Is this a Worthwile project ?

Shaps

Hi , can anyone with some experience on property developing pass on some advice.
I went to view the property below today .
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-58120232.html
As you can see from the pictures it needs a lot of work, the previous owner
ripped out everything Kitchen - boiler - Firelplaces - damage Bathroon before the house was repossed .
At 140k it seems like a good buy (they sell for £170 - £180 done up) but not too sure how much it will cost to get it up for standard.
The estate agent said as it did not have a kitchen and its current state it was only available
to cash buyers which is why it is priced low.
My plan was to do it up and hopefully have some equity left in it so I could either rent it out for the short term or sell it on to make a small profit but more importantly gain some experience.
Any help would be appreciated
s

Mallotum_X

Have you got the cash?

30k max profit less fees, less renovation costs doesn't appear to leave any profit...

Shaps

Yes I have the funds available , I am unable to get a mortgage as I am a self employed sole trader ( and to be honest do not want one at the moment ) .

I do not mind doing the work or spending money but not if I am going to be standing still ( or losing money ) .

Person_one

Looks like it already has an offer in, unless that's you then I'd leave it. You'd have to pay over 140K to get it and possibly start a bit of a bidding war.

If you were looking for a home, it might be a good buy as you could do it up slowly once the essentials were done, but to 'flip' it you wouldn't make a lot of money, if any.

Mr.Generous

If you did 90% of the work yourself the parts / legals budget would need to be about 12-13k. I do it for a living, it takes about 4 months to do a house like that with help. Some profit obviously, but don't forget to factor in a salary for yourself while working. Its not as easy as people think.

konark

..and god knows what else the vindictive last owner did before he left!

carefullycautious

You need to look at what houses on this road are going for when modernised to see if it is worthwhile.

I don't think you will have any trouble selling it as anywhere in
Solihull is in demand

Whoops just re read your post and you have done your homework

Shaps

Thanks for everyones input , I am not a builder so would have to out source most of the work ( do not mind doing the manual work and decorating ) .

Is there still bargains to be had on properties in Birmingham or is it best to pay the going rate to get on the property ladder as soon as possible . Been looking for the last 6 - 8 months with no luck as anything with potential is snapped up within 24 - 48hrs .

Cakeguts

When you did your research into prices was it for a similar house on this road? This is quite a busy road and it has a bus route. A house on this road will never be worth as much as a similar house in a quieter road.

You say that the boiler is missing but I can't see any evidence that it has ever had central heating. Where were the radiators? How much will a full central heating system cost?

Doozergirl

Shaps wrote: »

Hi , can anyone with some experience on property developing pass on some advice.
I went to view the property below today .
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-58120232.html
As you can see from the pictures it needs a lot of work, the previous owner
ripped out everything Kitchen - boiler - Firelplaces - damage Bathroon before the house was repossed .
At 140k it seems like a good buy (they sell for £170 - £180 done up) but not too sure how much it will cost to get it up for standard.
The estate agent said as it did not have a kitchen and its current state it was only available
to cash buyers which is why it is priced low.
My plan was to do it up and hopefully have some equity left in it so I could either rent it out for the short term or sell it on to make a small profit but more importantly gain some experience.
Any help would be appreciated
s

I wouldn't touch it. The picture rails suggest to me that the plaster is old and is likely to fall off when you steam the wallpaper.

The wall removed in the kitchen looks suspicious. Whilst the joists run parallel, the age of the house suggests brick internal walls and there is probably another one directly above which should be supported.

The garage should be checked for asbestos.

I think if your plan is to live in it long term and not do it to any great standard, it has the potential to provide some decent value for money, but for a wage, I wouldn't touch it. It will certainly provide experience! Buying any house provides experience of the wonderful suprises a house has to hold, especially when you fail to mention key structural issues - the most important issues for resale. Roof condition, electrics, state of the render etc. The Birmingham 'property developer' trying to sell a house a couole of months ago that had a lovely kitchen but obviously had no guttering was a good case in point.

It's not been looked after for some time and also looks to have received some abuse over the years.

EAs are generally loath to start upping the bidding on a repo once it's under offer. They are obliged to put forward offers, but that offer may need to be considerably better to start the process again.

When we bought and sold, we generally found our houses at auction, not on the open market. We also generally made money from extending houses on good plots. There has never been decent money in fixing an existing house - unless the market is rising fast (which it hasn't done in Brum for a long, long time) or you have little integrity and don't particularly care what you sell on.