Can I renovate a house for 20k?

[hefner]

We have seen a lovely house in need of updating, but have no idea whether it is feasible within our budget. We were planning to buy something we could just move into as we have a toddler and hate diy, but this one is tempting. It is a typical 1920s semi and needs new kitchen and bathroom, flooring and decorating throughout. We could probably raise about £20k for renovation, could anyone who has done similar tell me whether we could manage it within budget? I guess costs will vary in different areas, we're in Yorkshire if that helps.

ok decorating is cheap or can be if you go with just painting it yourself (stripping wallpaper, lining paper if necessary and then just painting - might not be what you want long term but cheap and pleasant enough in the meantime)
If no structural work or moving of anything then you can probably do it cheaply for kitchen and bathroom. We did our bathroom (well no toilet as that is a different room so just bath, wall shower and sink) for a few hundred. shopped around, got the bits in the sales and did the work ourselves (well hubby) we just got bog standard large white tiles very cheaply and then just put a very thin band of mosaic type tiles to make it look a bit more interesting.
Kitchen - taking off the building work we had to get done for ours, the kitchen itself was something like £2.5k and fitting I can't remember. I think the overall cost was about £4k but I could be wrong. again we shopped around and waited for a good sale. designed what we wanted then waited.

flooring wise depends what you want to do. If you are careful with what you go for or are lucky and find good floorboards you can sand yourself then you should be able to do it.

the costs normally come in when you need to do structural stuff I think.

Hmm, sounds like I might have to overcome my hatred of diy! Thanks, it's useful to hear how you managed it.

Beware though it may need rewiring - many do. This can push up costs.

Yes, I am concerned we might discover it needs more work than we thought. It would be lovely once it's done but I think it's too big a project for us.

If you can do most things yourself then yes, easily. I renovated an old Victorian 3 bed cottage for £15k. That included woodworm treatment, central heating, landscaping the garden, putting in an en suite and then tarting up the kitchen (painting doors, new sink, work tops, tiles and handles came in at £900. Carpets downstairs and redecoration throughout. I sanded the floorboards upstairs and spent weeks stripping the paint off the gorgeous wooden windows.It took me 9 months working every evening however, plus living in a mess but it was worth it as I made a £45k profit when I sold it within a year of buying it.

Make a list of everything that needs doing with an estimated cost and see. If it was me I'd set aside £3-4k for bathroom and £5k for kitchen (depending on size) and then see if I could get bargains for tiles etc online and in sales to come in under that budget. Maybe £3k+ for if you want it professionally decorated throughout. Flooring can vary widely but carpet would be cheaper than wood floor. Would cost you a few thousand.

That still leaves enough for unexpected extras like re-wiring.

You can do it!

My estimates are based on roughly what I've spent on my home but I'm in London and have done it bit-by-bit. I also haven't got round to the kitchen yet which I know can get very expensive depending on what you want.