House rennovation costss - help please!

ashfan83

Hi all

My partner and I are first time buyers and have seen a house advertised that may be what we are looking for...once renovated. I know there may be some experienced landlords, people who do up houses as a sideline etc. out there so I need to ask some advice.

The house is well within the price of what we would be offered a mortgge for, but needs a LOT of work doing. I need to work out if we could afford all the work that needs doing on top of the cost of the house. I have not even been to view the place yet, as if it is not going to work out financially, there is no point even looking at it.

What I have been told needs doing:
Double glazing (6 windows plus a front door)
Central heating - 6/7 radiators
New kitchen
New bathroom
Possibly re-wiring
Decorating ie. carpets and wallpaper (it is a 2 bedroom bungalow with a roof extension)

Having never done/purchased any of the above, would anyone be able to give me a ROUGH figure (I know it's difficult without seeing the house and having measurements etc.) of what that would all cost, and anything else I should take into consideration before going to see it?

We are in the South East.

We are quite keen on the idea of doing up a place the way we like it, and are prepared to spend time doing it.

ACG

Be careful with the mortgage offer.
Although they are saying they will lend you more than you need, a lot depends on the property.
For example most will insist on secure doors/windows.
Hot water,
Working bathroom and kitchen.

Even if the standard is pretty poor - so long as theyre their and working it should be fine. the lender may decide on a retention (where they hold some money back pending works being completed... so you may not get as much as you think/hope/need).

However to answer your question, ive just bought a house - 2 months ago.
It needed rewiring, the price was based on the number of plug sockets, cooker/shower points/security lights etc. It cost me around £1400 for a 2 bedroom semi, most people were quoting £1800 but it was a family friend who did it for £1400.
Decorating can be anything, were working to around £70 per room and carpets being about £300 for 3m x 4m roughly.

Central heating - Again we have just done this, B&Q have a deal on where you can buy a boiler and 5 or more radiators and get 20% off - this can obviously depend on the boiler and the number/size of the radiators but i think it was about £600-650.

To then get it fitted you could be talking maybe a £1000, i fitted it all myself and got someone gas registered to finish it off, check it was safe and sign it off so i kept the price down, but a lot depends on how confident you are with that.

Bathroom - B&Q for about £300 then the tiles/decoration on top. But you can go a lot more expensive depending on your budget/tastes etc.

Kitchen, this again is difficult. It depends on the size of the kitchen but i would say for something nice and modern you would be looking at about £3k upwards. But again you could probably get it for less if you shop around.

pleasedelete

It depends. You wouldn't put a £300 bathroom in a £1mill house but ok in a lower end property. What price range is the house in? You need to match the quality of other local houses or you won't get the full financial reward. Fitting is often more than buying the fixtures so spending a bit more on a fixture doesn't always mean the cost shoot up.

ashfan83

Thanks for the speedy replies!

As far as I know everything is working, it's just very old and grotty. There is no front door as it has been boarded up - I'm guessing maybe the old occupant passed away in there.

The guide line is offers in excess of £145k. We are first time buyers, so we won't be buying an extravagant bathroom/kitchen, but won't go so cheap that it looks like it!

ACG

Speak to the lender before you make any application, they wont always look to accept it if it has no door. If your putting down say a 10% deposit, it can be quite risky for them as they have to try and sell it quickly but get their money back - a house that needs work doing to it is unlikely to do that.

You need to either speak to the underwriters or ask whoever you can speak to, to check with the underwriters. If your going through a mortgage advisor then they will do that for you.

Might also be worth having another visit and getting some photos to forward on to the underwriters. It depends what you mean by grotty, the kitchen in the house i bought was probably 20-30 years old, it works but the 1970s orange coloured doors arnt the best... infact theyre probably due to back in fashion again soon :P

If you mean grotty by filthy, with rat droppings etc then thats not a working kitchen and so is unlikely to get accepted.

Ultimately it comes down to the valuers comments, the valuer is working in the best interest of the bank so they have to be confident its value for money.

phill99

A couple of things: you say you are in South East. But even in the South East there will be differences in labour rates. Kent and Essex will be cheaper than say Surrey and Berkshire.

DG allow £3k
CH £2.5k
Kitchen £5k
Bathroom £2.5k
Rewire £2.5k
Decorating £400 / room

These are midpoint prices based on getting someone in.

artbaron

I don't think it's possible to give a rough figure, they vary so much. I'm getting kitchen and bathroom done, and have just done 6 windows and doors, but my findings are so massively at odds with the other posts here it just shows that there's no real consensus for an 'average' price. And trust me, I'm not going for luxury, more the lower end of mid-range. I think you need to give an indication of whether you want to go for the cheapest possible, or something a little better, or whatever.

kingstreet

The most important factor here is the level of deposit you have and your ability to increase that if the lender holds a retention.

A project such as this really does not suit a typical cash-limited FTB.

Let's say the lender decides to hold a retention of £10k for the essential repairs which are required. This means you will not get the mortgage amount you have applied for. £10k of this will be held back until the work is done. You therefore need to increase your deposit by an equivalent amount to be able to purchase the property, then you need to get the work done within a short timescale in order that the lender will release the retained funds to reimburse you the extra deposit.

lessonlearned

There are just too many variables to give a figure.

The problem with a refurb is that you never know what you are going to find and costs can escalate. Once you start ripping the place apart you never know what nasties can be uncovered.

The golden rule to remember is it always takes longer and costs more than you think it will so make sure you add a contingency fund to cover unforeseen additional costs.

You mention electrics but you've not factored in re-plastering afterwards or at least repairing the damaged areas of plastering, ie where channels will have been cut.

How much of the work will you be doing or will you contract it all out to professionals.

What kind of finish are you hoping for, will you be using expensive materials and high end fixtures and fittings. You need to think about your specification.

Will you be your own project manager, sourcing materials and hiring your own workforce or will you employ a builder who will manage the overall project and sub-contract work to the various trades.

Most developers will use a ball park figure of £75 to £150 per square foot, depending on labour rates and the level of specification required.

If you are borrowing the money to fund the refurb you will also need to factor in loan interest etc and any other fees or borrowing costs.

ashfan83

Thanks for your input everyone. I've thought about what you've said and did a bit of research on what properties in that road generally go for. After spending a 'rough' estimate on all of the above, plus a few of the recommended energy improvements, I just don't think it is worth our while as we would spend just the same if not more than we could buy a well maintained property for. I think they've put the asking price too high IMHO.