Found a house but it needs work .... is it still worth it?

suebfg

We went to see a house today which was a great fit for our requirements but it needs a new kitchen, new downstairs WC, new ensuite and new family bathroom as these are dated. Also, the windows are wooden and we would want to replace with PVC.

The house is a 4 bed ()fairly spacious detached. How much do you think it would cost for these works based upon a 'John Lewis' list of requirements i.e. not basic but not designer either i.e. upper mainstream?

jc808

about 30k maybe? maybe 40?

G_M

suebfg wrote: »

it needs
a new kitchen, £3-4K
new downstairs WC, What? just new loo? £200? tiling/redecortae/carpet.....?
new ensuite and as above depends what you mean £500 - £2000
new family bathroom as above depends what you mean £500 - £2000
windows with PVC. how many windows? £2000-£3000?

?

ish! but how long is a piece of string?

KateLiana27

Very much how long is a piece of string but just to give you an idea: you've specified upper mainstream/John Lewis type prices, which is similar to what we're going for on a very similar (though smaller) property in need of the same work. Following estimates, we have budgeted about £10 - £12K for a fairly nice kitchen and £5K for a nice bathroom (ensuite not far off). This is the total cost for everything including appliances, fitting, VAT, everything down to the plugholes.

You can get it for a whole lot cheaper if you project manage yourself and source different professionals for each part, or DIY some of it, or go for lower-mainstream/non-John Lewis type stuff. We're hopeless so are just paying a kitchen specialist and a bathroom specialist. Both are small local non-fancy but skilled independents who have been recommended by friends.

Hope that helps.

chris_m

suebfg wrote: »

it needs a new kitchen, new downstairs WC, new ensuite and new family bathroom as these are dated.

Dated does not equate with "needs" IMO.
If they are functional then replacement is really a want or a nice to have, in which case surely replacement can be done gradually rather than having to be done immediately and all at once?

Werdnal

I was going to reply along similar lines - if it is useable and you can live with it for the time being, can you spread the work over several years? Or are you expecting to do a one hit job to put it all right at once? Are you prepared to do some of it yourself to keep costs down, or employ full team of trades to do the whole lot?

Even the windows can be replaced one at a time as you do up each room if necessary.

We bought a run down wreck in '93, which had no indoor bathroom and the room laughingly called a kitchen had a 40 year old Aga in it, and nothing else - not even a sink! We probably spent about 30-35K doing all that was required, including new roof, electrics, plumbing, heating, fitted kitchen and new bathroom - but spread this over about 5 or 6 years.

neverdespairgirl

We've just bought our first flat, and are still living in our rented flat while work is done.

Our budget is:

£10k for kitchen
£8.5k for one bathroom, one shower room


That includes the lot - tiles, floors, loos, baths, and labour.

shirlgirl2004

We spent £25k on the main bathroom and ensuite and then the same on the kitchen but this included all new appliances except for the washing machine. The downstairs wc was about £1,500 but was done on a budget.

ETA: UPVC windows are really cheap and should be no more than £5k unless you have new doors. Personally I'd stick with real wood, I certainly wouldn't change to UPVC just for the sake of it.

scunny89

New here but hope this helps.

I similarly bought a house needing work doing to it, but so far i haven't found it to be as expensive as i thought. Although iv done all the labour myself (apart from the boiler installation).

I'm just finishing up the bathroom at the moment, and so far its cost around £1000.

Bath suite (not the cheapest but by no means the most expensive) £599
Tiles approx £160
Plasterboard £100
Shower £180

Theres also stuff like light fittings, bags of plaster, door frame etc, but they werent exactly expensive.

If youre fairly competent then you could probably do the bathroom and ensuite yourself, saving plenty of cash in the process.

With the kitchen you might be able to save some money by keeping the existing cupboard carcasses and just putting new door fronts and a new worktop on.

G_M

Werdnal wrote: »

...Or are you expecting to do a one hit job to put it all right at once? Are you prepared to do some of it yourself to keep costs down, or employ full team of trades to do the whole lot?

Even the windows can be replaced one at a time as you do up each room if necessary.

I'd advise against doing windows one by one: much more expensive than paying for a single visit and having them all done.

Same is true of combining jobs. I made the mistake of getting wood treatment done (all floorboards up, disruption etc) then a year later had the house re-wired (all floorboards up, disruption etc) - should have done it all in one hit.

geoffky

just done ours....25k