To ask what the real costs are of doing up a house?

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House hunting for our second home together with DH. I always wanted to get somewhere we could do up but now I'm in the mix of it and looking at houses I realise there is SO much to do. DH advises me that as long as it's structurally sound, we can do things bit by bit but I've made a list of a recent house we've seen and it would need new windows, a new boiler, new roof on the extension, a tree surgeon. It's a bargain and in the nicest area we have seen with a lot of nostalgia for me as grandparents used to live nearby but I'm wondering is it really a bargain or shall we just get a new build? I love DIY but this feels mammoth compared to our lovely little bungalow we are moving on from.

For those who have done or had involvement in a renovation or walked away from the opportunity to do one, why? What was the costs? Share your knowledge with me!

So not to drip feed the house in question is 150k lower than others we have looked at but I don't know how much the work would cost.

There's the mental cost to consider too! I lived in a house with no carpets for over a year because I couldn't afford them after I spent all the money on doing the roof / damp proofing and plastering. I was young and living alone though so all the financial pressure was on me, and it was a tough time. I felt anxious quite a bit and fed up of living in a mess..it never felt clean, but it did all improve slowly! As I earned more I finished it gradually.

If you have the money for it and are prepared for the disruption then crack on.

We just cut down 15 huge trees that were dead or had been left to grow dangerously high near our neighbour's or our house. DH did some research, bought some tools and slowly did 13, then got an arborist for 200 euros to do the final two which were trickier. We decided that if the first one or two were too risky or unmanageable, we would get a professional in, but it went surprisingly well.

With asbestos, there are probably safety standards you can follow yourselves to remove it. You can also get professionals in, but they cost a lot, understandably. You also have to pay to dispose of it.

Edited to add: we have removed asbestos ourselves. We followed the current safety guidelines for PPE and disposal, but I know it makes a lot of people nervous.

How long would you be planning on living in the house for? If it's a forever home then buy it. You can do things as you go along. I brought my house and did the important bits (re wore, new boiler, new kitchen and flooring) bathroom and windows still need doing 5 years on but it's liveable as is.
You can really put your own stamp on it when doing it all yourself

Yes absolutely a good idea to look around with a builder friend (so long as it doesn't go under offer from someone else while you sort the second viewing out). It sounds a brilliant opportunity, as others have said all the work you've listed shouldn't amount to more than £150k so if that's the additional value you could add could be a very smart buy indeed. In fact if that's the case I'm surprised it's not already crawling with developers.

However you do want to do your sums carefully and consider what will be truly essential work and what can wait a few years. E.g. check with your mortgage provider how much they'll lend you on the property and whether this will give you enough to do the essential repairs and also whether this pushes you into a higher loan to value band and therefore cost you more money.

What age is the property and would you be looking to restore/reinstall period type features like sash windows as this will def add a lot of cost. Also your appetite for DIY as if you're prepared to do some labour and less skilled work like painting/decorating yourself you'll save money.

You'll want a full structural survey as well to make sure there aren't any real nasties lurking. You might be surprised at what you can live with in the medium term however, e.g. don't assume the boiler is knackered just because it's old and/or currently out of use. A lot of people assume a property immediately needs a new boiler if the one in situ is more than 10 years old but in the old days stuff was built to last. Our 1980s boiler (that the surveyor said needed immediate replacement when we bought) struggled on somewhat temperamentally for an extra 5 years until we redid the whole kitchen. Same surveyor said the roof also needed immediate replacement but it's going strong with narry a leak 7 years on. We will get it redone soon but will cost £10-15k so we're saving up. Cosmetic stuff and not having an en suite are problems for another day. Personally I like the process of doing a place up slowly while living there rather than it being immaculate from day 1 but I appreciate not everyone feels that way...

Sounds like your mum might be onto something - asbestos removal is very expensive specialist work and you might find when you get to survey this is highlighted. If the house has been on the market a while or previous buyers have pulled out a survey may have already been done, so it could be worth asking about that.

Depends where you are - you could easily spend £100k on a single story extension +£100k on a loft extension in London atm.