Buying a house to do up and sell - good idea?

[Grolltapes]

Sold my house SSTC (had to reduce significantly due to market) and considering buying a smaller house to do up and sell. Would live in the house and do most of the work myself, buying in tradespeople when needed.

No children etc to consider so can work on my 'project' as and when I want. Wouldn't be looking for a complete refurbishment - just something that I can add value to by maybe converting a garage, refiguring layout, etc.

With it being a buyers market, is this a good chance to buy with the intention of then selling it when the market picks up?

Would appreciate your thoughts.

I think the costs of refurbishment will be much higher than any added value, tbh.

Buying a house to live in while doing up yourself is totally different from buying somewhere to do up and turn over, using tradesmen.

If you could pick up a bargain (and because of the cost of getting work done at the moment, you might be able to), lived in it, and enjoyed diy and were good at it, then it would be a great project. It would be very hard work, but you'd learn a lot and get satisfaction.

However, it's always difficult to pick up a bargain, as people are unrealistic about house prices. Those doer-uppers that make it to Rightmove are often the ones rejected by builders. If you are SSTC, perhaps the agent you are with might get a suitable one on the books, and offer it to you first to speed up your sale?

Where I live, the doo-er uppers are almost as much as the normal ones

I was recently house hunting and found sellers had a very unrealistic idea of the price that their "requires modernisation" house should go for

Lots were maybe 40-50k lower than a "done" house but likely required 100k of work

Unless you have some decent DIY skills and enjoy the work I wouldn't bother

I have 2 single male friends who have bought doer-uppers but they are genuinely "handy" people and get a lot out of doing up their houses. One has managed a full rewire, boarded and replastered artex ceilings in the whole house, total redecoration, new carpets and refurbed internal doors for 15k. But it's been evenings after work, weekends, annual leave. He still has the kitchen, bathrooms and garden to go.

If the market keeps falling then any value you add will probably be lost. Quite frankly I think you would be mad. Can't see the market bottoming out for atleast 12-18 months, could maybe still fall/stagnate for the rest of the decade

If the market keeps falling then any value you add will probably be lost.
But if you are going to buy a house anyway to live in, that's maybe not so relevant. If instead you were going to invest the money, that would be different.

At a time when materials are sky high, house prices are (generally) falling and interest rates makes it harder for people to move - no.

I’m mid-renovation and materials are noticeably much higher from when we started 5 years ago.

Finding a bargain in this falling market could be a challenge, as the only people really selling are those that have to move for whatever reason. Those type of houses don't tend to be doer uppers.

Houses which need modernisation are generally those which were owned by a recently deceased older person and a relative has inherited it. The relative usually has a (very high) figure in mind for the sale, and they're not usually desperate to let the property go.

Even if you do the work yourself, the cost of materials has also increased sharply, so likely not to make a significant level of profit.

If you're doing it for the satisfaction of it, then absolutely got for it, as that kind of project can be very satisfying, once you get to the end, as long as you're or expecting to make quick money.

*as long as you're NOT expecting to make quick money

I wouldn’t in a falling market. Whatever you add to the value could be taken up by a drop in the market.

I think on the whole the days of doer uppers are gone & also whatever tv programmes say a lot of money people made by do on this depend on a rising market - what is the saying - on a rising tide all boats float.

I would think very carefully & be very very clear about what the refurbishment costs are & then factor in a lot more for "unforeseen circumstances " Or buy a house you would be happy to live in and then see how it goes down the line. Quick profit I would be cautious about.

I’m a builder and I’ve sold up because I’m waiting to try to get hold of one for us to live in. ATM we are in rented and I’m looking for something which is a total dump that I can totally rebuild to passivhaus standards - or nearly.

There is a glimmer because we are now seeing properties that are total dumps coming to the market whereas before they would have gone to a friend of the agents and never seen the market.

There still however is nothing around at the right price. Ie where the property is discounted by more than the cost of the works.

I think it will come but it might take another one or two years of probates coming to the market before people adjust their expectations.

Weve had 30 years of property being a one way bet and that has bailed out everyone who has loused up and spent too much money doing a house up.

I don’t think the real effects of the current climate will actually be seen until early 2025. It’ll be time to buy one to flip when everyone is terrified of the idea.

Very interesting to read the range of thoughts on this, mainly urging caution.

I've flipped properties before but never actually done so whilst living in one which puts a different slant on it. And I may well be looking to make money in the shortish term rather than the long, so must be sensible with my cash and my time. There's much for me to ponder.

I think the thing is, that even me, as a mid 50’s builder has just been caught out.

I priced a job towards the end of last year, and by the time I’d finished it I’d actually lost money on it. It would have been cheaper to not work, and just check into the pub every day for a month. Seriously I’d have been better off.

There was a straight decade when I was younger when I had several on the go and I was flipping one a month, now I’m old and grey and I still got caught out. And it’s nowhere near over.

The problem is - no one knows on any front.

Palmasailor I'm taking your comments very seriously and wish you well.