Anyone bought a house in need of extensive work as a FTB?

mr_fishbulb

One which needed things like:
rewiring,
plumbing,
structural changes,
damp-proofing,
installing central heating,
mould,
pointing,

Did you find it rewarding? Financially worthwhile? Or was it not worth the hassle in the end?

How much money (typically) do you need to have available for the things I listed above?

Was talking about it with my girlfriend in the pub last night whilst watching the England game (trying to).

Bufger

I havent but i have looked into minor changes + an extension. I looked at one house with storage heaters and rotted window panes and figured i could take it on as a project if i got it for the right price but the vendor wasnt prepared to go low enough for it to be financially viable + make a few extra ££ incase it ended up being more costly than i anticipated.

I know what you're thinking though and Repo's are largely unknown. It may just be better to get some experience on minor things behind you first.

poppysarah

rewiring, at least 2k
plumbing, bathroom? varies too much
structural changes, Expensive and tedious
damp-proofing, from 400-4000
installing central heating, 2k+
mould, depends
pointing, dunno

Can you live in it? Can you get a mortgage on it? Can you live in it whilst work being done?

mr_fishbulb

poppysarah wrote: »

Can you live in it? Can you get a mortgage on it? Can you live in it whilst work being done?

That's the sort of things we were talking about. LTV on the mortgage would be higher if we wanted to keep money that we have saved for a deposit to pay for repairs = higher monthly payments.

I don't think either of us are seriously considering this, but I was just interested if others had done it and enjoyed it. I don't want to come across as an airhead who has seen an episode of grand designs and thought I could take it on and make a fortune along the way

My mum did this with her first house, but then again her uncle did own a building company.

Bufger

If its in a really bad state your lender will only give you so much towards asking so you should be completely sure its worth exactly (or less than) when you offer. Otherwise you'll be in the position of either walking away after you've found the place you want or coming up with the extra cash which could be a considerable amount.

poppysarah

You've got to be good at diy to consider it, or live with someone who is.

We bought and had to rewire (brown frayed light cables) and knew it needed a new kitchen and bathroom, but we were planning an extension so the kitchen waited until that was done, and then we've still (5 years on) not done the avocado bathroom.
It is a hassle and living in the dust is horrid. If you are a clean freak you'd go mad. If you're very relaxed it might not be too bad.
Dealing with builders is quite stressful though, so factor in all the stress and ringing round.

mr_fishbulb

poppysarah wrote: »

You've got to be good at diy to consider it, or live with someone who is.

I put a mirror on a wall, and assembled some ikea furniture if that counts

poppysarah wrote: »

we've still (5 years on) not done the avocado bathroom.

Hahaha - I can't check at work if this is the right one, but have you seen the Mitchell & Webb avocado bathroom sketch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWoWHzq21tA ?

Imp

Bought in March 2009

So far have done

1) New plumbing, everything stripped out from the stopcock onwards
2) New boiler
3) Installed central heating
4) Installed a gas supply
5) New electricity meter, no longer on ecconomy seven
6) New electrics in kitchen, bathroom, living room and new consumer unit
7) New bathroom (back to brick walls and built it up from that)
8) Half way through kitchen (back to brick walls and building it up from that)
9) Put in off street parking, from 0 spaces to 3 spaces
10) Removed small asbestos garage.

It's very dirty and very slow if you do it yourself, but we are hoping to end up with something we want, rather than what the previous owner wanted.

trumpton

Our second house had been empty for a year and needed new windows, new bathroom, the kitchen consised of an old sink bolted to the wall, quite a bit of rewiring needed.

It took a couple of years to get that done, before we even started on carpets etc. However, I much prefer to do up old houses - if a house is in immaculate condition you are paying for someone else's taste, which is usually not to my taste. If you don't mind living in a dump for a while, it is much more satisfying to do it up yourself.

The problem is that often a run down house can often be overpriced because everyone has seen Property Ladder and thinks they can flip it and make a fortune. You can often buy a renovated house for less than the dump will cost to refurbish, especially if you have to get people in to do everything. We looked at 3 run down houses before we bought our current one, all of which in my view would have cost more to buy and renovate than they would be worth when complete.

I have only ever bought houses to live in, but I think there is still money to be made - but it is made when you buy the house, not when you sell it. Our current house needs a bit of a refurb, but it had been empty for 3 years, and I think in good condition would be worth £25k more. £10k will probably be enough to do the cosmetic work it needs, so to us it was good value. It is finding the time to get the work done though that is now the problem.

missile

mr_fishbulb wrote: »

One which needed things like:
rewiring,
plumbing,
structural changes,
damp-proofing,
installing central heating,
mould,
pointing,

Did you find it rewarding? Financially worthwhile? Or was it not worth the hassle in the end?

How much money (typically) do you need to have available for the things I listed above?

Was talking about it with my girlfriend in the pub last night whilst watching the England game (trying to).

My first property was a terraced cottage in need of work. I would suggest it is only financialy viable if you buy cheap and DIY.

IMHO it will cost far more than you estimate and is a lot of hassle.
I would suggest you think about this very carefully. It is difficult to find good tradesmen and prices vary accross the country. If you do decide to go this route and find a property you like, get quotes before you buy.

Doozergirl

Making money on a property is all about the price you pay in the first place. The house has a finished value which you have to take as finite. You then work backwards - remove how much it will cost you and the amount of 'change' you'd like to have and that is the current value of the house to you.

If you were completely doing a house then £20,000 is probably the absolute minimum for a complete overhaul of a small house.

Our first place was a one bedroom flat. It took nine months to sort it out. H wouldn't let me have decent furniture so I sat on an upturned waste paper bin with a cushion on top of it as a chair. The kitchen was a sink, a fridge and a microwave. I was pregnant the entire time. Baby was due on Friday, the carpets went down the following Monday and DS arrived on Wednesday. On Saturday H bought me an armchair, lol! I can't deny that it's dreadful whilst you are in the middle of it all and there's brick and plaster dust on everything but when it's finished it's exactly the way you want it.