Buying a house

[shininglight16]

We're in the process of purchasing a house and are upsizing from a flat so quite excited and looking forward to it.

Just curious what you think of the price of the house and how much would you have offered for it. We're going to be getting some work done, i.e. getting a new kitchen, bathroom, renovating the conservatory, improving the garden, changing the layout a bit to make bedrooms bigger etc.

I would really appreciate it if you could give some tips looking at the floorplan and tell me what you think of the price. Is it a good buy?

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/68118770/

Thank you ladies!

I don’t know the area to comment on the house price but I love a look at a floor plan.

What are the reception rooms used for? They seem in quite an odd place as you go through another room to get onto them. I’d try to create a corridor to this section (maybe with a bit of the wardrobe in the bedroom) then use the end of the bigger reception room for a second jack and jill bathroom and widen the lounge out into the rest of the reception rooms space to create a living & dining space. I’d then square off the other bathroom, taking a little bit of kitchen if needed, to create a utility room and bathroom in one.

Have you had any quotes for the work yet? Our builders were really helpful with ideas and telling us which walls we could or couldn’t move easily!

Sorry but I don’t like the floor plan at all with the tiny entrance hall & every room leading off another room. The worst is the bathroom off the kitchen.

But I can’t comment on the price as don’t know Kent prices. Maybe it’s well priced to compensate for the odd floor plan, I don’t know. I would want to look at lots of comparable properties to check the price because personally I would rather buy a different property with a more traditional layout. If I could get a different house with the same number of bedrooms for the same price as this bungalow.

Thank you for your suggestions... we were thinking along the same lines. It's a blank canvas for us to work on..we can break down the walls and change the layout around.

We haven't contacted any builders yet, we don't know anyone trustworthy to be honest. Would you be able to recommend please? Depends on where you're based too..

What are the key things to look out for when getting the work done? We need to break down walls to change the layout, put in insulation, new boiler, extend at the back and turn the kitchen into a room with ensuite bathroom, make the conservatory, turn the second reception room into a kitchen and dining room. The small lean to will be a utility room and the second lean to will be a conservatory.

Lots needed to be done at this place and we need someone who is reliable, honest and won't charge us a leg and an arm!

Any recommendations would be appreciated 🙏

I know what you mean and I felt the same but when my husband explained what was on his mind I thought it was a good idea. We're planning to change the layout and extend the house to turn it into what we want.

I was just curious about the price as well...how would you assess the best way to price any house before giving an offer?

Personally I spend weeks/months following all the other comparable houses for sale or sold & get an idea from that what the house is worth.

You can look on Rightmove sold houses to see what houses in that area have sold for over the last year or so. It’s important to look at square footage/condition etc.

Yes, we've been doing that and that's when we decided what to offer. Have another question, are bungalows priced higher than semi detached houses, a comparable semi detached in size for example? I saw a semi detached house that is not too far away but it's all done up. That's why I'm a bit confused if we've made the right offer.

I'd respectfully suggest that's way too big a project for your first house unless you've really good tradies lined up and extremely deep pockets.

There is a LOT to do there. What would your budget for the work be?

We've had work done before but were cheated by a known builder, he was our so called family friend.

We're in the process of looking for new builders to be honest.

My husband has some knowledge but not entirely. I'm a bit scared too, to be honest.

We have about 80k saved up for the renovation, looking to spend less though.

Well we're looking at about 40k to be honest, although we do have 80k saved up. Eventually, we'd like to get a loft conversion done too.

This is in essence a project for us as we're looking to extend upwards and on the rear end to increase the value of the house.

Isn't it sold stc already?

Or perhaps that's you. Sorry. Used to these posts being pre offer.

No way will you bring that level of renovation in at 80k! An extension, moving the kitchen, knocking down walls, new bathroom(s), new boiler/plumbing, may as well do a full rewire whilst you're at it... And then fully decorate etc etc.

It looks like a massive project to me. You're probably paying way over the odds as it's a bungalow - they usually go for a premium. Do you need/want a bungalow specifically? If I was you, I'd keep looking!

Agree with this. 40K is totally impossible. 80K is hugely optimistic. For context, we need a new bathroom. Normal size room, shower over bath, not looking at expensive fittings. 10K is the lowest quote and that's not from anyone fancy.

That list of things you want to do is unlikely to come in at under 150K, no way would you get it done for 80, and 40 is just lala land.
You sound very innocent OP.

Well we essentially need a kitchen first. The rest can be done slowly. It's in a decent condition and ready to move in. Extension etc can happen later tbh

How much would it cost according to you and have you had something similar done before? Curious to know where you're coming from

Typically you should think about offering less and knocking money off for things that need doing, a leaky roof or draughty windows for example. Maybe a little for tired bathrooms.

But you can't knock off the price for completely rearranging it and making it your dream home. Why would the seller essentially fund that for you 😂

Look at your local market and comparable prices, think about how much you want it and what else is available. If you're desperate for that one consider starting closer to asking.

Find out if you can how many viewings there have been and if any offers are on the table.

Work will always end up costing more than you think so see if you feel happy living with it in the meantime

Have a look at this: What's The Average Cost of Renovating a House in 2024? | Checkatrade

It'll give you a broad idea of what you might be in for although costs will vary on area/spec of course.

If tho you did spend £150k on doing it up the way you want it - will it be worth it ? would you get your money back if you were to resell.

that's a lot of work ! demolishing walls/rebuilding walls etc.

new kitchen / bathroom is not unusual. plus very often total redecoration / new flooring.

It would be very easy to spend more on the house than you'd ever get back on sale. If you're doing all the work you're talking about, the temptation would be to use cheap fittings to minimise the cost of a large job, but those will be the only bits of the work that people will think about when they're looking to buy. I've seen houses that had been totally 'renovated' but with cheap kitchens and bathrooms that I would want to replace.

Yes our offer was accepted

Yes bungalows are much in demand so they do tend to be priced higher than an equivalent house like the semi detached one you mention.

Older people often like them because of the lack of stairs & many younger people like them because the plot size tends to be bigger and also there are opportunities to build upwards in future should you want to.

Sorry forgot to mention that they've accepted our offe of £475000.

We've seen a house that was fully renovated and extended (including loft conversion) sold for £690000, on the same road. The area is good and well sought after because it's close to 3 grammar schools.