FTB question - property refurbishment

SmartGirl_2

I am new to buying property, hence a silly question:

How much would it cost approx to refurbish the house, in particular:

New Bathroom
New Kitchen
New Boiler
Wooden Floors
Decoration
Garden patio

I have seen couple of similar size properties - one of them has all of the above (quality work too, luxury bathroom, etc), another one needs all of the above. The difference in the asking price is 45k. Is this difference fair or way too much?

BT_man

I'd say it's way to much.. I think too many people have been watching Kirsty Allsop and Phil on the TV and think that adding a new bathroom, kitchen and a lick of paint equates to 30K+.
You would be better off buying the slightly run down property and getting it done yourself.
But that's just my opinion. I expect a few "property developer's" to shoot me down in flames...

RHemmings

I haven't worked out exactly how much these things cost. But £45,000 is about the ballpark figure I was given when I once asked how much it would cost to build a house from scratch provided that I already had the land.

Cara79

I think this is way too much as well.

I have had a new kitchen fitted, it's a 2-bed house with a fair size kitchen. Mine cost £1.5k although we fitted it ourselves. For fitting it would have been about £3k.

Even if you work on the basis of £3k for each of the items listed above, you're quids in. And if you do some of the work yourself, even better. I'd go with the cheaper property and then you can have the work done to your own particular taste!

Cara

Bluelad_2

Sounds way too much and as Cara79 says much nicer to have it done the way you want

Our kitchen was about 1.2k (I've aways found that fitting service by the name of D.A.D. a great source of reliability and very professional)

I reckon most people who aren't after super expensive kitchens and bathrooms (Doesn't mean to say they can't look great) would estimate change from 10-15k for the work you've listed

clutton_2

i think you could quite easily spend that amount of money, depending on the room sizes and the finishes required, depending on how much the builders try to inflate their quotes, depening on what sort of boiler etc etc

if you want a realistic figure, get 3 builders in and compare their costs - but DO give each of them an Exact job description - ie what brand bathroom, what brand kitchen and how many units, how many coats of paint on the walls, what sort of wooden floors, what sort of patio etc etc

Debt_Free_Chick

You can spend as much as you like on any of those things. We're having an extension built and we're looking at the utility room. We could get units that cost over £2k or units that cost £600. Flooring - could be £50 m2 or £15 m2.

Also, shopping around could halve the price of some items. In the bathroom, we wanted an Edwardian style basin in a stand - £1200 in B&Q or £330 on the internet.

Also - be very careful about "over-refurbishing" a property. No point in putting a limestone Roman Spa bathroom in a standard semi-detached house. It will look out of place and you'll never recoup the cost when you sell.

£45k price difference seems OTT for the work you list. I prefer to get quotes for labour only and then find my own fittings/unit etc. You then know exactly what you're paying your builder and also can source the best price fittings/units.

Finally .... does all that work need doing immediately? I know it's nice to have it done, but if it's not necessary, you may find it easier to spread the work - and the cost - over the next few years.

lightspeed

BT_man wrote:

You would be better off buying the slightly run down property and getting it done yourself.
But that's just my opinion. I expect a few "property developer's" to shoot me down in flames...

Totally agree. There are many things that you can get done yourself if you can find someone to show you and/or use books and tinternet as a resource.

I have just done this myself having had very very little experience of anything DIY.

DIY Tradesman

Bathroom = £1 - 1.5k £3k+
Kitchen = £1.5 - 2.5k £3k+
boiler = X £1.5 - 4k (depending on what you have)
wooden floors = ????? ?????
Full decoration = <£1K £1k+
Garden Patio = ????????? ??????

Obviously these are ball park figures and you could spend thousands more if you get tradespeople in to do the most of the work.

I have just gutted and redone our house at a cost of less than 8.5K and this includes a full rewire and and new repositioned boiler but excludes the kitchen. We have a medium sized 3 bed semi.

I found that while fittings can be found cheaply by doing a little research, its all of the small parts and materials that soon add up and cost the most.

It also heavily depends on what standard of materials and fittings used. i.e. you can pick up combi boilers for £400 but whether it will last is another thing. For better quality you could be talking well in excess of twice that figure.

Doozergirl

I think virtually anyone could carry out a full refurbishment for under £45k, even paying a builder's mark up.

If you're considering the run-down property, you should be looking at the fabric of the building too, not just the pretty things that you want. If fixtures and fittings of the property are entirely outdated, then things like wiring, windows, roof will likely need looking at too. Don't set yourself up for a shock when the surveyor's report arrives.

rachelandgromit

Hi

My sister was a FTB and managed to get kitchen and bathroom from B&Q (fully fitted) for just under £5000 after some serious haggling, inc applicances, and it wasn't cheap nasty stuff. Full re-wire and combi system put in was just under £4000 and she's just waiting on plasterer who needs to come and sort walls out as every wall is artex (£1500). This is on a 2 bed council property.

My sister could have got a house that was reasonably done up, and having been there and done it myself, it was a sense of achievement having done things to your own taste. That said, it's alot of organisation and hard work just trying to sort it all out. Luckily we both stayed at our parents and aren't planning on moving in until all works completed.

IF you have the time, and you really want to put your own stamp on the property, do it yourself. If you just want to move your stuff in and get back to normal then go for the house that is done up.

Hope this helps, and good luck.

Rachel