Right property, wrong time?

[DownInFraggleRock]

DH and I have had it in our 5-10year plan that we want to move to the country. Because of my work, there's a fairly small area that we can settle in. A property has come up that ticks almost all our boxes- right place, good amount of land. Ramshackle house that would almost certainly get planning permission for replacement dwelling.

Our problem is that we could afford to buy it at the minute, but not rebuild it. It has no central heating and looks pretty grotty. But the land is everything we dreamed of, and if we did build, we would have created something that very rarely comes on the market!

So what should I do? Be sensible and forget about it? Or move into a dungeon of a house knowing there's no chance of rebuilding for several years at least?

Unless you can put aside some money to do up at least a part of the house so that you would be comfortable living there until you can do the rest or you don't mind living in a static caravan on the site for several years, I'd say don't buy it. You've got five years to find the next right house.

Don't do it! In 5 - 10 years other perfect houses will come on the market.

If it's the land and location you want buy it !!!

Camp in it until you get funds and planning permission to knock it down and start again !

If you have little one make sure there's a safe area for them and lock off any unsafe areas !

YOLO !!

Do you have children?
Could you save the amount you need to do it up in the next 18 months say? Or take on additional debt in the medium term?

If no children and you can save/take on more debt you could defo buy it, move in, make bedroom and living room habitable (big rugs, plug in oil filled radiator, comfy sofas) and save like billy-o and then do it up.

Would be 2 years of sacrifice but probably worth it long term if this kind of land in this area is hard to come by.

If you have kids I think my answer would be different as it's much harder to do up a house with them in it.

Thanks for the replies.... Pretty much half and half!

No kids yet, and definitely a decent sense of adventure. Currently have a reasonable amount of equity in house, and would expect house to sell for roughly same as we'd be paying, so could immediately release around £30k equity and keep our mortgage affordable.

Here's the link you the house if it helps form an opinion- no central heating and a few dreadful rooms, but maybe liveable in the short- medium term?
www.propertynews.com/4phh

The estate agent selling it is a proper country gent who knows the family- apparently deer come and graze the garden occasionally!

oops! Let me try again!

www.propertynews.com/4phhy

I don't like it but it looks like it's totally liveable in from the photos. You wouldn't be slumming it with no kitchen / bathroom.

So I'd vote yes

I also say yes if no kids yet. But only if it is possible for you to accumulate the cash to re-build pretty quickly. Use your cash to get plans drawn up because planning takes some time.

Do it!
You can live without central heating. And if you do live in it for a bit you can get a decent feel for what you really want to do to the place.

Oh - and if it's a bit grim, that's incentive to try to work a few extra hours to earn a bit more towards doing it up, if that's a possibility at all.

I think it partly depends on when in the 5-10 plan this was planned for. Next year or two, I'd seriously consider trying to make it work. 7-8 years time I'd be inclined to wait.

Also depends on your reasons for the timing in your plan. So, if it was a case of you having to save up to afford, again I'd be trying to see if you can make it work. If the timings was more about wanting to enjoy city life for a few more years and say this was something you wanted when you were older, when kids were about to start school etc. then I'd be tempted to delay and enjoy what you have now as planned.

It seems fine to me, quite liveable in and lots of land so you could build a parallel house elsewhere on the site and sit tight in the bungalow while that's going on. I revise my earlier advice and say buy.

I'd buy it, for sure.

Oh you can totally live in that.

I mean, its competently horrible on the outside and the inside... but it would be easy to be comfortable in it for a year or two whilst you save. Probably very damp, looks like its been cheaply constructed so expect electricity bills to be huge with lots of oil filled radiators!

And like a PP says you can plonk down a big static or something on the land to live in whist you knock down and rebuild your dream home.

I don't think it looks too bad. Perhaps I have low standards! I would go for it.

"Completely horrible on the outside and inside"... That made me laugh all day!

You've all convinced me.... I've made an appointment to see mortgage people on Tuesday to suss out what I can get! Exciting times!

It's better than I expected from your description! I would at least have to view. If not everything you see when you do come to buy will be compared to this 'perfect' one. However you have to be realistic as to if it would work for you at the moment. In fairness you were obviously looking so maybe it wasn't such a long term plan for you anyway...