Yay or nay? Edwardian doer upper

[ImaBuilder]

so torn and looking for your advice please

We need to move out of the penthouse flat we’ve been shedding out rent money for years and years and are looking to move into our Edwardian doer upper. It’s nowhere near town but it’d be the most sensible option.

This house doesn’t have any major structural faults I’m told but would need a complete cosmetic update (currently 70s to 90s decor throughout). Carpets / curtains / lights need to go, walls need a neutral colour, that sort of thing.

Also a remodel probably…downstairs layout is bonkers with loo and shower cubicles leading to a ‘conservatory’. New kitchen in order too…

Now that I think of it, the bathroom and loo upstairs need a refit. An en-suite fitted upstairs if I had my way!

We’ve been renting our whole lives so have no idea where to start.

But we can’t complete all that before we move in. We’ve 7 weeks notice to move out of our flat and if it were up to the landlord they’d have us out today.

Honestly, we’re not even sure we want to live in this house but in town we’d spend a packet on rent.

Schools and work are accessible from here if you were wondering and I could make time to manage a refurb (I think!)

😂 yes dado!

Thanks for the consolation! It’s lovely to be able to provide your kids with a nice family house but you’re right so much more goes into a childhood. Good for you to have managed to rear your kids in that stable environment! I do remember the recession if you’re talking about the credit crunch. It’s the reason we never bought! Glad you got through it with your home still under your belt.

thanks for the pointers on how to find a builder

@geneticsbunny Okay noted no skip. We can hire a car…thanks also for the action plan on how to go about the actual renovations!

@pinkroses79 we do own the house and living in for a while will tell us whether we can warm up to the location I guess

Why on earth wouldn't you just sell and buy something you love, in an area that works?

I'm living in a full rip out and re do in a listed Victorian. This is our dream home but it's HARD. Mentally and physically. We were 4 months with no kitchen, living in a room at a time whilst we move through. Washing dishes in the bath. Dust everywhere etc.

Older properties also need sympathetic restoration, even if not listed. Think specialist plaster, avoidance of certain materials which can cause damp and long term damage etc and I can assure you, they'll be loads of 'surprises'.

Honestly, to live in it and do it at the same time is so tough and if it's not your absolute passion, you'll detest it!

if you spend ££££'s on new carpets decorating etc etc - then decide to sell but without doing the more mundane new electrics/heating/bathroom kitchen etc..... then the money you've spent will have been wasted because if you do then sell up - you'd still be selling a "fixer upper"

@CowGirl19 haha definitely dampening my enthusiasm for the redecorating. but it’s okay. It’s the kind of feedback I need to hear. You’re making sense

It’s a dado rail and it won’t be 80’s in an Edwardian house it will likely be original (I would keep it). Does it also have a picture rail-same thing but higher?

@KievLoverTwo

I love your point c! Good idea to live there until we find something to buy. We’re slow buyers through and it might take a year. So the question for me to figure out is is how much do we do it up for us to be able to live in the house?

YES got it. DADO RAIL! 🙃 definitely a newbie to this

Sorry, just to add......

Before you even consider whether you want to do this, get a survey. This will confirm whether it is cosmetic or not.

Ours looked fine on the surface but needed the following

Full rewire-disturbance to every room. Some ceilings needed to come down. Floors lifted. No 'room at a time' available here as it's more practical to do this all at once. £20k

Asbestos removal in one of the bathrooms 10k

House fully replastered after rewire 10k and DUSTY

Joists restored/replaced. No floor for weeks in one room 15k

Lead pipe removal 5k

Removal of cement render and replace with lime (breathable) 25k

We are now tacking the cosmetic!

Follow some of the period home restoration groups on Facebook and insta for guidance and to learn from others.

No picture rail unfortunately and no full wall panelling. Thanks for the heads up I was getting ready to blast the dado rail off! Keep.

Thank you @Newbie8918 your posts are really appreciated. And sorry you found so much to fix. how is that going?

Thinking of it, I saw ceiling feature in one room that has an asbestos look to it……..If we did a survey and it found all of the above, it would be harder though to sell?

Sorry but if you own the house outright and could just live in it while you look for something else what is the yay and the nay?

@ImaBuilder we knew most of this before we purchased 🤣 crackers.

Because of the work needed, we got it at a price we could afford and were willing to restore.

The lead piping was the only surprise as the surveyor can't detect this.

In answer to your question. Yes the price will be impacted but during the sales process, the buyer will need a survey anyway, and most of the issues will be picked up.

However, I wouldn't want to be spending £££s on cosmetics when in future you may have to undo it all to rewire (as an example).

I would recommend a survey now. That will tell you if there are any issues and you can make your decision from there.

I'm imagining loads of gorgeous, original features BTW. You're so lucky to inherit this but not if it's going to be a milestone around your neck.

>is is how much do we do it up for us to be able to live in the house?

Do the messy, expensive jobs, not the cosmetic ones, electrics, roof, CH system, windows etc (if needed) - and put those on the advert when you sell it. Everyone has different decor taste so that could be wasted money. But those things are invaluable for someone wanting a doer upper that is just cosmetic.

I love period houses (ours is very late Edwardian) and I'd jump to it - but this one stole my heart from the day I viewed it, despite its ropey bits that need fixing and the ropey bits are liveable with for now - we've waited a year before committing to choosing things like paint colour to see how the light levels etc were (and because moving in almost killed us and we needed a break).

One thing I'd say though - is endure the tatty hall and stairs carpet till all the messy stuff is done - it's much less stressful if you're not worrying about your nice new posh carpet getting damaged as stuff is brought in and out of the house constantly.

The one thing that would put me off from your list is wood chip... that is truly the wallpaper of Satan and I vowed after our last house that I was never ever stripping that bastard stuff again.

Wood chip was put on the earth as a form of torture surely?

Absolutely do this!

Just be careful to pace yourselves and budget carefully. Assume that costs and timings will go over estimates and calculate in gaps for rest/ breathers and when it didn't work out as intended.

Don't be too mixed in what you want as that's bound to change or alter or it's no longer available.

You'll then have the house of your dreams and never want to leave. Well done, you.

:)

I think it was designed to hide poorly plastered walls

I’m sorry to be a killjoy but this doesn’t sound like a beginner project. I don’t mean to offend you but the more you write, the more I can see that you haven’t a clue what you are doing.

You will be a magnet for every rip off tradesperson in your area, as soon as they meet you.

You are talking major refurb here - reconfiguring the ground floor, dealing with building control and maybe planning , new bathrooms , kichen, rewirem replumb, at least part replastering , probably new heating . And you don’t even know about the condition of the windows or the roof, any rot or structural issues.

You don’t love the area and it’s not a good plan to devote years of your life to something that will never be right for you. Also do you want to live in a building site for two years ( and have your kids study for their exams etc)?

Im saying this out of kindness.

@KievLoverTwo oh you don't need to tell me 😂 I've just removed it from hall, stairs and landings over 4 floors. The plaster was obituary horrendous when they put it up in 70s. Currently seeking treatment for my ptsd 🤣

I am sorry for those hours of your life you will never get back.

@KievLoverTwo thank you for your kind thoughts 🤣

Is “obituary horrendous” a new phrase to mean “so awful it almost killed me”? 😀 I like it.

@HotCrossBunplease it was supposed to be 'obviously' horrendous but I like the former so much that I would rather stick 🤣

@CowGirl19 The reason for that - is if you spend ££££'s on new carpets decorating etc etc - then decide to sell but without doing the more mundane new electrics/heating/bathroom kitchen etc..... then the money you've spent will have been wasted because if you do then sell up - you'd still be selling a "fixer upper"....

100% agree. Or if you do decide to stay, you'll have to rip out all the cosmetic work to do the real work like rewiring, heating and plumbing that you should have started with.