Very vaguely - how much would it cost to do up this property

[WindUpBird]

3 bed 1960s terrace in an unglamorous bit of Kent. Photo to give an idea of how dated it is. Avocado bathroom, 1960s kitchen and what looks like polystyrene ceiling tiles - so ceilings will need replacing? Is there likely to be asbestos under those tiles?
I think it’s on at far too high a price and the estate agent reckons it needs £20k of work - would you agree?? To me it would seem a lot more. I could potentially live with the terrible kitchen & bathroom for a couple of years but dodgy ceilings and carpets would need to be replaced asap
I just have no idea if all of this would cost £30k or £10k or more?!

@WindUpBird it looks like this is a house being sold for probate or to fund a care home. Questions for me would be -has probate been granted? Or is there a POA in place? If a fully modernised house in the same terrace only sold for £37k more, that is your benchmark ceiling price you need to work to especially if you are intending to get a mortgage as this is what the surveyor will use as a comparable. Assuming you want to go ahead after the viewing and to establish cost, If there is no side access to the rear garden or off street parking, everything will cost more in terms of what a tradesmen will want to charge. No of street parking will increase your cost of rubbish disposal so factor that in. Things to look at today:
Roof - stand away from the property and look for sagging or slipped/missing tiles.
Cracks - are there any? Check around the lintels.
Fuse board(consumer unit) - take a photo.
CH system? Take a photo of the boiler. Make sure there’s radiators in every room.
Damp? Look to see if any coincide with a chimney position or if it is due to earth up against the walls/lack of air brick ventilation.
Windows - single or double-glazed?
Sheds/garages - check for asbestos roof

I’d estimate it needs a rewire and a full new CH system. And a new bathroom/kitchen. Is there a GF cloakroom? Add in the cost of adding one or replacing the suite..
Then factor in the cost of skimming(plastering) walls/ceilings. Then add carpets. Then add internal door replacement (assuming the existing ones are not original) Then curtains and any furniture you need.

Add everything up and subtract from the ceiling price on the terrace = your offer price. or walk away.

It’s a lot of work and stress especially after a divorce.

Get a surveyors report done by someone qualified (eg RICS surveyor) as at the moment you will be guessing what needs done.

What is wrong with the ceilings? In the photo you shared they look liveable with.

I’ve been doing lots over the past year since moving into my new place, put ventilation in the roof, replaced four dodgy windows, changed the front door, new bathroom, three rooms have new carpets, new boiler - altogether this has cost about £23 grand. I have Artex ceilings but the surveyor said they are safe if undisturbed. British Gas have a deal where you can pay off a boiler interest free over a couple of years. Some of the big chains do buy now pay later deals on kitchens and bathrooms that might help with your cash flow.

There's a lot of drama in these replies based on your OP and two photos.

Yes the EA is likely to have downplayed but equally suggesting you'll need to spend £200k is ridiculous

From the photos it looks dated but well maintained. The walls and ceilings look in good overall condition. If the windows or plumbing is shit you might expect to see signs of damp:mould/leaks etc.

There's nothing to suggest a full rewire is needed. My last house had very old electrics but when tested they were perfectly safe and just needed an updated board. Equally that kitchen is clean and bright. Over time you can do these things and I wouldn't be budgeting for all of this new work unless you genuinely want to do it.

I've just spent £6k on a basic bathroom, the lowest quote and from a plumber I've known 30 years.

I think you need to assume £10k minimum for a Wickes kitchen, £6k for a bathroom, £5k for each other room (ceilings, walls, flooring, fittings). That's £46k before you look at windows, doors, heating, rewiring, possibly a new roof.

£100k is not excessive. More if the roof needs replacing.

We are part way through a renovation. Plastering costs are huge, it's the price of the materials but we are having insulated plaster boards. 2 bedrooms, big bedrooms, is just over £3k. Kitchen is going to be £7k but that doesn't include fitting. Our small extension has come in on quotes at £37-£41k. If you're serious about the property get a home buyers survey and some indicative costs for the work
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There’s a world of difference between being in the south east or other expensive for builders area and being somewhere cheaper, knowing someone handy or being handy and doing it yourself.

I get tradesman in because it’s cheaper than the divorce from my husband and me diy-ing.

My Brother bought a 70s bungalow, it needed a full rewire.

Ikea and Howdens are the same price point. Go and get a kitchen mocked up from Ikea, give your design to Howdens, and they will price match it.

The issue with Howdens is their uniquely opaque pricing policy which varies wildly from branch to branch which means you can never compare. Plus my local branch will only speak to ‘the carpenter’ or ‘the builder’ which is even more annoying. I love both of the tradesmen in question but I’d never let them loose on a design….!

What absolute rubbish... can't get paint under £30 is utterly hilarious, you can get 10l under £20. You can easily get smaller tins (which is what most people need) for £9-£16.

Of course F&B is more expensive, thats like saying 'you can't get a car under £200k because thats what my Ferrari cost'... so out of touch with reality, Champaign taste is not the only bloody way.

Dulux is shite ime.

I've just checked online and 5l of Crown paint is £30. We use a local paint service, hidden away on an industrial estate. They colour match and having used Little Greene for a couple of smaller rooms, the quality is more than comparable. We mix up our own mist coats from bog standard emulsion.

Stripping wallpaper, even 4 layers with shit walls, costs next to nothing. You just need heat/damp and a scraper. Even before I learned to do big jobs, I'd never have paid somebody to scrape paper off a wall.

We are in East Anglia and had the roof done during Covid lockdowns.

It was the most frustrating job to find somebody to do it because roofing is big money and doing a 3 bed semi doesn't pay like a contract with the council to do all local primary schools for example. We struggled to get anybody to even come and look at it and the quotes were usually ridiculous if they did come.

In the end, we approached local people who were having work done and asked for recommendations. The guys we went with were a father and son team who had an apprentice with them. It took 3 weeks with scaffolding to the front. Quotes from big companies were 20k or up, but we payed 8.5k to the team who did it in the end. They were lovely, kind, respectful, local and did a very good job. The work is guaranteed for 15yrs as well.

I think it depends on what you could live with and what you'd want to change, but ours is a very similar aesthetic if that helps... Our reno costs so far over the last 3 years:

New boiler - £3k
Skimming the artex ceilings (every single one) and replastering the hallway walls only - £4.5k
New windows, sliding door and front door - £16k (They were double glazed but very old and aluminum frames so condensation +++ every morning)
Refitting and decorating the w/c - £1k (we did all the tiling and plumbing ourselves to save money)
Various electrical bits like adding in and changing light sockets - £750 (not a full rewire)
New hallway and stairs carpets - £1400
Replacing the 1970s ranch stairs with oak and glass - £2k

So that's the bare basics, without adding in all the new carpets and flooring we'll be needing over time, or the bathroom and kitchen reno (which we'll have to remortgage to do in future). It all really quickly adds up and frankly unless you like the 1970s aesthetic I'd say you're looking at £20k just to get you to baseline to actually begin modernising!

If you love the house that much and plan for it to be a long term place then it might be worth it, but I'd laugh at that £20k agent estimate!

Yes I feel like I'm banging my head on a wall just trying to get a quote. Its been the hardest part of the whole buying/renovation thing. Contacted over 20 companies and still don't have 1 quote back.

Many companies wont even message me back, lots offer to come look (then never show up or just ghost us) and the few that have say its 'too big of a job to take on'.

I would have though builders would want a big job because surely bigger jobs pay more and is secured work for several weeks.

yeah people are really underestimating plastering and decorating costs in this type of old property. If OP isn’t up to removing layers and layers of old wallpaper including the ceiling, and then lining and then plastering then she is looking at many 1000s. I am a keen diy-er but at this level I dont have the time or the patience. So really comes down to a choice. Someone mocked me about costs of plastering upthread - sorry but yeah, I’d have loved to get a cheaper price too, I’m no fool, but after so many quotes and friends in the area paying similar I can assure you it was costing that much. You can choose to continue believing otherwise and take pleasure in mocking people but that wont change the reality in my area. Anyway not a helpful exchange for OP there at all. luckily I could afford it and my time is more valuable.
OP - costs might change for your the area of course.

It costs about £10k to go back completely back to brick for an entire 3 bed house (walls and ceilings).

Maybe labor will be a bit more in london but there is zero way boarding a ceiling and skimming a few rooms comes to £15-£20k like people are saying here.

Its bat shit to work in construction where someone wants a 4 room extension built and finished for £5K and on the same day someone else wants a light bulb changed and asks if £5k is going to be enough. Very few other jobs get such a wide swing of delusions.

I live in this type of old property with papered ceilings, many layers of paper and dodgy walls underneath. We were quoted 2.5k for two bedrooms and a bathroom 18 months ago.

House before the one I'm in now was 130yrs old and we had to dot and dab in places before we could plaster. Still never cost anywhere in the ballpark of what you're quoting but I presume you must be in London to have paid so much?

Hi everyone, thanks so much for taking time to respond. I really appreciate it. Lots of differing opinions about costs…

I went to look at the house today. Boiler is a 3 year old Vaillant, windows are double glazed and look ok. This is a pic of the ‘electrics’ Not sure what it is, not a proper fuse box as such and it looks very vintage! So I’m guessing the house needs a total rewire.

I could definitely live with that kitchen for a good while, it’s manageable. I’ve ‘designed’ 2 ikea kitchens before, constructed the carcasses and had someone put it altogether and fit it. So I’d do that again.

I’ve also removed wood chip before with a steamer thing, so I’m capable of that - not up to plastering crumbly walls, though!

The poster who said the ceilings look fine, I agree, most of them are swirly artex but I can live with that. But in the kitchen/diner bit they’ve got the polystyrene tiles which need to go.

@Netaporter i don’t understand the issue with probate, sorry for being dim! The EA said the house had been empty for 2 years as it ‘took a while to sort the probate’ out. Hopefully that means all is ok now…?

I’m hoping to view it again with an ex-builder friend and his electrician acquaintance for another look and a clearer idea of costs.

thanks so much everyone, you’re all so helpful!

If probate has been granted, the house sale can go through. You are good to go. The issue is when vendors try and sell a house prior to probate being granted.

Get an electrician to check the wiring and get a professional survey done to check everything else for you. Good luck!