First House Renovation - Guidance Advice Needed Please

last year

Hi everyone,

This is my first time posting here.

I am looking to buy a property in the Midlands area not far from where I currently live. It's a 3 bedroom terraced house.

This will be my first time taking on this sort of project.

The aim is to do it an live in the house after.

Looking at the sale price of the property if I were to refurb it I am confident I would make my money back once it came to remortgaging.

My budget is £50,000.

Looking at the property there are something I know are needed for sure:

Internal Wall insulation on the external walls

Central heating installation

Possible re-wire

Insulation in the loft.

Look's like there's a condensation issue ( I had this in a previous property that was solid brick and installing a PIV seemed to fix the issue).

Double glazing through out.

Walls skimming

New Bathroom and Kitchen

I have attached some picture and will be viewing the property for the first time this Saturday.

I will go into the loft and take photos of the roof and speak to a builder for their opinion on regards to the state of it.

My plan is if the viewing doesn't show any massive issues I would go for a full structural survey to hopefully point out any major work that is required.

I feel if they say it needs a new roof and says he rising damp by budget wont work. But hoping if it doesn't my budget will work. This is where I am looking for guidance. Am I being unrealistic.

I plan to do as much work as I can, be in clearing the house. I am happy to go all the painting etc. For the Bathroom and Kitchen I will source all parts myself and then get a pro in for installation. I have done this in the past with success. I am also a designer so I can visualise the whole renovation so who every is carrying out the work will know exactly how I want it to look.

My only other pondering if whether as I plan to live in the house to put the bathroom upstairs and make the kitchen bigger. I know it will make it a two bed but I have found (if I were to sell it) people are put off by having a downstairs bathroom and no upstairs toilet. Or is this just a bad idea?

Again any guidance would be greatly appreciated. Last thing I want to do is take on a project I cant afford and want to do as much due diligence as possible.

Many Thanks.

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Comment (1)

Jonathan
last year
Budget- I notice you haven’t budgeted for the garden and I think you should. I also think that it will require careful management to ensure the £50k doesn’t disappear. Personally I think you should calculate the cost of everything you want to buy such as flooring and window treatments and light fittings and door furniture and the kitchen and bathroom. What’s left is your budget for a builder and I would bet there will only be £20k left after shopping. You can of course make economies by buying well- consider a used kitchen for instance.

Structural survey- when you read a structural survey they don’t actually tell you what needs doing- they tend to point out warning signs and suggest additional investigation. A good builder may be able to give you the same information plus a costing.

Two beds versus three- you should check your local market. Much housing stock has a downstairs bathroom- the key is about what sells for more- a three bed with a downstairs bathroom or a two bedroom with upstairs bathroom? Don’t forget that splitting one bedroom you might be able to have three bedrooms plus an upstairs bathroom too.

You should check the ceiling tiles in the back room for asbestos- DIY testing kits are available online and there are specialist companies who can do it for you- perhaps it’s the sellers responsibility to assure you you won’t have a big bill for their removal.

And whatever you decide best of luck
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Hi Kjsher77, Just as I am passing through, (and realising that this is a very old post) I would still advise moving the boiler to the loft so you can, in the future install an extra water tank or Megaflow for increased pressure and hot water. This way the boiler doesn't have to heat water downstairs, pump it to the top for it to come down again. It is also safer for the potentially toxic gases (VERY UNLIKELY) that can come from boilers like Carbon Monoxide as the flue goes straight out the roof. If you install the boiler and tank as close as possible to the front eaves of the house then you are also future proofing for any potential loft extension you may want to do (without having to redo pipework). I know you haven't mentioned this but its worth considering just in case. Otherwise, I agree with Jonathan's breakdown of costs and would concentrate on upgrading insulation, and making sure all the electrics, gas and plumbing are up to scratch before doing cosmetic or architectural work. It may be worth simply replacing the kitchen with a new cheap one whilst you save more money to do the full project. Good luck!
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First House Renovation - Guidance Advice Needed Please

Comment (1)

Jonathan

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