Those of you who have built a new house/bought somewhere that needs extensive renovation

[TimTamTerrier]

Where did you live while it was happening?

We are considering moving house and there is very little housing stock to suit us in the area that we want to be in. There is a really dull 60s/70s house on a lovely big plot in a perfect location that would suit us if we took it down and built something else.

The thing is Dublin is in a bit of a rental crisis at the moment, rents are high and rising and rental property is very hard to find. We are mortgage-free in our current house but would need to sell it in order to finance the new-build. It might be possible to raise a mortgage on the house that we are currently in, but we've only been here a few years and all of our credit history is in the UK so we probably wouldn't get as much as we want. Is there an option that I'm missing? We definitely couldn't move in with family, or into a mobile home on the plot while the house is being built, both of which seem to be the norm on Grand Designs. (I also won't be getting unexpectedly pregnant, which happens more often than you would expect on GD. )

[meg54]

I suggest you start by talking to an independent mortgage advisor. There are various lenders who will fund/part fund building projects, while allowing you to keep living in your current home.
They will also advise on your credit history, so that should not be a problem.
Good luck!.

[YelloDraw]

Static caravan in the garden like they do on grand designs?

[TimTamTerrier]

at the thought of a static caravan.

I suppose the good thing is the interest rates are pretty low, so if we got a mortgage it wouldn't cost as much as it might. Our finances are a bit odd tbh, as we bought this house with an inheritance so it's completely out of line with our income, so we might not be able to borrow all that much. They are much more cautious about lending here since the crash. This house is worth about 16 times H's annual income, and for the re-build of the new house we would need to borrow about eight times H's income (or half the value of the current house).

[misson]

8 times you'd income is huge. Does anyone lend on that basis?

Would the new house go in footprint of the existing house? If not, could you demolish it after building the new one, allowing you to live in it?

[Mner]

We were able to get a good bit of work done before we moved in in the first month (plastering, electrics, heating), then we lived through the extension and timed our holiday with the actual knock through. It wasn't easy but it was the only way we could afford it.

DS loved watching the building work and the deliveries. We had a great view outside our lounge window. The novelty quickly faded when you feel like you are constantly on view, they leave their tools lying around, they start borrowing your tools and ladders (and then you have to watch that your stuff doesn't sneak into their vans accidentally...), pull up floorboards unexpectedly, leave holes in walls/floors whilst they moved onto the next thing, pressure to make decisions there and then with no chance to discuss anything but the house was awful and it is so much better now. I am glad we did it to get the house the way we want it but we would never do it again.

[TimTamTerrier]

Yes, it would have to go exactly where the old house is.

It would be a big amount to borrow, and there's always an underlying fear that this house might take a while to sell once we put it on the market. On the other hand, once everything was done we would end up with a house that suits us better in a location that we like better and would probably have a bit of cash left over too.

[JoJoSM2]

Would you be able to get a buy-to-let to live in while you sort your house out? And ending up with your main home with, possibly, a bit of a mortgage + an investment property (mortgaged).

[lemonpoppyseed]

We have two small DCs and are renovating our new home. We decided to rent, and have a short-term rental. It's worth checking out shorter-let properties for business people etc who relocate for a short time. It's a little more expensive than a regular rental but we go month to month and and only need to give two weeks notice when leaving (v good as no builder will ever tell you exactly when it'll be finished!). Having lived through/in two renos in the past this is definitely the way to go if you have small children...

[shovetheholly]

I would have a look at what you can do in terms of converting rather than just pulling down - a good architect can take a bog standard designed house and knock it into something amazing. And this may work out cheaper than starting completely from scratch.

Disclaimer for the next bit: I am very financially risk-averse.

I would be careful about over-extending yourself financially. We are moving into more turbulent times than most of us have known. I'm no economist, but Ireland sounds fairly vulnerable. Being mortgage-free is a pretty enviable place to be, and you need to be certain that the additional risk is really worth it. This is why I would urge caution and exploring the intermediate options where you put smaller amounts of investment into an existing house.

[MirabelleTree]

I'm with Shove and would look at extending and remodelling. We're doing this having already hugely changed the internal layout. Next step is an extension and to resite the front door to a different elevation. The house when finished will bear no resemblance to the original.

The initial phase was rewire, install central heating, knock down wall to accommodate downstairs toilet, knock out larder plus kitchen wall to make kitchen diner. This all happened between when DS was 3 months and 2 and DD was 5-7.Next phase was to rip out all the upstairs walls and start again. DC were older then with DS about 8. We did go for a week during the rewire but have been here for the rest and it was fine.

I would get some architects to look at it and come up with some suggestions.

[Smoothfoxdog]

We did a massive renovation / rebuild. Bought a small flat to live in while work being carried out. Sold the flat with a little profit, but as we had put a hefty deposit down the mortgage payments were way less than renting (had to be sneaky though and get flat on a buy to let mortgage as the renovation was on the normal residential mortgage). After selling the flat moved into the fully complete ground floor of new house and used the equity from the sale of the flat to complete the rest of the house.
A bit 'balls in the air' and many sleepless nights over cash flow, but ultimately worth it not to live on site for the worst if the work. Best of luck!

[TimTamTerrier]

Buying a small house might be the way to go, although it would be better for DS who has ASD to only move once. It would free up all the capital from the house that we are living in. It would have to be a house rather than a flat as we have a dog, and it would have to be 5 bedrooms as the DC can't share, I won't share and we have an au pair. On the plus side we could save costs by buying the house and moving in for the time being while we design and get planning permission, which can take ages here. The new house is about half what we would sell this house for, so we could invest the left-over money in the meantime.

[JoJoSM2]

Sounds like you've got options :) Although Dc, an au pair and a dog to accommodate as well... Good luck :)