Higher mortgage, higher debt and a shell of a house.

in*the*red_6

tesuhoha wrote:

The house needs everything done to it, a total rewire, replumb, new floors, it has no kitchen, no internet connection, no cable tv, the bathroom is for a geriatric, I dont know how the old woman managed to live, the decor is drab, horribleand it smells. It feels small and poky. The third bedroom is like a cupboard. It needs 2 extensions. I dont like it at all.

I will have to get rid of all the food in the house because I cant put any food in that kitchen; we will just have to live from day to day.

Thing is, although I agree with the sentiment in some of the other posts, a few splashes of paint doesn't sort out these things, MONEY does (lots of it!!) and you can't ignore that.

rkh001

Hi Tes,

What a predicament! As all the others, I would say go for it. A coat of paint throughout the house will get rid of the smell. Put your furniture in, your pictures on the walls and your bits and bobs and it will feel like home. As it's summer now, you will be able to get outside into the garden and start tidying up, even if you can't buy any plants etc. Just turning the soil over will make it look better. Then come next summer, you will be able to do a bit more with the garden.

We moved into our house some 18 months ago. It's in a nice area with a big garden but we bought it off an old lady and this place had the 1950's wiring, no heating at all and the decor from the 1950's as well. We had to have it all done before we moved in which meant we borrowed an extra £20 k over and above a 100% mortgage. I know it can be very difficult but you will make it your own.

Safety for yourselves is of the utmost important these days. Kids have no qulams about carrying knives and using them if they fancy it. This time next year you will be glad of the decision and the place will by then have long become home.

Good luck and hang in there. Look at the positives and let the negative take care of themselves.

kuohu

Hiya,

It sounds like the new house is an excellent find - undersold for a quick sale, looking in a bad state which will also lower the sale price, and requiring extensions (which will add lots of value when you get around to doing the work). You've got a bargain! All you need now is to do the whole Sarah Beeny bit and turn it into your wonderful new home.

Nick

LJD1_2

Go and buy a big pot of magnolia and a couple of bottles of essential oils. Put the oils in a burner, pour them on the carpets (unless they're very light in colour), open the windows and make it yours. When we moved in here I got through 3 bottls of lemongrass oil in a month but gradually the old smell went. Now I wouldn't leave this house if you tried to drag me out! Good luck!

lynzpower

Hi there Tes,

This is a toughie for me really. If I was in your shoes, I would

a) sell the house and get out of that area, sounds pretty bad and if someone wants to move there just let them
b) you have seen this house now twice. THe first time you liked it, the second time youve realised how much money it will cost to sort out. Regardless of how much all this is going to cost, the question for me would be "do you want to live there" You dont seem to. Your hubby is probably annoyed by the whole process. If when you get there, you dont really want to live there, it will not be that easy to sell, as I expect youd need to do some work to it befroe then. Dont make a big decision about buying a house, cos you feel shoe-horned into it as your place is selling.

I would definately consider renting for a while. You can move quickly when you find the perfect place, and no hassle from chains etc. You will probably save quite a lot of money too. We have worked out our outgoings will halve with us renting instead of buying. MAybe this could be the answer, do look into it oyu might be surprised what you can get for your money these days, we certainly were.

The other thing to say is *deepbreath* are you committed to living where you are? Your sons out of school now, and isnt your OH self employed? Could you live elsewhere, a different town? there amy be somewhere youve always fancied living? Or is where this place is it?

Lynz
xx

mummytummy

Don't despair, like you we bought a house just over two years ago now and I only saw it once but knew the area was good and we too got a bargain. we had no kitchen to speak of it was very dated (pre 1960) filthy dirty, we have had to re-wire, complete new central heating system, new windows, infact completely gut it, we are still living in a bombsite with dust everywhere but we are getting there even though it is slow and there are times when i have cried and got fed up with it all but gradually the light is visible at the end of the tunnel. I am now beginning to like this house, i used to say it was cursed or jinxed because every job we did you had to do at least 3 more before it, i even named it "the moneypit". You begin to make your own mark on it as you know and gradually get rid of the previous owners, stick with it it sounds like a bargain and safe for you and your family - I would be living on my nerves if i was in your current home.

tesuhoha

Hester wrote:

You and your family's safety and security are more important than aesthetics. I know that living in a 'pokey' house might potentially make you feel miserable but as other posters have said, it will probably be very different when you've actually moved in. There are OS ways to brighten up a house for peanuts - we got our paint from the council recycling centre for free (half empty but good quality cans of paint). If an eldery person has lived in a place for a while, it can feel dank and unloved. but this can very quickly change. Not wanting to belittle your situation, but we live in a sixth floor one bed flat (DH, me, 2 sprogs). We would dearly love any sort of garden, even a pocket hankerchief. I know you've moved twice before and that this isn't ideal, but try to see it as an enjoyable, invigorating challenge to your creativity. I lived in some dire houses when I was working in the developing world, I quickly became adept at growing flowers from seed in painted old cans, making furniture out of packing cases and draping with fabric - not that you'll have to do that but my point is, it's amazing what human ingenuity we have to make a home that is perhaps untapped most of the time. You don't need money to make a home so much as lateral thinking and determination. You've posted many times about your area and the effect it has on your son who gets intimidated by the local gangs. There's more to life than a big garden and wooden flooring, lovely though those things are.

I know I ought to be ashamed of myself Hester. And I think we have made the decision to move there after much discussion today. This is the best house in a bad area and we'll be moving to the worst house in a good area, but overnight I would rather feel safe and secure and know that the house wont be devalueing as we live in it, as this one is. We can make it nice. I ought to be grateful that its not a flat on the 6th floor of a block of flats. So sorry. I just get depressed about things at time and it helps me to have a moan.

tesuhoha

Hester wrote:

As Tes is (understandably) feeling fragile, there may be some hyperbole here. What did the survey say? Would it be ideal to have it rewired or does it actually NEED it? Is there truly NO kitchen, or just a very old one? It has a bathroom - albeit fit for a geriatric. Once the intitial upset is aired, maybe time to be objective rather than emotive and figure out what money would truly have to be spent to aavoid eltrocuting oneself and how much is a 'wish for'....

All there is in the kitchen is a sink, a small piece of work surface and 2 cupboards that are so high up that I cant reach the lower shelves. Thats all that is in there. The electrics are very basic but OH says they will only be done when we can afford to improve and we will put up with it until then. At least we can rip up the carpets, take down the curtains and strip the wallpaper. That will make me feel better and the thing with the oil that someone suggested, might do that too.

tesuhoha

lynzpower wrote:

Hi there Tes,

This is a toughie for me really. If I was in your shoes, I would

a) sell the house and get out of that area, sounds pretty bad and if someone wants to move there just let them
b) you have seen this house now twice. THe first time you liked it, the second time youve realised how much money it will cost to sort out. Regardless of how much all this is going to cost, the question for me would be "do you want to live there" You dont seem to. Your hubby is probably annoyed by the whole process. If when you get there, you dont really want to live there, it will not be that easy to sell, as I expect youd need to do some work to it befroe then. Dont make a big decision about buying a house, cos you feel shoe-horned into it as your place is selling.

I would definately consider renting for a while. You can move quickly when you find the perfect place, and no hassle from chains etc. You will probably save quite a lot of money too. We have worked out our outgoings will halve with us renting instead of buying. MAybe this could be the answer, do look into it oyu might be surprised what you can get for your money these days, we certainly were.

The other thing to say is *deepbreath* are you committed to living where you are? Your sons out of school now, and isnt your OH self employed? Could you live elsewhere, a different town? there amy be somewhere youve always fancied living? Or is where this place is it?

Lynz
xx

Hi Lynz, we have spent the whole weekend on the internet looking at houses in our price range and we cannot find one thats a better bargain than the one we are buying. We've looked in all areas in the South, Surrey, Sussex, Essex and further afield. OH does not want to rent at all. I have suggested it to him a few times but he thinks we will lose money if we do that as we are having a mini boom in this area. I think we are going to move to that house now. We have come up with a plan of action that will be very cheap at first and we will do it in the way we did this house, very gradually. OH has pointed out several ways to make the house lighter and we will be able to live there and pay off our debts. The thing is, its the kind of place that if you put a kitchen and bathroom in it will add about £20,000 because its in such a nice area, so selling it wouldnt be a problem. Its just the thought of moving in at first is a bit overwhelming I think but I am taking on board all the people who said that they didnt regret moving to a better area. I am coming round to the idea. I just felt depressed after seeing it again but DS saw the photos I took on the digital camera (he couldnt be bothered to go and see it) and has said that he can live with it and he was another thing I was worried about. To have him whingeing all the time would be unbearable.

calleyw

I agree with Lynz. Sell you home and move in to rented for a few months.

It would allow you to get your head together and pay off some debt and allow you to look around and really see what is on the market.

Then you are under no pressure to find a place to live in.

We moved in a year ago and we need new carpets through out. A new kitchen and bathroom as well as all rooms to be decorated. And new central heating as well as putting in a drop curb to get the car up off the road and of course a drive to be laid.

All we have done so far due to lack of money is:

1) new central heating
2) decorated the living room, Kitchen and the box room and most of the hall.
3) dropped curb as the parking is getting so bad at the moment.

We just can't afford to do any more. And we have already raided savings.

I know how I feel about one room being decorated let along months and months of work to be done. It would personally drive me mental.

All the best what ever you choose to do.


Yours


Calley