Diary of a 30-something idiot

lillypoo

foxgloves said:

The problem with 'doer-upper' houses is (at least in my experience) that they invariably cost more than double one's best estimate to sort out. If I had a time machine, I wouldn't buy our current house at all......not without a minimum of a spare £50k in savings to sort it out. We had no savings (just debt) so with hindsight, a house that had previously been refurbed would have been a much better bet.
Sad news about your dog. I have been there with various of our cats - we lost our previous much-loved old tabby & white boy to cancer & the 'saying goodbye', however much it needs to happen, never gets any easier.
F

Same here. I bought a tiny doer upper and would never do it again. Unless I won the lottery and money was in unendless supply. The house is one of the reasons I'm now in debt and because of that ..I hate it.

New_in_the_fens

I think you’ve made a good choice to pull out. Our doer-upper is hard work. I don’t regret it, but we have spent a lot on it. I’m luckily not going to pick up much debt as a result, but I do hate the reducing savings balances 😂 and the impact on living is hard - all time is spent on the house or working. Very little fun time, so I’m looking forward to the end of the year when we will have completed the first (most significant) phase. The kitchen and dining room are then tabled for a couple of years time once we’ve got the money together for it. And the garden will start next year (I’m currently ignoring the wilderness surrounding my home 🤣) 

SuzeQStan

We’ve never had a doer upper - we’ve been the silly ones with no imagination who bought the nicest state of repair house they could find.  And then lived in them for years before even picking up a paintbrush.

I think your decision is wise - no need to add to your burden if you can find something key ready without the headache of having to makeover.

enthusiasticsaver

Sorry about your dog.

Good decision on the house. They always cost more than you think and it is extremely wearing to live in a building site for a prolonged period of time. Being closer to work etc will save you money too so win win. 

Humdinger1

So sorry about your dog; sending hugs.  I think reality over the house, painful as it is, is the best way forward.   You can spend all the money that's ever been printed, add galactic levels of stress to your life, and still not be done with doer-uppers.   You probably have enough to be going on with already, no?! Love Humdinger xx 

foxandflowers

Hello friends

can I request a sanity check at the following link:

https://www.vebra.com/details/property/32359631

I would have enough to clear all my debts and still have money in the bank. The kids could have the garden room as a gaming room/sleepover zone. My daughter is the only one with us full time at present. And I weirdly love it. If I knocked out the understairs cupboard I could add extra worktops and cupboards to the kitchen? I don’t know if I’m over thinking this.

WinterWarrior

I would think twice about not having a bathroom upstairs…and would you miss a bath? It’s very pretty, but you could quirky up many spaces very cheaply. 

mumtoomany

Or they could in the summer house! It looks a little cluttered, which will mean it's a bit bigger than it looks. Some interesting colours too! Much better. Almost no work to do, and if you can clear all the debt too, even better. Have you viewed it yet? Mumtoomany.xxx

foxandflowers

WinterWarrior said:

I would think twice about not having a bathroom upstairs…and would you miss a bath? It’s very pretty, but you could quirky up many spaces very cheaply. 

We haven’t got a bathroom upstairs here, and so far I haven’t missed it. But I think we could possibly add an en suite to the main bedroom - we would have plenty of money to do that. I’d have about 130k after we’d moved. 

peb

Low EPC.  Could just mean minor tweaks such as lightbulbs

Some areas have downstairs bathrooms as a matter of course.  If you are used to it fair enough.