Fallen in love with a Reno but what would you pay?

[Artgalleryloner]

Hello Mntters!

hoping for your wise property advice - we’re about to buy our first home.

I’ve fallen in love with a house that needs a lot of renovation, the seller is sticking to their offer price of 265k but I’m not sure it’s worth it, please have a read below…

the house is an Edwardian terrace in a nice location, near a park that’s sought after in our city, this elevates the price of property there. It’s on the market at 275k

upon a first viewing the house is in significant disrepair, the electrics are very old, no circuit breaker and will need replacing. Quote from an electrician for this is roughly 5k.

the hot water system is also very old - the type where the pipes would go down behind the coal fire to heat. There are radiators but are very old and will need replacing. Quote from a plumber for a new boiler system new rads and plumbing to kitchen and bathroom roughly 8k

I have a quote from a builder for 16k for the rest of the work- includes: demolishing extension that is leaking with no planning, demolishing inside wall that separates kitchen and dining room (kitchen too small with out this done) and moving an upstairs interior wall to increase bathroom size (extremely small as is)

the kitchen is not usable currently - has one cabinet and a sink nothing else, bathroom very tiny just smallest shower tray, smallest sink and toilet, also very dated and will all need replacing.

so I’ve budgeted a further 10k for new bathroom and kitchen, then another 4k for the builder- he explained that further problems could come to light as the work goes on.

the house has no flooring and all walls will need paint/paper re plastering possibly. Not sure what to budget for this.

garden is also just a paved mess, but not budgeted for this as can stay as is until we have the money

I love this house, and I can see what it could be .I originally offered 255k which was rejected, after doing some more sums and getting quotes ect I went back with 257.5k, seller will not move on the offer price of 265.

do you have any advice for me? it will cost circa 45k for me to do up.

for reference houses on this street with similar layouts/ interiors to what this one would be after work were selling at 320 - but this was slightly before the mortgage rates increasing and the news of the property price drop.

what would you offer? Please bear in mind Its not liveable atm

thanks

I’d be wary that it says they’re selling on behalf of a relative of a member of staff. I don’t think you’ll get a realistic price.

Nice area though!

Better add in the cost of a damp course treatment.

@BrightBlueSea yes I don’t want to be in the position where the cost of the work will take the total spend over market value, that’s where I’ll feel ripped off.

do you have any tips for me on how to spot a Reno that’s worth the time? Does it all boil down to price?

Personally I’d wait and pay a bit more for a renovated one to come up.
This one requires the thick end of 100k spending on it, plus the time.

i know it’s hard when you have fallen in love with a property OP.

What is your budget for the works, because I honestly can’t see it being done for £45k. In a situation like this you need to say a price and if it’s not acceptable, just keep looking. It’s now a buyers market so you can pick & choose, being a cash buyer is great.

Just for perspective OP. We did a renovation project last year, decent sized kitchen, just finishing another one at the moment, tiny kitchen, same quality, same supplier, they cost the same, I couldn’t believe it. Plasterboard has doubled in price. Paint more expensive too. Sealant/mastic all more expensive The tiles we bought last year were £12 mtr sq, same tiles now £16. So everything is much more expensive. Also they’re often issues that come up that you weren’t expecting that increase costs. Aside from the costs it’s takes a great deal of time, to organise the trades, source materials etc. do you have time to do this? It will also always take longer than the trades tell you! On the plus side if you & DH can do a lot of the work yourself, such a sorting garden, painting etc you can save a lot of money. Where would you live whilst the works were happening? If in the property, it will be messy, dusty and dirty all the time. Have you renovated before? If not this is quite a big project for a first timer.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

The swirly artex plaster will need to be checked for asbestos. You can't tell just by looking at it but it is easy and cheap to take a sample and send some off.

In terms of looking for a renovation, there are loads around at the moment because financially it is not worth normal renovators doing them up as they won't make much profit on them. If you want a bargain and you are a cash buyer you would be better trying an auction house but you won't be able to get a survey done so you need to get a builder or friend who knows their stuff to view the property with you and accept that there will be unknown costs.