Are we nuts to do this? - Cambridge

[nattering]

Wise mumsnetters, I would like your opinions / experiences! We are FTB in Cambridge and have found a 2 bed house, 78m2, in the perfect location for us … but it has been rented to students for what looks like decades (by the decor). It will need:

⁃	new windows 
⁃	new skirting boards 
⁃	new doors
⁃	re carpeting 
⁃	rewiring maybe 
⁃	new cupboards 
⁃	repainting 

The boiler has been serviced every year, so hoping it doesn’t need a change.

In addition to that the house will need a 20 m2 extension ( kitchen/diner, about 15 m2, and 5m2 upstairs for a bathroom).

Budget is up to 150K. House comes with vacant possession.

My main worries are:

⁃	we have no idea how much this will cost
⁃	we have no experience 
⁃	the house has been on the market for 2 months without offers 
⁃	housing market is getting cooler 

Are we naive to consider such a big project with no prior experience? We are considering hiring a project manager.

How can we get quotes on the work needed? Any opinions / experiences, especially from mumsnetters in Cambridge are deeply appreciated!

I'm not in Cambridge, but £150K sounds like a relatively small budget for a 2 storey extension and substantial internal refurbishment, including a potential rewire. Renovation costs have escalated dramatically in the last couple of years and could get worse, plus you don't know what else you might uncover.

I assume your budget is based on the asking price for the house. As they have had no interest, perhaps there is scope to make a lower offer?

You could ask a builder to go with you to visit the house and give an overall opinion on what might need doing. My friend is selling a house that needs work and several viewers have done this. Then if you do go ahead, get at least 3 quotes for the work.

NB don't forget to include architect / surveying fees in your budget, as well as the project manager. The PM is probably a good idea in your situation. They are expensive, but can save you time and money. I wish I'd used one myself, even though I'm not totally inexperienced.

Thanks for the info ClematisBlue49. If you don't mind me asking, where does the bulk of the ££ go in internal renovations?

I have been told a ballpark of £3k/m2 for extensions with the second floor in general being cheaper per m2, because builders don't need to dig out foundations again. So was hoping that a 20m2 would cost us at most £75k.

@nattering , the biggest element of the cost will be materials. In the past labour made up the bulk of the total, but no longer. In my case (single storey extension and total refurbishment of a small bungalow in the SE) around 65% of the cost is the materials as I understand it, and it may have increased further in the 8 months since I got my quotes. My total costs for the build and finishes will end up around £175K, which excludes the cost of the kitchen and bathroom fittings (about £25K on top), but does include, plastering, rewiring, new heating system, fitted wardrobes, engineered wood flooring and a new terrace outside, much of which you might not need or want.

You can save by not going for the most expensive finishes, doing some things yourself. For example, professional decorators charge thousands for painting, but you could ask them to prep / replaster the walls and do the finishing touches yourself. Another option is not to do all of it at once.

So it may be that your budget covers everything - or it may not. A lot will depend on whether any major problems are uncovered. I'd allow a contingency amount of around 20%.

We're in the middle of our project. 3 bed being extended to four, but similar size extension. Ours needed new windows, roof tiles, render, rewiring, re plumbing and new boiler, new kitchen, bathroom and internal finishes eg flooring, window sills etc.

My advice would be

1. A builder will give you a rough estimate, but it will take them some time to give you an accurate quote, based an plans and a specification, so make sure you have some buffer to whatever they tell you initially. Everything has gone up!
2. don't underestimate how much mess the rewiring will create. You could end up replastering.
3. Decide whether you can live there during the works or not. We had a cold winter - the bathroom had holes in the walls and floor to outside, the kitchen sink was outside - it wasn't that much fun at times! Do you have anywhere else you can stay if necessary?
4. We haven't been on holiday this year - we need the time and money to work on the house. Our choice and I'm not complaining. But consider the impact on your life.
5. There are many jobs you can do yourselves to save money if you want to. You tube is your friend to learn new skills, or you can just do the unskilled labour - we took down a lean to extension that was falling apart, for example.
6. Find the right way to manage the project. Architect and builder is one route, design and build is another, where the same company will do the whole project. There's benefits to both, depends what you want and need.
7. It's mentally and physically draining - making decisions, keeping on top of orders, managing tradesmen, chasing quotes etc. make sure you have the capacity to do it.
8. Make a budget, and stick to it. I know it's hard to know what you need but it's easy to get carried away especially when it comes to finishes.

That's all I can think of for now! The reason we have taken this on is because we couldn't find what we wanted in our budget. We will have our dream house when we're done, but there has been blood (2 A&E trips ), sweat and a few tears. But I'm not in a hurry to do it again!

Good luck!

Also just to add - there have been fun parts to the process, too, it's not all doom and gloom! Being able to have things exactly as you want them (within reason, anyway, and within your budget!!) is fab, and the sense of achievement is great. Just depends what you want out of life, really, and if it will all be worth it for you.

One other thing by to bear in mind is that you will most likely need planning permission, which could take a while, so think about whether you can comfortably live there whilst you are waiting for plans to be drawn up and the application process to go through before you can start on the extension.

yeah I wouldn't assume you can get planning permission for that big an extension. The extension is 90% of the budget. The other stuff isn't too bad at all assuming the windows don't need replacing immediately.

Good point about planning etc. @rllrsk8 . I started the process a year ago and the works didn't start until January.

@lljkk - a valid concern. The house is mid terrace and the neighbouring properties have the same style of extension. I am hoping that this mean significantly less friction in the planning process (the area is a conservation area).

They are building SO many houses in that area currently. Are you sure you can’t hang on and find something that suits you better?

I would look for another house that is already big enough. Don’t think it is always cheaper to extend rather than move with building and materials cost as high as they currently are
.

Cambridge mumsnetter here. I would say 150K would get you your ground floor extension with new kitchen and floor. Maybe factor in about 1k additional per window. 3K for sliding doors? Hard to say about upstairs extension but definitely 10K for a bathroom. We've just done a 2 storey extension and budgeted an extra 100K for anything that wasn't the build itself and we needed it. Kitchen, bathroom, floor, radiators, lighting, patio...

We were lucky to get our quote locked in with 2021 prices but finished 2022. We spent around 10k on architect, planning permission, structural engineers but you could do it cheaper. Our total budget for 2 floor extension including the 100K extra was 350K and we came in by just under 1500 of that figure.

@Cheeseand2veg Thank you so much for sharing! If you don't mind me asking, how big is your extension?

I should add our 350 was for rewire and complete house paint and decorate aswell as re carpet upstairs and engineered wood floor downstairs - so it was the full works. I think you could certainly do a 2 storey for significantly less than 350 but that was our number for everything from professional fees to new sofas and carpets. We went mid range for the finish. Don't be put off by my figure. Less money is doable and the whole project doesn't have to be a nightmare. But you will inevitably think whilst you're doing the work, you might as well get the best you can afford, or do something extra whilst in chaos. 150 is a great budget and you will get lots done for it, but I doubt 2 storeys finished to a standard to move into. Our downstairs extension was roughly 8m wide but about 4 so 32m and then half again for the second storey.

I think with Cambridge, you don't get much discount for a project compared to a fully done house. Prices are silly everywhere here. If it's your dream location and you want a project, then go for it. If you're not sure about a project or won't be there for more than 5 years, it's hard to say if it's worth your while. I don't believe Cambridge property will drop much though as the demand is so high so I don't think you'll lose money when you sell, but whether you'll recoup the costs before 15 years is up, I don't know. We plan to be in our home for decades so it was worth it to us.