Advice on buying a fully renovated house

[PeppaSuzy]

We are seriously considering to buy a fully renovated house. The EA told us that the vendor bought this 3-room Victorian house at around 200k two years ago, refurnished everything very nicely with good design ideas, made a dormer loft conversion and then put in the market and now selling it at 550k, and suspect that he didn't spend much time living there. The size and location of the house is perfect for us. The other similar houses selling nearby in the last few months was around 400k, so apparently the vendor is putting all the building costs in it.

So our concern is whether the work is good enough for us to pay such a high price. We were told that we would receive various certificates. Certainly we will have a level 3 survey on this but is that well covered in particular in the areas we can't see it? Or is there anything else we can get some more comfort from the EA or vendor?

Also we wonder how much we should make an offer. We are cash buyer and chain-free so in a good position to proceed. We are happy to make an offer but the asking price is a bit beyond our budget. Guess there won't be a strong interest towards this house as it will be far over the any lender's valuation. In our area, good houses are gone in a week or two but there are a few others remain in the market for months.

Thank you and certainly appreciate any idea about this.

We were told that certificates of building control completion, electrical, gas and window FENSA would be available upon completion. Hope all these alongside with a structural survey should be good enough to give us the confidence

No you should be able to see them now. I wouldn't buy a house without being satisfied the certificates were in place. If you're paying top dollar for a reno the vendors should be justifying that price by demonstrating they have the paperwork and you should be able to check that they are authentic.

Agree with PPs. 'On completion' means you could waste money and time.

agree with PP - 'on completion' actually would give me pause. Why not before exchange? Something a bit dodgy about that.

Ask to see the docs before exchange and get the hard copies on completion.

We have just bought a newly renovated house. House on the same street sold at the same time for £150k less than what we paid. But if we'd bought the cheaper house we'd have had to put £250k into it to turn it into the house we bought (with various extensions etc).

It's way over the ceiling price of any other house on the street, but it's the perfect house for us for the next 15+ years, and we can afford it, so in the end 'overpaying' didn't really come into it.

A survey isn’t worth the paper it’s written on (the tiny small print always absolves them of any responsibility). Find out who did the work. A main contractor? Or smaller subbies? And ask to see all certs NOW (absolutely NOT and never on completion - what can you do then??) And who provided warranties? FENSA, building control, structural engineers, ground works, damp proofing, render, roofing, electrics, gas, where is the kitchen from, same for sanitary ware, sinks, taps, white goods etc. Who did the tiling, who fitted the floors? I’m a contractor and I can provide that as a minimum for any purchaser. If they give you names and certs, Google them. Look up reviews. There is a lot to be said for buying fully renovated properties, but there are a lot of shit builders about and a crap renovation can cost you more than buying a fixer upper.

I wouldn't be so concerned about the quality or the price, I would be looking for that to be confirmed in evaluations though. If you think it's a fine price to pay then do it! My only bugbear is the homes around me where this has been done, one for nearly a million (we are a very unassuming little village, living at the now basic end), and both new owners have ripped out the bathrooms and kitchens. Brand new stuff in the tip. If you like the finish and would keep it the it sounds like a wonderful fit.

check everything works...sinks and drains and sockets etc...friend bought a place done up and the sinks not connected to any drains and all the sockets not wired up...just screwed onto walls....!!!

We did this years ago - buying a house that had just been extended and refurbished by a professional flipper. We had a detailed survey done which was a complete waste of money.

It turns out that while cosmetically the house looked quite good, the building work was very shoddy. Within a month of moving in, our flat roof membrane flew away in a storm, leaving us with substantial water damage on every floor. While we were insured, the contractor hired by the insurance company uncovered that the dormer structure was not up to building regulations, so we had to pay extra to have proper joists fitted.

Fast forward ten years or so, and we’re now extending the house. Opening up the walls has uncovered all sorts of issues, including fire safety risk and appalling building work. I’m amazed the house stood all that time.

Having said that, the house has still gained value, it’s been a happy place, and has great potential which we are now realising through the current renovation. So it’s not all negative.

My advice would be to forget about the survey as they are useless, and build up some cash reserves for when skeletons come out of the closets 😁

Surely your solicitor should have found out about the lack of building regs though? Obviously if it was a long time ago then there might not have been any, but if the house was flipped then regs should be in place.

I know surveys are often next to useless but mine certainly highlighted that I needed to check regs/permission for anything extended etc.