first days of retirement - Decompression Zone

Savvy_Sue

lessonlearned wrote: »

Just an idea (I was for many years a New Build Sales Negotiator) I would suggest that before you do anything you get a couple of estate agents round to take a look.

Given the state of the housing market you might be better to sell your house as a "project". You may find that if you spend a lot of money, getting trades in etc that you might not get your money back. You might be better selling at a realistic price and saving your money for your next property. Especially if the finished result still doesn't give you the house you want anyway. I guess it all depends on how the figures stack up.

I agree with this, we recently needed to have our house valued and also to talk about when to move (which isn't something I want to do but it is stupid to have 2 of us rattling round this massive house), and they were very helpful in terms of giving advice on whether to spend money on it or not. We also have some ceilings to plaster because we didn't fix the roof as fast as we should have done ...

moneyistooshorttomention

Those replies have certainly got me thinking re having round a couple of estate agents once I've got the house decluttered/springcleaned and have my own personal "Houses under the Hammer" take on it.

Selling the house as a project doesnt appeal - as I was sold it at the normal "going rate" price for a house and have done a heck of a lot of the work that would normally have been expected by the 1980's (rewiring/roof/kitchen/doubleglazing/modern-style telephone points/plain carpets and laminate for flooring/making the loft into storage space if not a room as such). So - having bought it at "standard price" and not labelled "a project" then I am reluctant to see it "go out the other end" so much better than it was and labelled as "a project" and priced at less than "standard price". Fortunately I'm in a part of the country/housing market that isnt being hit nearly as badly as many areas.

Am now wondering whether I'm being a bit premature to think of a damp proof course for this house - and possibly a dehumidifier run on full blast for a while would do the trick.

I know I've read comments before now on having to live in an old house in a different way to what someone would in a modern house and thought "What on earth do they mean? Surely, you just live in a house exactly the same way regardless of its age don't you?". Maybe extra "care and attention" is needed to live in an old house - as in extra care re creating condensation/what materials are used for decorating etc (and there was me thinking the reason for Ideal Home readers using Farrow & Ball paint was they were being "posh" rather than those being amongst the ranges adapted to these old houses).

If this is the case - then I was being totally unrealistic to expect to live in anything other than a modern house in the first place - as I've never been prepared to take any extra "effort" to adapt to an older house and was basically brought up in "modern" houses that simply didnt require any attention much as far as I could see. Perhaps a "slap head" smilie would be appropriate for me?:o

I know what you mean SavvySue about ceilings:eek:. Part of the work I've had to do to my old house is swop the roof. I never realised JUST how fast an old roof could "go" once it started:eek:. Fortunately, the leaking was just in one bedroom and there are only a couple of tiny little patches where the decorator didn't prepare the ceiling properly before he repainted it and I gather I can sort them out without a problem (at least all the ceilings in this house had already been replaced with modern ones already - so there wasn't loads of old plaster falling off because of this).

If I do move - then my next house will be "modern era". This much I promise myself. Even with the extra time from being retired - I just want to "live" in a house and not have to be forever fixing it/adapting to it/etc. Just a one-off blast through - maybe doing a new bathroom and kitchen/updating any decor and floor coverings and then just "live there", unless I can subsequently afford the "eco bits" (solar panels etc) and a nice conservatory (in which case have a second "blast through" at some point to finish the house off).

Savvy_Sue

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Those replies have certainly got me thinking re having round a couple of estate agents once I've got the house decluttered/springcleaned and have my own personal "Houses under the Hammer" take on it.

I wouldn't necessarily wait until you've decluttered, either. Again, the agents both gave good advice about doing it before putting it on the market, but were able to see past the clutter to the house.

And by a 'project', I didn't understand 'a wreck'. Just that you'd be selling a property which needed work, rather than one someone could move into and not feel the need to re-decorate immediately.

lessonlearned

There is no need to have your property labelled as a "project" or indeed any kind of label for that matter. I am sorry if I misled or confused you by the term "project" - that was just my terminology, a sort of shorthand for a property that needs some work.

The agent may well put in the particulars that the property may be in need of some improvement or words to that effect. They definitely will not use the term "project".

The only way it would be put on the market at less than the going rate is if you were to instruct them to do so or if you were to put it up for auction or if you were to use one of those buy it quick for cash companies.

I would strongly advise against this, they will offer you a derisory price.

Basically, I was just suggesting that before you spend serious money you have a chat with a couple of estate agents first. They will be the best people to advise you, they will know the market in your area.

I agree with Sue - don't worry about the clutter, they can see past that. If you get some proper quotes for the work and then some valuations you will then get a better idea of what is best for you to do. Ask for valuations for your property as it stands in it's current condition and another one for when the work has been carried out.

Just been re-reading your list of jobs. If you intend to move shortly then I definitely wouldn't put in a new kitchen. If you do decide to upgrade your kitchen then if the cabinets are sound you could just replace the doors, possibly the worktops too. A lot cheaper than ripping out perfectly serviceable units.

Kitchen - floor - unless the joists are definitely rotten you could just try applying something called "self-levelling compound" down and then lay the floor covering. Self adhesive vinyl tiles are cheap as chips and are very easy to lay.

Whereabouts in the lounge is the damp, at floor level, near a window, behind a bookcase or similar. If it is just one patch in one room then the cause is likely to be localised rather than needing a complete new damp course. It might not be as bad as you think.

I know you are raring to go but I think it would be best if you take your time and research all your options. Don't be in too much of a hurry to get your cheque book out;)

moneyistooshorttomention

Thank you both for clarification as to definition of "a project".

Got it...as in not "ready to move into" state, but not "homes under the hammer A Project" state.

Certainly not thinking of spending very much at all on the place - more like a two-figure amount of money (make that, say, a couple of hundred £s if I buy a dehumidifier). Not one of those Sarah Beeny "give the house a £1,000 and see what you can do for that" things. Well..not unless spending £1,000 would mean an extra £2,000 on the house say...and then we're talking about "an investment". I'm all for "investments":D

Okay then. I'll just give the house a good tidy and get the regular housework up-to-date and then call in a couple of estate agents and see what they say. I knew it was possible to get a valuation from an estate agent, but not that they would do giving "how to sell better" type advice. This is my first house and I live in an area where estate agents never really came into the picture that much, as a lot of the houses in this particular little area went within days just by "word of mouth" around the local grapevine. I bought this house that way in the first place myself - ie through the grapevine. So, I'm not at all familiar with estate agents.

Regarding the damp in the sitting room, the window in the sitting room is at the front of house in the usual fashion and it's the first few feet from top of skirting board upwards on either side of the window that is affected. There is also the original half-height cupboard in the alcove next to the window wall and the right-hand side wall of that inside cupboard (ie nearest window) is a bit suspect. The window wall (like many other walls in the original part of the house) has woodchip wallpaper on it and the wall inside cupboard is bare painted. I have checked outside the house and can see no obvious cause of it - there is my modern upvc guttering and downpipe and they look okay and there are the original airbricks down at street level and they are not cluttered up with anything. Its not that possible to tell what state the outside wall of the house is in (like a lot of these houses it's painted) but I think it's okay. The woodchip in those parts just feels cold and very slightly damp and I can see mid-yellowish type marking on it. The skirting board (original) and floor by it are okay as far as can be told (ie through the fitted carpet). There is a gas sitting room fire on the left-hand side wall (same unattractive one as the house had when I bought it - but kept because it positively churns out the heat when on) and a modern double radiator on the wall opposite the window wall.

The kitchen definitely does need replacing. It was an MFI one 25 years ago and is very much the worse for wear and the design is wrong (errrm....well..I just picked out the style of unit I wanted and left my father to design it as he thought fit.....whoops....). But fair enough that I understand that neither of my parents are cooks and they are used to living in armed forces "hirings" and then modern houses. But it is literally falling to bits anyway - no question of new doors and worktops I'm afraid.

I just so think longingly of a modern house (but not last 5 years), with plain wood Shaker kitchen and THAT cookerhood and modern style bathroom suite, complete with shower with nice large head and gardens (rather than backyard) and nice conservatory (you know...one of those oddly-shaped type ones). So, I know I'm comparing my current house with the "house I'd like" and it's much to the detriment of my current house.

chesky

Blimey Money, you've gone from exhaustion to considering flogging your house in less than a week! A transformation is certainly taking place before our very eyes.

But remember, you don't HAVE to make any decisions right now. Take a bit of time, then by the time you've decluttered and had a right sort-out-!!!-spring-clean, you may fall in love with your house all over again.

moneyistooshorttomention

:rotfl::rotfl: chesky ....wonders "What is this 'falling in love' with a house of which you speak?":rotfl::rotfl:

I'll admit to not knowing what that is...it was much more of a "business decision" to buy this house. It made sense to buy a house (something I'd always assumed I'd have...) and I decided on it as the "best I could afford - so it'll do for my purpose for the time being".

Well, at least I guess this would mean I'm likely to approach any potential "new house" in a hard-headed sort of way. As I can't afford "dream house" type houses anyway and it would be an "ordinary house" then I am much more likely to inspect any house these days with a photocopied checklist, ticking off "Things that need doing and estimated cost" and choosing the house that gets the highest number of "points":rotfl:.

chesky

Must admit I'm not exactly in love with my house, but have you never heard of :

objectum sexuality, ] is a pronounced emotional and often romantic desire towards developing significant relationships with particular inanimate objects.

So just give it time.

chesky

PS there was a woman who said she had had an affair with her garden fence, so a house would take a bit longer.

lessonlearned

Falling in love with a house is just like falling in love with your partner. It just hits you in the solar plexus. A real thunderbolt moment.:D

We've been here 25 years and I still love it. Before that when we bought our old house we fell in love with it before we even set foot inside. We just pulled up outside and we knew. It wouldn't have mattered what the inside was like.

It transpired that it was a dated "funky 70s pad" - cork tiles on the walls, some strange brown fibre stuff on the walls in the lounge. A previous owner had worked for Pilkington tiles. I think he must have got hold of a job lot of "seconds". They hurt your eyes.

We were smitten. We just gave it some much needed TLC and brought it back to life. Happy days.

I definitely think that if you are not that happy with your house you should just give it a good declutter and deep clean and then market it as it is. The problem with older houses is that once you start digging down and renovating you never know quite what you will find. It nearly always costs more than you bargained for.

One point if you are considering newish builds, they will be better insulated than older houses, cheaper to heat, run and maintain. Plus anything built after 2007 will have to comply with EU regulations to make properties more disabled and elderly population friendly.

You may be fit now but consider things like wheelchair access and ability to manoeuvre a zimmer frame, install a stair lift etc. Try to forward plan for when you are less able. The better a property works for you the more likely you can remain in your own home for longer, rather than having to go into care in later years.

It's an adventure isn't it. I still love my home but I am excited at the prospect of a new start.