What would it cost to renovate this house?

[DblEspresso]

Hi

Looking for some advice as thinking of offering for this house.
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/115990778#/?channel=RES_BUY
It needs a complete makeover, flooring, kitchen, bathrooms, garden ! Would also be looking to add a loft extension in (around 45 sqm).

I know its a subjective question, but if I am trying to have a decent quality build put in, how much should I budget for all the work together? It would really help me decide how much we should offer as the listed price seems high for a semi in this condition.

Thanks !

The second one... why not..

£225 for the detached.. hmm... move in state... quarry tiles on the footpath to the front door.. you could raise the roof.. the garden will always be bigger... .. you will still need to do some renovations, some of the fireplaces are lovely..

but... the parquet in the other one...

View them both.. you will feel if the extra £225 is worth spending up front... I think so...

We're doing an ongoing renovation at the moment..2 years in in fact, and are doing 80% of the work ourselves as we have little money to pay tradesmen.

We had a large Edwardian ceiling pulled down yesterday in the master bedroom as it was full of stress cracks and could potentially have come down of it's own accord at any time.

We used a builder recommended to us from 2 lots of friends, and I was convinced they wouldn't be able to fit our relatively small job in this side of 2021. Amazingly they did, took 2 mornings of work to take down the old lathe and plaster ceiling, and re-board the lot out, ready for plastering. They also managed to save most of the cornicing, something that another builder had told me would be near impossible.

I think renovation is possible at the moment in terms of finding good tradesmen who don't have a 6 month lead time, but you need to hunt about for them.

The whole job cost under £1000, which for London I think is very reasonable. They did a great job too.

I would probably go for the house that needs the total makeover, but you will need deepish pockets as the price just to buy it in its current state is pretty eye watering. You could make it beautiful though and the beauty of starting from scratch is you can make sure everything is done properly and to exactly your taste.

Just to add, if you have friends who have had work done recently, try and get recommendations from them rather than those trust a trader websites who I think are totally hit and miss.

In an odd way, for all that the detached one seems all done up on the surface, I think you’d end up doing a lot there even if it weren’t quite as much. The outside on the front is very nice though.

The first one has far more charm imo.
The kitchen has an original cupboard, the parquet floor is lovely, the windows are original. The blue bathroom could be rather special. But only you can k ow how you feel when you see it.

The first one, assuming the timber floors, roof and wiring are sound, about £120k, doing basic redecoration yourself.

But if you can afford the second one, why are you thinking of the first?

All my houses have been doer uppers, but I like doing up old houses. Most people don't enjoy it.

So I’m doing a refurb right now and am clearly not against the idea. The first house is a total refurb and the kitchen looks to be in the wrong place even though that extension doesn’t look original. Even replumbing and rewiring will set you back 20K between then and you can’t easily live there right now.

I don’t know the area so maybe school catchments are at play but I’d buy this one for the same money and walk right in.
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/115431218?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY

Second is so much nicer. This is a no brainer. First house doesnt have that much potential IMO. Nothing special about it.

Where are you is key

If you can afford detached, buy detached. I can’t see from the pics in the first if there is parking? Finding trades who can’t park right outside the front door easily also attracts a premium. You will absolutely need a rewire in the first. You won’t be able to live easily in the first whilst it’s being renovated (false economy as trades need move from room to room easily) so you need to factor in the cost of a 6 month rental also (assuming you can’t stay at a relative/friends etc).

Wow it needs completely redoing. Easily £250k minimum including the loft. Probably more. They always find hidden stuff that needs doing in these things.
Plus you wouldn't be able to live there while it's being done, so you have to factor that in too.

I'd say loft would be £50k +
it cost us just under that to do a similar one in Teddington 20 years ago!
The thing about a loft though is you can do it at a later date as a completely separate job. I know it makes mess when the breakthrough the stairs happens. But apart from that its separate - the builders access via the outside. But you could reserve that job til you've recovered from a downstairs extension and everything else.

I would keep some of those floors! Is that proper parquet flooring in the lounge? I love polished floorboards and it isnt colder if you put in proper underfloor insulation.

I think that's vinyl in the living room, not parquet. The house @NewHouseNewMe linked to looks a better bet than either of the other two.

Have you got a builder?

Depends what you do?

I’d put in RSJs downstairs and have open plan behind front reception room and incorporate a downstairs click room and utility by using clever cupboard usage

Upstairs I’d make bedroom 3 and the bathroom both on suite.

Then do the loft conversation last

£100k and a wait for work unless you have someone lined up ready

You could spend as little or as much as you like on the first one and you'd never be able to make it a detached house. What if you made it perfect at a reasonable cost but then had nightmare neighbours, or could hear them through the wall?

If you can afford it, go for the second one.

[quote DblEspresso]Consensus seems to be over 200K+
But the problem is that takes it into detached house category.
If I were to spend that much, why shouldn't I just buy this one instead !
www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/116243252#/?channel=RES_BUY[/quote]
You could but the detached house isn’t exactly modern or ‘done up’ either. It needs £70-£100k spending on it to make it as wow as you could get the terraced to be by spending £200k on it.

Traditionally, it will cost twice as much and take twice as long as the highest estimate, even if that estimate was made as a joke.

@A580Hojas

Does it need a rewire? That alone would be about £20,000. I'm going to say £70,000 without the loft.

20k for a rewire? I'd find yourself a new electrician.

You do really need to talk to a local builder - where I am I’d say you could totally sort it for £120-150k but in London I reckon builders will be charging a lot more…. Are you able to take on any of the work yourself?

Local builders in the leafy South East are just throwing big figures around at the moment, irrespective of the actual cost. Supply and demand. You’d probably need at least three quotes to get a range - a friend has just got quotes of £210-350k for the same job.

I lived in this area back in the early 00s, just by Queen Road when I was at uni. Now trawling through all the houses on Rightmove haha.

I’d say £80-£100k for the refurb. The loft, probably £75k. It all depends on quality / expense in your choice of various finishings.

Kitchens, tiles, flooring materials etc. can vary greatly.

Thinking more about it DH & I did a full refurb plus loft & side return of a Victorian terrace in sw London in 2005 - we spent about £150k and did it on a shoe string (lived on site, magnet kitchen, bath store bathrooms etc) - if you take into account inflation over the last 16 years AND the materials shortage (thanks Brexit) then yes, those saying £250k are prob more in the ball park!!!

Material prices are at an all time high so knock thru and new kitchen will be £50-70k. Add bathrooms, plastering through out, rewire, plumbing, new roof, garden My instinct was £200k which seems the consensus but with VAT that could be tight. You need to factor rent for a year whilst planning and doing the work.

People who buy these houses do so because they are in the trade, want that particular road or just want a project that they do from start. It's very difficult to make money on a house unless the market is rising sharply