Costs of refurbishing a house

[LovelyJubly12]

I have seen a house that has a lot of potential but it needs a lot doing to it. It is a 1920's house which has no central heating, a dated bathroom and kitchen and all windows painted shut! It looks like it's been painted white all through but we would want to redecorate it. The wiring will probably need updating. We would also put in a shower room somewhere as there is no shower. I haven't ever done anything like this, what would be a reasonable idea of the overall cost? It's just gone on the market and haven't seen it yet but it's a great area and has an amazing garden. It could be a fabulous house. If we did offer on it it would be much lower than they are asking, another house on the other side of the road in better condition has taken about 10 months to sell.

We wouldn't be able to do any of the work ourselves, and maybe it's a project to be done over years.

150-200k if it needs everything doing and you go for cheaper fixtures and fittings. If it has no heating, then it will need a rewire without a doubt, probably replastering everywhere etc...... it will soon all mount up. If you want a higher spec then 200-300k.

We have spent 50k on a "new build" from 1997, this did include 10k of work in the garden though, so the house was 40k and that was using cheaper products as we just didn't have the money. It doesn't look cheap though but for example we couldn't afford quartz in the kitchen as that was 3k as opposed to £500 for laminate worktop.

It's a sqft calculation really.

How big is it?

That's a good assessment.

Why?

There's no indication of the size of the house.

Allow £10k per bathroom
Kitchen can easily get up to £25k plus
£10k new boiler and new pipe work new rads etc
£7k re wire
£7k perhaps to plaster throughout
£10k plus on windows depending on size and how many
£5k for carpenter
Then things like doors, skirtings etc could be another £5k
£5k for decorating
£5k flooring but that could easily just be carpets - you don't say how many rooms so then there is other flooring like floor tiles or wooden flooring
To be honest id budget £125k minimum if doing it over a number of years room by room perhaps
Really depends on size of house and I haven't factored in any external or internal repairs repainting outside or garden

1,527 sq ft (141.86 sq m) Are the measurements.

@justanothercrapbedtime has given some very sensible estimates. Our house is probably about the same size. Over the years we have spent about £120k on upgrades/ replacements and that’s without a new boiler.
We did do a major refurb when we first bought it which probably accounts for about £70k , and it was better value doing the major work ( wiring, reconfiguration of walls, windows etc) at once. We had to move out for 4 months though.

Unless they are willing to accept a very low offer I think it isn’t doable .

Oki.

So about 100 per sqft for standard renovation.

20% contingency.

£180k? Ish. For decent finish.

I would say, renovations or restoration are great IF

You like living in a building site.

You have knowledge of the industry

You have a flexible budget and a vision.

Otherwise.

No way.

Fuck it right off.

Obviously

#4 you are a fucking lunatic.

😩😩

If you are not able to do any of the work yourself I would avoid a house that needs fully refurbished!

Well, we could live with the white walls and current carpets for a while but it does need central heating and a new bathroom .

You say houses in decent condition don't sell quickly?

Yes you might be buying in an area about to become a des res, equally you could be pouring good money after bad.

Plus you'll be living in a building site for a couple of years, maybe more, that can be extremely stressful

Its also harder to get good trades now a days.

We moved into a house that needed renovations and in addition to work others have mentioned, we also needed to replace guttering, soffits and facias. We also needed to replace gates, fencing and repair crumbling garden walls and steps, which were a hazard. This alone was about £15,000 for something most visitors to the house wouldn't even notice. It's taken us 10 years to finish everything, but it's been worth it!

I bought a neglected four bed house in 2011.

So far I have
Demolished a small DIY extension and rebuilt it properly.
Rewired
Replaced the kitchen & bathroom
Replaced all the windows and exterior doors
Insulated the loft
Replaced the roof
Replaced the boiler, hot water tank and assorted plumbing
Installed a log burner
Redecorated throughout.

The bill so far is about £110,000, in rural Hampshire.

At today's prices, the same work would be double that amount.

Look carefully at your purchase price. I got £85k off the asking price because so much needed doing, although it was structurally sound (except for the extension).

How many bedrooms how many bathrooms?

One bathroom and three bedrooms. It’s in a very desirable area and will sell fast if done up.

Exactly.

You know who normally buys those houses? Builders. Builders who employ a team of men working for them and when they have a quiet moment on site, send the builders to the property they brought to work there instead. So the labour doesn't ever actually cost them anything and then obviously they get great deals for materials.

I think we’d have to wait for months to get a significant amount off the asking price . We aren’t planning to stay where we are but this house has got me questioning that.

I'd call this a renovation, not just a refurbishment! It depends if its just cosmetic, or if any structure work is required though? If its needing re-wiring etc though, this will cause a huge amount of mess potential to expose structural issues which might also need sorting.

We have just done similar, but 1930's, detached, 4 bed, more bathrooms and SE. We started at the end of covid and material costs have gone up dramatically. Ours needed a new roof, all new windows/doors, new plumbing, new boiler, ground work, new kitchen, bathrooms, re-building of an old extension, the additional of a small, double story extension, new double garage and more. We are over £250,000 so far. Structure work is done, but 'bits' are left such as bathroom cabinets, spare bedroom furniture, in-built wardrobes etc.

We lived in a static caravan on-site for the first 2 yrs. Neither of us are in in trades, but did what bits we could. Yes, its been a labour of love and we still aren't finished. We love the area, the neighbours are great and its our forever home. If we'd planned to flip it, we wouldn't make our money back.

Well, I have to accept that it's a pipe dream and forget it I think.

Depends if "can't DIY" mean you wouldn't want to/ aren't able due to time, health etc, or just that you currently lack the skills.

We completely redid our first house (not the wiring or heating but bathroom, kitchen, stud walls, floor, garden, loft insulation/boarding/hatch. I had zero skills when we moved in and learnt it all on the web. You would have to want to though as it is a lot of time and effort.