How much do you think you added to the value?

moneyistooshorttomention

I think part of the "renovated houses are worth more" argument boils down to just how bad many of the houses needing renovating are.

It's one thing to think "Gotta do a new bathroom and kitchen/redecorate throughout/new floorcoverings throughout" and I think many of us (me included) would think it was our lucky day if that was all that was needed on many houses.

I could have got a new bathroom and kitchen sorted within a month I reckon. But, by the time I had had to deal with the outdated and inadequate central heating and electric to start with and replastering the place and structural stuff....then :eek:.

I think that's the thing...ie that many of us have Lives To Lead. I certainly do and have been going up the wall backwards fast over recent months since buying this place and absolutely desperate as heck to get on with My Life whilst having to renovate A Dump.

Workmen often make mistakes. Workmen are often unreliable. There is all the noise/dirt/etc. There is likely to be at least one thing not working at any given moment (the water/some electrics/the only darn bathroom the house has/central heating/etc) and it is a HUGE imposition and drain in every sense of the word having to make up for all the work the previous owner should have done, before you can even look at redecorating and new floor coverings, etc.

Anyone who has ever been forced to renovate one or more houses against their will (ie because there simply aren't any suitable renovated houses at an affordable price for sale) knows all about the anger/resentment/disruption that is involved in having to do so.:eek::( I'm sure many unwilling House Renovators will fully sympathise with the occasional "why cant I just blast the house to smithereens and claim on the insurance" type thoughts they will often have.

Many of us do NOT NOT NOT want to do this and HATE HATE HATE it...but needs must when the devil drives .....

Sighs very heavily with longing at the thought of getting a house that only needed "cosmetic stuff"....

It IS difficult to get your head round a house that isn't even properly functional...but it is surprising just how many houses manage to come into that category. There are one hell of a lot of irresponsible and/or too broke to do the job previous house owners around..... On my more charitable days I tell myself "Maybe the previous owner wasn't irresponsible or broke. Maybe they were just too ill to deal with their work". On other days, I curse them visibly....and then resignedly arrange for yet more workman visits to deal with all the work PO never did.

System

Me - a couple of grand plus general property price increase.

Parents - bought in 2012 - about £25k more. Conservatory - a practical sized one, more kitchen cupboards, fitted wardrobes, painted walls from wacky to neutral etc.

Talc1234

Renovating houses adds nothing more than the cost of the renovation. The trick is to buy at the right price in the first place.

moneyistooshorttomention

Talc1234 wrote: »

Renovating houses adds nothing more than the cost of the renovation. The trick is to buy at the right price in the first place.

The ideal situation obviously from the pov of a buyer, ie to buy a house that has already been renovated.

If the level of housing stock available when buying is very limited, eg by it being a small place, then it may be that the only suitable houses available at the time are all in need of renovation and it simply isn't possible to buy an already renovated one accordingly.

Hence hoping I've increased the value of the house by at least what I've spent on it and a bit extra to allow for my "blood, sweat and tears".

lessonlearned

Talc1234 wrote: »

Renovating houses adds nothing more than the cost of the renovation. The trick is to buy at the right price in the first place.

This is true - up to a point - and the reason why professional developers do need to buy with care. If renovating property is a business then a tight rein has to be kept on margins or else you don't have a business. You go bust.

Renovations can add value to a dilapidated property if done correctly and to a sufficiently high standard. Improving layouts, correcting design faults and adding energy saving features will add even more value, making a property not only more "saleable" but also increasing it's perceived monetary value.

I think a lot of people confuse a "makeover" with a full renovation/refurbishment/restoration project.

As so many of us have pointed out a basic kitchen, a cheap bathroom with just a bare minimum of tiling, and a few gallons of magnolia sloshed around does not constitute a renovation - it's a makeover and a poor one at that.

lessonlearned

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

The ideal situation obviously from the pov of a buyer, ie to buy a house that has already been renovated.

If the level of housing stock available when buying is very limited, eg by it being a small place, then it may be that the only suitable houses available at the time are all in need of renovation and it simply isn't possible to buy an already renovated one accordingly.

Hence hoping I've increased the value of the house by at least what I've spent on it and a bit extra to allow for my "blood, sweat and tears".

A lot of time I hear the argument that people don't want to pay a premium for a house that has been renovated because they don't want to pay extra for a "finished product". They want to chose their own fixtures and fittings, they want to chose their own finishes, they want to add their own personal touches.

This is why most spec built new builds are so bland - the developers try to keep the interiors "neutral" and inoffensive. This is why vendors are often advised to declutter and depersonalise their property before marketing it - to offer purchasers a "blank canvas" onto which they can put their personal stamp.

It's become such a cliche these days, however it does hold water.

I fully understand the reasoning why so many people embark on their own renovation projects. I have viewed many houses and thought - now why did the owner do this and why didn't they do that. My post about the new architect designed bungalow illustrates this.

I have walked away from so many "done up" properties because they don't meet my standards, the layout doesn't work, the owner has skimped on materials or bodged the work, the owner has got carried away with a few cheap "designer tricks" and has neglected the basics.

Often it is just too expensive to put these issues right because I would, in effect, be paying twice over. A premium price to buy a renovated property and then shelling out for a further programme of works. I therefore prefer to concentrate on wrecks that I can strip out and then put back together again. This way I can ensure that the work is done correctly, building regs will have been met (and often exceeded).

I can also take the opportunity to address any design issues, improve energy efficiency and add sound proofing if necessary.

I wouldn't want to do this if I had paid a premium for a property that had been already "done up" - unless of course it was my forever house……..then I wouldn't worry quite so much about the renovation budget.

My ultimate goal is design and build my own. I'm just looking for the right plot…...

cloo

We’re about to put our flat on the market and most of theprice rise is just the market, but we’ve done quite a lot to it, too. We boughtright on the previous peak in 2007, but actually managed to knock about 9k offthe price despite the general frenzy because the bathroom and kitchen must haveboth been over 20 years old. The second bedroom was a box, a small single. Wereplaced the kitchen and bathroom, changing the layout of the latter, andextended the box room into the inner hallway (it’s a house conversion flat) soit’s now a small double, and we also uncovered and restored period floor tilesin the hall. All in I think it adds up to a lot of value, especially theextending of the second bedroom.
So it maybe added a bit more than we paid for it all!