Advice for buying a period property

need_an_answer

OP... how long do you hope to own the property?

Is it a long term thing...and do you have the desire to renovate?

When we bought our first house we opted for the dooer upper...simply because it had more space and larger rooms than the stuff the same price that was newer...we didn't always have the skills to do some of the work so some of it was done by trades people and other things we simply learnt as we went along....

You don't need to be a builder to buy a renovation project but as I said earlier you do need to concentrate on some areas where others will skip in order to do it properly.

Our first house took around 7 years to actually complete but the the first year was by far the worse whilst you literally strip it back to brick if necessary..luckily at that point it was still fun!


What we did end up with was a beautiful home that served us really well.

It all boils down to whether you can see past what the renovation house looks like now,and a lot of buyers cant or don't have the funds and desire to do it.
Be realistic about your capabilities and limitations but be prepared for it to be a learning curve that will get you down sometimes but at the same time its quite satisfying learning how to tile or to strip floors or whatever.


We've done several renovations since and branched out in several directions and I always opt for the property that needs a little bit of vision rather than the one that looks pristine!

sustainabelle

Thanks for all the advice. We viewed the fixer upper today and decided there was too much to fix, there was mold on the attic bedroom ceiling and all the Victorian features had been stripped out. Also looked like the roof was sagging. We both thought the cellar was the nicest room in the house, which says something about the house!
To top it off the house comes complete with a student who has a contract on one of the rooms until October. Just bizarre.