Has anyone bought a house that needed complete refurbishment?

redhead123

..and do you now think you'd never do it again or are glad you took it on?

I am not a DIY person or a builder or doing projects. So probably I should steer clear - the EA has advised it will need between 80-100K spending on it needs new kitchen heating etc - but IS it possible to live in it and do rooms up as you go along? Can you get a mortgage or do you need a huge deposit and what do they mean by a 'large' deposit anyway...? We've been looking at small 2 bed cottages at around 200-250 but they are all very small or have no space/garden at all.

Here's the house:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-34600754.html

abaxas

You are not going to spend 80-100k unless someone else does all the work.

If you get stuck in.... it'll be half of that. Depending on finish.

caledonian_princess

Why does the EA think the renovations will cost so much? Either way, I bought a house that could be considered a project and have spent years doing it up as and when I could afford it. If you can cope with roughing it for a few years I'd say go for it, my home makes me happy now as I look about it even though the first few winters spent bundled up in hats and scarves heating only one or two rooms were a bit of a trial.

GDB2222

It's beautiful, isn't it? But it's a money pit. It's listed, so you'll be restricted in what you can do to it. Take the £100k figure from the EA with a pinch of salt; it's bound to be more. How much does a new thatched roof cost? £20k? £40k? Ask yourself the question whether it will be worth say £400k+ when done up? If not, run away.

sonastin

redhead123 wrote: »

I am not a DIY person or a builder or doing projects.

Can you bear the thought of living on a building site week after week? If you can't do it yourself, are you confident in dealing with trades on a daily basis?

I can barely hold a screwdriver without gouging holes in my hands. The only reason I bought a fixer-upper was because my OH is more than capable of doing everything himself. If it were just me, or I had a partner cut from the same cloth as me there is no way I'd consider a project of that sort of scale.

redhead123

Sonastin - v good points.

My other half isn't exactly DIY either - he said 'we struggle to keep this house together how would we do up another??'. Which is a good point. But the only house/cottage we fell in love with so far was...one that needed work - because it was the only one that had some sort of storage. The reason we didn't go near it was because it had structural issues as well and the garages needed completely knocking down and the bathroom moving because it was only accessible via a bedroom. And it had some plants growing through the walls!

In terms of living in a mess - hmm I lived in some horrendous rented accomodation in London for years...so...maybe.

I would be a bit worried about dealing with builders but I have built up a steady 'contact' list of people who could do the work. If I am passionate about something I tend to really throw my effort in 100 per cent - but then this a house is not a small project is it!

The trouble is we've been lookingn for over a year (i guess not long?) and there is nothing on the market of that ilk, there is a 2 bed cottage which is tiny on for 250 k with no space or parking. I guess we could keep looking.

As for our situation - i sold my house over a year ago and live with my partner in his. With my deposit and savings i've just about saved up 40K. Based on my salary i could get a mortgage of 200K with my partner about 280K. Plus we have his house to sell. My other half won't put his house on the market until he sees something he wants to buy his house is shared ownership (80 per cent) so he'd probably come out with about 30K if the house was sold at current market value.

I suspect i'll end up steering clear - but no harm in having a look?

devotee

No you can't live in a house during the complete refurb. In theory you can (I did but only for three months), at the end me and my OH were at each other throats as your patience quickly runs out. I would not recommend it.

The house in question - needs a new roof and as it's listed it will take you longer than a normal project to do as you'll be depending on the E. Heritage to ok everything.

There is mess, but this mess I'm talking about is different - the constant dust that gets EVERYWHERE, not being to have a shower, not having clothes to wear, not having water or power etc. While they are doing rewiring you won't have power, while they are doing the plumbing, no water. And listed buildings are notorious money pits.

Jonesy_McJones

I think it depends a lot on your personal circumstances.

I bought my first house just over a year ago and I knew beforehand roughly what I'd need to spend on it - or rather my parents knew!

I had a new boiler installed in November - there was no heating up until then, so I'd spend most evenings in layers of clothes and under my duvet. I had a fan heater which I only used in my bedroom up until that point.

I had new windows in February - the old ones were (badly) sealed up with silicon at the front of the house and the ones at the back couldn't be shut as most of the handles and hinges were broken - so the first summer was unbearably hot at times and towards the end of the year it was hideously cold.

The bathroom was the best room of the lot when I moved in, but the floor had to come up when the new boiler was installed. But when I had a new suite put in, I changed the positions of the loo and the bath, so that was ok.

I’ve also had to have the bottom rows of tiles replaced on the roof, all the guttering replaced, a garden wall out the front rebuilt and the balcony taken down and rebuilt from scratch, as well as insulation in the loft and cellar.

The one big thing that hasn’t yet been done as I’m still saving for it is the kitchen. The old kitchen was in a bad state - really dirty and bits hanging off so that got ripped out the day after completion. All I was left with was the sink, the carcass of the cupboard underneath and about three feet of worktop! I have lots of shelves up on the walls and a sideboard which I bought off of eBay to keep me going in the meantime. All my appliances are second hand (oven from eBay, washing machine, microwave fridge and freezer from friends / relatives) except for a double hot plate thingy I bought new for about £15.

I was given a second hand sofa, which I had in the kitchen diner until the new windows were installed as the only way I could get it into the front room was through the window! So until then, my front room was pretty much a storage area.

I’ve been *really* lucky - my dad is the king of DIY. I don’t think I would have bought the house if it wasn’t for his help - both with the actual work and advice. I also live alone, so the fact that my kitchen is a bit of a state and under the stairs is my dad’s workshop has been fine. At least I haven’t had to have walls knocked through etc...

I’m so looking forward to when it’s all finally done and finished. Whenever that might be... :rotfl:

aliasojo

redhead123 wrote: »

.......... but IS it possible to live in it and do rooms up as you go along?

You have no clue how bad this can be until you have done it. Steer clear. It's not worth the stress and effect on your life.

A major refurb will have a major impact. I can't emphasise enough how much of a toll it takes on you, seriously seriously think hard about it and try every other alternative first.

GDB2222

redhead123 wrote: »

The trouble is we've been lookingn for over a year (i guess not long?) and there is nothing on the market of that ilk, there is a 2 bed cottage which is tiny on for 250 k with no space or parking. I guess we could keep looking.

I totally don't understand that.

£285k 3 beds. gge
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-28687358.html

£239k 3 bds gge
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-18140634.html

They may not be what you want, but they sound like a better bet than the £250k cottage.

On the one you were looking at, do not make the mistake of assuming that it costs less because you can do the work in stages.

phoebe1989seb

I agree with other posters' comments........it's a beautiful property with lots of potential, but a renovation project is not for the faint-hearted. That said, we took on a large (3000 sq ft) house that had previously been 4 flats let to DSS tenants that was in need of total refurbishment and lived in it with a small child whilst doing much of the work ourselves. It was a struggle, but the happiest time of our lives too........mind you whilst the ground floor was mainly uninhabitable, we did have three other kitchens (of varying condition) upstairs to choose from whilst the work was ongoing!!!

The work took around five years in total and I gave up keeping account of what we spent. When we initially applied for a mortgage the lender wanted a retention because it was considered uninhabitable, but in the end my parents stepped in and lent us the money.

The fact that this is a listed building would deter me somewhat though. We recently moved to a half-finished project (new thatch roof, new heating system, half the rewiring and all timber work already carried out) and chose that house (between 300 and 400 years old but not listed) over another one that was in similar condition but that was listed as we didn't want to have to jump through every hoop that EH put in our path.

Good Luck with whatever you decide to do!