What’s it really like to buy a doer upper?

[NoFreakingClue]

DH and I have spent months looking for a house and we found one that we like and plan to put an offer on. Still trying to decide if the area is right for us, but I’m wondering if we’re clueless about what it will entail?

It’s a 4 bedroom, two living room, one dining room house. The previous owners were elderly and have passed away, so it needs a lot of updating. As far as we can tell, it’s in good condition, but it will need:

1. New kitchen
2. New bathroom (the main bathroom has just a shower instead of a bathtub)
3. New carpets and flooring
4. Paint the walls.

Now this is on the assumption that the condition is fine and the house simply needs to be updated.

We have busy lives and a toddler, so I think if we get someone like Wickes to do the kitchen and bathroom, another company for the flooring and a tradesman for the walls, it will take maybe three months in total and around £50k. We can stay in our current home before we move in so I think the stress of it will be arranging the various works and that’s it.

Am I massively underestimating all this? DH think it will take six months and £100k.

Go for it! Be prepared to learn a lot of new skills via youtube videos and become known as "quite handy" among your future workie buddies.

It's really hard to budget any building work just now because the cost of materials is still yoyoing about and trades are still really in demand so hard to pin down. Even if you get a plumber, his electrician friend might not show up because he has been offered more elsewhere and everything stalls whilst you wait for another more expensive electrician! Waiting lists are long, supply issues often and prices are too high.

Houses do not like being empty and a reasonable house can go downhill very quickly left unoccupied for any length of time (especially over winter).

I do think you waste a lot of money living off site and it is better to get the place safe and with a working loo and move in. Kids do not care - just be sure to have one safe cosy room for toys/ tv/eating etc. I always have electrics checked and try to paint and carpet dc rooms before move in, the rest you can work around. You will always find out more about the house living in it and it may change the way you want to renovate once you see how the space works, where the light is best etc. You can get loads done whilst dc are in bed or watching a film or whatever that would cost you if you are offsite.

My current example is my unplanned new guttering, I wouldn't have known the rain was pouring down the walls and window if I hadn't moved in - unnoticed that would have become a very expensive problem quickly as the weather worsens.

Your budget is good but not amazing and you will run into extras, it will take longer than you think - just get in there and make it home. It's short term discomfort for long term gain!

Kitchen will cost about £15k-£20k. I was quoted £10k for a new bathroom excluding the units or materials such as tiles which can cost £2k depending on quality, say £15k for everything.
Builder quoted £4k to paint the whole house last year, I did it myself in the end. Laminated floor cost about £5k for the flooring and fitting. Wooden floor can double that cost.
£50k should be fine if you don't extend the scope which we always do during a refurb.

There’s a long wait for good tradesmen. Ours also , we found, needed new radiators and pipe work. But if you aren’t living there,,,,that’ll help.

We're mid-renovation. 4 Story cottage type, not a flat straight tidy wall in the house, older houses can be a money pit.
All told I think it'll in come in at around 15k with the kitchen and windows.
We are doing most ourselves with just a decorator to do the stairs landing etc.
Bathroom-kitchen-central heating-windows are all done by us.

Then sell it, we know from the valuation we stand to have £75,000 for the next one. The next one will be double the size, so hopefully, a nice chunk of money to be made and we can semi-retire.
One more then that's it we're done.

I think your H is right on the time just due to current lead ins and availability of trades and materials etc, but you are right on the budget (obvs you can spend exponentially on flooring, kitchens and bathrooms but 50k will get you a fairly decent spec for all of that.

To add: I Bought a wreck of a (listed) house in 2016. Did most of it up myself off you tube videos and paid trades to do the bits I couldn't do. It was quite stressful living in a house that was always half way through having something done to it. And two teen DD's did a fair bit of moaning. But the flip of that was that I enjoyed the work (mostly) and I made about £100k on it when I sold it earlier this year. So I think it's worth doing as long as you can handle living in a not perfect house for a while.