Downsize to 2 bed for future gain?

[mumof2teentoddler]

After a turbulent few months of being issued with section 21 and struggling to find another rental in the same village we live in we finically found the perfect house to rent while we wait to buy.

we have the deposit, MIP and pretty much ready to go. We have found a property BUT it’s a 2 bed and a do an upper. This house done up and 3 bed would be 100-150k more so completely out of our budget. Our budget restricts us but we want to buy asap due to our ages ( 50 and 43) and want to remain in the village

we are so unsure after 2 viewings we love the property - it’s a bungalow with space to expand in the future so potentially a forever home

But it’s very run down. We are talking wallpaper on every wall and ceiling, new carpets throughout apart from kitchen, hall and bathroom have nice tiles so we could keep them initially.

our question is do we go for it and do it up as we go. Plan would to be complete and have 8 weeks here which is our notice period for the rental and spent 8 weeks painting walls neutral, new carpets, potentially having to sort the walls if we find under the paper they need attention, that’s basically it and we would then move in and do something each month. Kitchen / bathroom we may leave initially as well we are unsure when we would extend.

the money we would have is approx 800-1000 free money a month to do something each month or 3monthly or use credit cards/payment plans etc

this would be one option or another would be to wait until we are able to find a property that doesn’t need as much work but then obviously we are looking at a higher mortgage and then won’t have the access money to do it up but will be used on the mortgage

soooo confused! We kind of need to decide over the weekend

appreciate any advice

Just to add we would use the living room as our bedroom giving our girls their own bedroom - the layout works and we would partition off the front room leaving us a space for a front room

Go for it. Your children won’t be at home forever and, hopefully, you won’t have to move again.

You cannot put a price on being where you want to be and having control over the roof above your head.

There are loads of money saving decorating videos online. Think of it as investing in your future security.

Don’t under estimate how much building works will cost. I’m re doing my bathroom, admittedly Including moving/removing a load bearing wall and adding steels. My budget is £40k all in and I’m starting to think that’s not enough.

Go for it, maybe give yourself slightly longer than 8 weeks especially if you work and only have weekends to do the new property.

It’s a huge upheaval doing that kind of work but you’re in a perfect position if you can get the bulk of it done before moving in. I’ve done similar work including a new kitchen and bathroom and it’s been horrendous living in amongst all the mess and noise with no working kitchen for weeks! Given the work it needs definitely make a cheeky offer, as not many will want to take on a project like that. I offered £25k under asking and they agreed straight away! I kept thinking ‘what’s the catch?’ but 3 months later I have a lovely home with added value, and the dust and aggravation is a distant memory! Go for it and enjoy creating a space that works for you all.

It’s so tempting but with a 4 year old and 15 year old just so unsure…the bedroom thing doesn’t bother us one bit. My husbands works full time and I’m part time 3 days a week so would be evenings and weekends we would be around but also thinking 8 weeks is enough for the walls/carpet as the kitchen:bathroom we are not touching possibly painting cupboards and changing bathroom toilet and bath for a new one but not straight away as although it’s old fashioned I’ve lived in worse ( avocado bathroom back in the day!) plus luckily
the main area is tiled so they can just be cleaned. Then once in we could do bits as we go that’s the plan anyway

my fear would be finding something bad one in so one job leading to another also the house had a horrid smell and my dad said he did see damp on some walls so although we would have a structural survey I wouldn’t want to wait and find out at that stage but I guess that’s the gamble ?

weve since decided against the house, plan is to wait for something else to come to market that needs less work. I don’t mind a bit but this needed a lot. If it didn’t have the land we wouldn’t have considered then we thought it was too big of a risk/gamble when potentially we would have no idea how much it would cost overall

Yeah i’d just go for it and use those 8wks to do as much as possible, maybe get the kids rooms sorted and then do it up as you live in it. I think it will be fine.