Renovation of 3/4 bed house in London

[planforeverything]

Hi everyone,

We are looking to buy a 3/4 bed house in Barnes within the next 18 months (as I think this is how long it’ll take us to find what we are looking for!) though we are going for a renovation project. As much as I would love to buy one that is already ‘done’ our budget just won’t stretch and having learned the hard way, I don’t want to compromise on location. My heart is set on Barnes, we live in Putney and I spend majority of my time off in Barnes and our last place we stayed for 3 years and moved for the perfect property but I hated the area (and rarely left the house).

We’re looking for a Victorian 3/4 (depending on whether attic has been converted) red brick (Elm Grove Road style) with good sized garden. I was wondering if anyone has renovated (e.g everything out and everything new in, extension in to garden and side return) and how much it cost.

We have no idea of London prices all in and it’s almost impossible to figure out how much it’ll cost. I’ve contacted renovation companies and they want to charge a fee to quote us. No one can seem to give me a ball park figure!

So who has converted a 3/4 bed Victorian property in Lomdon (excl. basement) and do you have a ball park figure of cost?

We had thought £150-£200k but this is a guess.

Thank you

P.s what I should say is we are looking at a complete remodelling, not just new kitchen/bathrooms etc. Walls moved, different layout, 2 storey extension to turn from a 3 bed to a 4/5 bed. I’ve had quotes for kitchens, bathrooms etc but not the building work - which I have seen costs from £70k up to £300k.

Depends on the spec, but 150k in SW London normally gets you a large single storey kitchen diner refurb and a loft conversion. At a high spec. I'd imagine a total refurb including double storey extension, roof, electrics, plumbing etc you are looking at 300k for a high spec.

And budget for a year of renting. Another 30k?

We’ve had every wall and floor in the house down, so everything is new
Wooden sash windows etc and it’s about £300k but that includes all new appliances, kitchen bathrooms wooden flooring throughout new staircases a lot of built in storage and well everything really

(In SW London )

Thanks helter skelter. I imagine it is beautiful! Did you get one company in to do everything or arrange everything separately yourself and did you pay a project manager. Also how long did it take you? We seen one yesterday but to be honest it’s not location we are looking for not only did it need everything done to it, it needed a rear extension demolished that is falling apart.

It will cost you more to buy a project and renovate it yourself, than to buy a ready done house.

People actively want projects.

We're not too far from Barnes and had single storey rear ext, first floor bathroom remodelling, loft and bits like driveway, fencing, new pipes for a shade under 200. You must be looking at 3 for a two storey, side return and full remodel.

Thanks everyone - that’s really useful.

Estate agent said better to buy and renovate as there is a premium in SW London of buying a house ‘done.’ For example, we looked at one that’s £1.3m and there is one on the same street that hasn’t had side return it sold for £1.72m in November and to be honest kitchen and bathrooms were tired and floor needed redone.

Interesting that projects are becoming the more desirable option.

We found that a few years ago. Most 'project' houses weren't cheaper. A crazy situation. But with grand designs et al. people want to do renovation. In Putney there is a trend to buy, demolish and new build on the plot. I don't think people are doing that in Barnes as much, or at least they keep the facade.

Putney prices are falling, is Barnes too? I suspect most of London is seeing a soft market right now.

To add, I think developers are aiming to sell before the market goes lower, so some 'done' houses might be the best option.

Rollercoaster 1920 - putney prices are falling!!

We are likely not going to see the uplift we had hoped for but I’m breathing a sigh of relief that when we bought our place when it was almost a forced sale and we got £60k off asking when the market was booming 2 years ago. Brexit has resulted in people a) not buying and b) not selling - housing stock on the market right now is poor.

I think we’d still need to do a renovation anyways as we wouldn’t get the mortgage for the ‘done’ price. We’d get the mortgage on the lower price and have to live in whilst having work done - not ideal at all but it’s what we’ve done in our current place and fund as we go. I am however rethinking what we are looking at - for example buying one that’s had an older person living in it for 40 years who, yes have maintained it to an extent, but needs modernisation. I’ve seen some that are full of damp, dry rot and are structurally not sound and there’s no way we could move in and live.

Sometimes I question whether to quit the rat race and head out of London but that’s another thread altogether!

or example buying one that’s had an older person living in it for 40 years who, yes have maintained it to an extent, but needs modernisation

Ah, the structurally sound but requires cosmetic modernization and an extension dream home -

If it is going to cost £300k to renovate, and you think you can't get that on a mortgage but will be able to save it up as you go - over how many years are you going to live in a building site and spend every penny on renovations? One year? Two years? Five years?

£300k in cash not debt is a hell of a lot to find. That is like £600k pre-tax. Even if you/your DH are super high earners and that is just one or two good bonuses away - I'd rather stay put and save whilst living in a nice but too small house than a building site.

We did a back to brick renovation in Battersea, with a loft and upper-middle spec, andit came in just under £300k, in 2011/12

The economics rarely stack up of doing big renovations though
Unmodernised properties are priced at ceiling price minus renovation cost, minus a few grand to draw people in

If they are any cheaper than that, they go to developers who have the economies of scale with workmen to do the work cheaper

Really useful comments - thank you!

I suppose if we don’t go for it and live in a building site, we can’t really move. This is our only option of being able to stay in London and pay it over time. Or we take the enormous mortgage to get the money upfront or buy the one that’s ‘done’

The alternative is we move out of London or stay put - both of which I don’t think are sustainable. Prices really have gotten crazy!

Only saving grace is my family are in the building trade but are 2 hours from London but things like joinery etc a lot can be done off site and installed which will save us £££’s. It’s a definite wait and see what happens in this market though

Must it be Barnes? Do have friends and roots there? Could you go somewhere cheaper but still like Barnes? Kingston/Teddington/Thames Ditton/E Molesey/Esher/Claygate/Surbiton?

The ‘for sale after 40 years’ house can’t be lived in while you renovate either.

It will need a full rewire, which means replastering. While you’re at it, you’ll want to move all the light switches and sockets, and might want to move radiators and remove chimney breasts

So you’re now looking at a full back to brick, which makes it uninhabitable unless you want to camp - and literally camp. The only people I know who have done this slept in a tent which was on bare floorboards in a bedroom with wires dangling from the ceiling...
His girlfriend refused to live there so took a room in a shared house

If you can’t afford the mortgage of a ‘done’ house, you are surely going to struggle to raise the money to pay for the building works?
To buy it done needs you to have 1/4 of the money to pay for it as your pre-tax salary
To pay for the work will mean it takes you 6+ years to find the same money, assuming you get a 10% discount for buying a do-er upper

£300K, minimum for shell - as in, pre-fittings/kitchen/joinery etc..... then the sky's the limit isn't it!