How much to ‘completely renovate’ this house?

[plipplops]

I really love this house but the description says it requires ‘complete renovation’. I’ve got absolutely no idea how much that might cost (is it £200K or £500K, or a million pounds)?

I know it’s a bit of a ‘how long is a piece of string’ question, but if anyone has any thoughts I’d love to hear them…

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/118113164#/media?channel=RES_BUY&id=media0

That is such a beautiful house. I guess for the price though it must need a new roof or something, surely it would be worth twice that even if it needs renovating?

I think the answer to these questions is always “more than you think”

Not helpful, I know!

If it’s any help, friends bought a huge old house for just under £1M. It was structurally sound, just dated. They planned to move in within 1 year. It took them 3 years, with one of them project managing full time. I don’t know how much they ended up spending, but I do know they ended up selling their 2 rentals (they had them up for a combined total of £435k) to cover ‘unforeseen costs’

There isn't any radiators by the look of it as there is a standalone heater in a photo so that would be expensive to add in everywhere....

Sorry there is

Give the agents a ring, they will give you an idea of the issues regarding renovation needs. It must need a lot for the property to be so cheap though! I'm thinking drainage, structural. There don't seem to be pictures of the wing.

It’s bloody massive! Looks nice on the surface of things, not as bad as I was expecting. But it’s really impossible to tell from a few well shot pics and that description.

If the woodwork/roof needs serious attention you’d be looking at more than the asking price alone for that. And to re do those windows will be £££

Epc was G and it looks sparse on radiators- an electric one visible in one shot. Will cost a small fortune to keep warm I’d say.

Looks like it’s right next to the airport, next to a used car dealer too, although Rightmove sometimes puts the precise location a little bit out.

Allow £1k per square m of floor space

That’s a big house and could be a money pit.

However it completely depends how much you want to do. If you’re happy to keep the current layout, replace the bathroom and kitchen but just like for like (ie not moving location of utilities and waste pipes etc), and basically just fixing what’s needed, there might be as little as 50k worth to do. I’m guessing at a minimum it would need
Double glazing throughout and new doors
New roof
New boiler and installation of central heating
Rewiring
Replastering anywhere that is bad
May need damp treatment depending
New kitchen
New bathroom although both of these look like they would be functional in the short term if needed.

But I suspect that you could easily spend 200k+ if you wanted to make it open plan downstairs, extend, add en suites etc. Probably more to be honest. And in a house that size you could easily just spend 50k on high quality kitchens and bathrooms.

I agree with @heisawanker, pay careful attention to the heating. I spot one radiator and that might be wall mounted electric, and I also see plug in heaters in the rooms. Looks to have no central heating and oil powered range. May have no mains gas (you could fit a modern ground source heat pump for heating) so only has electric.

Also I would be careful to check the state of the roof, and how much traffic at unsociable hours the air port car parking creates.

Probably means extensive roofing works, works to windows (maybe partly rotten and draught proofing required), plumbing and central heating works eg new boiler, pipes etc, rewiring. Check for damp and any major cracks. Perhaps also some repointing required. After that you need to think about how much of the internal cosmetic details you can live with. For example, that kitchen might be lovely once repainted. You don’t necessarily have to replaster every room.

£350k plus any other money for extensions etc

Have a surveyor look at it for you.

totally random guess but based on experience refurbing 6 houses now- about £100k if you're keeping it as is. £200k if you're adding minor structural changes and £300k to make it a dream home.

I wondered why the price was low, then opened up the map...I guess the locations a bit noisy

a decent structural survey would be your best bet, that'll let you know whether the building needs anything major

I clicked on that and thought
Money Pit
How much money do you have?

for those writing about extensions, how much larger would you go with it and what do you think is missing to need an extension?

It’s clearly been used as two separate living spaces. Very strange design on second floor. I would reduce the number of bedrooms and include some en-suites. I would also probably extend between the dining room and downstairs loo and create a dining room/utility there and change the utility to be the downstairs toilet. This all depends on pipe work/drains etc but the rooms as they are don’t flow. It will need a rewire most likely and some new ceilings (one in the bedroom looked like it was failing) and new windows and doors. Easily in excess of 100K for the basics…and then several thousands on the outside. It has some lovely original features though.

I don’t think you’d get any change out of a half a million to do it all to a good standard.

At a quick glance:
Roof
Windows
Damp course
Potentially dry and wet rot
Timber replacement
Rewiring
Replacing
Structural alterations
Kitchen
Utility
Bathrooms
A shed load of hard landscaping

Providing it isn't listed possibly cheaper to demolish it and start again.

Minimum of £700-£800k

It isn't a practical runner imo.

We were told to get a quote for all the work needing done, then double it! Probably was about right 😬

I would say if the house hasn't got a structural issue ( full survey is recommended before buying a large, old house like this)it would still need new windows, roof, kitchen , sort out heating and electrics ,I would say minimum 50-100K, assuming you would do jobs , such as painting,decoration, floorsanding yourself. If you need a tradesmen for absolutely everything, probably looking at150-200k+ minimum.

I'd assume at that price that it needs complete replumbing and rewiring, that the drains/septic tank need work, and potentially a new roof -- and that the interior areas (like the leg of the L) that aren't photographed have serious issues.

We bought a largely-structurally sound but neglected Victorian 5-bed in 2020 for the equivalent of £525 k, and will have spent the equivalent of another £200 k on it by next summer. Chimney stabilising, scaffolding for exterior replastering and new soffit and downpipes, completely new plumbing/heating system and new wiring throughout, and replastering and painting throughout interior. And there's still lots to do -- we still have a primitive kitchen and bathrooms, and a large garden like a jungle that needs major clearing with machines.

You could leave it as two homes and renovate severalty, living in one side whilst renovating the other.

Sell the other half or rent it out as an income generator

Ooh, just seen location …could make a great b&b for the airport!!

I agree you could likely double the price as it such a big house.
Rewire alone would not be cheap
Just new carpets would be v expensive
Many rooms have no pictures suggesting they will be worse.