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Is now a terrible time to buy a fixer upper?

13 replies

PenvelopewithaP · 11/10/2022 15:59

We are about to put our house on the market for offers over £550k. We have found a property that we like in an area that we love. But it’s a property that will need a lot of work and money to make into our dream home. It’s on for £475k (and will go for that or more as the area is very popular) so if we sell at our asking price, we’ll have a bit of money left over for renovations but not enough (especially after moving costs). I doubt we will get it even if we make an offer as we are not able to proceed until we have sold our house, but are we mad even contemplating buying a fixer upper under the current economic circumstances?

OP posts:
Octomore · 11/10/2022 16:03

Renovation costs are currently very high - both materials and labour. And builder availability is low.

But the usual rules apply - is this a long term home for you? If so, now is probably fine.

MyBuggyIsOutToGetMe · 11/10/2022 20:04

What kind of fixer upper are we talking? Cosmetic or structural work? Extension/loft conversion?

Building work is really expensive at the moment….and the costs tend to mount once you start. I would really try to cost up roughly what it might cost to do a) what needs to be done to make it liveable, and b) what needs to be done to make it your dream long-term home.

BlueMongoose · 11/10/2022 20:04

It depends what you mean by not having enough money. If you're short of cash for the renovation, have you at least enough to do everything basic, like rewiring ( no point not doing that before you do other jobs), and necessary (like anything needed to keep it watertight, like gutters etc.? If you're short of the cash for things like that, it's probably not a good idea.

If you do have enough for that, how ok are you with living with most of it in its current state or worse (they tend to get worse visually before they get better as you strip them back) and doing the cosmetics* or extras like extensions a bit at a time, doing what you can yourself to save money and get things done without waiting for tradespeople to do everything? Living in a part-done house can really get you down, and even though some of us (like me) are slobs who stop noticing the mess most of the time, and can grit our teeth and think of the long term when it really does get to us, if you are ones of those who needs a house to be reasonably nice pretty much all over or you get stressed, I'd say, do not do it unless you have pots of money to get people in to do things quickly.

And remember, everything costs more than you think it will, and jobs do have a nasty habit of unveiling another one as you get into them.

But it can be fun, you can have it exactly as you want, and if you would be staying there a long time, the economics of it work out much better- especially if the area is good and you can increase its value without hittig a ceiling for the street/area. For us, it's worth it as we don't plan to move again.

(*I'd say a new bathroom and kitchen were cosmetic unless the current ones are not functioning or totally disgusting/dirty)

Flockameanie · 13/10/2022 17:33

Yes you’d be mad! We bought a fixer upper 3 years ago. Delays due to Covid etc meant that by the time we went out for quotes prices had increased 3x our budget (which was perfectly adequate 3 yrs ago) and now we’re a bit stuffed! Prices are insane now.

Octomore · 13/10/2022 17:43

Flockameanie · 13/10/2022 17:33

Yes you’d be mad! We bought a fixer upper 3 years ago. Delays due to Covid etc meant that by the time we went out for quotes prices had increased 3x our budget (which was perfectly adequate 3 yrs ago) and now we’re a bit stuffed! Prices are insane now.

Yeah, this has been our experience. Prices have just gone crazy

RidingMyBike · 13/10/2022 17:49

We bought one in similar price range over the summer. It has been really really hard to get quotes finalised (we had builder lined up ready to quote when we completed) and we were lucky to get builder with availability (because he's a larger company) so work has just started.

It is costing a LOT more than expected, and it's the second time we've done this. Last time we spent £100k over about nine years. This time it'll be more than that just to get to being able to live there - we're currently renting.

Sheenqueen · 13/10/2022 20:33

It will be expensive but you will get a home that is yours, in your own taste.

If it is in a desirable area then it will be a solid investment in the long run.

TheNoonBell · 13/10/2022 21:09

I'd go for something already done. Costs are going up rapidly and tradesmen are hard to get as people are bringing work forward.

We are looking to get the roof and a bathroom redone and the quotes are coming in far higher than expected with months to wait for a start, when of course the prices will be higher still.

sjxoxo · 13/10/2022 21:16

Surely when things are a bit shit, it’s even better to buy a fixer upper as you’ll be getting a cheaper property…! Gives you more leeway budget wise and resale wise aswell imo. Also would you be doing the work yourself or builders etc.. if you can do it yourself I’d go for it. Make absolutely certain that eve if prices went down you aren’t paying too much for it.. £475k for a crappy doer upper seems a lot to me but then I don’t know your area. The only real risk in my mind each time is absolutely to not pay over the odds for it in the first place. You do not want to be anywhere near negative equity in a house that’s already crap! Even if prices decreased by 10/15/25% what value would you be looking at? I’ve got some considerable fixer upper experience and I would say whatever you estimate for the project, times it by 2. The time it will take, the possible budget.. I’ve done renovation projects ‘on the cheap’ ie project managed and done a lot of work myself and it always seems about double my rough estimate 😂 good luck! X

earsup · 14/10/2022 18:29

some not all materials have gone up...i do some admin for a builder....we are doing lots of quotes but nobody is hiring just now.....mmmm...and he is not expensive....average prices....not put up his labour charges for a few years now.

EndlessMagpies · 14/10/2022 18:32

Are you talking new kitchen and bathroom, or new roof and rebuilding the chimney stack?

Luckydip1 · 14/10/2022 18:34

Wait six months and you should be able to get more choice with people selling because they can't afford the higher remortgage rates.

DashboardConfessional · 14/10/2022 19:24

I'd be worried about spending £50k and then finding that I could still only sell it for what I paid. It wouldn't take much of a percentage fall in the market. Everything here is being reduced.

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