London - should I buy this Victorian house?

Annisele

kcseb wrote: »

Is this a nightmare waiting to happen, or fixable once I buy? I would need to mortgage after buying, though can spend a month or two first doing work.

That's not an either/or question!

As Doozergirl says, everything can be fixed - but that might involve knocking the whole lot down and starting again from the foundations.

I wouldn't dream of going ahead without some sort of estimate of how much it would cost to fix, but I think "a month or two" of work is probably optimistic.

Doozergirl

Annisele wrote: »

That's not an either/or question!

As Doozergirl says, everything can be fixed - but that might involve knocking the whole lot down and starting again from the foundations.

I wouldn't dream of going ahead without some sort of estimate of how much it would cost to fix, but I think "a month or two" of work is probably optimistic.

It's unlikely to be a case of knocking it down! We've fixed utter, utter wrecks. It would be nice to see it, to be honest

Annisele

I know knocking it down is absolute worst case :-)

I just meant that "fixable" and "a nightmare" might happen on the same house. I suspect I'd have considered all of your projects nightmares (I don't do DIY), but that doesn't mean they weren't fixable.

kcseb

Hi Guys

Yes I agree I need to know costings. My surveyor I've used before, and he's always been a bit scaremongery: in that yes his findings were always right (or occassionally an over-statement) but he overestimated the remedial cost and hassle, and didn't take a long-term view that included capital growth (not his job I guess?)

That's my concern. That it's bad but not THAT bad, yet I walk away, or ask for an excessive reduction that causes the seller to pull out.

Doozergirl

Not an enviable position for you to be in! There's potentially an acceptable middle ground, so it's worth trying

Running_Horse

Doozergirl wrote: »

Not an enviable position for you to be in

Being able to afford to pay £40,000 cash too much for a house in London sounds quite enviable. Anyone who has accumulated that much wealth doesn't really need our advice to walk away from a lemon. Let someone else overpay during this bubble, and find a decent house elsewhere.

Doozergirl

Running_Horse wrote: »

Being able to afford to pay £40,000 cash too much for a house in London sounds quite enviable. Anyone who has accumulated that much wealth doesn't really need our advice to walk away from a lemon. Let someone else overpay during this bubble, and find a decent house elsewhere.

I think the OP was already expecting some form of project and a return on their investment. No one is suggesting they pay the previously agreed price.

Your lemon could be my lemonade.

dimbo61

Can you not get a structural engineer and builder you trust to inspect the house ?
My brother is a surveyor and we bought a Project to refurbish.
On the day we moved in a nice man arrived with seven steel beams to reinforce the roof and support the roof while we removed supporting walls all done to a structural engineers report and specifications.
Start of a ten week building project and we added more steels for the extension.
Have a great house now but you need to know the facts before buying