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Original poster

What does ‘in need of modernisation throughout’ mean to you?

55 replies

Pinkpanther3 · 01/04/2022 20:41

Hi all,

We’ve been to view a house, perfect location, beautiful house and great space. Advert states ‘requires modernisation throughout’. It definitely needs a new bathroom (think 80’s teal bathroom’, and could do with a new kitchen but I was planning to just paint the kitchen units until we could afford that. Also needs new carpet /laminate downstairs. I’m a bit worried that the phrase used by the agents mean it needs a total renovation! Do you think that phrase just means cosmetic work only, or total gutting?

It was rewired 10 years ago and has double glazing, new boiler fitted approx ten years ago too.

Any words of wisdom appreciated! Obviously would get a full structural survey!

OP posts:
Original poster
Pinkpanther3 · 01/04/2022 21:08

Oh god, now I’m freaking out again!! Ok so rewiring seems good, boiler hopefully good but maybe needs replacing at some point. It all seemed ok to be but now I’m worried I was blinded by the fact I loved the location and the actual house! Anything awful would come up on a survey wouldn’t it? handhold needed

OP posts:
Usingit · 01/04/2022 21:09

The wiring should be fine if it's only 10 years old though you may need a few extra sockets which would be best put in before decorating. I would expect it to have a usable but dated kitchen and bathroom that would need replacing, also decorating throughout and new carpets

wishingitwasfriday · 01/04/2022 21:11

Our house was advertised as needing modernisation. Three bed detached 1930s house. We've not extended but have spent upwards of 70k so far.

SockFluffInTheBath · 01/04/2022 21:13

@Pinkpanther3 in all honesty it depends. Some estate agents say modernisation is required and mean it’s a shit tip that’s about to fall down, some say it when the wallpaper is from the 90s. If they had the boiler & electrics done 10 years ago it’s not been neglected and fallen into disrepair. Get a decent survey, check the roof and for damp.

mummabubs · 01/04/2022 21:15

@Pinkpanther3

Oh god, now I’m freaking out again!! Ok so rewiring seems good, boiler hopefully good but maybe needs replacing at some point. It all seemed ok to be but now I’m worried I was blinded by the fact I loved the location and the actual house! Anything awful would come up on a survey wouldn’t it? handhold needed
Honestly I think if the location and the house are what you want then go for it!! Sorry if my post freaked you out! We bought our house for the location and also the potential that we could see the house having long term. It's not ideal in the short term but we keep telling ourselves all the time and money will be well worth it! 😂 (oh and honestly our survey was 52 pages of "this is here, it may be a problem, get it checked by a professional in the short/long term"). 🤷🏻‍♀️
Usingit · 01/04/2022 21:17

Modern wiring lasts years, ours was rewired in about 1990 and we just had a new consumer unit and some extra sockets put in, electrician said that the wiring was fine and lasts years nowadays, the stuff that needs replacing is the old rubber coated wiring which I think was used in about the 60s

Gingernaut · 01/04/2022 21:19

Depends which century it was last decorated.

Modernisation could mean anything from removal of asbestos loaded artex, adding an indoor toilet and removing the Formica art installation, to adding double glazing, central heating, a new fuse box and rewire and reformulating the layout.

lakeswimmer · 01/04/2022 21:23

I would assume that it could do with redecorating and perhaps a new kitchen and bathroom but I wouldn't necessarily expect re-wire/new roof/new windows/new heating system.

I put an offer in on a house today which needs modernisation; an older lady lives in it and it could do with new carpets/flooring and re-decoration and a new kitchen in due course but it's perfectly liveable with meantime; it's just a matter of taste.

Original poster
Pinkpanther3 · 01/04/2022 21:25

This is the description, I’m really hoping we’re overthinking it.

What does ‘in need of modernisation throughout’ mean to you?
OP posts:
bellac11 · 01/04/2022 21:26

I would always buy a house that needs modernisation over one that doesnt because they tend to be cheaper than the equivalent and you dont feel like you cant rip out other peoples horrible new (usually grey) decor

So you can do room by room slowly over time

Usingit · 01/04/2022 21:27

If we put our house on the market it would probably be described as that because the kitchen is 25 years old and the bathroom could do with replacing.

Chewbecca · 01/04/2022 21:28

You can’t tell from the description.

It could mean anything from full refurb (unlikely) to needs decorating if you want it to be current in style - you can judge this for yourself.

Presumably you will get a survey?

FTEngineerM · 01/04/2022 21:30

A 10 yr old boiler might not have much longer in it

Gently slaps DFs back boiler fire from the 80s that’s still going strong..

Anyway, the survey will tell you. In depth.
Houses are projects, which ever one you buy (unless new). Enjoy 😆

chisanunian · 01/04/2022 21:30

'In need of modernisation throughout' means that it hasn't been done over in modern flashy with mustard yellow cushions and grey paint everywhere. It probably also means that the house still retains some of its original character and features.

MuggleMadness · 01/04/2022 21:35

@Pinkpanther3

This is the description, I’m really hoping we’re overthinking it.
@Pinkpanther3

You're overthinking it!

It needs midernusation not total renovation or 'cash buyer only' that's when you know it's MAJOR!!

modernisation means just that! It's been inhabited by people who aren't 'modern' and it shows through their 'decor'

It sounds great & over time you can make it exactly how YOU want to be! Perfect as far as I'm concerned - as long as the location is good, garden is the size you want & the house shell is good structurally! (Unless you want to semi rebuild)

Original poster
Pinkpanther3 · 01/04/2022 21:37

Ok, thank you everyone. I think I need to calm down! We have the money to replace carpets etc and flooring immediately (desperately needs doing). Was planning to redecorate as in paper and paint myself a room at a time. Was going to repaint the kitchen units as it does look a little tired but I didn’t think it was awful - could do with a new kitchen but wouldn’t be a priority. Definitely going to get a full survey!

OP posts:
Original poster
Pinkpanther3 · 01/04/2022 21:38

Sorry can’t keep up with the replies in my panic 🤣 it does still have some period features (which I love!) no plans to extend at all as size is great for us

OP posts:
Usingit · 01/04/2022 21:38

It sounds good and you will be able to do it as you go along, I would definitely go for it

Regularsizedrudy · 01/04/2022 21:41

Usually means electrics and boiler is fucked

RyvitaBrevis · 01/04/2022 21:44

On the boiler age thing . . . Worcester Bosch are on the record as saying they design them to last 12-15 years these days, so that's roughly what you can expect, although it may last longer. The days of a new residential boiler lasting 30 years are probably over.

Laptopsandmouses · 01/04/2022 21:45

For me that’s exactly what it says on the tin, hasn’t been touched since at least the seventies or eighties, so forty to fifty years ago

Neverreturntoathread · 01/04/2022 21:47

I’d assume new kitchen and bathroom plus redecorate throughout. Would check boiler etc.

I like properties that require this, because let’s face it, you end up redecorating anyway and at least this way you aren’t paying for whatever the last owner did.

I wouldn’t dwell on it, is just estate agent speak for ‘bit of a dump right now but has potential’.

Honeyroar · 01/04/2022 21:54

To me it just means don’t expect anything trendy! It may or may not need more serious work doing (rewire or central heating etc), but yours doesn’t sound too bad. Our boiler is 20+ years old.

HirplesWithHaggis · 01/04/2022 22:50

It sounds perfectly liveable to me, from your description. Re the bathroom, if the bath is enamelled cast iron, there's a good second hand market for them - my mum got a few hundred for her '71 bath, sink and loo. They're retro now! Grin

Hebeee · 01/04/2022 23:12

Dated decor/mostly cosmetic 'upgrades' required....as opposed to a full on project property.

Yours sounds like this kind of place and I shouldn't be too worried about it being a money pit!

We always buy older, project houses as we're not keen on paying for other people's taste and prefer to put our own stamp on a place, so our current house was described as being 'recently fully renovated' which was an absolute joke.

Even before it was repossessed in 2017, the historic listing pics from the previous year show peeling external paint, dated kitchen/bathroom and half an acre of neglected garden. The extension had a tarpaulin over the leaking roof that the neighbour later confirmed had been in place for several years. We found out that the cheap kitchen had been fitted ten years previously and the basic bathroom about fifteen. Both were shoddy and badly installed so hadn't aged well, whereas better quality stuff in a timeless style more appropriate to the age of the property (400 years) may have better stood the test of time. The boiler was ancient, rusty and condemned shortly after completion. Much of the peeling paint concealed rotting timbers beneath.

We still managed to live in it when we purchased four years ago, but it was definitely not recently renovated nor in need of merely cosmetic improvements.