To sell the house and drastically change our lives

[julyjulyjuly]

I’m in my 30s, married with one DC and live on the outskirts of London. DH and I are both self employed and whilst the year started off well, the lockdowns have been awful financially and have also taken a massive toll mentally on both of us.

We have a big mortgage (£1500 a month) which was doable before, but with things looking so much less certain due to Covid, we’d now like to hugely reduce our outgoings.

We’ve always wanted to live in the countryside and we’ve found a place we really like the look of. It’s a long way from London and is in bad condition inside - it would need a new kitchen and bathroom straightaway and all the other rooms need completely redecorating (paintwork, fixtures and floors). The garden is an overgrown mess.

DH and I have never done any painting, decorating or floor sanding in our lives and don’t know anything about that sort of stuff. But it’s always been a dream to take on a rural project like this, do as much of the work as possible by ourselves and create an amazing family home.

We could afford a “finished” house in the location where we want to live on our budget, but it would be two bedrooms as opposed to four, with one reception room compared to three. I’ve always wanted the big rambling house so we can have family to stay at Christmas and friends during the year. Obviously that wouldn’t be possible with a two bedroom cottage, but if we bought the house that needs work then we’d have that.

The major issue is the finances - whilst our mortgage would be reduced to around £600 per month (that’s the cost of the house plus £50k to do it up), we worry that moving hundreds of miles away from London is a risky move career-wise. In our current state we can work from anywhere, but what if our freelance work dries up and we need to get full time jobs again? This is something that would be much easier to do near London than the far flung but beautiful corner we want to move to.

I know I’ve probably answered my own question here, but is it too risky to take this step and rely on getting freelance work in the future to pay our bills? Is there any way at all we can make this work or is it a total pipe dream?

I just feel completely and utterly drained by this year, am craving a massive lifestyle change and feel like this is a now or never moment.

WWYD?

I really don't think 50K is a big enough budget to do a renovation.
Building work always takes longer and costs more than you think.
Whenever you go a little below the surface there could be electrical issues, woodworm, damp, roof problems - all sorts.

Once you start putting new kitchens and bathrooms in - if you are going to do it right you will need to replaster and decorate. I am not some great expert but have gutted two houses with my husband who is a builder.

But you could move to Thatcham. Its got amazing schools, its commutable to London, surrounded by countryside and villages and has a brilliant Doctors surgery! Its also cheaper than nearby Newbury and you would probably be able to get a house that is not a do-er-upper. .

We've had to buy run down to live where we wanted. You get better at it as time goes on. I find getting jobs outside London easier myself. You dont have as much choice, but you can be the only one applying. We've been doing the current one as we go along. Moving out was hard though. The biggest thing for me was going to small town living. People are very different here. I definitely missed the wide range of friends I had. I left London in 2000.

You could just do the boiler, electrics, kitchen, bathroom, one reception room and two bathrooms - the other areas can be done as budget allows.

Could you do it with half your salary?
Could you do it if you double the renovation costs?
Do you have expectations around when it would be finished?

My parents do 5 year projects on houses.

Been there, done that, lived to regret it.

Unless you have substantial amount of cash to get renovations done properly and in the correct order, you’ll be buying a money pit.

More info needed, OP (which I realise you may not want to give on a public forum), particularly about the location of the house.

I am no stranger to bonkers decisions, having made many of them. I'm no stranger to renovations, either, having lived in them all my life (living in one now).

50K is peanuts in 'serious renovation' land. I've spent well over that on my current renovation, and have been here five years. I am reasonably competent - can plumb in a sink, change light switches, decorate, make and hang blinds and curtains, etc, etc - but have had to employ people to mend the roof, dig out channels for plumbing, replace rotten joists beneath the downstairs floors, re-wire, install new boiler etc. I spent £600 the other day on some very basic items (thank God for interest-free credit cards).

Renovations are expensive. I'm also project managing another one, and the en suite is costing upwards of 7K to replace (at mate's rates, with no VAT). That is a very, very basic like-for-like replacement, with me buying all the sanitaryware, tiles, grout, extractor fan etc separately, and with me doing all the decorating.

I have lived intermittently in London, and I wouldn't jack it in at the moment if I were you.

On a positive note I would say go for if. Many more jobs are going to be available as a homeworking option so the new work world might be easier. Being able to access a city 1 or 2 days a week might be the best of both worlds.

Is there a middle ground. I have 3 reception rooms and 4 beds but rarely go into two of the rooms. Big houses cost more to msintain and heat too. Every weekend and spare time be ones doing the house up - it gets boring quick.

How old is your dc - is pre school they soon want to do things like football or dancing. Throw in another child and you really do want some amenities you can access easily.

I did this with my husband. My ex-husband. It drove me almost literally mad. The first builders we had in said we’d be divorced by the time we’d finished and they were right. When we did finally finish 8 years later, I moved out. On the other hand one of my best friends and her husband thrive on this stuff. I just don’t know how to tell which sort of couple you are!

@Poppystars that would use up their entire budget, and more besides. Any estimate will be 1/3 to 1/2 higher when it comes to it.

Have you lived rurally before? It's not for everyone no matter how long held your dream. To go from London to rural backwater is hard. To do it with a house that is a building site will be even harder. This is essentially Grand Designs without actually building somewhere "just" renovating . And the way that seems to go is: You will end up living in a caravan for 2 years and have another baby, spend 3 times your budget and then have to deal with planning issues.

I know, but no idea how much spare income there is - as the 50k is borrowed.
But those areas are areas they need, the other rooms are not the priorities. Nor do we know how much work is needed.

I don’t think it’s quite as bad as needing to live in a caravan territory - all rooms are intact, just very, very grotty! And the kitchen and bathroom are barely usable.

We both grew up in rural areas so know what to expect in that sense.

DC is a baby at the moment.

Sorry for the short replies - trying to cook dinner while typing on my phone!

Honestly, it sounds like a dream house but given your 50k budget unrealistic. Most likely it will need to be rewired. Hacking back plaster and replacing is not cheqp. Replacing plumbing and toilets/sinks/showers etc is not cheap. What about heating and insulation costs/driveway/basic maintenance costs? How do you feel about letting your child living with dust/noise/limited space extra for months on end?

Sorry to be a negative but I am currently supporting a friend who is in a financial nightmare doing up a country house. The location is fabulous but it is honestly a money pit.

How old is your DC? How far would you be moving? Has your DC got any thoughts about moving to a very different place and lifestyle (of relevant due to age)?

Just seems from your post and subsequent comments you’re thinking though finances, lifestyle and career impact for you and your husband but not much so far about any impacts (positive and negative) that this could have on your child.

Just saw your latest update. If your child is still a baby then you don’t need to worry
about upheaval of school moves etc or then wanting a faster pace of life if a teen etc. So that seems to bode well!

Do you mean rural as in middle of Dartmoor/Scottish highlands? Or semi-rural as in close to small/medium villages & towns?

I do think the posters who said £50k is peanuts are probably right. This is what I need - a reality check!

There’s a very similar property that sold nearby recently for £60k more than this one, and it’s in good modern condition (though the decor isn’t to my particular taste). Given that, I’m wondering how much we could get off the asking price of the wreck!

Where is the house what area. ?? It isnt outing saying the area it will help us to advise u of jobs etc

OK - a few things here to unpick. I'm in the position of having just made a similar move, from London (3 bed maisonette) to Cornwall (large 5 bed dream house, with cash left over to renovate).
We work in the arts. My husband is a freelancer and I have a freelance portion to my role plus a stable PAYE part time job that I can do from home. We are having a quiet year and so used that time to make a jump we've been dreaming of for a while.

Firstly - your renovation budget is far too small for a 4 bed house. If it needs top to toe renovation - even if you do a large portion of the decorating yourselves - you need to double that figure, at least. Speaking from experience here, our last flat was a knackered repossession and we completely renovated it. £50k won't cover it if it's in the state I'm imagining. You haven't had a survey done yet which willl throw up that you need to spend £15k on roofing/£3k on central heating/plumbing, £3k on rewiring, £6k on new windows etc etc before you even get to the interior...

Scope: a 4 bed renovation with overgrown garden is no small project. Even with professional help that's going to eat a hell of a lot of your time for the next couple of years. It will also bring to bear a cost on your family life in terms of stress/tiredness/overwhelm. Factor that in. Do you want that? Can you afford to put the time in and sacrifice earning power?

Running costs: your mortgage may be smaller but remember that your ongoing utilities and maintenance costs will be waaaaaaayyyy higher. I think ours are going to be at least 3 or 4 times what they were in our London flat. That adds up.

Careers: I've got no idea what field of work you are in but I would say that yes it's possible to move to somewhere very rural and maintain your freelance career; I know a fair few who have done it. You may need to travel more and you may need to work hard to build new networks BUT there is loads going on locally when you scratch the surface and it's nice being in a smaller pond.

Flip side:
Quality of life - ours has gone through the roof. I literally feel like I have won the lottery on a daily basis and I LOVE where we live and feel like this is my home forever. We've had a warm welcome. There is so much beautiful loutdoors to explore. I can finally have a dog. There is not one iota of London that I miss (early days but there you go). I've always dreamed of living in the countryside though and have strong links here as my parent moved here 15 years ago so I've spent a lot of time in Cornwall.

Saying that - I don't think your plan is out of the window. I think you just need to calibrate your expectations a bit more accurately. It's totally doable, and frankly i would advocate being brave. London holds people like a magnet but I know lots who have left and have no regrets at all. There is a better quality of life out there.

Was going to say it's going to cost a lot more than 50k unfortunately, but see lots of people have already advised you.

Rent in the countryside for a year first to check it doesn’t send you stark staring bonkers.

See if you can move to an interest only mortgage, rent your house and rent in the area you would like to buy, test it out for a year...
Even if you only change your mortgage you will give yourself room to breathe. Good luck.

I keep hearing on You and Yours how bad the internet can be in rural areas. Does your plan to work from home in the depths of the country depend on having good wifi? You need to check that.

Hacking back plaster and replacing is not cheqp

Some of the radiators have pipes visibly running along the wall (so not behind the plaster as they’d normally be). What does that suggest?

Do you mean rural as in middle of Dartmoor/Scottish highlands? Or semi-rural as in close to small/medium villages & towns?

It’s rural like moors/highlands level, but isn’t too far from rural towns.

This thread is split into two camps - the people who have not done it telling you to 'go for it' and 'live your dream' and the experienced people who are giving you plenty of warning - it's stressful, time-consuming, expensive and given that you and your husband have no experience, personally you need to think about it trying not to get caught up in the romaticism or the 'change your life' dream that is so easy to get caught up in. I would really be thinking about what you as a family value. Is it time together? Is it order and clutter free living? Is it holidays? Is it challenge? Are you natural project managers? How good as a couple are you at communicating? How good are you at asking questions? Do like research? Do you want to be spending your evenings researching the best value/quality bath taps and then sending them back because they don't fit the bath you ordered?

Think and talk and reflect honestly.