Handing deposit over tomorrow

abdonz

Hi I think I'm just looking for a bit of reassurance,we have just bought a semi detached 3bed house with drive and garage,front and back gardens for £80k (from£95k).
We did the homebuyers survey,got a gas safety cert,had a electrian round. Fuse box needs updating and at the mo the heating is a back boiler and immersion heater, there is also wood beetle in the loft which will cost £500 to sort with 15yr guarantee.
The house needs completely redecorating new kitch and bathroom and patio doors, poss combi boiler too there are 5 of us and we need hot water all the time we only have £7k to do all this work do you think it is possible or are we streching ourselves to much?
I'm driving my hubby mad and I'm so stressed about it we are in a council house at mo so we don't have to worry about any repairs or anything,
Oh we also need to replace all guttering etc and a bit of re pointing on roof verges and make good to a bit of rendering.
Any advice at all is very much appreciated thank you for reading
Xx

Grogged

Hi,

Moving is a stressful time, and if this is your first owned property the list of things needing doing can look daunting.

I'm guessing that most of the work you've outlined could be done on your 7K budget.

If it was me, I'd write out a prioritised list of what needs doing, together with its cost.
Some items whilst emotionally important (such as decorating) may not be essential items on your list at this stage.
Concentrate on the all the important structural stuff first.
Work out what you can do between yourselves and what you'll need trades people for.
You can also do things as a mix - for example buying kitchen units yourself, fitting them and getting a professional to do the worktops can save a lot of money for the same quality of work.
Also do you need today a new boiler or fuse box, or are these recommendations because they meet the regulations of when they were installed and not todays newer regulations?

I'm sure lots of other good advice will pour in soon.

Good luck!

abdonz

The fuse box and boiler are just recommened they don't need doing straight away thank you for your advice and help we are ftb so we have never been throu this before and it's very scary.

DVardysShadow

abdonz wrote: »

The fuse box and boiler are just recommened they don't need doing straight away thank you for your advice and help we are ftb so we have never been throu this before and it's very scary.

With the fuse box, you only really need to do something if the fuses are rewireable. Cartridge fuses are perfectly sound and in some ways preferable to circuit breakers. If you have rewireable fuses, these can be upgraded to cartridge fuses for under £50, or to circuit breakers for probably £150 depending on size of fuse box.

As for the boiler, well spring is coming, so there will be no pressure to do anything. Just make sure you use it a bit before winter and get to know it. A cylinder plus immersion system which works properly is in some ways preferable to a combi, even for your situation, as long as the cylinder heating coil is pumped. So if you do get an emergency with the boiler, it will be cheaper to replace it with another non combi

poppysarah

Are you thinking you've offered too much?
Cold feet is normal.

Get some prices for new boilers etc ( from 1500) rewire (from 1500)etc

BitterAndTwisted

Pay attention to whatever needs to be done to keep the property structurally-sound and wind & rain-proof. Everything else is either a luxury or not critical and can be done as and when you either have the funds or the time and energy to address them.

When taking on a new property there will always be something unexpected that needs to be fixed or replaced, so I shouldn't commit all of your available budget to the other things you have identified immediately and risk possibly leaving yourselves short.

Stop fretting! It's going to be wonderful living in your own house for the first time, you'll see.

BornAtTheRightTime

Best advice I can give is large glass of wine and celebrate! Nerves are normal. Congratulations!

abdonz

Thank you all very much I am just panicking I think we paid deposit and all solicitor fees today got a completion date of 11th march,could do it before but as we have to hand in 4weeks notice at this house we couldn't afford to run 2 houses for any longer a week.
I got a couple of over the phone quotes for boilers (so not accurate) they came in at £2500 to £5500 but that was with 7 radiators,all the rooms already have radiators in so I'm hoping we don't have to replace them.

poppysarah

abdonz wrote: »

I got a couple of over the phone quotes for boilers (so not accurate) they came in at £2500 to £5500 but that was with 7 radiators,all the rooms already have radiators in so I'm hoping we don't have to replace them.

You shouldn't have to.
When you get moved in, get some workmen to give you quotes. Ask the local trading standards if they have a "trade safe" list and also look in the local paper.
Big companys like BG will charge you a fortune.

Aquatronixjenny

That seems very pricey for a new boiler.... you shouldn't need radiators, maybe just a powerflush on the existing ones. Most of our quotes for new boilers including a powerflush will come in at between the £2 - £2.5k mark unless you are going for a really expensive boiler.

Oliver_Zarmy

abdonz wrote: »

Hi I think I'm just looking for a bit of reassurance,we have just bought a semi detached 3bed house with drive and garage,front and back gardens for £80k (from£95k).
We did the homebuyers survey,got a gas safety cert,had a electrian round. Fuse box needs updating and at the mo the heating is a back boiler and immersion heater, there is also wood beetle in the loft which will cost £500 to sort with 15yr guarantee.
The house needs completely redecorating new kitch and bathroom and patio doors, poss combi boiler too there are 5 of us and we need hot water all the time we only have £7k to do all this work do you think it is possible or are we streching ourselves to much?
I'm driving my hubby mad and I'm so stressed about it we are in a council house at mo so we don't have to worry about any repairs or anything,
Oh we also need to replace all guttering etc and a bit of re pointing on roof verges and make good to a bit of rendering.
Any advice at all is very much appreciated thank you for reading
Xx

Just out of interest how far "up north" do you have to be to get a 3 bed semi with drive,garage and gardens for £80k? John O' Groats?