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House/purchase advise







sebtucknott

Active member
Aug 22, 2011
317
Shoreham-by-Sea
We bought a house a couple of years ago.

Got it for £250k down from £270k (stamp duty played into our hands)

It was from the original owner (from
new 1960s) and hadn't really been touched.

£10k was enough to completely refurb downstairs inc, kitchen, combi boiler, new radiators, rewire, solid oak flooring throughout and plastering ceiling/walls.
Granted I have a very good builder for £130 a day and I enjoy the work too so probably knocked £5k off using my time.

It's amazing what you can do for not a huge amount of money. We're just starting on upstairs, another 10k inc new bathroom.

House has now been valued at £300k+. We bought it because we wanted to live there not make money. It's surprising the price difference between "done up" and "work to do" most people are lazy or can't see through it.
 


folkestonesgull

Active member
Oct 8, 2006
907
folkestone
The lady currently buying our house (we completely refurbed a Victorian terrace by the sea but need a bigger garden and more space now) is a nightmare, she would not do a thing to a property. People are willing to pay a premium for something that needs nothing to do - if you've got time, some money and vision then the 3 bedder appears to be a no brainer.
 


SIMMO SAYS

Well-known member
Jul 31, 2012
11,719
Incommunicado
We bought a house a couple of years ago.

Got it for £250k down from £270k (stamp duty played into our hands)

It was from the original owner (from
new 1960s) and hadn't really been touched.

£10k was enough to completely refurb downstairs inc, kitchen, combi boiler, new radiators, rewire, solid oak flooring throughout and plastering ceiling/walls.
Granted I have a very good builder for £130 a day and I enjoy the work too so probably knocked £5k off using my time.

It's amazing what you can do for not a huge amount of money. We're just starting on upstairs, another 10k inc new bathroom.

House has now been valued at £300k+. We bought it because we wanted to live there not make money. It's surprising the price difference between "done up" and "work to do" most people are lazy or can't see through it.

Please send me your builders number---he must be retired to charge that.
£200-£250 a day is more like it!
 


BHseagull

New member
Aug 5, 2008
968
Brighton
The amount you can increase the value only really comes into it if you are going to use it as a short term project and don't see yourself staying there long.

Regarding improvements, £10-12k will get you a very nice bathroom and some carpets, etc... If u need to do the kitchen too you'll be looking around £20k. Improvements are more about maintaining value and making the house easier to sell (other than the obvious benefits you will get whilst living there!)
 




Triggaaar

Well-known member
Oct 24, 2005
50,213
Goldstone
Whilst the 2 bed is valued at 15K less
I assume you mean more.

My thought process would be to hold approx 5K (10 at a push) back on my deposit for home improvements.
You don't mean deposit, you mean your offer / the purchase price. It's not really holding it back, as you won't be getting a £235k mortgage. If you think it's under valued, it might be difficult to get it for less than the asking price (but still worth a try).

Should I be concerned with sell on value as much as I am?
Yes. It's big money.

The other concern is how much should I spend on home improvements? Surely spending 10k on the interior doesn't necessarily mean you will see that return when you come to sell up? Or does it?
It depends on how wisely it's spent. If it's changing a crap kitchen and bathroom, and it's done well, and it doesn't push the property value over the others in the area, then yes, it should add value.
 


BN9 BHA

DOCKERS
NSC Patron
Jul 14, 2013
21,599
Newhaven
We bought a house a couple of years ago.

Got it for £250k down from £270k (stamp duty played into our hands)

It was from the original owner (from
new 1960s) and hadn't really been touched.

£10k was enough to completely refurb downstairs inc, kitchen, combi boiler, new radiators, rewire, solid oak flooring throughout and plastering ceiling/walls.
Granted I have a very good builder for £130 a day and I enjoy the work too so probably knocked £5k off using my time.

It's amazing what you can do for not a huge amount of money. We're just starting on upstairs, another 10k inc new bathroom.

House has now been valued at £300k+. We bought it because we wanted to live there not make money. It's surprising the price difference between "done up" and "work to do" most people are lazy or can't see through it.

10k is a bargain for that amount of work, I know someone that paid 4k to have a solid oak floor 5 years back.
 






SIMMO SAYS

Well-known member
Jul 31, 2012
11,719
Incommunicado
10k is a bargain for that amount of work, i know someone that paid 4k to have a solid oak floor 5 years back.

i sometimes wonder if i should purchase a caravan and move the family in --- i would then purchase a brand new van instead of my 150,ooo mile ducato
 


SIMMO SAYS

Well-known member
Jul 31, 2012
11,719
Incommunicado
**** me simmo, if you're happy to pay that sort of money, i'll send you my number.

not happy but after forty years i've managed to find some good tradesmen.
They all want a good wage for what they provide.
Customers do not know a good job from a hole in the ground in my experience.
 


BN9 BHA

DOCKERS
NSC Patron
Jul 14, 2013
21,599
Newhaven
i sometimes wonder if i should purchase a caravan and move the family in --- i would then purchase a brand new van instead of my 150,ooo mile ducato

You could park the caravan in Wild Park, Stanmer Park or Brighton seafront, that lot all have brand new Transit vans.

150,000 miles out of a Fiat, pretty good I think.
 






SIMMO SAYS

Well-known member
Jul 31, 2012
11,719
Incommunicado
you could park the caravan in wild park, stanmer park or brighton seafront, that lot all have brand new transit vans.

150,000 miles out of a fiat, pretty good i think.

The fecking gearbox is fecked :drama:
Try driving without first gear---------£1300.00 to FIX
 


trueblue

Well-known member
Jul 5, 2003
10,443
Hove
There's a lot to be said for the adage "buy to nest, not to invest". It's good to have a property that you know will always be desirable if you need to move but more important to choose the one you like best. Takes a lot of stress out of life when you're not worried about house prices and affordability because you're happy with your home anyway.
 








nwgull

Well-known member
Jul 25, 2003
13,828
Manchester
I'd buy the larger house and do the necessary improvements. If it's your first place, the chances are you'll want to move on in 5 years, so re-sell value is definitely a factor. There's nothing wrong with looking at your property as an investment.

Without seeing it, I'm going to guess that 10k maybe a bit of an underestimation though.
 


D

Deleted member 18477

Guest
The 3 bedroom is considerably more spacious. Everything points to the 3 bedroom apart from its current condition. I guess the question is do i sacrifice 10K of my deposit to make the necessary changes.

In my opinion from what you've said... I'd go 3 bed...
 








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