Doable on 10k?

[jalexander]

We are FTB and have had an offer accepted on a three bed terrace.

We have a 10k budget but could go to 12k maximum.

This will need to include if possible:

Removal Costs. A company near me offers a van and two men for the day for under £500.

We currently Rent so will probably need a months overlap when we move which is £750.

A new kitchen. No idea of the costs but my DH will install it himself so won't need to include fitting and it's not a massive kitchen anyway. Will also need new flooring for kitchen diner but will likely chose laminate fitted by DH.

Replace the carpets throughout. I will keep budget in mind when selecting a carpet but will need this fitted too.

New bathroom floor. Likely vinyl. Area to cover is tiny so shouldn't be much and new taps for bath and sink.

Will need painting but paint isn't a large expense and I'll paint myself.

Anything I've left out in regards to moving costs?

I know there's likely other things I can account for like maybe new lights, curtains, plug sockets, etc.

I know we have to pay our mortgage advisor and solicitor which will total roughly about 2k all together.

Is this doable on my budget?

Depends on the size of the property. Does it all need doing straight away?

I should also add; the third bedroom is tiny but DH plans to knock the stud wall down separating bedroom 2 & 3 and just move it slightly to give a bit more room in bedroom 3. Again, he will do this himself but it's materials to take into account.

Also; sorry for the essay!

@Jackshouse It's not large by any means. I'd say a it's a small three bed terrace.

It doesn't need doing straight away we could move straight in as it is but I'd rather get as much done as possible before we move in.

Our monthly budget is very tight and doesn't allow for any home improvements so our 10-12k up front budget to make improvements is all we have.

I'd say that was doable. Leave the kitchen till last though as the other jobs are way easier in an empty house.

Hi , I've got to rush out in a mo , but will come back with more later

I moved using a firm , 2 lorry's 3 men , I packed non furniture into boxes before hand , they moved 1/2 items into storage and 1/2 into the upstairs of the cottage I have bought , cost £325
So your quote of £500 is quite high
I carpeted ( inc underlay and fitting ) good quality to 3/4 beds landing and stairs for just under £1k
Small bathroom x2 for £200 ( inc fitting ) again quality vinyl ( if such a thing exists !)

Painted throughout 3/4 bed terrace approx £ 600 on paint ( all white - emulsion walls silk woodwork -always used water based silk as it doesn't fade but costs slightly more )

Prices current ( within last 10 months )

@EspressoButler We don't pay stamp duty

@prettygreywalls I said under £500 because I couldn't remember the exact cost for removals from this company. Just checked it's £375 for the day. Three men and a lorry!

And thank you! 🙏🏼 It's really helpful to know how much others have got things done for!

@prettygreywalls How long did it take you to paint?

I really want to get all the painting done before we put the new carpet down but we will also need to move in quite quickly so I'm not sure if it'll be doable.

We may have to have the new carpet put down before we move in and then I'll have to gradually paint, room by room once we have moved in. Being careful not to get paint on the new carpet

Price depends on where in the country you are, we paid £1k for carpets 6 months ago, that was stairs hall and 2 bedrooms incl fitting. We're Berkshire.

Yep I would say thats quite doable, especially if you are not paying to have a kitchen fitted that will save you quite a bit. We bought our bathroom lino off the internet, look for the thickest one you can afford ours is a medium size bathroom and it cost £40 the fitter could not believe the quality we had got for the price ! Do you have carpet sales in your area? There is one advertised regularly round here I always thought it would be rubbish but went one day and got daughters bedroom carpet for £70 and stairs and landing(we have a long landing) for £180 ! I love house projects and painting ! Good luck !

3 of us painting upstairs took about a week with mostly 3 coats allowing time in between to dry ( no heat on ) but that wasn't 3 painting all the time , the men were off doing manly things in between ( like knocking down walls )

Try to paint before carpet it's so much easier , quicker and less costly than a splashed carpet ( however neat you work )

Small howdens kitchen without appliances ( but inc the boiling tap) circa £8.5k but it did include several curved units and doors which brought up the price , and although I say small it's a lot of units , delivered but not fitted .

Source appliances from appliances online they are a good starting point for reasonable cost comparisons

@pumpkinpie01 Ah! Thank you!!

My Mum has had her carpets replaced recently so we went into the same place and got a rough quote; it was for a different house though, a bigger one, four bed, two staircases, etc and that was under £2k so I think it would be less than that for this house.

I should have said also the week included prepping , sanding down , and removing a million tacks from the walls , and working around sparky and plumber

Am I allowed to put up a photo of the kitchen when I don't own the house yet? Just so you can see the size?

A new kitchen is a complete piece of string question. We've done it for 2k but this time round it's many thousands more. If you want new appliances or to move ovens etc it will escalate quickly, but it can also be v reasonable if you DIY and are happy with laminate worktops.

Check if you need to replace curtain poles. A curtain pole isn't expensive, but replacing every single pole and every single pair of curtains in the house, say £75 per room does add up. Bitter voice of experience - we moved to a house where the vendor had removed every curtain pole. But people don't normally.

With carpet we've found it's not much more expensive to buy it piecemeal. Maybe paint downstairs, hall and 1 bedroom, get them carpeted, then paint then carpet the remainder.

@prettygreywalls I think trying to paint before carpets is definitely a good idea. I don't have a steady hand and I'm very messy!

The walls all appear to be in really good condition so I'd probably just paint them. They're all cream too so that makes it easier as they aren't dark.

Appliance wise we were just going to get a built in over as they have a single free standing one there currently.

I'll be keeping my dryer, washing machine and dishwasher.

We did similar years ago when we moved in, took 2 weeks off work and worked solidly on sorting what needed doing, set up a camp bed effectively (matress on floor) so could get cracking first thing without having the house full of 'stuff'.
I would decide on the colour schemes and just get going on the painting - we sugar soaped the whole lot then did all the ceilings white first, then I worked round doing walls while OH did glossing of the skirting/door frames etc.

@Fishforclues I think it's very likely we will be replacing the curtains and poles!

Hoping not to get any new kitchen appliances as side from oven. The current layout of the kitchen is fine; I just don't like the worktop or the cupboards.

I would be going for a laminate work top

:

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-57063735.html

I couldn't work out how to attach an image so that's the link for the house

You'll have solicitors fees and searches to pay for too?

I was expecting an absolute wreck and it so isnt ! how nice at the front all that space. It doesnt look that old so doesnt look like any plastering needs doing so with regards to painting that will make that so much easier, though I really would try and paint before new carpets, so much easier. Have you got any friends that could help with that ? You could probably get a room done a day ? Do you know anyone that works at Wilkos or Homebase ? If so you could use their staff discount to buy paint they get 20% off.

Fair enough. You could look at just replacing the doors if the carcasses are ok.

If current cooker is freestanding and you want built in, you'll be buying separate oven and hob? Also think about electrics & gas supply. We had to have an electrician add a second cooker point to run a separate oven and induction hob. IKEA is a good quick way to check appliance costs, from entry level to all bells and whistles.

Looks about the size of my kitchen and we paid £3500 from b&q. Howdens quoted £5500 for a kitchen which looks the exact same, although probably better quality.

I think everything you have said is doable for 10k. The biggest expense is always the workmen and your husband is doing most so no costs there.