Would you buy a house you could not afford to renovate

freeisgood

I have seen a very small, very dated house in the most amazing location.
All the other houses on the street have had beautiful extensions done and it’s a very desirable place to live.  The house itself is a dated disaster, There would be no money for a fancy loft conversion, as there would be a bedroom short. Or a side extension.  I would have enough money to put in new carpets in and a basic kitchen and bathroom. The structure looks sound. Then it would be habitable.
Would this be wise? (I imagine that maybe in the next year or two I could convert the garage into another bedroom. For us parents) 

would you do it? 

Thanks 

Doozergirl

Probably not.  If it's dated then it's usually a lot more required than just carpets and kitchens.  It probably needs more than you think right now, even.   How dated are we talking? 

Will there ever be money to do some proper work to it?   Even then, wouldn't it just be better to buy a house that is right for now and another later that is right for then? 

A too-small house that needs work with no money to do it sounds like a bit of a nightmare.    What it's like outside doesn't matter if you're miserable inside it.   There will always be other houses when the time is right.  

goodwithsaving

Yes - I did. I have renovated slowly and somehow managed to spend a lot on the house in hindsight, and make it work. I often wonder how I have afforded it, but I plugged away and just did things as I could afford to. 
An extension, however, is another matter. You need to consider whether you could live with it for the next few years before extending, or whether it would be a problem if you could never extend at all.

lookstraightahead

Depends what sort of dated, and what you could do to it in the future. No prob at all living in a house that needs doing up, but if any structural repairs are needed and you can't afford it, that would be depressing.

SameOldRoundabout

We did, kind of. We had enough cash up front to sort the immediate big issues, roof and wall ties etc. We’ve done the rest bit by bit as we can afford it. But, we don’t need any extensions or conversions and are already looking at at least 25% over spend from my original estimate with all the extra problems we’ve uncovered. I love my house and it’ll be spectacular, and make us money even with the overspend so am happy to do it. 

If I was left with a house that was unliveable ie not enough bedrooms I probably wouldn’t. 

Ramouth

If you didn’t have children then I would say go for it.  We did it and did the work as and when we could afford it.  But I wouldn’t have done it with children.  The disruption is huge.

lonibra

freeisgood said:

I have seen a very small, very dated house in the most amazing location.
All the other houses on the street have had beautiful extensions done and it’s a very desirable place to live.  The house itself is a dated disaster, There would be no money for a fancy loft conversion, as there would be a bedroom short. Or a side extension.  I would have enough money to put in new carpets in and a basic kitchen and bathroom. The structure looks sound. Then it would be habitable.
Would this be wise? (I imagine that maybe in the next year or two I could convert the garage into another bedroom. For us parents) 

would you do it? 

Thanks 

At the right price which reflects the current state of the property? Yes.

Soot2006

I bought a house I couldn't afford to renovate because it was significantly bigger than anything else I viewed and also in a lovely location with a massive garden.  We are renovating it in sections, although did do boiler, electrics, roof repairs, some double glazing replacement, new doors and of course some decorating in year 1 as they were real necessities. Now it's a pleasant house that has two room we don't really use but are saving up to sort out. One is unusable because of damp. It's because of the gutter and too high ground line, so those are the next priorities. The other has an ancient window and sagging ceiling, but as it's only loft above it and no damage visible I am hoping it's historical water damage from when the roof was dire.  If we didn't have the rest of the house to live in, I think I would feel pretty depressed, but instead we feel quite excited that we "WILL" get that extra space one day without moving house. Bathrooms and kitchen replacement are very necessary but also very low down the list of priorities as we need to fix the structure  before we worry about the pretty things.  

MovingForwards

How many kids and what sex are they?
How many bedrooms does the property have?
Would you be able to save and do the work over time?

I've purchased an old flat, for now it's just getting painted (including the kitchen units, tiles and floor tiles; I must overcome procrastination and make a start if I want that done this year!) as I save to sympathetically do the changes I want to it. Looks a lot better as I'm working with what's in the property and I've about another 4 years of saving before I can start do anything.

getmore4less

What sort of move is this?

A move from rented to a owned? 

Is the only place you can afford because it is too small and dated reducing cost but location or are there places big enough that you could afford. 

freeisgood

Thank you so much for your replies, I could afford a house out of town that would be ready to move into, but this one is so convenient for children’s buses, schools, and I could walk to work. 

So long-term it ticks all the boxes. There is a garage which could be turned into a fourth bedroom quite readily, but I would have no idea how much it would cost.

it’s a move from rented to first purchase.