renovating from top to bottom

[saladfingers]

Never even thought of attempting this before but a house has come on the market in the area we'd like at a very reasonable price....however there is good reason for that! It needs gutting.Everything you can think of, with the exception of some parts of the roof, need replacing;doors windows,most floors, wiring,heating etc etc
we wouldn't have to live on site during the work but i have no idea how long a project like this could take and even what order to do everything?
Any tips?
Any horror stories?
Not sure i have the stamina or backbone for this project but it seems like a once in a life time opportunity
TIA

We have renovated a couple of bungalows. The following from memory:

First thing is to get the property basically weather tight then clear it out completely. A skip or skips are best for this.

Get quotes for roof/windows etc. Get that work done.

Deal with any problems like woodworm which will be present if there is no central heating

First fix for electrics, heating and plumbing all done while the floors are up

Floors down

Plastering

Finish electrics, heating and plumbing

Kitchen/bathroom

Decorating

Move in and enjoy

Simples!

Oh, sorry, forgot to say. DH is an electrician so he gets some sort of rudimentary and safe electrics up and running as soon as the rain is no longer coming in. He will get two sockets working before anything else: 1 for the radio and 1 for the kettle.

What I would say is that you need to know how much all of this will cost so you can work out what it's worth offering for the house - if the house all done up would cost £300k and it's going to cost £100k to do up, then realistically you can't offer more than £175-£200k for it.

Usually property developers work on a profit margin of 15% and will build in a 10% contingency fund, so they'll be expecting to "make" 35% on the renovation - should give you an idea of what you'll be competing against.

Remember too that you'll need the cash to do the work. High St mortgage lenders won't value the house based on what it will be worth - only on what it's worth right now.

Do you have trade contacts?.Finding reliable and good tradesman is the hardest job.If you pay for a builder to come in and subcontract all the jobs this will cost a bit and probably wipe out any profit.If there are absolutely no suitable houses in your price bracket in the area you want and this is the only way of doing it -go ahead.

I'm currently renovating. Sounds a similar project. Estimated work schedule is 14-16 weeks but I think 20 weeks decorated/carpeted.

Think of a number and double it - our renovation spreadsheet so far tots up to a whopping £175k

oh sorry, I am blogging it at sixtiespalace.blogspot.com if you want to see the extent of the project.

Ah you aren't extending! Oh it's a different thing

What gnome said, except for moving in after the first fix is done and then doing the rest one room at a time - may be more feasible budget-wise.

It's roughly what we did, aiming to take 5 years to complete. The vital stuff has been done but thanks to acquiring kids and doing a loft conversion and running out of cash, it's been 5 years and will probably be a few more before it looks good on the ground floor.

If you want to do it all at once agree that you absolutely must not underestimate the cost. Take a builder with you to look at the house and ask him what he thinks it would cost to do it up. You might be able to save money doing it yourself over a longer period but at least it will give you a figure to work with.

Thanks for all your responses.We're viewing tomorrow and then hopefully taking a builder friend with us later in the week.FIL is a plumber and he has contacts in the trade. 4 bed houses in this area sell from anything from 450-600k.It's currently on the market for 250.This would be the only house we would ever need so intend to hang on to it for a long time.
It only has 3 bedrooms at the moment. we were hoping to convert the attic into 1 or possibly 2 further bedrooms.Would you do the conversion while repairing the roof?Do you need planning permission for this?
It's not been on the market long.I would have thought a builder might have snapped it up by now as someone in the trade could make a killing.

SaladFingers

I would definitely do the loft conversion at the same time as the roof. Loft conversions now have their own building reg. I think you will need planning permission as well. Given all the other works you are doing I think you will find it cheaper to do it at the same time as the floors are up and plumbing and wiring are being done. I think you will also find the result better as it will seem more integral with the rest of the house rather than looking like an add on.