Making an offer on a house that needs work

Martico

Insulation: if you're talking about basic loft insulation, it's cheap and easy enough to do on your own.
Windows: mine have needed replacing since I bought the place in 2016, I'm still saving for that and the house hasn't fallen down. Only you will know the urgency of replacing the windows. In your shoes, I'd ask for another visit and have a proper look, perhaps taking along a knowledgeable friend.
But yes, the point that repairs take longer and are pricier than you first imagine stands.

Noneforit999

Don't underestimate the cost of getting work done these days.

We refurbished our 3 bed 60's house we bought and we have spent £45k so far including a new kitchen. Still have the bathroom and garden to do. We had a budget of X and expected to get say 20 things done with that, we are close to that budget and only managed to do 12-13 of them. You may find you learn to live with things that don't absolutely need doing/ 

Fixtures and fittings can be as cheap or expensive as you like but tradesman cost the same regardless of whether you pick a £3k kitchen or a £20k one. 

One thing we learned is that whatever you think something is going to cost, add 30% to that.

The stuff you know about is one thing but as others have said, its inevitable things are going to need doing that you are not even aware of.

Niv

FreeBear said:

housebuyer143 said: The house will almost certainly need more work than you think and can see. If you think it needs a bit of work, it probably needs a lot so will cost more than expected.

Tales of repairs/renovations here...

Replace windows - Chunks of plaster get knocked off the walls. They now need stripping back to brick before insulating (or I could just patch up the plaster).

Replace the door - Needs a lintel to support the outer leaf of brickwork. No room to wriggle one in, so the soldier course needs removing first. In doing so, the bricks come out so badly damaged, new ones are needed. Being old imperial bricks, only one local supplier has any, and even then, need to pick over a pallet to find good matches.

Replacing the ceiling in the hallway - Cut a few laths out, hear a loud thud from an adjoining room. A big chunk of plaster has fallen down from the ceiling....

Boiler gets condemned. So new boiler needed along with new plumbing and bigger radiators in some rooms.

Water leaking in through the kitchen ceiling after heavy rain. Several attempts to find the source, and eventually track it down to a small crack in the render. Chip away the render to make a repair, only to find a larger crack in the wall that goes all the way through.

Still have to replace the ceilings in three rooms due to cracks, and will be adding more insulation when they get done... And then the bathroom needs a complete refit.

If you don't have the skills to do most of the work yourself, you need a sizeable chunk of money to pay someone else to do it. Plasterers, electricians, and plumbers do not come cheap. It is also a crap shoot to find a reliable person that can do a good quality job.

You got off lightly, my house was built ~1600. Here is my starter for 10, two of the ceilings were held up with wallpaper...

FreeBear

Niv said:

FreeBear said:

housebuyer143 said: The house will almost certainly need more work than you think and can see. If you think it needs a bit of work, it probably needs a lot so will cost more than expected.

Tales of repairs/renovations here...

Replace windows - Chunks of plaster get knocked off the walls. They now need stripping back to brick before insulating (or I could just patch up the plaster).

Replace the door - Needs a lintel to support the outer leaf of brickwork. No room to wriggle one in, so the soldier course needs removing first. In doing so, the bricks come out so badly damaged, new ones are needed. Being old imperial bricks, only one local supplier has any, and even then, need to pick over a pallet to find good matches.

Replacing the ceiling in the hallway - Cut a few laths out, hear a loud thud from an adjoining room. A big chunk of plaster has fallen down from the ceiling....

Boiler gets condemned. So new boiler needed along with new plumbing and bigger radiators in some rooms.

Water leaking in through the kitchen ceiling after heavy rain. Several attempts to find the source, and eventually track it down to a small crack in the render. Chip away the render to make a repair, only to find a larger crack in the wall that goes all the way through.

Still have to replace the ceilings in three rooms due to cracks, and will be adding more insulation when they get done... And then the bathroom needs a complete refit.

If you don't have the skills to do most of the work yourself, you need a sizeable chunk of money to pay someone else to do it. Plasterers, electricians, and plumbers do not come cheap. It is also a crap shoot to find a reliable person that can do a good quality job.

You got off lightly, my house was built ~1600. Here is my starter for 10, two of the ceilings were held up with wallpaper...

Hallway and landing had woodchip paper hiding cracks (and probably keeping some of the plaster up) - They have both gone now.. Other rooms, it is artex attempting to hide cracks and stop lumps falling down. Kitchen is half original build and half 1970s extension. The old half of the ceiling had been painted with distemper and then assorted layers of emulsion (much of it peeling off). The extension had long straight cracks and nails popped..

But you win on build date