Advice on possible renovation project before making an offer

[timundstruppi]

I’d really appreciate advice from people who have bought houses because they could see the potential, particularly if you knew before buying that you wanted to make significant changes to the layout/extensions.

We are considering putting in an offer for this house: https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/74335494/

I like a lot about this house, particularly the location and potential, but I don’t like the current ground-floor layout, and I think whether it’s worth buying depends quite heavily on whether we could successfully change it.

My ideal would be a large, light, open-plan kitchen/dining/family room at the back, but still with a separate utility room and downstairs loo. I’d also want underfloor heating downstairs.

The slightly odd part is the side extension. There is a room upstairs but the area underneath is open. I’d ideally like to enclose that area and incorporate it into the house. However, the neighbouring house is very close to the boundary (at an angle) and I have no idea whether the existing structure/foundations, planning restrictions etc would make this straightforward, extremely expensive or impossible.

I’m also not keen on the existing rear extension or the way the entrance/hall works. I’d want to look at reconfiguring the whole ground floor rather than just putting in a new kitchen. The patio would also need redoing.

My concern is that it’s easy to view a house and think “we could do this here, knock that through, enclose that bit and it would be fantastic”, but then buy it and discover that the thing that made you see all that potential either isn’t possible or costs are vastly prohibitive.

So I’d particularly love to hear from people who have bought and substantially remodelled/extended houses.
What did you actually do before making an offer to establish whether your vision for the house was realistic?

Did you take an architect to a second viewing? Structural engineer? Builder? Did you get indicative drawings/costings before offering, or only once your offer had been accepted?
Were they able to give you a reasonably confident answer about what was possible without intrusive investigations?

If you were buying again, what would you do before committing that you didn't do last time?

For this particular house, who would you take along to establish whether the open area underneath the side extension could realistically be enclosed and whether the ground floor could become the sort of space I'm describing?

And how did you establish a sensible renovation budget before buying? I don't want to assume £100k and subsequently discover it's £200k+.
I'd also really appreciate views on the price* *without assuming any of these changes are possible.

If you were buying this house exactly as it is now and had to live with the existing footprint/layout, what would you offer?

It's on at £850k and last sold for £766k in 2023. I think current owners may have put the garden office in and changed the bathroom. I don't think they have done anything else beside some general cosmetics.

Would you consider £850k reasonable for it as it stands, or do you think the asking price is already pricing in some of the potential? And if you discovered that the side couldn't be enclosed and significant reconfiguration wasn't practical, what would you personally be prepared to pay for the house as it is?

Basically, I'm trying to avoid paying for the house I can imagine it becoming rather than the house I'm actually buying!
Any experiences – good or bad – from people who've bought houses on the basis of their renovation potential would be really helpful.

These days in a buyers market with trades pricing at such a premium - why not buy the house you want rather than potential? I say that as someone that owns a house with lots of extension potential (2 storey rear extension, loft) but the cost would be more than the value added to the house.

The side extension on the house you shared makes me wonder if there is drainage that would be expensive to move in the old driveway. Or a right of access to a neighbour's back gate. It is quote unusual but looks to have been there a long time.

To fill it in wouldn't be structural because upstairs is already supported

I’d be very wary of putting an offer in based only on the finished picture in your head. Before offering, I’d take a good local builder or building surveyor to a second viewing, and if the side enclosure is the key point, get a structural engineer’s view as well. They can check the foundations, drainage, damp-proofing, ventilation, services and whether the existing walls and roof are actually independent; the close boundary also brings party-wall and access issues into it. Ask the council for the planning and building-control history, and check the title for rights of way and drains before spending money on drawings. For the budget, price the work as separate packages (structure/drainage, shell, windows/doors, kitchen and finishes), then add at least 15–20% contingency for opening-up work. I wouldn’t expect a quick viewing to give a firm figure, but it should tell you whether the idea is broadly feasible and what needs investigating. If the house is still worth buying without the enclosure and reconfiguration, that gives you much safer room on the offer; if not, I’d treat those checks as essential before committing.

Unfortunately we can't afford the sort of house we want in the area, but I would be much happier to buy something with potential, even if we could not afford to do it up yet, than buying something that is a bit better but then has nowhere to improve.

OP,

What did you actually do before making an offer to establish whether your vision for the house was realistic?

Yes take along a builder to your next viewing. They should be able to give to give you at least an estimate of how much the work might cost (at today's prices!) and how long it would take to do the work.

Once, we got an architect involved, got a quote for some actual drawings they could do (it was about £1K for the drawings), but the intial visit was free of charge. He spent a good 30 minutes with us in the house. In the end, the structure of the house meant that we wouldn't be able to do what we wanted without major structural work (and lots more money), so that £1K saved us spending £100sK in buying that house!

If you were buying again, what would you do before committing that you didn't do last time?

I will never again buy a house that I can't adapt for old age (single-level living). If you love your home, but can't live in it when you're 85, you'll have to sell again even if you don't want to.

And how did you establish a sensible renovation budget before buying?

How long are you going to live in it?

Can you future-proof it (see above)?

Are you moving house because you want to or because you have to (you can put up with a lot in a house if you need to move)?

What's the ceiling value in this area? If you ever need to move again, you'll have to sell, and you don't want to find out that you can't recoup. If you're never moving again, then it's up to you how much money you want to sink into a home. If you never move again, you'll never see any of that money again unless you borrow against the equity or use some kind of equity release.

Building work seems to have tripled in the last decade. 10% contingency above what's agreed in the building contract used to be enough. I suspect it is not anymore.

There's a lot of due diligence you've can do yourself before you decide to offer (or even view!): get the title register and plan online for £14, get a drain survey before you engage a solicitor (last one I did cost about £450), and if you see anything there you don't like, you can walk away before incurring more costs.

As PP has said, the space to the side is likely where the drains run. I wouldn't build directly over those if you don't have to, but it can be done. You'll need a Build-over Agreement from your water company.

ed. spelling

This is so helpful, thank you all! I have not even considered drains or those implications.

I am, I'm afraid, obsessive about drains, ever since my first survey, even more so than attics. It's the one part of the house no one ever sees, but is so important re the integrity of your foundations, plumbing, etc. A good surveyor will do the usual "are the drains running freely, etc" checks, but only an actual drain survey can show you collapses, cracks, tree roots, and the actual location of the drains. The maps are not always accurate for older houses.

And if there are problems with the drains, and they are the responsibility of the owner (as opposed to the water company), you can run into problems when the drains cross property boundaries, and need repair, and you care about that but the neighbor does not! I have walked away from a house purchase before because the drains would likely have needed repair work across boundaries, and I could see (from the state of next door's house) that it was likely that I'd end up with all the hassle and cost.

Having said that, you can be overly cautious about drains. If you must have the house, then get the house. Drains can be fixed, although it's expensive.

ps. One other thing I noticed: this house has a "shared" chimney. It looks to be in good shape, but it doesn't seem as though either roof has been replaced yet (appears to be original... poss 1930s?) We've also had a problem before where we wanted to replace/remove the chimney, do roofing, and next door did not. Guess who paid for the whole thing...?

Another thing to build in contingency for.

I'm midway through a huge renovation of what was basically a derelict house. We've done a loft conversion, lots of structural/internal alterations to the original house, and a two-storey extension is about to start.

My main advice is to assume it will take longer and cost more than you think. It almost certainly will. The best way to get a reliable budget is to instruct a quantity surveyor.

I've had to live elsewhere during the work, which adds a significant extra cost. If it's possible to stay in the house while works are carried out, there are definite advantages. You can make decisions as you go along and you also get to understand how you actually use the space. There are a few choices I've made that I would probably have done differently if I'd been living there at the time. Your house is already pretty large so a builder should be able to seal off enough rooms for you to live in.

Unless you're dealing with a listed building or other specific restrictions, you can do pretty much whatever you want internally. The real constraint isn't usually whether you can do it, it's whether you can afford to do it.

I'd also say not to obsess about every decision before you start. Some things are much easier to decide once the space actually exists rather than from drawings. Equally, make sure you put plenty of thought into the things that are very difficult or expensive to change later, such as room layouts, window positions, plumbing and electrics.

Finally, keep a healthy contingency fund. Even with good plans and surveys, old houses have a habit of revealing expensive surprises once walls, floors and ceilings start coming apart.

We are doing underfloor heating downstairs, replacing an old extension, new floors throughout, adding a WC, new kitchen and 2 new bathrooms and we’ve been quoted £200k.

Tbh I bought a house in 2023 and I’d be really surprised to sell it now for more than I paid for it, though I know not all areas are the same. What has sold locally on house prices io?

Mamma mia!

We had nearly the same done 9 years ago, plus replacing all 18 windows, total cost was just under £90K!

Thanks for posting that- I am looking at project houses right now, and that helps me as a ballpark estimate as I view.

Not a renovator, just a first time buyer who has been reading about exactly this worry, so take it as a question rather than advice. The thing that stood out to me was the side extension, because it is the part with the most unknowns:: foundations, how close the neighbour is, and whether the structure above would need underpinning. Those are the unknowns that turn a nice idea into an expensive one. From what I have read, people often pay a structural engineer for an hour or so before offering, and some architects will do a paid feasibility visit for a fixed fee. That is a small cost compared with discovering a problem after exchange. It is also worth looking at the planning history on the council website, since earlier applications show what has been allowed or refused nearby. I would also ask the agent how long it has been on the market and why, and get a rough builder figure for the kitchen and layout change so you can see whether the price still works with the work added on top. Hope it works out, it sounds like a house with real potential.

I don’t think it’s for you even if you fill in the side extension the room would be too narrow to make a good reception room
also rear extension not very deep so ag a narrow room