First time buyers buying house that needs renovation - should we pull out?

amelirina

Hi, we found a house that we really liked and it is quite cheap for the market but after receiving a survey we realised that we would have to undertake some urgent and serious repairs that include chimney stacks, roof, walls and floor. We are in two minds. Our options probably include either price negotiation or withdrawal.

Has anyone been in a similar situation? Should we bother with renovation? We want house for ourselves but what if the renovation will become a full-time job?

Thank you for any advice

-taff

It's up to you, how much needs doing?
I assume the chimney stacks probably need re-flashing and re-pointing, which is fairly normal for an older house....
How much work needs doing to the roof walls and floor?
Can you afford the work? Can you live in it while it's going on?

And I expect it's quite cheap because of the work that needs doing.

Wassa123

That might be why it is cheaper than the market...

Davesnave

amelirina wrote: »

We want house for ourselves but what if the renovation will become a full-time job?

Thank you for any advice

Renovation, as opposed to re-decoration,or limited repairs is almost a full time job, so it's vital to know what level of works are really involved.

If you renovate, the chances are that things like re-wiring and re-plumbing will be involved, which means disruption on a fairly major scale. It isn't impossible, but nor is it easy to live in the middle of those activities, but they are fundamental and need doing before the pretty bits.

For this reason, it's worth appraising the house's wiring and heating systems, because these are the things typically tackled immediately after the fabric of a house has been made sound.

I can't tell you whether you should 'bother' with the repairs to this house, because I don't know you, your abilities to cope with what's involved, the severity of the problems and your budget to tackle them etc.

I'm currently doing a renovation, because I couldn't find a similar property for my kind of money. I bought this place cheaply and I know how much I can safely spend on it. That gives me confidence.

Every house has a ceiling price, so you should do some research, not only on this house, but on comparable ones nearby which look well up-together. Sold prices, not asking prices, are what you need. (Nethouseprices. Mouseprice etc) Then, get a builder or two to look at the property and surveyor's report to estimate the likely cost of making it sound.

Only then will you know whether it's worth negotiating, or better to walk away.

Frankly, if I could have had the type of property I wanted without the hassle of renovating, I'd never have taken this one on, but I knew it was this, or nothing, or moving to a cheaper area.

elvenlomadia

It depends if you have the commitment to the project, I suppose. We bought a house in July as FTBs that 'required modernisation' and so far we have removed chimney breasts, knocked through the kitchen-diner, removed the boiler, rewired, ripped out kitchen and bathroom. Still need to plaster, second fix electrics and install a new kitchen and bathroom.

Fortunately for us the house is structurally sound but for comparison purposes, just a 'modernisation' is coming in at around the 20k mark and involving us staying with husband's parents for 4-5 months, no way we could live there (currently no electrics/hot water). We are employing people to do the complicated stuff, but we're still doing bits there most evenings and every weekend.

missbiggles1

elvenlomadia wrote: »

It depends if you have the commitment to the project, I suppose. We bought a house in July as FTBs that 'required modernisation' and so far we have removed chimney breasts, knocked through the kitchen-diner, removed the boiler, rewired, ripped out kitchen and bathroom. Still need to plaster, second fix electrics and install a new kitchen and bathroom.

Fortunately for us the house is structurally sound but for comparison purposes, just a 'modernisation' is coming in at around the 20k mark and involving us staying with husband's parents for 4-5 months, no way we could live there (currently no electrics/hot water). We are employing people to do the complicated stuff, but we're still doing bits there most evenings and every weekend.

Some of those things are choice rather than renovation.

kellaree

Do you have the money to do the renovation/skills to do it yourself? Also factor in the time it will take and whether it's something you are going to be able to deal with. It can be VERY stressful and will almost always involve more work than it initially appears.

My house only needed decorating and some minimal renovation and it took two years in total. If you're planning to get married, have children etc you need to think about whether that would be possible if the house takes years to complete?

I wouldn't rule it out just take some time to think whether it's going to be financially and emotionally possible!

If your budget isn't limited to only this one house, perhaps look around for one with less work?

ReadingTim

The house may well be price to take into account the cost of the works that need doing, so any attempt to negotiate further may meet with little success. Therefore, it really depends on whether you can afford the likely cost of the works as well as buying the house? The cost of the works will have to be paid with cash you'd planned to use as deposit, so the LTV will increase, which may affect the rate you're offered or (at the extreme end), whether you're offered a mortgage at all.

Finally, as others have added, depending on the severity of the works, it might not be advisable or even possible to live there while they're being done, so you might have to live elsewhere, with all those associated costs.

chile_paul

It might be worth posting some of the text from your house survey on here to get people's opinions on the severity of the work required.

It is quite common (as they need to protect themselves from future claims) for surveyors to use language which from a FTB perspective might be scarier than it really is (i.e. they might rate the Electrical Wiring as a Red because an electrical inspection hasn't been completed, not necessarily because they know there is a problem)