Inherited nightmare house - what to do?

[TomHanksintheMoneyPit]

Last year I inherited my late mother's upper floor maisonette, which was in an appalling condition due to my mother being disabled and mentally ill and a hoarder, and a squatter living in the house for five months after her death who trashed the place.

The place is basically structurally sound and does not have any mould or mildew, and no problems with insect or rodent infestation or anything like that. But it's in a terrible condition and has not been touched since the 1970s. The bathroom and kitchen both need to be ripped out and replaced. It probably needs a new boiler. Every room (even the bathroom!) has stained, threadbare carpets. I've pulled some of the carpets back and the floorboards underneath are in reasonable condition albeit would need a fair bit of work (sanding, staining and varnishing) to make them look good. All the rooms except one have ancient tatty wallpaper. The doors, door frames and window frames are filthy and yellowed and would need to be deep-cleaned then re-painted white. The massive garden is a jungle with knee-high brambles and at least two fallen down sheds. The garage is so jammed with stuff you can't even get inside.

I have health problems, do not drive, and it takes me 90 minutes on (free) public transport to get to her house. I don't have anyone to help me and earn a pretty small salary, although I do have a generous cash inheritance which is in an ISA. I generally can only visit her house once a week, twice at most, and spend perhaps 7 hours there. It's taken me a year just to clear out her personal possessions and furniture. On the other hand I'm not bad at DIY/decorating and feel confident in being able to do stuff like prep and paint walls or put down laminate flooring.

I'm now at the point of having to decide when to put it on the market, and how much work to do in advance. People with experience in selling houses, and in particular selling or buying fixer uppers, would you recommend:

1. Putting it on the market as-is, as a fixer upper, in the knowledge that the sheer look of the place is so off-putting.

1. Doing superficial DIY work to make it look more appealing, eg. stripping the old wallpaper, giving the walls a fresh coat of paint, cleaning and re-painting the doors, ripping up the carpets and putting some cheap laminate floor tiles down, just so that the property looks clean, neutral, and not totally neglected. But leave the kitchen and bathroom and sell it with the understanding the new owners will need to do some work in installing a new kitchen and bathroom, new boiler, fixing the garden, etc.

1. Invest the contents of my ISA into paying someone to do it up properly including installing a new kitchen and bathroom, before putting it on the market.

I'm leaning towards #2, but I'm uncertain exactly what I should do, vs what I should leave. I keep thinking of new things that need fixing or replacing, like the garden fence, and going AAARRRRGGGHH! Any advice?

Great news OP!

"43domesticslattern

I would do a scaled down version of 2.
Pay someone to clear the garden, sheds and the garage, and rip up visibly dirty carpets (leave floorboards not laminate). Maybe strip the wall paperdepending how long it would take.
Then sell it as a fixer upper.
Remember your time and sanity are worth something! and no-one wants a cheap kitchen and bathroom to someone else's tastes.
I'm speaking as a buyer who has seen places like this and it's really off putting knowing you'll be ripping out the brand new bottom of the range kitchen, but paying for it anyway."

This... get someone in to do it & I'd give it a lick of fresh paint too if walls come up ok. A blank canvas for some lucky buyer...

If snap that up as it is..and lots of buyers really can see past the age, mess etc.

Chances are the first thing I'd be doing would be ripping up flooring to replace the heating systems, cutting electrics into walls, most door frames, doors and skirtings out, ceilings down if they are manky to put new lighting in, then start a fit out, so you spending time and your money painting and making it nicer really won't be appreciated by anyone who's going to start from scratch and knows what they are doing.

Unless you do the above work then I'd say sell as it is.

Well done that must be such a relief. Hoping it all goes smoothly for you going forward. It’s a difficult time selling an inheritance property with all the emotions and memories involved.

The next person can then make it into their much loved home and make it how they want it. Good luck.

Missed the update!! Great news

Congratulations!

I think it will probably be bought by a developer or someone looking for a project, and they would need to redo electrics/radiators, maybe even move walls around. So anything you’d do to the walls would only be undone again. Better to leave them as they are, especially as stripping the wallpaper would mean plastering before it can be painted, which would cost a lot of money.
I’d remove the carpets, leave the wallpaper, and pay for someone to clear the garden and tear down the old sheds. Anything more than that won’t recoup the cost, as PP have said.

I am totally late to the party! Glad to hear you have an offer, great news!

@flopsygirll

Put it on the market as is and price accordingly. As someone who's done up houses option 2 will be a waste of your time and/or money.

I work in property and I’d say exactly this. Put it on the market with an estate agent, it’s not bad enough to go on an auction ( unless you are in an area where there’s low demand ).

You might have to pay someone to clear the shed first though but see what the local estate agents say.

Houses that require new heating / rewiring / kitchen / bathroom come on the market all the time. I’ve viewed two in the last week and I’m seeing another one tomorrow. I know how much it will cost to renovate then and will offer accordingly.

There are plenty investors in your area who will do the same.

Do not I repeat NOT do no. 2. It’s a huge waste of your time and money as it will just all be ripped out. Anyone who knows what they are doing will not be fooled by a coat of emulsion and cheap laminate.

You’ve already spent a year of your life clearing it and no doubt several thousand pounds paying bills on it. Get rid of it now and use the time and cash to enrich your life in whatever way feels right to you.

You need to draw a line under this and move into a new phase of your life, free from the drain that this property has become.

Great news. Out of curiosity, what was the view of the estate agent, and how much interest did you have before it sold?

As someone in poor health and a non driver I would got for #1 for a quick sale if the house is structurally sound. Think of the cost in your time and energy traveling and without help or transport. If you can get a house clearance guy/gal to clear personal possessions cheaply all the better. You might get more money with #2 but it would take more time. As other posters have pointed out there is a housing shortage and many buyers looking for a "fixer upper" with the money and/or energy to do it. Good luck.

My dh is a builder/ property developer. I know his advice would be to just sell it as it is. The person buying it will most likely be a developer who will just gut it so faffing about doing superficial stuff will be a waste of your time and energy and it probably wont make any difference to the price you get.

Well done OP.

I hope that clearing the place has also given you some emotional closure, and a sense of pride and achievement.

I hope the sale goes well.

Great update. Hope the sale goes through smoothly,

Great update. Well done

how does an "upper floor maisonette" have a garden & garage (sorry, I genuinely don't understand the words).

How much ££ did you have to invest and how much do you think it improved the price?

Well done OP. I always like it when a genuinely useful thread helps the OP get to where they need to be. Hope you are frivolous with (some of) the sale money

how does an "upper floor maisonette" have a garden & garage (sorry, I genuinely don't understand the words).

Building is split into two, bottom floor and top floor. Garden is split in two length-ways with a fence down the middle (so the gardens are very narrow but long). Gardens accessed via back kitchen door, so downstairs maisonette, their kitchen door opens straight onto the left hand side of garden. Upper floor maisonette, kitchen door opens onto a staircase going down directly into right hand side of garden.

The garages are part of a separate block which is basically behind the gardens, you have to walk around the corner to get to them.

I don't mind nosiness!

I ripped out all the carpets and stripped the wallpaper. I did end up painting one room where the walls were in decent condition and just needed a bit of a wipe down and a fresh coat, but it wasn't necessary. And yes everything cleared except outside.

Garden is still a right state!

Property went on the market for £350k (the maisonette downstairs sold for £380k, as a guide price), estate agent suggested putting it on at the high end. Got an offer within about 2-3 weeks for £300k which I accepted due to just wanting to be rid of it. But I'll have to spend £80k extending the lease which comes out of the sales price, since - lovely surprise! - the lease only had 40 years left to run.

The money will bring you security what will you do with it?

Probably be boring and put it in an ISA / other savings account.

Though I haven't had a holiday in a long time, so I might take a little holiday once all this is over.

Mumsnet is bloody lovely sometimes.

thanks for explaining the garden/garage access. Sounds like a great outcome for you.

Gosh, £80K for the lease. Blimey.
Fingers crossed your sale goes smoothly.

Good luck OP, really pleased to read your update.

Well done op, I was in very similar position but figures much lower, much lower.
However the peace of mind its brought is worth more than the worry of renting it out etc.

I'VE opened a sipp and stocks and shares isa and also put some in premium bonds.

I'd go for option 1. I inherited my parents' house and cleared it of most furniture, plus paid someone to clear the loft and the shed. As it was in London, I knew that someone would be looking to do a development or diy project. The estate agent took photographs that showed its potential. I sold it within a couple of weeks to someone from abroad who didn't physically visit the house, though they sent their architect round.

Something to remember is that the longer you hold on to the property - even to do cosmetic work - the more costs you will incur in terms of insurance and problems from the house being empty, such as pipe bursts.