Should we take on this renovation?

[HouseofHills]

Hello,

I would love some advice from experienced renovators!

DH and I both have busy jobs and no DIY skills, experience or connections. We’re currently TTC.

We’ve just sold our first flat and are looking for a house which we can make a long-term family home. We’re struggling to find something we like in budget and in the location we want. We weren’t looking for a renovation but came across this house which we love in our ideal location: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/148399262

We love houses with character and the idea of being able to put our own stamp on a house and have it exactly how we want it! But is it worth it?

How much would it cost to renovate a house like this and how long would it take?

We’ve recently had a big jump in income so we can get a large mortgage but don’t have a lot of savings due to previously being on much lower incomes. This means we have a budget around £800k but we don’t have a lot of capital to fund a renovation immediately (we’ll around 70k left after deposit and stamp duty on this house). So, we’d probably have to prioritise renovating some rooms and live in part of the house while saving more before finishing it.

Houses like this in the area are around £1m if completely renovated so we could never afford a house like this without renovating. But is it worth it?

I would love tips and advice from anyone who has been through something similar!

I have no idea but there is a good chance those ceilings are full of asbetos.

What a lovely house.

There's no photo of the kitchen, I don't think, but the rest looks like you could live with it and do it as you can afford it?

Updating to your taste rather a full reno job?

It looks more decorative than a major renovation! I was expecting to see a derelict, empty, overgrown home! Not a livable house with older decor! What renovations are you expecting to need?

I love that house and I wouldn’t care if I could only afford to do one room every five years. It’s absolutely stunning!!

Please do it and when you start renovating pls post pics.

There is an Edwardian and Victorian decoration page on Facebook and another good one is Your Old House UK - Repair and Conservation.

I wouldn't find that daunting at all.

Just a touch of modernising and decorate. Looks like a manageable and satisfying project.

It's not immediately obvious what needs doing from the pictures. The rooms look ok if somewhat old people style.

Are you looking at new heating system, rewire, dodgy roof etc?

If so some will have to be done quickly.

It's gorgeous. But it will take a fuck tonne of money and time. It will also be expensive to run.
If you're wanting kids, it will dominate your time, money etc. But, all that said, it could be amazing.
I'm also a fan of.the light over the dining room table...

I think social media is responsible for referring to decorating as renovations.

It may need a re wire and a new boiler. It needs a new bathroom style wise. It's livable though.

I love it and think you should go for it! There may well be asbestos in the ceilings but it doesn’t matter, they can be skimmed over. Just don’t drill into them.

It’s gorgeous, and personally I could live with a house like that and do it up bit by bit. It all looks perfectly livable, just an older style.

The stained glass is beautiful, I’d do it - it also looks mostly cosmetic, it’s not like it’s a building site :)

We had those type of ceilings and just had them skimmed, asbestos is only an issue if you start pulling it down, it’s not something that concerns me.

Ohh it’s beautiful! Yes, plenty to do there but you’d just work your way round. We are currently sanding floors in an old house, hard work but I bet you’d have some lovely floors in there and it’s cheap to do.

I'd do it!!!! Just bear in mind that if you have a baby the DIY will slow right down to almost a standstill. So be prepared to live in it as it is for a bit.

It looks like there might have been a leak in the smaller bedroom shown (staining on the wallpaper) but other than that, from the photos it looks in fairly good condition really. I'd do it!

It's stunning and do you really need to do as much as you think except for new carpets???you could sink a lot of money into things which aren't necessary, like double glazing.
You could destroy it by ripping everything out and make it bland and luxurious but is it necessary??? Even the kitchen and bathrooms work, for now

Agree with others. Does not need renovating. Totally liveable.

its impossible to say the amount of work required from the pictures as you can’t tell the condition of walls and ceilings, floorboards and roof. It might all be great and just be cosmetic. It might be riddled with damp, all the plaster might blown and need a complete rewire and/or heating. It also depends massively on what your idea of the perfect house is. Even if it just needs basic decorating it’s still a huge job to do a whole house and you can easily eat through the 70k in no time. it will be a full time multi year project and a huge and not to be under estimated even without working full time and ttc.

Definitely get it - it’s a family home and as everyone has said you can redecorate gradually.

The things to check are whether it needs a rewire (likely), is it watertight (is roof ok) and what is the state of the plumbing, all of which you’d want to sort before you move in. The rest can be done bit by bit.

I think people are looking atbl spmething different than I am!
It is liveable, but I would imagine it needs a rewire, I can't see many sockets on the video or photographs, plus thenlight fittings are old, so I would imagine the electrics need doing.
The windows look.like they will be single glazing, definitely the fancy ones.
They don't show the kitchen, so we don't know if it is useable.
The bathroom is very dated.
All the ceilings could do with redoing.
I can't see any radiators? What's the boiler situation? Any insulation?
The rooms are large, so updating carpets etc will be costly.
I'm not saying it to be a Debbie downer, I still love it, and you could live in it, but you need to be realistic. There's more than a lick of paint required.

We bought a similar house in 2019 but the kitchen and bathroom were liveable and didn't need anything done as soon as possible (still the same now). If structurally (thorough survery) no boggies I say go for it.

It's lovely, go for it.
We were in the same boat and it took us 5 years before we could start doing anything. But ours was much worse but still liveable.

Don't chuck those carpets- big pattern carpets are going to be the next big trend! Agree with pp- it's a little dated but looks pretty functional (caveat: prob no photo of kitchen for a reason). I can 100% live with dated so long as it's functional. I'd almost be tempted to lean into that bathroom, depending on quality of fittings.

Yes I think this is positive. Here's what I'd do. Mostly cosmetic initially, paint full plaster, chisel out wall paper from everywhere including ceiling new boiler, radiators. Bathroom suite change but keep pipework in same place. Retile.
Ideally you want the three rooms joined into one big kitchen, dining, family sitting area. That means walls knocked through, but no extension needed. That'd be about 45k, with kitchen etc 55 is doable. Plastering painting everything new floors carpets another 15-20 k. Bathroom update 5k. Boiler radiators 5k. Windows would need changing so you'd need to save extra...

It’s absolutely stunning. Go for it. Make a list of needs and wants and do the work in order of priority.

It's brought back some good memories. This is what our bed room looked like when we bought our house. Redecorated looks totally different. Your house also has lots of floor space. Could be a really nice project.

We bought a similar house ( age, size, apparent condition) (in Sale so not far!) 12 years ago when expecting our first. We are still in it, having (mainly) Done all the work over the years, and still love it. It is a brilliant family home and we hope to be here for many years to come. I say go for it. It is a gorgeous house.