Would you buy a house you could not afford to renovate

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freeisgood said:

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.

OK you could buy a place the right size but this one is a better(for you) location.

Trade offs   maybe a simple pro/cons sheet with some detail like timing for the travel needs.


As said kids own business probably time limited,  is your time in the business likely to create enough cash to pay people to do the work.

Sounds like if you go for this get the longest mortgage(lower payment) to retain cash to get the jobs done.


What happened to your £1m project back in 2016

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5504340/need-a-huge-loan-to-buy-a-property-is-it-possible/p2

theoretica

I was 3 when we moved into a house badly in need of work - falling through the floor boards etc.  I remember it as great fun.  My parents remember a lot of ruthless optimisation in what needed to be done in what order and what they could do themselves (with hand tools!), and what they didn't like but wasn't unsafe so could be left until later, loans stretching them to the limit and lots of work to keep us not too uncomfortable (eg museums are free to visit and have heating...).

BecsMags

We are currently doing just that. It feels like the gift that keeps on giving at the moment. Everything we do brings up another issue. I'm lucky OH is an electrician and we have trader friends who have helped massively. We have a 5 week cross over with our rental, so doing as much as we can in that time. We do have kids but are also fortunate to have both sets of nana's living 10mins away. So worst case, furniture can go in the garage, we'll live with parents and continue working on the house. 

Davesnave

theoretica said:

I was 3 when we moved into a house badly in need of work - falling through the floor boards etc.

Unfortunately, I was somewhat older and my Mum did fall through the floor, into my temporary bedroom below, landing on my bed, but the plaster destroyed my record player. Mum survived with scratches and the record player was not replaced. Being an MSEer, even then, I decided record players were too expensive to run and traded my bike in for a tape recorder!

Under normal circumstances, I don't think kids mind the privations of renovation; meeting their needs is just an added distraction for the adults involved.

TBagpuss

I think it depends on how much needs doing, and whether you anticipate being able to do it over time.

I personally wouldn't, unless I knew that I would be in a position to get the works done in a fairly short space of time, because I have physical limitations (And a lack of skills) that means I can't do much DIY so being able to do little bits myself as and hen wouldn't be an option.

On the other hand, one of my cousin's and his partner did exactly that, they have been doing the majority of work themselves with some help from friends,  and saved hard after moving in to be able to afford to pay for the bits they can't do themselves. 

They were slightly slowed down by partner getting pregnant partway through but managed to get the major bits like the staircase in before the baby was born. They are however both very practical people with lots of DIY skills and were both comfortable with the though of living in a building site for lengthy period. 

martindow

OP, I don't think you have answered the question about your children.  From your comment about creating a fourth bedroom it appears there are three at present.  If children are of an age and an appropriate mix of boys and girls so they could share that would take the pressure off immediately having to make extra space.

I am of the opinion that the area where the house is is most important.  Buildings can be changed or extended but not moved to a different place.

RelievedSheff

Having lived in part renovated project properties previously I would say don't under estimate the effect it can have on your quality of life.

If you are working long hours do you really want to come home to a part finished house with no end in sight to the renovations?

We now know that we will never buy a project house unless we could afford to buy it and do the renovations before we moved into it.