What would you do? Does this sound manageable?

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Fallen in love with a property which is over budget, quite a bit over budget! I need to work out if this is possible or if I need to be more realistic.

For context, the house is a doer upper, it will need a new kitchen, both bathrooms will need to be replaced and things like flooring which are 30+ year old carpets (even in the kitchen and bathrooms). The property is 200sqm. Windows are another big expense as they definitely need doing.

Take home pay is around £4500pcm but should go up to £5000-5500pcm in the next 12 months.

House has been on the market with no offers for 5 months so I’m hoping to put a cheeky offer in and if accepted, the mortgage would be £1300-1500. Bills would be unknown but CT is also extortionate.

Does this sound doable or do I need to find something smaller/ less expensive?

I live in a 5 bed detached and our gas/electric is £250 a month so seems bang on!

I've just seen you've done a reno before, so you know the drill. Good luck with it!

I would say now I've had the "big house" and done the reno, I'm ready for a small cottage project next😂 but that might just be reno fatigue talking.

That’s actually my plan! Renovate this house over the next 15-20 years (it needs landscaping, previous owners don’t even have potted plants) 😂

Then sell up and move to the coast with my little cottage/ bungalow by the sea. I can already picture myself sat looking out of one of those huge gable end windows you see on grand designs and Pinterest! Bet they cost an absolute fortune but hopefully, I’ll have plenty of equity by that point!

Would you make your money back on it/make a profit if you got everything done that needed doing? Or would you end up spending more on it than it's worth?

This is absolutely doable, 1500 mortgage on 4500- 5500 is fine and just do it in stages, you should do that anyway.

go for it.

So you don't have kids but would like them? Honestly I wouldn't take on a big renovation project that stretched my budget in that situation. Pregnancy and young children will limit what you can do yourself, and the early years where you are paying for childcare and/or reducing work hours are really expensive. We tried to buy a house like this just before I fell pregnant with my eldest and every time I drive past it I thank my lucky stars that we didn't get it.

Given the cost of everything, I’d likely spend more on it than what it’s worth (short-term) or break even. It would be my dream home and the plan would be to live there for the next 20-25 years.

I have a maternity pot (my friends think this is bonkers), extra savings and investments (ideally don’t want to touch the investments) but I absolutely would if I needed to so I’m not too concerned about maternity leave. I cannot see myself going part-time (I’m sure all mums say this before they have a baby😂) but I’m a high earner and I have worked my backside off to put myself in this position.

We are on a similar income and similar mortgage. We do fine - we save money every month, we are also slowly doing our house up. We don’t have any other debts or childcare expenses though.
I love our house so much - we have been here 6 years and I would happily sacrifice a lot to be here. I’m not interested in designer clothes or luxury holidays. I just love my home where I have space to be creative.

ps please stress test the mortgage before committing. What happens at 6% or 8%?

It would be around 2k at 8% - still payable but I wouldn’t be living my current lifestyle at that rate!

The lack of time is as much an issue as the lack of money though. I spent most of my pregnancies struggling with nausea and became hopeless with any form of DIY as a result. Then once the baby is here they take up all of your spare time and it's really difficult to fit DIY in. To put it into context it takes my DH a long weekend to cut our fairly substantial hedges each autumn now because he's able to put in three full days work, but when we had a baby and a toddler it used to stretch out over months because it was really difficult to make the time to get the task done. Unless your savings stretch to outsourcing much more of the work this time I'd have a really careful think about whether you are biting off more than you can chew here.

There are no immediate plans for babies but I do get your point. I could fully renovate the house with savings if I really needed to/ wanted to.

Please don't do it.

The fact that you are asking on here says it all. You know it's too expensive.
I overstretched for a house 15 years ago.

I instantly regretted it and financially life has never been the same since tbh.

Choose somewhere cheaper that you can make fab. Have money left over for making memories.

Xx.

😳 I’m just a bit… the op isn’t pregnant or even partnered and is on somewhere adjacent to £60k a year, with extensive savings? She’s 30 years old, with all the energy of youth and impressive DIY skills? This doesn’t even sound like much of a gamble to me.

Ah right, I didn't read that she wasn't partnered or I wouldn't have brought up babies! I read something that suggested that babies were part of the plan in the next few years, but looking back that may have been a suggestion from another poster. We are on Mumsnet so I think it's a reasonable assumption that most posters are either mums or are planning to be mums. However, I now understand why her friends think having a maternity pot is bonkers, and fully support this new endeavour!

Wow you are just 30 and already in a very comfortable financial position. Well done you.
I might be bucking the trend here but have a top line survey.
Then if there is nothing major go for your dream.
You are young, resilient and have a good income. You have 37 years working ahead if you, with a good income.
Why would you baulk at a project which will keep you occupied and sounds like fun. (I say this from experience...29 moves in my 69 years, 7 houses flipped in the past 15 years) .
Carpets in the kitchen.....free standing units...so what. You do it in stages, make it your own. That mortgage is less than most people's rent.
I wish you happiness no matter what you decide.

Apologies if I have missed the details, but what is it on at and what is your top budget.

What could you realistically afford when you factor in stamp duty, solicitors, removals, mortgage arrangement fees, survey and immediate have to be done as soon as you complete work i.e. carpets removed from bathroom and a temporary fix put down etc

I would always stretch on a property and do the work in phases as and when you can afford to do them. Having a brother who can do the rewire is fabulous, I am currently having a full one done which is joyful 😁

Similar income and mortgage payment here, which I’m comfortable with because this house was already finished. It won’t need any work for a long time. I wouldn’t feel comfortable with the same situation for a renovation project. I have two teens who both plan to get degrees, so it would be too tight financially to renovate. But of course it depends on individual circumstances.

To each their own but if I had 300k equity I'd try to be mortgage free, or at least have a very manageable mortgage, and find some other way of getting interest in my life. What if the economy does a nose dive, you get ill or lose your job etc? Is it really worth the risk just for the buzz?

That is the plan! I’m also very lucky to know loads of tradesmen who would all be willing to come and have a nose around for me.

Wow, that is plenty of moving around. On average, I moved every 2 years up until I bought this house. I have never lived anywhere this long so I’ve wanted to move for probably 3-4 years. Some people live in the same house their entire life so I think we are anomalies 😂

My full and final offer will be 15% under asking price so not small change. I’ve done some serious research and properties have never sold for the price that this property is listed at. There is a fully renovated house on the market in the same postcode that has been on the market for 2 years+ and is 25% cheaper. The house I like has a much larger garden, “looks nicer” and the neighbours aren’t so close together so it is not a direct comparison by any means and I am happy to pay for those perks but I absolutely can’t offer full asking or anywhere close as once the work is completed, I’ll have a house I would be in serious negative equity on. Even taking into consideration that I want to live there long term that doesn’t seem smart! The EA appears to have ignored the ceiling price whilst we are in a very tumultuous market.

That makes sense! No teens for me - thank God!!!

I love these threads as they open discussion with people from all walks of life with different views. You make a good point. I could live the next 50+ years mortgage free with plenty of disposable income. That sounds comfortable and a very nice place to be.

For me, and this is absolutely no criticism of how anyone else wants to live their life, that sounds boring. I spent years in education and years building my career to be in a position where I had choices/ freedom. My salary will always increase and life is too short to remain stagnant.

You say the windows need replacing - how will you do this yourself? We've just done a renovation and were amazed by the cost of materials - everything is so much more expensive. We had a local joiner make a few new windows, it was still thousands and we fit them ourselves. There are always extras too - pipes to relocate etc.