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!)

Got it, we’re planning to live there for now. We’ll add a bit of paint, Maybe check what’s underneath our downstairs hallway carpet and take that out, I’ll get shutters for the front room. Then stay there until we found something we like better.

what do you mean by ‘maybe attend to anything which might make it impossible to mortgage’?

If the decor is 70s/90s that's 35-50 years ago. It's a renovation (100%) rather than a refurbishment. There is no point spending money on refurbishment if renovation is required.

Gently op I suspect it needs:

Replumbing: rads, boiler water tank and the latter is likely to need to be pressurised if you want good water pressure for modern showers. I imagine some of the pipes to the mains will need to be replaced. £15k

Rewiring - your fuse box will likely be totally non compliant £10k

Remodelling downstairs - kitchen/back room/side return/rear extension: £100k to £150k

Bathrooms: £10-£15k

Window replacement: £30k to £40k (those big edwardian bays and sashes)

Decorating: six weeks at £250 (min) per day £10k plus materials

Flooring £20k; curtains/blinds £20k (you cannot buy mtm curtains for Edwardian houses).

I doubt you will have change from £250k unless you are a builder.

Get an estate agent to value. It is only worth doing if the sale price post renovation is at least £100k more than value plus renovation costs.

You need a good structural survey and architect before reaching a final decision.

You must be prepared to camp in the house for six months minimum. The profit upon sale may allow you to buy something in the location of your choice when it's done and sold.

My advise is that I get a comprehensive survey

Thanks for listing it all out @RosesAndHellebores a few years ago DH said the house would cost 30K to do up. No way! My estimation was more around 150k but what you say is probably true.

I wasn’t thinking to do it up then sell it though as I also understand that’s not worth doing these days. but I’ll bookmark your post to have ready should we decide to stay there.

Which one would you recommend? I was just on a website to compare prices for surveys

From a great deal of personal experience (from concerted Norman church, through various others to our current Edwardian detached and the 2002 flat we’ll be moving to) it will need more than “cosmetic” work, I promise you. Possibly re-wiring, certainly a quantity of replastering. Plumbing may need a o lethal, always has everywhere we’ve been. What are the windows like? Our lovely, desirable, original sashes: it rained indoors as well as outdoors.
Take the figure you have in mind and then at least double, probably triple. If you can afford that, it will be worthwhile.

ah just saw that I DID actually imply it ‘doesn’t ‘seem to have any major structural issues’. You’re right. We should start with a survey.

Didn’t mean plumbing may be lethal 🤣 should have said need an overhaul.

Agree with others who say that rather than redecorating, you need to start with the basics. Check the roof, then damp course, electrics, plumbing & central heating. It might be worth getting a full structural survey done.

There's no point in literally papering over the cracks.

Building survey .. it’s expensive. But you should do this before you buy so it helps you negotiate the price.

Converted Norman church? That’s some project! What are you doing with your detached Edwardian house? I’m imaging a rolling hill it’s standing on

sure when I wrote the OP I knew <1% there’s to know about period renovations and now I realise that we need a survey and very very likely major work done, it might not be worth it for us then.

Don’t paint the kitchen units white - white is awful in an older house like that. I’d suggest cream if you have to paint them and if wooden door and drawer knobs, keep them in wood

😂 I was really worried to ask what you mean!!

If I the windows are original and still work absolutely do not replace

@Summertimer thanks for the paint advice. How about walls. We like white but maybe it’s too stark? Here’s a pic of kitchen units.

But we may not stay in this house, we might sell it next year.

Converted Norman church? That’s some project! What are you doing with your detached Edwardian house? I’m imaging a rolling hill it’s standing on
**
sure when I wrote the OP I knew <1% there’s to know about period renovations and now I realise that we need a survey and very very likely major work done, it might not be worth it for us then.“

Yes, it was. Absolutely glorious, though. It’s still a house but quite difficult to find on the internet. St. Mary’s House, Little Oakley.

Unfortunately, no rolling hills but a leafy road in a NW coastal town. We’re on the market now, lovely place but too much now the family’s grown and my husband struggles with stairs. Moving to our fantastic penthouse soon, we hope, with lift and big balcony. Can’t wait, though as the newest place we’ve ever owned, it has its niggles to sort too.

Be wary of immediately stripping out the carpet. We made this mistake with out Edwardian fixer upper. The floorboards are designed to have gaps in them for ventilation, and we didn’t consider this when we moved in around the same time of year (coming into autumn/winter).

you will get draughts coming up from the floorboards so before diving right in with ripping up carpets, have a plan in place for the draughts be that new carpet/flooring or the slivers of wood to go in between the gaps.

you seem to have focused on the aesthetics but you need to consider the safety elements and things to ensure the structure of the building remains in tact first:

• electeics/rewire including possibly needing to replace the consumer unit for RCBO
• Gas checked and certified
• removing any electric/gas fires if applicable
• popping air bricks into any blocked up chimneys you may have to prevent damp/mould / poor ventilation
• getting chimneys swept
• ensuring you’ve got cowels on top of your chimneys to prevent birds and squirrels falling in (we had about 4 fall in within about 4 months!)

having a very thorough survey carried out and using that as a checklist is a good way to begin.

once you’ve got the basics sorted, then begin working through each room to decorate. Id suggest living room first so you have a lovely place to plonk in the evening, followed by your bedroom and then whatever order after that.

it is a lot of work, but very rewarding, particularly if you are keen to get stuck in yourself.

good luck ☺️

@Summertimer I agree be careful but sometimes they are beyond repair. In a conservation area we just replaced many windows in new wood painted double glazing, they look amazing and have contributed to the house being so much more efficient and easier to heat and basically feeling new inside. Old ineffective windows are miserable in winter. Replacing the windows was our most expensive and hardest to manage task in terms of suppliers giving dates to deliver/ being reliable which is common in the industry given how hard it is to get glass. Taking out upvc and replacing with wood meant replacement of multiple stone lintels and cils. Replacing windows can really be beneficial but is so expensive. There is a lovely house nearby not selling and part of that could be the windows, in the area all replacements must now be glass.

@Wigtopia 100% agree on the carpets, they also stop dust spreading between floors and soak it up. Its a long time without carpets usually when they come up and you do miss them!

If you do consider selling next year, it would still be a good idea to have a full structural survey - then you will know if there are any issues with the house.
Any issues then you can get estimates for the work.

This puts you at an advantage when it comes to selling as you will know what is wrong with the house, and what it will cost to fix.

Remember whoever you sell to will find these issues as they will have a survey done at some point i.e. before they actually buy it .

Obviously glass I meant wood! Or powder coated aluminium for some reason even though no house in the area has them. Sometimes I wonder if conservation officers look at the houses in the area they are prescribing for

Intrigued that your MIL has been stuck living somewhere she did not want to be because you bought this house. And that she has had roof and drains work done to a house that you own, but you weren’t involved in the works being done at all.

I hope you've all taken good legal advice. Cost of renovation may be the least of your worries if MIL is found to have deliberately deprived herself of an asset when it comes to funding care home fees.

@MrsSkylerWhite your Edwardian house sounds beautiful! Can’t find a pic online though unfortunately do post a link if you have one 👀

Not sure how it’s for you, but it’s hard parting with the family home. We’ve brought up our children in this place. I’ve also just turned the key on my own parents’ home a couple weeks ago and left that behind forever (we left most of our belongings behind as we don’t really need them, can’t ship them. I sold off quite a bit too.Thinking especially about one of my childhood toys still in that house stings a little.

But we’re all moving on, aren’t we?

you’re going to love living in your new place! We’ve been so happy in our penthouse. Everything is bright and spacious with big sliding door windows. Great views. (We’re easy to please)

If you’re looking balcony ideas, I’d recommend some astroturf. We’ve even had a small removable pool (great drains!). Very sad to be leaving. So go you and enjoy your penthouse. I’m going to live vicariously from now on 🤗

Urgh okay, stripping out the carpet is off now. I was hoping to discover some lovely Edwardian tiles in the downstairs hallway 🙃 I might take a peek in one corner! I’m sorry you got caught in that draft! Annoying.

there’s electric fires all over the place. Are they safe if they’re disconnected?

and I hear you about the squirrels falling into to the chimney, the poor things. Will get that checked. Thanks