Anyone bought a doer upper property?

mgarl10024

Back in Feb, we bought a 1950s 3 bed semi that hadn't been touched since the 70s.
We didn't do the whole refurb, but pretty close - complete new heating system, extensive electrical work, plastered 4 rooms, painted 6, carpets in 6, new doors/windows throughout, new alarm system, new gigabit network (ok, that was for me!). Budgeted £20k but it ended up nearer £25k.

We lived in our old property while we were working on this house, and that was really helpful. It wasn't the cheapest option (cost a few thousand in double bills and mortgage payments), but it was well worth it.
For example, putting in the electrical work, and new boiler and heating system meant floorboards up in almost every room, and the dust just got everywhere.
I wonder too if we actually saved some money as tradesmen were able to get in early and work on an empty house.

I'd agree about it taking longer than you expect. We planned it out pretty thoroughly and still ran over quite a bit.

Lessons learned:
- surveys are very important (we got one), but don't let them freak you out. Most things are repairable (for enough money) and there is a lot of rear covering by the surveyor. If you read ours from when we moved in literally you'd be amazed the house was standing.
- book tradesmen early. Even the best ones with who you have a good relationship can be very busy and can have lead times of weeks to months.
- keep calm. We had many little nasty surprises along the way, but we got over them.
- don't underestimate the time. We both worked FT and used tradesmen to do a lot of things. But organising them, paying them, planning/designing, buying materials, sorting issues... it all takes a tremendous amount of time, so be prepared!
- I agree about the electric sockets. Get them in early and lots of 'em.
- Plan, plan, plan. Things might change, but sometimes just planning something means you think about things in different ways.

That said, we're very happy with the end result - and hopefully you will be too.