House has come up in village we want to live in. Needs so much work.

[IncognitoMam]

Dh and I really want to move here. It's only about a mile from ours but a much nicer place. Where we live has got a lot worse with drugs crime etc
Houses rarely come up. This one has at an amazing price. But needs new ceiling in the living room, central heating. Decor revamp.
We're hoping to view it Monday. I really hope it's doable?

Has anyone else done up a house to this extent? We do have plenty of free time as I work pt and dh is semi retired.

If you have the funds to do so then it’s not an issue. If you have no money left after buying it then it will be.
but you know the rules, link!

We had to do the same in our cottage, probably about 3k for the ceiling and plastering of the living room and 7k for gas central heating and new radiators. Gas was already in the street though, if it wasn't we would have just stuck with electric and upgraded the radiators.

New ceiling is not that expensive to do. I've just had a new ceiling and 2 walls replastered, with some damp patches hacked out, that was about 1.5k, and you need someone who knows what they are doing for that.
We had the same room repainted, walls, ceiling, woodwork, that was about £650, but it's something you could do yourself. You say you have time to do this, so the cost would just be materials and tools.
As for the central heating, do you mean the whole system needs to be replaced, or just a new boiler? I'm not sure why a whole new system would be needed rather than repairing and replacing a few parts, but get quotes and then work out if it's worth doing. It probably is.

Thanks I can't link it'd be totally outing. People I know would definitely know it's me 😉
Thanks for replying this has made me feel much more positive.
Yes we have funds. It's cash only too.

I need to check if there's a gas supply?

I really don't think it has gas. Oh well back to waiting for one to come up again 😭

Lots of villages don't have gas.

That level of renovation really isn't much at all.

I wouldn't worry about no gas. I think it's from 2025, there will be no gas installed in new builds, so there are lots of options out there. British gas is advertising deals on heat pumps at the moment.

Cash only sales generally mean it unmortgageable. Do you know why they are requesting cash only buyers?

Living this right now but with a baby and working full time.

Two tips - whatever you think it'll cost, budget double. However long you think it'll take, double it.

She said the heating, its probably this is there's no heating at all.

Does it have oil heating if no gas? That’s quite common rurally.

Sorry, see you said no central heating. Has it storage heaters? Installing central heating even without gas is possible.

We waited for the right house in a specific village too. Total refurbishment. Full rewire, re plumb, strip all walls back to masonry, insulate and plaster. New bathrooms, kitchen, boiler....the list goes on.

If you want that village then I wouldn't let a house of the right size and in the right location go without fully investigating.

I wouldn't let a lack of gas put you off. If there is a mains supply in the village then you can consider connecting the house and if not then there are other options. A refurbishment could be a good time to consider a heat pump or there will be lpg or oil. If it is on solid fuel then that isn't something to be scared of either and it may surprise you how warm a house can be on solid fuel for very little cost, it is an efficient method of heating!

Why is it cash only though? Is it of dubious construction like a woolaway bungalow or something? If this is the case that will be why the price is so reasonable. Because it will be unmortgageable and you are essentially buying a building plot.
That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t go ahead. Just that be aware of what you’re buying and how much money you invest in the home.

Cash only sales removes any form of chain as well

Doesn't sound bad at all - a bit of ceiling plasterboard can be patched in a couple of hours. Could move straight in by the sound of things.

I've lived in several villages and none have had gas. Don't discount the house for this as you may never get one in this village that has gas. We have a gas bottle for our hob.

I live in a village with no gas but we do have central heating via an oil tank and boiler. No gas isn't a reason not to buy.

It's electric heaters.

I might view it? Dh is dead set against it.

You can change a house but you can’t change the location.

We bought a house with no gas supply and electric heaters. But we already knew other houses in the street had gas. So we contacted cadent to get a price for installation and paid to have gas put it (cost less than £1300 but we had to dig a trench in the drive to the meter). My point being that things are doable but what you really need is information. Don't go into it blind but don't rule it out until you know

No central heating won't make it unmortgable. Must be something else...

Does it have potential for solar? We don't have gas and just spent £14k on solar panels meaning our electricity bills are pennies in the summer and much smaller in the winter. We hear our house with an electric AGA, log fires and have excellent insulation meaning the storage heaters go on for less than 2 weeks a year.

I’d view it. You can easily get a gas main put in

If you’ve got the money go for it. We bought a technically uninhabitable house in a village and have been renovating it for years. But it’s bloody amazing and absolutely worth it.

I don’t think your list of works needed is that bad at all. You just need to not stress about deadlines and fixate on it being finished.