Renovating a house to sell, how important is the CH/boiler setup?

ijrwe

Hi. My house has a Baxi Bermuda filling up the main downstairs fireplace. It has a gas fire front and a boiler at the back which does CH and hot water. It's grossly inefficient but I use it very rarely and so don't mind, myself.

In renovating the house I have of course considered replacing it, which would involve at least:
1) Removing the fire and boiler
2) Buying and installing a new, modern boiler
3) Finding a suitable wall for this new boiler and replumbing everything to serve it
4) Making good the huge amount of damage done in the process

I've worked out that the cost is absolutely not worth it in terms of money I'd save on my energy bills. No way, I've never make even 1/5th of it back before the new boiler needed replacing, as we're talking several £1000 easily.

BUT, I have no idea how much value on the house I'm missing out on by keeping this out-dated system. If it was going to profit me in that way, I would consider it. The house also has some original features such as nice wood-framed windows, which I rather like and intend to keep. It stands out beautifully in an ocean of PVC-clad neighbours, but no doubt puts some people off.

So with this boiler setup, while the "energy rating" is obviously going to suffer massively, and no doubt the house value will be lower by at least a bit, is it worth it to change? Does anyone have an idea of how much these things matter in reality?

thanks for any info, quantitative or qualitative!

Mojisola

I wouldn't look at a "renovated" house that had an outdated, inefficient set-up like you've got.

Why would anyone take on a renovated house and then have to start all the work involved with putting in a modern heating system?

Dan-Dan

it might not be palatable to get it done cash wise etc , but now is the time , and will help you get best price possible upon sale (as mojisola points out)

ijrwe

Mojisola wrote: »

Why would anyone take on a renovated house and then have to start all the work involved with putting in a modern heating system?

Well, they may decide like I have that it actually makes no financial or practical sense to change it. Except for fashion reasons, essentially - which are of course important.

Dan-Dan wrote: »

it might not be palatable to get it done cash wise etc , but now is the time , and will help you get best price possible upon sale (as mojisola points out)

No doubt, but where the balance lies is the big question. If it will cost me £5000 (quite easily) to sort this and I might just get a couple of grand extra then I'd be crazy to bother with it.

phoebe1989seb

Not sure about the boiler/heating/hot water issue tbh, although I assume it will require updating in order to achieve the best price, but so pleased to hear you're keeping the timber windows - I totally agree that we are being swamped by a sea of horrid, ugly white UPVC windows that do no favours to period properties

We are currently restoring a (non-listed) thatched, stone Georgian village house and intend to sell when works are completed (although it wasn't originally our intention to sell) and as the original windows are falling apart, plus we have some road-noise issues we decided to put in double-glazing.

Despite intending to sell later this year there is no way on this earth we would consider the cheaper - and far less attractive imho - option of plastic replacements, even though many in our village have chosen to go down that route. Instead we are spending a ridiculous amount on hardwood windows that we believe will enhance the period charm of the property and hopefully increase its saleability

Good on you OP

dimbo61

Gas fire, back boiler, wooden window frames !
What are you going to renovate ?
How old are the electrics, pipework Lead ?
Unless you are talking about a beautiful Victorian / Edwardian property with lots of character, original features and stained glass windows it's UPVC all the way.
Better insulation, security, maintenance, fire safety, resale ETC
Same with the central heating and new radiators etc

ijrwe

Thanks for the replies so far, guys. I suppose what I need to do is get some proper quotes for my particular property, and think about how the gas and water could be routed, etc. I've seen quotes from others varying threefold up to £5000+. If it was under 2k I'd probably bite the bullet and go for it.

Removing the tanks and cylinders from this bedroom would be nice as well...


I'll bump this thread to discuss the price if I can get some quotes.

pleasedelete

dimbo61 wrote: »

Gas fire, back boiler, wooden window frames !
What are you going to renovate ?
How old are the electrics, pipework Lead ?
Unless you are talking about a beautiful Victorian / Edwardian property with lots of character, original features and stained glass windows it's UPVC all the way.
Better insulation, security, maintenance, fire safety, resale ETC
Same with the central heating and new radiators etc

My upvc windows devalue my house by about £50,000. UPVC is not the way to go!

Why do you think that upmarket housebuilders use wooden windows? They are much more saleable.

If you live in a low value house what you say MAY be true but the more upmarket the house the higher the expectation of quality.

Thrugelmir

ijrwe wrote: »

Does anyone have an idea of how much these things matter in reality?

Saleability is the key. Not everything makes money.

ijrwe

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Saleability is the key. Not everything makes money.

Good point - you mean basically how much interest I can get vs. how much interested people are willing to pay?

Which may in practice mean, "can I sell it at all?", I suppose

Dan-Dan

if you are seriously renovating a valuable property , the buyer is going to want to do nothing but move in and enjoy..? so you need to be spot on in every area , if at all possible

Quoting it up via at least 3 reputable locals outfits , is the best starting point