How long to prefect your house after buying?

scottishblondie

DLTAG89 wrote: »

No it doesnt really need doing but is really not to our taste. The only thing i would say needed doing are the windows as the arnt in a good condition but the house is liveable for the time being.

Do they really need replaced, or do the window frames just need attention? A quick refinish can make a world of difference in terms of looks. Personally speaking I much prefer wooden framed windows to UPVC!

I moved into my first property in 2003 - a 3 year old maisonette. I moved out in December last year and there were still things I wanted to do to it! When viewing it looked great, but once I moved in I realised there was loads I wanted to change. The original owners had never decorated, the carpet on the stairs was threadbare and the other floors had all been badly DIYed. The bathroom sink was the size of a soup bowl, the shower was awful, the kitchen didn't have enough storage... you get the idea.

I worked on it over time, replacing things as I could afford and time allowed. Luckily my Dad is very handy and we did it all ourselves, but it never reached perfect. My new house is a new build where I got to specify exactly how I wanted loads of things, and I've already started a program of improvements!

In short, no house will ever be "perfect". There is always going to be something that you want to change or update, every house you look at you'll see something that isn't how you want it. If you really like this house, go for it!

DLTAG89

Yeah i'd say the windows need replacing, the wood looks quite rotten and is falling apart from the outside, sadly not something a lick of paint would sort out, the inside isnt too bad tho.

With it being mine and DH's first house i'm just worried its to big of a job for our first place but we do both like it. We have another viewing on fri where DH is going to taking father in law who is slightly more "handy" than DH.

pinkteapot

We bought our 1990-built house in August 2010.

Nothing needed doing but it was pretty tired and had some interesting decor.

We completed re-did the bathroom and en-suite almost straight away as they had manky old carpet and both showers were literally a dribble.

Then, over the next year, we redecorated the whole upstairs and hall/stairs (painting, carpets, curtains). Then had a break and finally did the lounge and dining rom earlier this year.

When we viewed the house the first thing I said afterwards was that it needed a new kitchen. We were renting a flat with a modern kitchen, with wooden units and dark worktops, and this kitchen was quite a bit older. After living with it for a year or so though, I was just used to it and, more importantly, everything worked. The cupboard doors weren't falling off. It was all clean. It was very well laid out and practical. Couldn't bring myself to rip it all out so we just did a tidy up - paint, new cupboard handles, new cooker hood (old one was discoloured), new lights, etc.

If it's in a condition that you can live with for a while (i.e. functional and clean enough, just not to your taste), it's great as you can just do rooms as and when you feel like it and have the money. You'll pay a bit of a premium for a pristine magnolia-painted house, and then it won't be as perfect as it looks on move-in day anyway.

Strapped

DLTAG89 wrote: »

Me and DH are first time buyers and have been looking at some houses over the past few weeks, but the ones we have viewed in our price range seem to need a lot of work doing to them.

We went viewing one tonight which was built in 1999 and it seems to need quite a lot of work doing on it as from the looks of things nothing has been done since it was built. Just by looking at it we could see it would need a new kitchen and bathroom, double glazing putting in (it had double glazing but with the old wooden frames) and we have said we would want to convert the garage and make that into a kitchen/diner as the current kitchen is quite small for the size of the house. Also the obvious new carpets and decorating

Are we being quite pessimistic in thinking this is quite a lot of work to be done or will we find this with most houses we look at as we do really like this house so dont want to risk loosing out on it while looking around for others.

How much work did you need to do to your house when you bought it and how long did it take you to getting it the way you want it?

Is it worth us spending more upfront and not having to do the house up or spending less on the house but then having to spend a lot doing it up?

I very much doubt it needs a new kitchen. I think you'd have a pink fit over my house :rotfl:. 80s avocado corner bath. 70s pink downstairs suite with matching tiles. But it's functional.

We had trouble selling our last house which was also about the age of the house you are looking at. It had wooden double glazed windows (nice ones!) and fascia board which was perfectly serviceable but people did what you're now doing, and mentally deducted their estimate to replace them from the asking price. We took the house off the market, did all the work for less than £9k and then sold for £30k more than the highest offer we previously got. The moral of the story being - do the work yourself if you don't want to pay through the nose for it.

Strapped

Bennifred wrote: »

What made me smile was your point about the windows being "old wooden frames".
We've just had our "old wooden" windows (some still single glazed!! ) replaced with double- glazed hardwood. Some people prefer wood to uPVC even in this day and age...............

And we will be doing the same at some point. Previous owners made the sin of putting cheap and nasty white PVC windows in a early regency cottage :-(

Strapped

Re. getting it the way we want it: it's a very long list which we've hardly made a dent in over the last 6 years Other than essential roof repairs and repainting the exterior from drab grey to cheery yellow, and remodelling the garden a bit (there's not much of it to remodel tbh). But we enjoy LIVING in our home, not making it a show-home. If visitors don't swoon over it, then...well I'm not bothered actually.

sammyjammy

lincroft1710 wrote: »

15 years since buying and still not quite finished. Garden is in its 7th (and final!!!) incarnation.

Me too! I have probably spent more money on this house than I bought it for

My attic bedroom is only part remodelled, waiting for friend to have time to finish it. In the other two bedrooms I still have the carpets from when I moved in, its far from perfect but when its finished I'll probably sell up.

Gardens have become much more important than houses in the past 15yrs (must be old!). Mine is currently narrow and reasonably short, its also north facing.

Its funny the things you don't even consider when you buy your first house that later become deal breakers.

phoebe1989seb

lessonlearned wrote: »

A house is a bit like the Forth Bridge. As soon as it's "finished" it's time to start again.

I also agree that apart from anything that is either unsafe or disgustingly filthy then it's better to just live in the house and get the feel of it. It's better to have a bit of "thinking time" before you undertake a major programme of works.

If you rush in with major structural works or even just a new kitchen you can make expensive mistakes. Better to see how the house works for you (or doesn't) before you get out the sledge-hammers.

A few gallons of emulsion and a thorough deep clean can work wonders. It will give you somewhere clean and fresh to live whilst you make any big decisions.

So true lesson

I do wish or house could be improved by a few gallons of emulsion though - can't be done because of breathability issues when the walls are bare stone unfortunately......unless of course you're prepared to lime-wash them, then re-plaster at a later date, which just seems crazy IMHO.......

Every day I long to be able to freshen up that nasty, inappropriate stone - especially in our bedroom where I'm sure (as well as all the dust from two years worth of building work) there lurks many a horrid spider :eek:

bathwiggle

My parents have always moved in started decorating, and then 8 years on finished it as we sell.

I've just got my first house, within hte first two weeks i'd got the roof replaced, the windows are being done next month, and i've replaced a rotton dry wall and repainted the 3 worst bedrooms so guests can stay, and sorted out the mould in the bathroom.. I've still got 4 rooms to go but hopefully by christmas and then i'll start on the garden if i have an motivation by then. But i'd much rather be able to do it to my tastes and have the money to do it, instead of pay more and it not be my tastes.

That said i looked at a 'recently renovated' house... the paint work was patchy, the gloss had runs and the builder had made a mess of the flooring, and replaced with cheap carpets, and not finished the light fittings. And the estate agent kept telling me it was so well finished that it was worth the premium, i'd have had to repaint it and replace everything if i'd gone for it.

shegar

Contessa wrote: »

It's only fourteen years old-practically new!

It doesnt matter if it is only 14 years old.....If the owners were rough with it, didnt clean it , never decorated it , never done maintenance , then it could be in a state well before 14 years ..........