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!)

Thanks 👍 I was wondering whether it’s worth doing a survey even if we decide to sell.

I think you were asking earlier how we came by this house? I already answered you upthread that we recently inherited the house from PILs.

Our combined family assets weren’t part of my question at all. But I get that this is a public thread on a weekend and we enjoy ruminating in all directions. Deprived of an asset? I get a feeling that something wound you up here?

And no, MIL wasn’t stuck here It was her dream home when they bought it in the 70s.

You can’t inherit a house when the owner is still alive. Like I said, hope you and MIL all got proper legal advice for whatever you did. The fact that you aren’t even familiar with the phrase “deprivation of assets” suggest you haven’t properly researched how assets are quantified for the purpose of assessing eligibility for state-funded care.

@ImaBuilder what I meant by something making it impossible to mortgage would be things like not having a functioning kitchen, roof beyond repair, serious issues with damp or something really dreadful like subsidence. In these cases most/ all mortgage companies will refuse to give a mortgage on the property so if you are planning to sell it makes sense to get a survey done and address these things first rather than painting etc. Chances are if you do the cosmetic stuff without getting the basics sorted you’ll decorate a room/ get new carpet only for there to be a leak, or the electrics need doing, or a window needs replacing, so it’s wasted time/ money.

Plus many years of projects have made me realise that particularly approaching the winter it’s most important to have somewhere that is warm and dry and some hot water so those are the things I’d focus on first (boiler, roof, windows/ curtains), hot water pumps if there) rather than floorboards/ paint. Not to say that if you really want to paint and re carpet one room you shouldn’t, of course that’s fine, it’s your house, but I agree that in the next 7 weeks I’d be focussing on the things I list above first (and a survey from someone recommended is a great place to start).

Would it be worth getting a survey done anyway though, as if you do end up selling it, any work that needs doing will affect the price and forewarned is forearmed, as they say. And if you stay then you will want to find out what needs tackling first.

i see where white is coming from with tiling and work surface. Shame because it’s the work top colour that is making it dark not the units. I think it’s 2000’s not 90s