What to do with £5k?

[iwantbrewstersmillions]

So I have just been informed I am inheriting £5k shortly and the person I am inheriting it from would like me to spend it on the house (rather than pay off bills and live off it)

I currently live with my DP in a house I am not overly in love with but for work reasons I had to move in with him rather than vice versa.

We have done the kitchen and the bedroom up and decided last night to do up the living room on a tight budget (£500) which we are still going to stick with.

That leaves us with a couple of jobs we could spend the money on.

We need a new front door quite desperately and only have double glazing in our kitchen so double glazing would be great and of course would add value.

The other job we are desperate for is the bathroom, we had large plans to extend but we are never going to have the money so have persuaded DP to do that on a budget too. At the moment it has a green suite, purple carpets, no shower, wallpaper. It truly is as bad as that sounds and if I want a shower I have to drive to my parents house!! I don't think I take much more of baths!

We could rejig the bathroom and get a bath with overhead shower in (I would just have a shower but DP loves his baths!)


Is there anyway in the world we can get those both done for £5k or am I dreaming? Could we maybe do 2 windows and the front door and then the bathroom?

[redhat]

Is it actually a house that you own?

[iwantbrewstersmillions]

No but we are in a long term relationship and will be getting married in the next 2 years so I am happy to put the money into it.

[bessiebumptious2]

I'd do the bathroom as a priority and if you have enough left over, the front door. £4k for the bathroom and £1k for a smart front door. Both those will help to sell the property whereas the double glazing is something that people can get around to sometime, window by window.

[lalalonglegs]

I'd do absolutely nothing until my name was on the deeds. If he does that then yes, you can do a bathroom on a budget and change the suite, retile (with cheap tiles) and change the front door. I'm not sure that you could get lots of other windows done too for that budget but perhaps one or two where you most need them? Shop around - double glazing firms quoted me from £750 to £6000 for the same job (three largish windows) - I went for the cheapest and it was really good .

[sparechange]

When you say 'rejig' the bathroom, would you leave the bath, sink and toilet in the same places?
If so, a basic but contemporary suite, plus taps, flooring and tiles can be bought for around £1500 (including things like shower screen, mirrors etc) and it is roughly £200 per person per day for installation, so budget £1k for that
That leaves plenty left over for a new front door.
I personally wouldn't prioritise double glazing, unless the existing windows are shot and need replacing.

Have a look on some on the Bathstore website to get an idea of prices...

[iwantbrewstersmillions]

Thanks guys.

The bath location is a bit of an issue, the toilet is next to the wall then the bath and the wall that is on slopes, so might be hard not to have to move toilet.

I think you are right, new front door and bathroom. We can do windows slowly as we get the money and the house isn't really drafty, its more of a security issue for me.