Anyone bought a renovation project house?

Yes, we are in the midst of it right now...

Tips, full survey (bear in mind also they may miss things but equally may spot things that don't need too much money), have a long time scale for doing the work and have a big savings account!

We'll have bought ours 2 years ago next month and the majority of works that Need To Be Done have been done or are happening now. Things that would be Nice If They Were Done will then have to wait for more money to be earnt!

We were lucky in that things haven't been as bad as the surveyor suggested (touches wood and crosses herself), it's been fun and stressful but ultimatley worth it as we will have a fab house that's worth a lot more than we paid for it.....One day!

As Vivky said a full survey is a must but DO NOT take it as gospel. Surveyors are human and even a top of the range all singing all dancing survey may miss things. Also READ THE SURVEY CAREFULLY. A real mind numbing job but don't skimp (or skim) the detail or you may regret it later.

If you think that during the renovation you may want to change the outside appearance in any way (windows included) check with local planning first that there are no local restrictions.

If you see a nice big garden which could be a lovely veg patch if you cut down the odd tree to clear space/let in light etc, please, please check with the council that the trees aren't in a preservation/conservation area or that they don't have individaul preservation orders on them. The fine for cutting down protected trees, is huge, as much as £10k per tree in some places.

Whatever timescale you think a job may take, double it. If it completes quicker consider it a bonus but they rarely do.

Like wise with costs - whatever figure you've got in your head add at least 50% again and then probably more.

Our best tip, though, is wherever possible buy tools don't hire/borrow them. The initial outlay may, in some cases, be a bit hefty but, in the long run, with renovation properties you tend to end up using the same sort of tools, time and time again and the amount of time (not to mention money) saved by being able to get the right tool out of your shed as opposed to going to a DIY store or wherever, adds up, trust me on this .

We bought our old cottage nearly 9 years ago now and we split all the jobs into various groups:

Essential - to be done ASAP and for us that included new windows as the old ones were the original 150 year old sashes and york sliders (well what was left of them that is) and a fence, true to the boundaries as per the deeds, all the way around. The field behind us had been sold for building and, a glance at the plans showed that the building company had cheekily incorporate part of our unfenced back garden into their development. They were a tad surprised, 2 years later, when they finally started the build, to find that they had lost their turning circle for one of the drives because a fence had gone up. They did try to knock it down with the bucket of a digger but OH has, as per normal, overly engineered the cement footings for the corner post and had sunk 3ft of the 5"x5" solid oak post into 1 cubic metre of cement. One buckled bucket later and all that was damaged was 2 pieces of feather edge that they then had to replace and there was nothing they could do about it because we were spot on to our boundaries;

Need to be done - any structual things that need sorting before anything else but aren't essential for keeping the rain out or stopping the house from falling down etc but, if left unsorted, will cause serious problems later which will undoubtably then be more expensive;

Nice to haves - anything cosmetic really. My original kitchen, for example, was in the now dining room, was a galley style, was little more than a tiny corridor and not nice to look at. The stove was in the now kitchen then dining room which really didn't make sence BUT it was functional (just) and other jobs had to take priority and so I lived with the not ideal layout and disgusting units for over 2 years before we decided that all essential and need to be done work was now completed. The kitchen was 1st on the nice to haves list and I now have a lovely spacious kitchen with the stove in it (now that's novel ) and the dining room is small but with the kitchen units and sink now removed, it's big enough for us.

Of course we do have the ' One day in the future' list which includes an extension but that list never seems to get any nearer the top of the pile .

Good luck with the viewing.
Reet
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^^^wot they said up there, but one thing I would add.

Before you start with anything, find a specialist shop, difficult to find, that sells determination, patience and good humour and buy as much as you can afford. You will use it all up at some stage I can assure you.

On the plus side though, if it needs total renovation, after the initial gutting is done, you really can see the progress as bits and pieces are finished and rooms become habitable, which actually does restock the determination etc.

Best of luck, its tiring, hard work, flippin expensive but ultimately totally worth it.

Yes the house we live in, but I dont expect anything to be done anytime soon!!

Watch as many renovation/building shows as possible - note down how stupid a lot of the people are about managing a build/not planning budgets/not getting the right planning permissions/deciding not to have an architect or designer for massive works etc and ensure you don't do these things!

As said above - decide what you can put up with/live with; what absolutely has to be done etc and work out a budget and timescale.

We live in a do-er-upper.... really, the house needs new windows and doors (all currently single glazed), a new central heating system and boiler, completely re-wiring and a new bathroom. However, most everything works/is liveable with, and nearly everything it needs is big-money type stuff. We are just chipping away at it, bit by bit and saving up for the big stuff...

No, but I grew up in one. It's a l-o-n-g process, but, if it's what you want to do, then I say 'Go for it!'

Have fun!

At the last count, prompted by your question I have been involved in just over two hundred the last one finnished two weeks ago and I won't be doing another to old now.

There loads of good honest advice on the above posts but a full refurb is such a major project it would be impossible to give answers to all the questions at one time. Then of course theres the questions you haven't even thought of yet.

First move is to find out just what needs doing, then find out what grants if any are available, then do your sums to see if its viable. Outside works i.e. doors, windows, rainwater etc can on some properties in some areas attract grants of upto 75%.

Next I would find out about any restrictions in force. A building doesn't have to be listed to cause a problem, it could just be in a conservation area.

If after you have done your ground work you decide to go ahead make a list of things to be done and then change the list into the order in which the works should be done. You don't want to be ripping up new floorboards to put in a pipe.

Final bit of advise if you need any help come to the Vine.

Colin

Bought house 14 months ago.............no survey, just common sense.

Nothing untoward found up til now. Bought with the intention of creating a retirement home.
Have a two year fixed rate morgage, which is the time I allowed myself to 'fix it up' and then possibly swap to a 'buy to let' morgage and rent it out until retiring if money became tight.
Managing quite nicely by only spending what I can afford, with a small contingency for emergencies.
With this in mind, and because I'm not desperate for the rental income, I will probably fix it up over a longer period of time, only doing stuff as I can afford it.
Work on it every Saturday. Most of the knocking down and building up has now been done and my main priority is making it watertight for the coming winter.
Still needs partial rewire, central heating (pulled the old system out), kitchen extension interior.(units,lights,floor etc) Newly formed bathroom needs stand alone shower & roll top bath,some new half glazed doors (stained glass) also required.
Just finished the roof on the kitchen extension I built and will be adding guttering tomorrow.
Mahoosive garden which I had great plans for but since i've just been cutting the grass to keep it tidy.............I've grown quite fond of it the way it is.
Had one years Council tax free period and have now dropped onto unfurnished rate which is 50% Council tax.............can;t grumble about that.
Scrounged quite a bit of the building materials (just aquired 20 X 10 foot lengths of 4 x 2 dumped at allotment gates!)
Ebay is your friend!

Thank you all very much. We are going to have a look tomorrow just to see what its like. I have a feeling it will be end more work than we want to do or can afford... Fingers crossed its as good as we hope.

True but a lot of the 'common sense' comes from experience of buying houses. For someone considering buying certainly their first project property, the expense of a full survey should be top of the list in terms of necessary spend.

Common sense plays a part (such as 'it's an old/worn out house it'll have problems') but it wont necessarily spot the damp, cunningly disguised by the current owners, or the first signs of a bowing roof or wall. You have been very lucky not have found anything major wrong with your home and I hope that you never do but it can be heart breaking to have bought a home, then started to do it up only to find something major wrong or the beginnings of a serious problem which will then entail ripping out all that you've already done.

Also, having a detailed survey done (and reading it) will also put you in a better position with your house insurers should, in the course of your renovations, something nasty turn up such as cracked and leaking drains which you only discover when you find the damp patch the the aforementioned previous owners disguised or lift the floor for some reason (under floor heating for example) and find a large lake underneath and investigate the cause. Insurers are, as we all know, happy to take your money but not so keen to pay out in the event of a claim. The chances are Mr Surveyor would ahve highlighted the damp as a cause for concern, giving you the buyer the opportunity to investigate further.

In the current climate, vendors are desperate to sell and, as such, may be more cunning about disguising potential problems to make the deal, especially in old, worn out houses.

Common sense yes but a survey is a must.

Reet
x

Jojo is it on the web? Can we have a look? Please?

Reet
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If I thought I needed to get a full survey done on a house...............I'd walk away.

At the lower end of the market, and with eyes wide open, yer pays ya money and takes ya chance!

PS I bought my present property with the intention of gutting and part rebuilding it anyway.

It's such a fab time to buy something that need doing up if you can get the mortgage or have the funds. There are properties like that near here, terraced properties with three bedrooms, for around £50,000 with only really cosmetic work that needs doing! Bargain! If I could get a buy to let mortgage, I'd go for it

Radox....buy up the stock from your local shop!!!!

Oh- and get used to eating and sharing your bed with grit!!!!


Well worth it....just make sure the house is sound before you buy it.

I'm living in my renovation property- just another 3/4 to go!!