Would you buy a house that needs tons of work??

[Notasausagesausage]

So we did this once, in early thirties, one baby in tow now in mid fourties 3 kids. Our house is finished, loft done too, it needed a lot of work it’s a narrow semi, no drive or off street parking thinking of building an officer for home working in the garden. At the moment two of the kids share. Would ideally like to have own rooms as one is starting GCSE’s hence the home office plan. Anyway- I’ve seen a house it needs a lot of work. Suspect rewire and boiler atm roof looks sound, stained glass windows need to be secondary glazed. It’s bigger, would have office inside though and separate bedrooms for kids. Would have to extend the tiny kitchen though and re plumb an en-suite that was removed. Most work would have to be done by us re decorating garden is terrible. But it’s is BEAUTIFUL ans looks out onto open land that can’t be built on. Would you move from your warm finished comfortable house that needs an extra room to what I’ve just described with a view to doing it up or am I just totally getting swept away whilst wearing my rose tinted DIY glasses?

So difficult. Maybe this should be a family decision with the kids invoked. Sound everyone out?

Involved.

Yep two out of three say yes, the other one doesn’t even like changing pjs never mind his whole house 🤣

We need a link to see it……

We've done the moving into a (massive!) project. For us there were a lot of things that we could put up with - and we ended up having to when Covid hit just as we were about to start work. So we're only just now in the middle of the work and to be honest we've done it so much better having waited nearly two years after moving in. We also decided rather than doing it but by bit we'd take out a mortgage for the work and do it all at once which is def minutely the right decision for us with four young kids around. And the works haven't affected them too much as long as we've separated off a space for the kitchen and a tv they're not too bothered by the work - though they can still play in the garden which is very helpful! So I'd be asking myself if I could make it comfortable enough to live in temporarily. I thought I'd want to do the work straight away (and I did but I made peace with it and made it as comfortable as possible) then we did the replumb first to get decent heating (which was a massive mess and we had to move out for a few weeks). Then we modernised the bathrooms which wasn't too much of a mess and made such a difference to my morning mood! Then we did the rewire immediately followed by knocking through work, new kitchen and new windows...... we're supposed to be finished by the end of oct but it's been going on since July - so it has been stretched out a bit by us staying in part of the house, abs I can't wait to get a proper kitchen back rather than plug in induction hobs And a ninja foodie! But it's been bareable and slow rather than unbareable and fast which is fine by us. Our old house was fine and comfortable but it had some fundamental issues for us that were only going to get worse as the kids got older so I'm very happy with what we did and do it again (though hoping I won't have to!)

Yes
Its not a family decision , its one that my partner and I make

Yes I would and I have. Initially I didn't think it was such a big project (new kitchen, new bathrooms, add laundry closet upstairs, new carpets throughout, block up door, move lights, add steel and glass doors...eventually will change windows and front door, garden is just weeds and overgrown grass). But I'm living in it and in the third week without a family bathroom (my daughter has an en suite in the loft) and second week of having just a fridge, stove and sink but nothing else (no countertops or storage etc). It doesn't really affect my (A level) daughter as she's at school until 5pm, and she will move temporarily in to the completed guest room by the time we start on her en suite, but there's no denying it's a royal pain in the butt. I rent two storage rooms for the furniture and stuff we needed out of the way.
But I'll get the house I want! Short term pain for long term gain, so I say go for it. But don't go get two kittens a week before work starts...

I think I would if you can wait. Finding a reputable builder, getting a quote within budget is a really long process at the moment (builders are massively booked up and pricing has gone through the roof) - we've waited about a year for our work and it's getting worse. I think internal renovations are one thing, extending is another and you'll know that's not easy to live with. If you're prepared for all of that then do it, but be prepared for disruption (which might not be ideal timing wise if your daughter is about to start GCSEs - better than A levels though).

It sounds like this house suits your family better than your current house, and you've done this before and know the pitfalls so yes, go for it.

In your case, yes I'd do it. You've done it before, so are aware of the eye watering costs that builders present you with, as well as the mess.
I'm sure that you are aware of supply chain issues in the building industry at the moment/increased costs.

Good luck! It sounds exciting.

I presume that you are getting a (potentially) great house at a discount price. That's good.
What's the timescale? If one is just starting GCSEs then, in theory, they could be off to University in four years from now. Will you get all the work done before they are gone!? Is this a 'forever house' or a 'use the profit/equity made to springboard onto the net stage' thing?
Have you had the work costed?
What stage are your careers etc at; can you afford DIY-time like you did when you had less responsibility and fewer DC?

For me, it would depend on whether I could comfortably afford to all the work to make it a sound and secure home without putting the family under financial pressure.

I would need to create an outline plan of costs and time for the work to be done and be neutrally honest with myself about how realistic I was being.

Thanks for all the replies. They are all helpful. We are above the ceiling price for our road with our current house. We never thought the price would ever get as high as it is atm. We would have a large deposit to put down but the potential new house is massively overpriced. Prettiness and position along with period features are the wow factor ans someone might pay their asking price. We couldn’t though. Going to sit down tonight and have another look at it. Finance will be the deciding factor in the end. But flipping eck I love that house. 😂

We bought a completely derelict house (no roof, no windows, no electrics, no plumbing etc) and DH is rebuilding it himself. (We could afford the house but not builders). It is a far bigger project than we anticipated (have been at it for 18 months and hoping to finish within next 18 months). It is extremely exciting, but only possible because DH is retired (retired early because of SN child) and can now build full-time. It is will so lovely and so truly ours when it is finished that all the hard work now is worth it. Have you considered your ability/availablility to do any of the work yourself rather than getting contractors?

Hi Dudes yes I’m happy to get stuck in ans have done so before on this ans our previous property. We can paint, I’ve refurbished a house worth of sash windows, garden stripping floors etc all would be fine. It’s the costs involved in the things we can’t do. Plus are we prepared to live with things for a while. Like kitchen. It’s nice but it’s teeny weeny. The house price is well over it’s worth. If we could get it for the price we imagine then it would still be tough. I’m thinking would it be worth it on the long run? We have a comfortable four bed now would a large 4 bed appreciate at a faster rate? I don’t know. Also we are in Greater London house prices are insane at the best of times right now they are really up.

We’ve just bought a doer upper that we are moving into next week….. rewired, but bare plaster on walls, kitchens horrendous and nasty tiled or MDF flooring…. and we’ve got a 12 week old baby 😩😩😩

I’m regretting it massively at the moment but know I’ll love it when it’s done.

Needs decorating,tiny little bit of building work downstairs, new kitchen, bathroom tiling, new front door and quite a bit on the garden but I’m excited. Sometimes. Other times I’m very very tired and think we must be quite mad 😅
You’ve done it before, you can do it again if its worth it. And if you can get it at a good price!!

I'm so happy to see the positive comments on here. We've just moved into a house that needs a lot of work. Some urgent, some we can and likely will take years over. I feel a bit stressed about it but also loving the house!

Do you have deep pockets and a very low dress threshold? If yes to both then go for it!

*stress

No harm in going for a look round and putting in an offer... what will be will be!

Only if you have the money to get trades in and just get it done. If you have a child about to start GCSEs they don’t need to be living in a building site (had it through my a-levels), so if it would be a Sarah Beeny style DIY project I would say it’s not the right time.