I can't buy this house....can I?

[allthegooduseridsaretaken]

I had a really difficult childhood with an alcoholic parent ( the other parent left when I was a baby and remarried and had a new family and I was forgotten about) he made me homeless at 15 just before my exams so I ended up with no qualifications and as an adult a shit tonne of mental health problems.

I've been self-employed most of my life as despite being a hard worker, my mental health makes me a terrible employee sometimes. My little business bumps along and it helps my mind and pays my bills.

I bought my council house with savings 20yrs ago just before my husband died so really other than basic decorating I've never been able to afford improvements.
. Im not happy here but I've always thought this was as good as life gets and accepted that was my lot.
My parent died in January and has left me approx 300k in a combination of cash and property. I had no idea and it came as a shock especially as they were very difficult my entire life and even tho I loved him he never once told me this. I still showed up and made sure he had everything he needed. Its opened up a whole heap of emotions that I have locked away for years.
By chance I came across a house for sale in late February and on spur of the moment made an appointment to go see it. The house from the front was nothing special and the inside needs minor modernising nothing i couldnt live with but the moment I entered the garden and saw the view I knew this was where I wanted to be. insat in the garden and felt something id never felt before - inner peace.
I've thought about this house daily while waiting on the grant of confirmation for my dad's estate. The house is just about to go up for sale.
Ive just had an email from the estate agent reducing the house I love to £285k. My own house is nowhere near sellable and my dad's money would only just cover the new house and the extra stamp duty I'd have to pay.

The estate is 177k cash, house is valued at 125k and about to go up for sale. My current house is probably worth around 150k without doing anything to it (possibly 200k+ if I renovate judging by sold prices of similar houses). I have about 5k in savings.

Aibu to think I could buy the house somehow get a loan/morgage to renovate my current house with a low income but 2 houses?

Please be gentle, I'm fully aware this is a fortunate position to be in but this a first for me and I'm turning myself inside out with noone to talk to.

There is absolutely no need to renovate your current house. It seems most people rip the place apart and redo everything when they buy a new place regardless of the condition. Use what money you have left over from the sale ad the inheritance to make the new place perfect. Good luck!

People sell doer-uppers all the time, OP. The market needs properties like yours because not everyone can afford a house priced with all the bells and whistles. Doer-uppers allow more people to own their own homes. It’s a GOOD thing.

OP, you sound as though you’ve had a really bad time - you deserve the dream house!
I’m sure that for every buyer that wants a totally renovated, turnkey property there are probably two or three looking for a project so your existing place will go somehow. Also, what about local plus points you may have that may be important for some buyers - schools? Transport? Universities? Major employers?

I get where your head is. We are the same. I was dreading everyone seeing inside our house on photos because we’ve not finished the renovations. We are lucky in that we had an offer before we put it on the market. But get a couple of valuations, get going. It sounds like you love this other house and could easily do it. You will indeed feel so much better if you can sell your house and move forward…

Absolutely sell your current home. When we bought our home we deliberately wanted one that was in need of new kitchens/bathrooms as I didn’t want to pay a premium to have a newer one I didn’t like. This was I felt no guilt about ripping it out and putting in what I wanted and I got a deal too.

Honestly, I understand how you feel about letting people in, but try to get past that.

Like most of us, it's possible you need to Declutter so get some help in with that if you do, but don't go spending money on redoing bathrooms and kitchens and other decorating.

The cost of getting renovation work done is enormous now and you make choices. New buyers may not like, then because you have spent the money and because it's new they'll feel guilty about wanting to change it and about the extra money they would pay to buy your house only to make changes.

You say your house is clean, that's all you really need.

Just price it accordingly and it will sell, then you can put all your money and energy getting it renovated into your new house.

The house you have seen sounds ideal, have you properly checked out the area and the facilities? Not just been taken in by the peaceful feeling in the garden.? Which you may get in other houses if you go to view some just because it's not yours with all your stuff and needing to be renovated?!

Our previous house sounded very similar when we bought it.
It needed rewiring, new boiler and radiators, the bathroom suite was pink and all of the carpets were hideous patterns. The kitchen was a total mishmash of different cupboards…
But we bought it and slowly got everything done to our tastes and it was nice to be able to choose a new kitchen etc.
If it’s priced correctly, someone will buy it .
Go and get your dream house x

It won't be unsellable just cheaper as its a doer upper a landlord or builder will snap it up

Round our way, houses like yours that need a bit of work barely hit the market before they sell. People want project houses, they sell much faster than perfectly finished ones.

Go for it!
The estate agent would sell as a doer- upper and it sounds like you just need to get the hell out of there quickly!
Good luck and get that dream garden and new start!

The estate agent will sell it as a doer upper. Whoever comes to look at it with that in mind won't care a hoot about how old your kitchen units are, they will be thinking how easy it will be to rip them out and how lovely they will make it.

You have finally been handed this wonderful opportunity, this is your payback, ypu karma for all the shit in your life. Don't sabotage your own chances, when there is such an obvious easy solution. Get it on the market as soon as humanly possible.

I don’t understand why you wouldn’t just sell your current house as it is? Someone will buy it if the price is right.

You sound lovely and also it sounds like you've had a really tough life. I'd sell your current house cheaply to a lovely young family who are desperate to get on the property ladder and they won't care about old cabinets etc - they'll just be delighted to have their own home to do up and escape the renting trap.

Life is short and precious. To heel with what anyone else thinks of your house, put it up for sale and buy yourself that lovely home with it's peaceful garden before someone else buys it. You deserve this peace. x

Lots and lots of people want to buy a project house, assuming it’s priced correctly. Please don’t waste time and money doing your current house up. Finding trades to do the work is stressful and expensive, it sounds like you want to move quickly if the dream house is already on the market? Get yours on too, it will be snapped up and you can start planning the dream house! Good luck OP.

Your Dad's money covers the new house. So I'd buy it if the seller is ok to wait for your Dad's house to sell.

Just clean and possibly paint a few rooms in your house and then sell it. I much prefer to choose my own kitchen and bathroom when I buy so I always pick a fixer upper.

Completely agree with previous posters- sell current house and father’s house as they are- don’t bother with renovations. Clean, declutter, fix anything which can be fixed with minimal cost/ hassle, but don’t bother with new kitchens/ bathrooms- just price accordingly. As long as there’s a functioning kitchen and bathroom the house will be mortgageable.

It’s worth considering using the same estate that’s selling the house you want to sell your own houses- they’ll work harder to maximise their commission.

I hope everything works out for you OP 🌹

Inner peace is a very rare feeling. Do what you need to do to get the house, it's clearly meant to be.

Go for the new house. I think you get the extra stamp duty back if you sell the first house within a set period of time
Your current house will sell, just make sure it’s clean and tidy and price it accordingly. I suspect it will sell very quickly
good luck

Having an unexpected inheritance with power to change your circumstances is a huge boost. Use that to energise you to cast out fear and take a leap forward. Take that leap! Be like a carefree spring lamb leaping in the grass for the joy of life.

The house's state looms large and weighs heavily on you but put it in perspective: estate agents are used to seeing houses in all sorts of condition. To their eyes it will probably appear as quite a good sound house with need of some updating. Practise seeing the good points and don't dwell on old thinking.

Spring into action. You'll feel better already by doing something, anything at all. Clean and tidy as best you can, stiffen yourself and get three estate agents around, get their range of valuation and indicate you want it priced to sell, rather than have it hang around for six months or more because you want the highest possible price.

Take care not to take on too much at once. Having two houses would be a lot to renovate and manage, both practically and financially. It would tax the best of us. Start now and go one step at a time. Get the ball rolling but give yourself time to consider all aspects of the house you want to buy before you commit.

Op I live in a house with a lovely view and it’s so good for the soul, go for it!

I hope this helps - during a recent valuation the estate agent said don’t do any decorating/ improvements or anything- even put repairs and checks on the buyer - people will just come in and make it their own anyway, they like to see a project. Another tip is to make sure the rooms look different from each other but this can be done with something distinct like a plant or picture- and if you are listing a room as a single make sure there is a bed in there, the agent said sometimes it can be hard for viewers to visualise that a bed will fit when the room is on the small side.

This. I absolutely salivated over houses that needed work when we were house hunting.

The people who come to view your house will have already seen the photos online and are happy to come to see it. Loads of people love do-er uppers. My first house was one. It meant we could afford it and then we had a great time doing it up and choosing everything ourselves. Just de-clutter the rooms, if they need it, and put it on the market. People will really be mostly interested in the size of the rooms, rather than the decor of the kitchen, bathroom etc. They can change that. Go for the house you love.