To buy a bomb site for £1.1 million?

[Losingmyusername]

Just that really. 17th century, listed, 6 bedrooms and a self contained annex with 3 bedrooms (no bathroom or kitchen fitted and no floors).
It was occupied by squatters who have smashed all the windows. Significant damp issues in one room. Horrible interior fittings, and needs bathroom and kitchen fully remodelling, as its previous use was a hostel.
Asking price is £1.4, but I think the work is very substantial and I suspect the survey may show additional issues.
Would need planning permission/LBC for the refit and ideally would want to add a door to the garden.
I think we probably couldn't live in it for six months.
Can afford it if our current place sells for 650 and we get rental income from the annex and have my sister move in as well.
It would give space for all the kids and potential for then to live in the house when they're grown up and we live in the annex.
Only reason I'm even thinking about is because I realised the sums just add up if survey is ok and obviously if I keep my job. I picture being able to restore this local house to its former glory and am carried away with the idea of sweeping staircases and decorated ceilings (right now it has a shitty cheap staircase, no decor and that horrible chip wallpaper). I'm not great at DIY but my husband is and loves it. I already live in a listed building so have some idea what would typically be granted/refused and how to apply.
Am I an idiot to even think about putting an offer in?

And now selling their mothers house.

OP this just isn't a project you can afford, and it could easily end up with you, your sister and your mother being homeless with a huge pile of debt.

Yes this as I thought you. couldn't get a mortgage on a property with no working kitchen or bathroom, although this is information gleaned from watching homes under the hammer many years ago so things may have changed.

I wholeheartedly say do it but only if you call Grand Designs to follow you through the whole process. I look forward to hearing about it being completed in 10 years, minus another 2 mill and plus 1 divorce 😬

Enjoying DIY is not enough if it needs that level of work and it's listed. It's a full time renovation
Have you got connections to trades?
I'd love it but you seriously need to look at it with a sensible head on, x your expected budget by 4 then add on some

300k 😬. We've got an 1800s large country house with 5 acres down the road just sold in much better condition than your potential and they've budgeted half a million for that and are expecting to go over. Window replacement alone on a 17th century listed property will be thousands and thousands of pounds, particularly if they are sash windows that need hand making. My friend has a half the size 17th century property and the window quote was staggering. You can't DIY stuff like that. As you already know it's obviously not going to be a pop down to IKEA job. In our cottage everything is odd sized and needs hand tooling to fit. I absolutely love the idea of it and I can see why you would want to, I would too. Please be careful though. You don't want to end up with a money pit and run out of funds.

How much will it be worth finished? How much will the annex rent for?
Similar amount of work and we have a budget of £750k with a substantial potential contingency fund. We have check resale price after work is done and the numbers add up, annex will be air b n b and will let for around £550 per week. Plus this is our forever home so we are investing in it being everything we want.

Just spoken to my dad whos in the building trade. He has said for refurbishment consider £3k per square meter. This is assuming no walls being removed or any internal structural modifications. New wiring, plumbing, kitchen, bathrooms.

Sounds wonderful and I’m first to say take a leap of faith

BUT

there is no way a damp house with no floors, bathroom or kitchen is going to cost you £300k for a full reno. I’ve got a fair amount of experience in this area and I’d be budgeting 3x that.

Post a link to the property @Losingmyusername

These projects would be fun and games if they’re actually any trades people around to help you to complete it. I moved in last spring and my kitchen wall is getting knocked down in October. Needless to say, I started getting quotes immediately last spring.

Can you share a link to it?

My mum renovated her house. She spend 50% of the purchase price on it.

to get it to its former glory - budget 500k.

We renovated our Jacobean Manor House.
It is now beautiful, but oh my gosh, there were times I wondered if we’d escape with our sanity and our marriage.

We still had our existing house to live in.
We had plenty of spare cash, no mortgage ( hello yearly bonus, bye bye bonus for five fricking years).
It cost twice as much and took twice as long as I thought it would.
I’m on first name terms with more people at English Heritage than is healthy.
I know more shit about pargetting, drains, lead surveys and chimney stacks than I ever wanted to.
Foxes moved in. There’s a channel Five documentary on that alone.
The upkeep budget is two grand a month. I feel a bit sick writing that.

And ten years later DH has just found a bargain farmhouse on the Dordogne, so here we go again!

It was probably the costliest, most stressful thing I’ve ever done. Next time, I’m moving into a fully renovated townhouse.

It is a wonderful thing to do, but go in with your eyes open.

This. ^ Share the link to the property @Losingmyusername

Rather loving the answers here, thanks everyone! Yeah, too many ands, indeed. Fwiw a few clarifications: there is what could be called a kitchen, which is a hideous commercial kitchen on the other side of the house from the dining room, so we'd instead look to make that a bathroom and have the current dining room as kitchen diner. The annex is a separate building with separate entrance and "only" needs floor, kitchen and bathroom installing so I theory tenants wouldn't be living in a building site. Fittings were redone by previous owner but for some reason they stopped the rest of the refurb and out up for sale - the owner is a charity that bought it from the council for £1 according to the local paper. It's across the road from our current house. We love the location, but it's in catchment for a failing comp and servicing that size mortgage would put private school out if reach - was already anyway for three kids tbh.

If the sums just add up then no, you will need a huge contingency with a project that size and an older building.

I wouldn’t, there’s too many variables. For a start how long until an annexe is liveable for income? Secondly what are the logistics with your sister moving in? Is she single or does she have family? This sounds potentially fraught with issues down the line. I would say only do this if you can afford to do so without relying on anyone else.

As an aside it’s still a nightmare trying to get tradespeople to do anything at the moment, we were looking at a year lead time for a small extension. Prices of materials are still very high. And then it’s listed so you can’t really cut corners. I just can’t see how it’s remotely a good idea.

It's across the road from our current house. We love the location, but it's in catchment for a failing comp and servicing that size mortgage would put private school out if reach - was already anyway for three kids tbh.

I might be misreading here but if it's across the road from your current house surely the catchment school is the same for your house?

Trying to upload an image. It's the main house and you can see the annex next to it with three bedrooms.

Is it grade 1 or 2 listed, there is quite a big difference between the two in terms of what you are likely to get permission for.

A couple who own a house near me were just quoted 700k to refund a house that was in good condition but just not to their taste so I don't think your 300k budget will go very far and you may need specialist trades people to restore certain parts because of the listing.

I think it sounds lovely for someone with a bottomless pit of money and another house to live in whilst the work is done.

Refurb not refund

Only if you know and completely trust a builder.
Preferably a family member.

It's grade 2 listed same as our current house (not 2*). There are no period features left on the inside at all, but obviously I'm aware that doesn't make a difference.

Would have said no but then you posted the image ... ❤

32 bloody pictures on the right move listing all of which were taken from the outside is quite impressive. 😅

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/134753369#/?channel=RES_BUY