics...)

All suggestions and advice very gratefully received!

i am looking at a house at the moment that needs lots of work doing ot it, and beofre making an offer i have arranged for a local builder to have a look see, and give me a quote on some of the things that will need doing, as not only will it be invaluable for me to know how much of a money pit the house will be, but also a good tool for knocking down the cost of the house...

you should also bear in mind weather you cam live there while the work is still being done, and that things like windows will cost alot, and not become cost effective for years to come (unless of course the windows are shot to pieces already...) also might be wirth knowing that reskimming a room where is am costs aroung £130 ish for a large room, and to have the same room replastered would cost about £700, so it might be worth seeing if there is a sound enough base to just reskim, as it also cuts the drying time down drastically...

turk3y

depending how nice or knowledgable the esate agent is they might be able to help advise on this, or even better if they know a good local builder who can come round and quote the job. They want to shift the property so any serious interest (and that sounds like you) should get them into gear to try to help you. The quote might not be "competative" but who knows, it is however likly to be alot closer to the mark that what can be advised over a forum with no real idea the work. Perhaps with the breakdown from the quote the gurus here could help shed light where money could be saved.

I know when I sold my flat the lady who was buying it had a builder (through the esate agents) come round to price up some work and also acted to inform her that some parts of the survey where incorrect (something about a door that had been filled with a window). I dont think she wanted it all done but wanted to be clear of the numbers as they related to the survey. Now this is further along the line than you but you could offer on it with a clause about work needed to be done, (or not even tell them) as untill you exchange you can walk at any time, so you can offer, and get a builder in quick then stall the agent on why your survey is not done for a few weeks easily then reassess if its right for you, your free to walk away at any time, so just make sure you dont spend anything till your sure.

Thats what I would do, get a pro in and play the system, hopefully others will offer up other options so you can make an informend choice etc..

EDIT: a responce was posted whilst i was typing, which I agree with, it is very good to have this sheet or costs for bargining with so if you can get the buliders in prior to the offer then its better as its harder to negociate once accepted as they know they have you hooked on it and are much less likly to walk away now you have set your heart on it.

shylittlefraggle

Estate agents are suprisingly obstructive actually - HIP still not complete, no survey done and not very happy about me taking a builder round for estimates - get the feeling that they're worried that I won't put in so high an offer.

What's the rules about doing it 'informally' as such? After all, they could always be my father / uncle etc rather than the builder who is helping me decide if the house is worth the effort!

TomsMom

shylittlefraggle wrote: »

Estate agents are suprisingly obstructive actually - HIP still not complete, no survey done and not very happy about me taking a builder round for estimates - get the feeling that they're worried that I won't put in so high an offer.

What's the rules about doing it 'informally' as such? After all, they could always be my father / uncle etc rather than the builder who is helping me decide if the house is worth the effort!

I'm a bit puzzled about you saying that no survey has been done. Have you put in an offer? Normally a survey is done when your offer has been accepted and you are going ahead with your finance, and your building society/bank instructs the valuer. Or you commission a structural survey yourself (which is recommended, especially with a property of this age - you don't want any nasty surprises once you're in residence).

I can see no reason for them to object to you taking a builder round for estimates, regardless of what you might offer most people make changes and it's reasonable to expect you to work out what those changes might cost you.

Last year we viewed a property, took our son back with us to check out bathroom/kitchen/tiling/etc (he's in that trade). We had a full structural survey which showed up a major problem, then we had specialist builders out to estimate the cost of putting the problem right. All this done before a formal offer was made.

ormus

anything between 10/20 grand as a budget figure. need much more detail/s to give a more accurate budget.

angelavdavis

I would also budget for electrics, sounds generally like the house needs an overhaul and electrics are bound to need doing too. It can be a really messy job too, so needs to be done before you consider doing any decorating.

shylittlefraggle

Am trying to put in an offer but need to work out if can afford the place considering the amount of additional cash may need to raise to put the place into a habitable condition...can probably manage to raise around £20,000 but don't want to be left eating nothing but cold beans out of a tin for six months cos can't afford anything else....

TomsMom

shylittlefraggle wrote: »

Am trying to put in an offer but need to work out if can afford the place considering the amount of additional cash may need to raise to put the place into a habitable condition...can probably manage to raise around £20,000 but don't want to be left eating nothing but cold beans out of a tin for six months cos can't afford anything else....

OK, so they need to let you take builders, or anyone, into the property to get an idea of cost of any works you want done. Not unreasonable on your part. I can't see why the agents are being obstructive. If they want to sell the property they should let you do this.

As for the survey - you could commission one if you want to, before an offer is made, to help you decide what amount to offer. But that would be down to you to arrange it, no-one else at this stage.

lagi

I once went to look at a house that needed loads of work and i distinctly got the impression that the estate agent was putting me off, telling me it would be unlikely i would get a mortgage etc. I have heard rumours that sometimes they sort out deals privately with builders. Also viewed another property again needing loads of work, finished viewing late afternoon and was told that sealed bids had to be in the office that evening. A month later got a letter from the same estate agents asking what i thought about the property!!!!

I reckon £20k would be plenties if you use it wisely. I know some people can spend this on just a kitchen. If its liveable then you have time to shop around for the bargains. Also you won't make any rash decisions, i am living in my place and i am always thinking of new things to do.

lisal0u

Hi,

We bought a 1930's semi a few months ago and are completely gutting it, including:

Removal of chimney
Moving a few walls about
Re-wire
reboard and replaster throughout
new bathroom
new kitchen
new double glazed windows ( not all as some were done but included 2 x 5 window bay windows, front and back door, french doors and small pantry window)
Re-plum as all was original lead

Budget was £19,600 and that has been blown. I expect when we have carpeted etc it will be more like £25,000.

There are a few luxuries in there like sliding doors, a lovely gas fire and underfloor heating so you could do it for less!

We didn't expect as much would need doing as we have had to do so be warned! Once you start knocking a house about other things crop up that you might not have expected!

If you need any other advice please shout!
Lisa