Can I ask your opinion on this house?

[Waer]

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/150313073#/?channel=RESBUY

Dh and I have viewed this house. We decided it’s got gorgeous bones but probably a bit too much work needed. I wouldn’t normally mind the work but it is at the VERY top of our budget if not a little over. Just buying the property would leave us flat broke. It would be stunningly beautiful with a bit of work done to it. I’m not sold on the layout either so we aren’t talking just a lick of paint.

Dh and I have had a difficult few years. I just don’t know if it’s worth living with the stress of a house needing work.

An annexe is something that dh and I have on our dream house list as in an ideal world my mum would move in with us (but not for 5 or so years).

i just can’t get it out of my head. Wdyt?

Given the op hasn't been back, do you think maybe they own the house and are trying to garner up more traffic to sell their house?

I mean, she posted at 3am so maybe she's a shift worker /abroad at the moment/insomniac/up with a small baby and she's probably doing something else right now. I don't think it's unreasonable to leave a thread for 8 hours after you started it.

Gorgeous house BUT:

Probably quite a bit to spend: plumbing, electrics, full decor, there are some damp issues I can see in pictures so that could be simple gutters or worse, roof plus how long has it been like it and are there any resultant rot or woodworm issues.

Its linked to another house.

Its listed which is a pain and expensive.

There will be minimal insulation and it will cost a lot to run.

Personally, without ££££s to spend, I would walk away. I'd say you need £150k overage.

It's on equity release which would suggest it's unlikely that anything beyond essential maintenance has been done on it for a while because you do equity release because you need cash.

One thing you could do is knock the kitchen into the "office" and have a big kitchen diner there - would obviously need permission but the exterior wouldn't change much and I've seen more ambitious extensions approved on Grade II listed (think V&A style glass atrium on 17th c farmhouse). I think a lot depends on the extent to which you consider it liveable "as is" and that's something only you can answer. I know people who have bought properties like this and just lived with it for literally years while they get the money and permissions to do the big project. There are other people who need everything "just so" from Day 1. Only you know which one you are.

What I would say is think of your budget and then double it because there is always more stuff that needs doing.

If you consider it, spend a few £££ on a planning consultant with direct experience of Grade II in that area/ local authority and good links to the planning department who can tell you what is probably ok and what's not and if your wants are realistic. For example, some LA's are getting more relaxed about windows and anything else that improves insulation/ energy efficiency - others are still v hardline about them.

Absolutely not. Walk away

If you don't have 3 or 4 kids, do you really need a 5 bed house? The layout on this is so shit that the size of the property isn't equalling more actual space either. Not without lots of knocking down and rebuilding. Not easy to do with a Grade 2 either. I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. Unless you can sneak in a cheeky offer and you know a great contractor who would do a lot of the work and project management for you - but that won't be cheap.

thanks all, you’ve all pretty much confirmed my fear that we would be biting off far more than we can chew. And after the hell of the past few years (illness) it’s just not worth it for dh and I.

Some really helpful comments. Hadn’t realised builders in that area have the ability to inflate prices due to supply/demand. We showed a friend (we are not local) a video of the property who gave us a not entirely scare quote but it’s likely not representative.

Bit gutting but oh well.

I love it, but it depends on how you live. It looks to me as though the people living there live a perfectly comfortable life already, albeit perhaps with some quirky plumbing.

My house is definitely a bit shabby and there are certain things I’d love to get done. We’ve fixed the roof and no leaks/ damp, some rooms look beautiful and it’s peaceful, enough space and in a beautiful place (lovely garden/ access to national park). That makes up for me for the shabby bits.

In your position I’d work out the needs (heating, hot water, damp, roof) from the wants (change layout, fancy kitchen, large scale redecorating). If you can afford the needs and don’t mind waiting a bit for the wants go for it. I agree an offer might work and could you also Airbnb the annex (it’s a popular part of the country) to raise money for the renovations?

I think the layout is fine- eventually I might try to insulate the conservatory and have a better kitchen extension but surely you’d be eating in the kitchen most of the time? I’ve certainly seen a LOT worse!

You'll find your dream house OP. I was in a very similar position when a house came up down the road from me which I had lusted after for years. It was on for 850k but was in a much worse condition to the one you've shown, with damp thrown in as well. Even though DH is an experienced tradesman and could do most of the work himself, looking at how much it would cost even with that made it a stupid buy for us. It sold and someone has just started clearing it, so I stare wistfully as I walk the dog past!!!
I can confirm living only a few miles away that decent builders around here are gold dust and cost the earth with a long wait list. It's a lovely area though, so I can recommend that! I hope you find your new home soon.

Obviously house buying is totally subjective- one man’s trash and all that. Personally I think it’s a fantastic house. When you say work - obviously hard to tell totally from pics- but to me it’s looks totally ‘liveable’ for the time being and you do a bit at a time. Yes it’s a bit outdated but as long as it’s clean and everything functions I would buy it and do it when you can. We did this/ bought top of budget and are slowly updating.

Anyone buying that house is going to have to spend about 100-150k (probably a lot more) doing it up to get it to top spec.

If you can afford it and it's your forever home then fine. Otherwise I'd be out.

Also what other people haven’t commented on is that the property already has an annexe, in decent condition (maybe a bit of tarting up but good layout) with its own separate entrance and in a fabulous part of the world where people want to go on holiday (Cotswolds close to Oxford) It also looks like you could have another bedroom and bathroom where the office is to make it a 2 bed, or a separate flat, or for your mum. It may be a bit of a money pit but it does also offer a chance to earn some income. I’d be researching what you Sam charge for a 1/2 bed self-catering annexe in that area before you write it off).

Have 1/2 annexes is also a really good way to future proof the house if you need to supplement your income longer term.

We did this when we were considering a listed house that needed lots of work and it was absolutely invaluable. I can't say how worthwhile it was. We did buy it in the end, but it saved us time and some nasty surprises. We kept them on during the renovation and they were worth every penny.

@Waer

Would your mum be selling a house to move into the annexe? If so, would that be a potential source of funds?

E.g this place (nice and a bit bigger but not dissimilar) is being charged out at at least £120 a night in May

stokehouseannexe.co.uk

There’s at least 50k that needs to be spent to get the annex in this property to any sort of similar state to the one in your link.

The layout of the kitchen is bananas, the sink is so far from the rest of the kitchen through a doorway or that odd wall gap. You have to traipse across even to fill the kettle. Possibly been a scullery at some point but then the kitchen has been modernised with the built in over and a halogen hob while keeping a range in there. Plus the open doorway to the conservatory with a glass roof will mean it's cold unless the range is always on.

There's also a lot of utility room downstairs which are wasted space and would require a whole lot of redesign downstairs to make a better flow. The one with the loo and plastic roof definitely has damp in it and that's going to be very cold as well, as is the room next door to it.
I'd be really worried that changing those would be affected by the listing.

Then the bathrooms/shower rooms including the shower room on a half landing are bonkers, although I do like all the inbuilt wooden cupboards. . The living room ceiling has staining which would suggest water ingress at some point and the dining room has wrinkled and lifting paper which would make me worry about damp there as well. One of the bedrooms also has strains on the ceiling which looks like water has come through it and another has some questionable plaster repair work.
The annexe and offices don't have central heating but storage heaters so would need sorting.
So as a conservative plan it needs total rewire, pipes and electrics to be chased, new boiler and heating, all the bathrooms and loos to be ripped out and redone as well as the kitchen turning into a more usable space. And potentially those plastic roof rooms are covered by the listed status. Then anything you discovered from survey and as you go through renovation. Would be best part of £200k I reckon.

I do love that stone flag floors and the garden. And I don't think I've ever seen a house with so many vacuum cleaners dotted around or an apparent aversion to hanging things inside wardrobes or putting things away! Was it that cluttered on viewing?

It has been on the market for six months so a sensible offer might be worth considering, especially as it looks perfectly liveable as it is. You could live in it for a year and just enjoy it and any quirks, allowing yourselves some recovery from the tough time you've had. In fact you could live in it for three or four years or so while you save up again, really get to know the house, make your plans and enquiries, find your tradespeople. Then gradually do what has to be done, starting with the annexe for your mum to be ready at the 5 year point. I say go for it. All subject to surveys of course.

If you don't want stress then do not buy a huge grade 2 listed property in need of complete renovation

If you are reallyin love with it and up for it and have 500k on top of the purchase price to pay project manager and architect and reno and new furniture etc then go for it