Found dream home but layout all wrong

[WitsEnd2018]

Currently house hunting and we have found our dream home but..... it needs to reconfigured downstairs to achieve its full potential. I'm going to put an offer in tomorrow because I love it but I'm feeling daunted by what needs doing.

DH and I are hopeless with this sort of thing and ripe for being ripped off! We are naive and clueless when it comes to building work. So I'm looking for advice for experienced mumsnetters.

Could you please advise me on how we should go about tackling a project like this?

It's a bungalow with an upstairs. The upstairs is perfect but the downstairs layout is all wrong. Kitchen and lounge are at the front and the bedrooms are at the back. We would want to swap it around - how would we even begin to tackle this? Architect?

I haven't even had my offer accepted yet but I love it and i want it but I need to go in with my eyes wide open and be realistic.

Grateful for all advice

We've just done this. Not a bungalow, but a small house which was cramped and had a very strange bathroom.

We found an excellent architect, who turned our idea of creating a standard terrace layout into something much more lovely. Im sitting here with sun streaming through a south facing window that would never have occurred to us to put in. It's lovely.

BUT - all the building cliches were true. It's taken twice as long and 50% more money than anyone thought at the outset. If I could start again, I'd look harder for a house that was already OK, than go through all the bother and expense of creating something great.

Thank you, and cheers for the heads up re: final cost and length of time. How long did your project take in the end? How much over budget did you go, if you don't mind me asking?

Ok so architect is the first step.

2 years, and more money than I want to think about.

Though that was partly because the original vile builders quit half way through.

Do go to an architect. But one thing to think about is - make sure that what you go for is what you want, not your architect's grand vision.

Some of the stress is our project has been caused by unnecessary fripperies which, with hindsight, are things that our architect wanted to try out, rather than things that are right for us.

There maybe a reason why bedrooms are at the back, would check this first, maybe noise from road or pub.

If not fairly easy to swap rooms over but you will need to factor in costs including new kitchen, new flooring, rewiring, repainting - we made old dining room and kitchen into one and that was 12k for all including rewiring floor kitchen repainting tiles about 10 years ago and a large kitchen but getting 30% off prices. Took 2 months. Plus re did living room 1 month - nightmare to live in house then but we did but you have times with no electricity, no kitchen. You also need to check when you need building regs, party wall agreement etc. We did by ourselves.

You can take a builder to view the house and get him to quote for the building work. House price plus building work should come to less than what you think you'll be able to sell it for, otherwise you'll make a loss. Make sure the project comes within the budget you can afford otherwise you'll be in purgatory for years living in a half finished house.

Do you need to rearrange walls or only the actual kitchen appliances/utilities etc?

Can I ask, if it needs so much doing to it, why is it your dream house?

Thank you for replying. It's detached so party wall should not apply?

It's in a quiet cul de sac, so I can't see noise being an issue by moving bedrooms to front.

Knock me down - location, detached and love the road

Can I ask, if it needs so much doing to it, why is it your dream house?

This is what I was thinking ,too.

I have done this, several times. Never used an architect.

Advice from me: live with it as it is, for a while. That will help you to work out how the space doesn't work, and how you could make it work better. If you jump straight in - or ask someone else to - the chances are you'll end up wishing you'd thought for a bit longer.

Once you've done that, there's nothing to stop you planning it yourself. I have done this. If you're moving/removing structural walls, you'll need a structural engineer to calculate loads and things (don't know about the technicalities of this, but that's why I hired one) - ask around for recommendations.

On the one occasion we enlisted an architect, he claimed we needed to put endless fire doors in a Georgian house. He was dramatically wrong, as a few visits to the Council told us.

Time... Our biggest one took 5 years (ugh). But we did a lot of the work ourselves. I'd estimate that it will cost you 30-50% more than you think it will, so don't stretch yourselves too much at the outset.

Good luck. It's very exciting. I would never, ever live in something that didn't need a huge amount of work. Though my DC will probably live in new-build boxes...

Perhaps I should re phrase it! the basic fundamentals are there but it needs work to make it fantastic

Further. If one person tells you it's not possible to do what you want to do, consult someone else. Pretty much anything is possible (subject to planning/building regs/listed buildings consent etc). I've just re-located the entire drainage of my house. The first two people I consulted said it was impossible. I thought they were talking bollocks, and just didn't want to do it. The third said it would be fine, and it was.

Yeah, if you live in it first you get a better idea. But... You then either have to move out to do the works or live with the mess/chaos. We've just effectively done both as works overran and we rented and wanted to escape the rental place so moved back before complete.

Oh yeah, there's the living with the mess/chaos. You get used to it. It helps if you like having builders in your house, as well, as you will be spending a long time with them. We had them for so long that the DC made one of them a birthday cake.

It's your potential dream home. It would be worth asking a chartered surveyor to give a current and projected market valuation. If the difference between architect's quote is greater than that walk away, if not it's a runner.

I have done this three times since 2013. You stand to make or lose a lot of money so professional fees incurred are well worth it.

There's a design and space planning company called OnePlan I've seen on Houzz, and made a mental note to use when we move home.

She (I think she's called Karen) seems to have an amazing knack for making something just work properly. I've not used her so can't recommend exactly, but she's won loads of awards, and looks affordable.

Anything is possible for a price

The main thing to consider when moving a kitchen is drains. Where are the current ones and how will you access drains from the new location?

Like everyone has said - expect it to take at least twice as long and at least twice as much.

We researched everything merticulously, always getting three quotes, second and third opinion. A friend of mine told me to still have contingency for it to cost at least twice the amount, and just as well she did as it did, and took three times as long (a few months).

If you can live in it and do it bit by bit do, as you will find out what your priorities are and get a better idea of what you want/need.

The other thing to consider is whether you will at least get your money back, don't know how many people prefer bedrooms at front vs back. I would prefer current layout but not in the market for bungalows. If it say needs a new kitchen anyway more likely to get money back.

Have a look at www.potentialetc.com/ read about them in the Sunday Times a week ago, looked interesting and much cheaper than an architect.