Talk me out of this

[NarcyCow]

www.daft.ie/louth/houses-for-sale/collon/main-street-collon-louth-608221/

We've loved this for years. It's been on the market on and off for years. It's been POA every time but we've gone sale agreed on our own house and I rang for the price yesterday just out of nosiness and realised that we could actually stretch to it.

PLEASE tell me all the expensive things that we'd have to do to it so I can accept that it's a silly idea and buy a little straightforward 20th century box instead.

The lower offer- what was their situation ?

I guess new kitchen, new bathrooms, maybe new Windows could add up.

I'd be more concerned about roof( it looks fine)
Electrics, damp

Go see it today- and report back!!

I would be asking questions about the roof similar property long story short roof disaster zone owner at the time architect who had not managed to resolve the roof - ran away very fast.

We're just waiting to hear back from the estate agent about when we can view it - I won't dismiss it without seeing it.

I don't know anything about the lower bidders yet.

I don't even know how old it is. I've emailed the county council conservation officer to see if she knows anything about it - it's in an architecturally protected area, so she might.

Good luck with the viewing when you go. I hope it's everything you want and doesn't need too much work.

i think 10K is being unrealistic. Does it need new electrics (about €7-8K). Will it be freezing to live in? you would get away with cosmetic stuff as it look beautiful as is but the stuff that you cant see is what will need doing on an older house and costs you.

I love it!

Is it on a busy junction though?

I think you should leave it (unless you can get a decent chunk off the price). Looking at what is surrounding it in the pics it seems to be the best house in a poor(ish) area. Is this the case? 100k to get it in to very good condition is perfectly likely, liveable for less is of course possible. Don't forget the running costs will be huge even once you are finished the work and a house like that is probably never going to feel that warm.
Looking at the pics there are certainly damp issues which need sorting. These could be cheap things to fix e.g broken downpipes etc or it could need a new roof. Also you need to consider the damage that water ingress has already done. I would budget for completely new electrics and central heating too. Is the property listed? That will increase your renovation costs.
Would this be your forever house? If not then be very careful that you don't end up in a situation where you end up spending more than the house will ever sell for. 10k a year to refurb and keep on top of it sounds woefully inadequate. You could end up 'camping out' in it for years if that is all you have to spend. I love old houses and have refurbished my fair share. You should plan on worst case and then anything else is a bonus!

What do similar sized properties in the area sell for?

Buy it. It's been waiting for you.

Oh £10k won't even touch the sides!

If that is really all you have don't go for this property.

No harm in having a look round.

i would say it's going to need rewiring, new ch system and rads and probably replumbing as a bare minimum, windows and doors also more than likely and they won't be cheap.

floors and stairs look grand

agents estimate of 100k, probably includes ensuites/new bathrooms/new kitchens

check out the listing status, and do that yourself do not rely on the vendor or the agent to tell you the truth...they are bastards

whats the deal with the outbuildings?

I think the OP was talking of spending £10k a year on the property. I am in an older house and to be honest £10k is a reasonable amount to put by for wear and tear, not for renovation.

It's got lovely bones but:
It needs in all likelihood
Insulating and plastering
A new central heating system
New wiring
A new bathroom
A new downstairs loo
A new kitchen
Chimney(s) unblocked and swept
New windows - looks like a mix of UPVC and original sashes
Probable clearance and making safe of parts of the garden / walls with two small children
Burglar alarm
Heating costs
New carpets, fixtures and fittings
Furniture to fill it.

I think the EA is setting your expectations well to be honest. Unless you have family in trades then I would get some serious quotes in writing before proceeding.

Looks gorgeous though - I grew up near an old decaying house and have fantasized over it for 30 yrs. Someone else has bought it and done it up now

I think sanity has set in now. We're going to have a look at it in the morning but just out of nosiness at this stage! I think we'd biting off a lot more than we could chew.

Could you get a renovation or conversion mortgage?

It's beautiful! Ask how much lower the offer was that was turned down. It might be that it was a lot lower.

Get to know some builders recommended by people you know and trust and get them to have a look at it and give you some quotes before you put in an offer.

Some relatives of mine have lived in a house like this that "needs lots of work doing to make it liveable". They've never done the work! We all have different standards for what "must" be done... It's a beautiful house, they don't mind it being rough around the edges at the moment, and they love living in it (and I love visiting).

Watch out for anything structural though as that really does need to be done!

I think the roof may well be the fucker. Serious money on a property of that size and age. If estate agent says 100k, he won't be overestimating.

Go and have a look, even if just to stop the 'if only's.

We did up a similar house. Sold it on. We ended up working to keep the house not for the children, and I needed to be with them more than a magnificent house.

A survey would go a long way to answering your questions. Perhaps others see more than me in the pictures but I didn't spot any roof / damp issues from the pictures. Undoubtedly it would hold a few surprises though! I also can't see that you would need to spend lots of money making the outside safe for children... The world doesn't need "baby proofing"!
Hope it turns out well.

We bought our place 3 yrs ago and it's a similar size victorian villa. We have spent £100k but some of that we could have done cheaper but wanted quality that would last as we are planning on staying for 20+ yrs.
So for £100k we have done the following:
New timber sash double glazing
Removed sinks from every bedroom (couldn't have them if rewiring)
Rewire electrics, install alarm system & smoke alarms, new lighting throughout.
Insulated and boarded loft space for access only.
New boiler & HW cylinder and a few new rads, flushed system, and a bit of new pipe work, TRVs & new controls.
Replaced lead water main with plastic.
Insulated under suspended floors
New airbricks
New guttering
New soil pipe (cast iron removed and replaced with plastic and new connections)
New kitchen ( hand made bespoke oak so could have been done cheaper)
Refurbished fireplaces, capped unused chimneys, cowls on usable chimneys & swept them
Decorated throughout inc new floor coverings
New bathrooms x 2 inc knocking through separate wc
new downstairs cloakroom
New backdoor
Refurbished and rehung huge front door
Decorated outside required scaffolding
Replaced offshoot roof luckily main roof doesn't need doing.
Draughtproofing throughout
It's now a gorgeous house and far far more
Energy efficient but it was a labour of love and has been a stressful process.

wonkylegs You got a bespoke handmade kitchen for a Victorian villa and all that other work for 100k!?? Wow. I live in the wrong area.

295 Euros?

Oh my God I have to move to Co. Louth.

That is one seriously gorgeous house. Buy it.

We live in the NE so yep better value than some places but we did some work ourselves and I also work in construction so managed the work and found good trades probably a bit easier than most.
Kitchen was £30k so a big chunk of that but I also think that they did an amazing job for that and it is a thing of beauty, it has gone from my least favourite room of the house to somewhere I love.

That is so pretty.