What do you prefer when buying a house?

[CVVFan]

I’m pretty sure I’m in the minority group that prefer either houses that are ready to move in or that are liveable for at least 2-3 years. I never buy based on a vision/project/putting my stamp on it.

We’re selling our house in 4 years, and quite frankly as much as it’s liveable for whoever buys it, it does look outdated.

I think we’re already on negative equity, so we think we’ll at least need to refresh the kitchen somehow (and possibly the bathrooms) the question is how much work is it sensible considering we’re selling it? The whole pint of the remedial work would be to sell it faster and not get cheeky offers because to some it might look more like a project than a liveable house.

Yes, both neighbours next to us have it, so it’s obviously not a crazy idea. And yes of the one heading to uni.

and my DM still complains about the foldable guest bed

I thought you said only one had converted?

The one that was on the market 6 weeks ago..,. No progress?

i thought the plan had been a garage conversion to start in the new year at a cost of £12k

One has had a full conversion, the other one had a similar conversion to what we want (which just sold!)

and yes that was the original plan, but after talking o my friend (who is in a similar situation) it’s difficult to know how much I’ll enjoy it vs the cost

so good job I suppose that your husband did procrastinate?

The house on market - no progress?

Yes, it just got sold over the weekend

Nope! But they didn’t reduce it on the listing

So the house that has just sold was in much better condition and sold for only £10k more than you bought it 4 years ago?

in that case, you need to accept that you will sell for less than you paid for it 4 years ago. And so spending money on it would not be financially prudent BUT in terms of improving quality of life in what sounds like a pretty poor environment to live and work in - spend on getting a space for you. I’d consider renting a co working space myself

There’s only one in town! And it’s a converted house. I’ve gone to have a look and didn’t see the point in all honesty

No but she's asking for advice on the best way to raise the value of the house and giving that as the the reason.
"I need a job that pays well as my current job doesn't cover my outgoings. Can anyone advise"
"Your outgoings are utterly irrelevant to what your current employer is paying you"

OP I think actually it might be quite dependent on the area you live in. I would, if possible, have a look at what other houses nearby are selling for and what they look like inside. And, crucially, how fast they sell. That should give you an idea of what improvements (if any) would raise the value of your house the best.

Although most people have smaller families than yours, there are plenty of families of 6 plus out there, and some areas have a higher concentration than others. Likewise, some developers buy with HMOs in mind and actually a house with many smaller rooms is an advantage then. If you are near a University for example. No point spending lots on knocking through walls only to have a potential buyer factoring the cost of creating new partition walls into his offer.

And sometimes just being able to say "5 bedroom house" puts it in a higher potential price bracket as "3 bedroom house". But in another situation the smaller rooms could lower the price.

Shit! Then in that case, 💐 and 🍷 for the next 4 years (and hopefully this does actually happen because i y that point it will have been your big plan for 2 decades!)

Don't put in a new kitchen because itight not be to the taste of the new owners. I bought our current house over 20 years ago but it had a new kitchen with a breakfast bar which looked lovely but meant a shortage of cupboards. Luckily the range was still current so I could take our breakfast bar taking up all of one wall and add a round the corner carousel for saucepans, 2 double base cupboards and a little slim wine fridge.

Putting in a kitchen in what the Op describes would literally be pouring money down the drain. Spending any money on it will.

The Op either needs to put quality of life over money considerations and spend on a conversion that will improve her work and home environment

or

crack on with gritted teeth and carry on being out as much as possible (which sounds terrible tbh)

it is really tricky. Being happy in your home especially if you work full time from it - is just so important. However, the Op is the primary breadwinner and the house is likely going to sell for considerably less than what they paid for it years ago - so I get that that must weigh heavily too.

I’d spend money on the conversion personally
4 years is a long time and that’s presuming the move to London does happen

however a conversion requires organisation and arranging things and I get the sense the husband is poor on that front and the OP also struggles with that kind of thing due to ND (this very much reminds me of my autistic niece)

The move will happen. Realistically there’s no reason why it won’t.
and I don’t necessarily struggle as much with organising that sort of thing, but I hate that I have to organise EVERYTHING and considering my husband is somewhat of a tradesperson it’s the least he could do.

Sounds like maybe you’ll be moving to London as a singleton

Out of interest… you mentioned this has been your plan for 14 years. What’s stopped you at any point doing this in the past?

A property 6 hours from London that you’ll sell for less than you paid for it is going to give you enough for a 3 bedroom property in London?

Simple! We’ll have to get a new mortgage, but the house is worth at least (and that’s from a pessimistic POV) at least 50% of the next house, so it shouldn’t be to hard to find something (we’ve seen plenty on right move).

I haven’t been able to move because of shared custodies and children.

simple 😆

How’s is that not simple? The LTV is quite healthy and I pass the affordability on my own.

Your house, 6 hours from London, in an undesirable area with a very niche layout is NOT worth 50% of a London 3 bedroom and the very fact you even think this means this move to London is never going to happen.

spend money on improving your life now

How much do you think a 3 bedroom property in London costs op? Where in London?

How much do you think my house is worth?

BTW my area is not undesirable, if anything it’s kind of the opposite, but the area nor the house are for me. The house has a niche layout, that’s where it ends.

Good luck OP