Has anyone bought a house that needed complete refurbishment?

mchale

"Grade 2 listed" advice: run away run run run run away quick :eek:

phoebe1989seb

mchale wrote: »

"Grade 2 listed" advice: run away run run run run away quick :eek:

Listed properties are definitely not for everyone and usually end up costing more (both time-wise and financially) to restore. The one we decided not to buy was originally on the market for £350,000 (a fair price taking into account the amount of work required and what it would be worth when renovated), yet after we decided not to go ahead it failed to sell at auction with a price guide of £200,000.........seems no-one was prepared to take it on even at that knock-down price

redhead123

Thank you for all your advice and comments - certainly lots to be wary of.

cte1111

You need to think of this house (which is beautiful BTW) as a house that costs £325,000. Yes OK you could buy the current shell for £225k but you will need to spend a lot of money / time / stress getting it to a liveable state.

Our current house needed a total refurb. We are not really DIY people but I wanted a house that I could put my own stamp on. It was also by far the biggest house that we looked at. We did live in it whilst the work was done, it was stressful. I was not working for the first 6 weeks which meant I could project manage and buy everything. When I went back to work it was really tough. Builders need constant direction and decisions as well as buying all sorts of bits and pieces.

We did a total rewire and all the downstairs building work plus the 2 bedrooms that we were using in 1 go. The bathrooms and remaining bedrooms (including moving walls) were done a year later whilst I was on maternity leave. I do love our house and particularly the fact that I have it exactly how I want it, rather than somebody else's taste. Would I do it again? Not sure. Only if I didn't have many other pressures in my life, as the toll on your stress levels (and relationship in some ways) is pretty high.

flora48

We have just had a complete refurb on our property. If you mean complete, in terms of re-wiring, re-plumbing, kitchen, bathroom and cloakroom taken back to bare brick, remedial plastering, the odd new floor thrown in, followed by complete re-decoration... I don't think it is possible to live in the property. We certainly couldn't have undertaken such a project if we had not had somewhere else to live. Be prepared for it to take much longer than the original time scale and watch out for the 'extras'.
That said, we are delighted with the end result.

joerugby

We did this a few years ago. We bought a large victorian 3 storey end terrace which had damp, dry rot, a collapsing front bay, no heating, condemned electrics, leaking roof with rotten timbers, unsafe parapet wall, etc etc etc.

We paid £135,000 and the essential work cost about £85,000 including fees which was about 10% over budget. We employed an architect to specify, put the work out to tender and manage the project and a main contractor who brought in the necessary subcontractors. The work took about 8 months and we lived in rented accomodation for that time.

The house was totally rewired, replumbed, gas ch installed, roof fully repaired, front bay and parapet wall rebuilt, re-rendered, two new bathrooms, new kitchen, damp and dry rot treated and guaranteed. The builder left us to redecorate which we did gradually over several years.

We were really happy with the house once it was finished and have no regrets about the project.

If your house really needs "complete refurbishment" then you won't be able to live in it whilst the work is done. Have you considered renting?

My advice would be to use professionals for a job like this - our architect (a very nice semi-retired man who loved old buildings) was invaluable and our main contractor was first class as were the plumber and electrician.

One advantage of being listed is that you will not pay vat.

Before you go any further you should get a full structural survey done, then get at least one quote from a builder you know so you can get a feel for whether the agent's cost estimate is accurate.

Good luck.

Owain_Moneysaver

redhead123 wrote: »

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. [/url]

3 bedrooms, massively massive gardens including tennis courts, £249k
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-27519641.html


5 bedrooms, quite a long garden backing on to fields, £225k
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-19230234.html

Neither are cute thatched cottages but neither is going to cost you nearly £100k to do up (and whatever you have to pay in rent for a year+ while the work is being done)

Owain_Moneysaver

joerugby wrote: »

We did this a few years ago. We bought a large victorian 3 storey end terrace which had damp, dry rot, a collapsing front bay, no heating, condemned electrics, leaking roof with rotten timbers, unsafe parapet wall, etc etc etc.

The dry rot and rotten roof timbers can be somewhat unknown factors but there's nothing in that list that's terribly frightening, or even unexpected.

I'd buy one if it was at the right price.

I would not buy a grade 2 listed thatched building EVER.

SusieT

Beautiful house but as others have said being listed will make it a pain in the posterior to refurbish.

Saying that I am currently sitting on a wooden chair in my living room, bare flooring, no paper on the walls, plaster missing around the windows and the ceiling needs to come down and be replaced along with redoing the insulation. Bathroom is gutted as it needed new floorboards and joists so I have a chemical toilet and go to a friend for a shower.
Kitchen is improving in that the insulation is in the ceiling, new boards are on, new window is in so it "just" needs cupboards and tiling done so that the current sink (in a surface propped on A frames so I have water and a drain) can be replaced and I can move out of the bedroom where I have a microwave, toaster and kettle on a desk along with plates/mugs/cutlery/food in boxes. There is dust in places you would not think it is possible to find dust, I have plastic sheets across the bedroom door to have a double shield and one room that is vaguely dust free but it still gets in.

I am doing a lot of the work myself as I am quite practical but its going to be 6+ months more before it will be what most people would consider habitable! Its one thing me being here but although things would be quicker with 2 doing the work it would be more stressful with regards to actually living here.

Yes I would do it again (so far anyway), but you need to be the irght sort of person to take this sort of thing on. The big plus for me is that it will be a superb house for me once its done and will be a real home for life.

Moomum

We bought our first house in March, we took back to brick, took out ceilings, rewired, replumbed, knocked down three walls, replaced all doors and all woodwork, new kitchens, bathrooms and replastered. Has been so so stressful even though we did very little ourselves. No way we could have lived there, we are in rented and due to move in in a months time. Refurb cost us about £150k but is a large 5 bed detached Victorian and we have a very high spec. Good luck with whatever path you choose.