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.

Not if there’s no gas to the village I don’t think. Potentially you could use big Calor gas bottles but it’s not practical for central heating. My parents did this but just for a gas hob and fire. The central heating was still oil.

That's really not major work, and not being on mains gas is a non issue. However the cash sale is a worry - is it unmortgageable?

I presume you're in England? How do surveys work? In Scotland the seller legally has to provide a Home Report, which includes a survey, EPC and valuation, so potential buyers have all the important info upfront. This should be the case UK wide.

I did a house up to a similar extent. If you intend to be living in it while you do the renovations you will find work can take considerably longer than you imagine, especially if doing the work yourself. The main reason being that you have to keep moving furniture and belongings back and forth, so you can use the room in-between doing you bits of DIY. Also, try to future proof of you can, it will save more work further down the line.

GL

You can get oil central heating put in, or a heat source pump.

Other than that it doesn't seem like much work. We completely renovated ours, it was fine!

I would be in like you with a measuring tape, but the electric heaters instead of central heating won't be why it's cash only; plenty of houses and flat have them. Proceed with caution and ask about construction - cement walls, subsidence, damp etc. Something is making it unmortgageable; however lovely it is, you don't want to be stuck with a house you can't sell down the line.

That really isn't a lot of work. I had oil central heating put in when I moved somewhere with no mains gas and electric storage heaters. Took a couple of days.
If the whole village has no mains gas, are you going to give up your dream of living there?

It's not a quaint old village. Houses are fairly modern. Other houses we saw have gas central heating. But unfortunately we saw them too late. They get snapped up. I have an alert in rightmove now.

Damp is a worry. I'll just have to wait for something suitable. Our street is quiet at the moment 🤞It can change because of rentals and who gets in?

Go and see it, otherwise you’ll always think what if and build it up to be some kind of amazing palace in your head. If you see it and it’s too much work then move on.

Gas if you really really want it to cook on then you can buy it in in giant bottles, saw one estate of a few houses do this at the entrance.

But oil central heating would be an option

We put in oil central heating when we moved into ours with no central heating just storage heaters. Next door had a heat pump installed and many of the neighbours have followed suit.

I wouldn't count redecorating as an issue. That can be quite cheap and happen over years if you wish or you can paint throughout in trade white and see how you feel going forward.
We have oil central heating and calor gas for hob but rarely need heating as walls thick and we have a wood burner. That is a common scenario in the country.Friends with more space have solar panels providing a lot of their electricity and going forward will be able to have a heat pump.

We’ve done it and absolutely no regrets. Good luck.

Cheers everyone.

Why does it need a new ceiling?

And do bear in mind that if it needs replacing, you will need to get it assessed for asbestos in the paint before any work is done on it.

We've done up a few like this. Air pumps are totally doable. Ceiling will take a few days, allowing for plaster to dry, redec takes as long as you want. Get a decorator in who can spray and do it all one colour and it could take as little as one day. You can totally personalise a house in this state. It's what we actively look for, but then DH can do everything but gas and electricity, but my dad can do electrics.

https://www.auctionhouse.co.uk/guide/what-makes-a-property-unmortgageable#:~:text=Properties%20without%20a%20kitchen%20or%20bathroom.&text=Properties%20with%20any%20kind%20of,damp%2C%20dry%20or%20wet%20rot.&text=Properties%20close%20to%20mining%20works,of%20recent%20flooding%20or%20subsidence.&text=Leasehold%20properties%20with%20a%20short,years%2C%20or%20a%20defective%20lease.

It sounds like there may be something badly wrong.

Why does it need a new ceiling? If it’s damp, this may be a ‘demolish and start over’ job not a renovation,

'cash only' may simply be the vendors don't want to have to deal with a chain or a FTB.

Why is it that all threads like this get so distorted from the original poster ?

New ceiling might mean it's been XYZ
Cash only must mean you can't get a mortgage on it

You don't know any of this

If the location is right and you have money (plenty!) for the renovation, I’d go for it. We bought a flat without central heating and installed it, it’s easier with an empty property of course.

If your DH is against it I wouldn’t persuade him. These kind of projects are great (I’ve done a few) but only if you really want to. He might end up resenting you for talking him into it. I love doing up houses and having the dream kitchen, the perfect decor etc I’d hate to have to put up with someone else’s taste.

Cash only does not rule out a chain or ftb, it only rules out using a mortgage.

If you are selling a property and just using equity for a new purchase you are a cash buyer, if you've inherited money and can buy your first property outright you are a cash buyer. All it means is that for some reason the property is unable to currently get a mortgage.

I didn't hear back about a viewing anyway? Thanks everyone for your input. In my gut it doesn't feel right . There was one at the right price came up recently and I was gutted when we did a drive by and it'd sold. Hence having an alert on rightmove now. That one really felt right.

I would do more than have an alert on right move. Go and have a look at this one to see what is good and is bad about it. Chat to the estate agent and let them know you are looking. You also need to get your house on the market. Talk to all the all estate agents in the area, some houses sell before they get on rightmove. Talk to people in the village you’re interested in. The pub, shop, vicar etc. Get the word out you are looking.

We don't want this house now. We don't need our house in the market. We can sell that anytime.

If we were really desperate to move I would look. One will come up one day.