House Renovation, who haas done it?

[MattVXR87]

The initial message was deleted from this topic on 12 June 2011 at 16:49

[dave_s13]

Can you really buy a whole house, in a place you would actually want to live, for 40k??

[Paulbav]

Go for it , done a coule now and made some very good money, not mortgage free but now live in a nice area with a relativly small amount of debt . Do think caefuly though, I consider my self pretty handy (16 years of working on site doing electrical / security installation) and am able to do most of the work myself, inc, electrical, kitchens, bathrooms, floors, etc, etc... Doing this work also involves having the right tools and know how and a budget to suit (you will always spend more than you think)
And don't forget you can't just wade in doing electrical and gas work unless fuly qualified!

Good luck

Paul

[B17NNS]

Done plenty - any questions fire away.

At that kind of price range (not sure where you are) you are likey to be buying a place that needs more than just cosmetics.

Think damp issues, replumbing, rewiring, roof issues.

Big learning curve, stressful but very rewarding if you are keen to get stuck in.

[B17NNS]

MattVXR87 said:

Second of all, what order should the work be done in?

Your order of works will fall into 1st and 2nd fix stages. 1st fix being prior to plastering, 2nd fix afterwards.

Do not buy without a survey. If the property is pretty much standard construction go for a homebuyers report. Anything obscure consider consider a full structural.

Once you have the survey you are in a position to produce a rough budget.

1. Speak to several agents (not just the one selling the place) and get a feel for what the property is worth in good condition.

2. Speak to builders, spreads, plumbers, sparks and work out what costs are involved in getting the property into that condition.

Add a suitable contingency onto item 2 along with all your finance costs, professional fees etc and then subtract 2 from 1.

That is the absolute maximum you want to be paying. Realistically you want to be paying far less to allow for your time and trouble.

Expect cost and time over runs, they are guaranteed.

I live in Staffs, not expensive in the UK by any stretch.

£40k wouldn't buy a poor property in a poor location.

Be interested to see a few links to places you are considering.

Edited by B17NNS on Sunday 26th December 14:07

[uk_vette]

Matt,

You do not want to buy there, , ,

As tempting as it is.


'vette

[MJG280]

That house has been posted before on a similar theme

[m3jappa]

Why not get a mortgage?

I don't think anyone wants one do they? However the way i look at it is that over time inflation eats away at it making your monthly payment effectivly less and less each month/year.

Thats the way i see it anyway, i only just started at 29 last feb, i'd like to think that in 10/15 years time that monthly payment wont bother me quite so much.

[MattVXR87]

m3jappa said:

Why not get a mortgage?

I don't think anyone wants one do they? However the way i look at it is that over time inflation eats away at it making your monthly payment effectivly less and less each month/year.

Thats the way i see it anyway, i only just started at 29 last feb, i'd like to think that in 10/15 years time that monthly payment wont bother me quite so much.

Because paying £300 in interest alone every month for 20 years seems like a really dumb thing to do!

[princeperch]

MattVXR87 said:

m3jappa said:

Why not get a mortgage?

I don't think anyone wants one do they? However the way i look at it is that over time inflation eats away at it making your monthly payment effectivly less and less each month/year.

Thats the way i see it anyway, i only just started at 29 last feb, i'd like to think that in 10/15 years time that monthly payment wont bother me quite so much.

Because paying £300 in interest alone every month for 20 years seems like a really dumb thing to do!

there is always a bigger gin palace. The chances are you will get tired of you 40k house and aspire to more.

[thepeoplespal]

MattVXR87 said:

m3jappa said:

Why not get a mortgage?

I don't think anyone wants one do they? However the way i look at it is that over time inflation eats away at it making your monthly payment effectively less and less each month/year.

Thats the way i see it anyway, i only just started at 29 last feb, i'd like to think that in 10/15 years time that monthly payment wont bother me quite so much.

Because paying £300 in interest alone every month for 20 years seems like a really dumb thing to do!

Then make sure you get a bank account mortgage and have no penalties for paying all the money you can back into the account. Then you have instant access to cash without the need for the whole rigmaroll of getting a bank loan, which may allow you to take advantage over those unable to get access to cash quickly.

[princeperch]

thepeoplespal said:

MattVXR87 said:

m3jappa said:

Why not get a mortgage?

I don't think anyone wants one do they? However the way i look at it is that over time inflation eats away at it making your monthly payment effectively less and less each month/year.

Thats the way i see it anyway, i only just started at 29 last feb, i'd like to think that in 10/15 years time that monthly payment wont bother me quite so much.

Because paying £300 in interest alone every month for 20 years seems like a really dumb thing to do!

Then make sure you get a bank account mortgage and have no penalties for paying all the money you can back into the account. Then you have instant access to cash without the need for the whole rigmaroll of getting a bank loan, which may allow you to take advantage over those unable to get access to cash quickly.

depends on how long you intend to stay in your 40k house. one of the only reasons that many people who earnt average money live in houses work 500k or so is that they leveraged themselves with the banks money.

this obviously works best when the market is going one way and not the other - but unless you are on the ball with your cash the scenario you will find yourself in in 3 or 4 years time is that your nest egg is going down in value, whilst the house you want, is going up...

[princeperch]

you would be renting your second house out and then paying the tax man at the higher tax rate which would ruin the model somewhat.

If I were in your position I would put some good cash down but also have a mortgage as you are still very young and have years to pay it down/off totally.

Nice position to be in though whichever way you look at it.

[MrV]

MattVXR87 said:

m3jappa said:

Why not get a mortgage?

I don't think anyone wants one do they? However the way i look at it is that over time inflation eats away at it making your monthly payment effectivly less and less each month/year.

Thats the way i see it anyway, i only just started at 29 last feb, i'd like to think that in 10/15 years time that monthly payment wont bother me quite so much.

Because paying £300 in interest alone every month for 20 years seems like a really dumb thing to do!

Not sure where you got you repayment figures from but did a quick calc on the lloyds page and it came in at about £260 a month for a 35k one over 20yrs and thats for a straight repayment one over a interest only one.

http://mortgagecalculators.lloydstsb.com/products/...

Put 20k down on a 40k property and it falls to £120 a month http://mortgagecalculators.lloydstsb.com/products/... which is the route I would be going down if you want to buy something that needs a referb other wise you will have to live in a dump while you save up to pay for the various works to be carried out,or worse still still pay out to rent somewhere at the same time if you buy something that needs real work doing on it.

[russ_a]

I live in Mansfield, it's a sthole and you couldn't buy a house here for 40k that you are safe to leave at night.

[shirt]

MattVXR87 said:

Ha,
Yes you can. I live up north. You can get a semi decent 2-3 bedroom house in a semi-decent area for less than £40k. Ok I wouldnt want to park an M5 on the drive, but I'd still happily walk about at night.

i really don't agree with this, please post links to relevant examples.




you asked for success/horror stories, so here's mine.

i bought a 4 bed 1850's terrace on a very nice street [12 listed properties, many others including mine are of historic interest] in a pretty crappy area [the surrounding streets are NOT nice].

it had been subdivided hastily into 3 flats, none of which had been lived in for 5 years.the windows were all smashed and boarded up, the garden was overgrown, damp had set in, etc. etc. being naive and not intending to live there longer than a year, i bought it.

good points:

having had no previous hands on experience, i've done everything to it myself apart from fitting the windows, roof repairs, commissioning the boiler and replastering. i've fitted 2 bathrooms, a kitchen, replumbed [inc, new GCH] and rewired. fitted new ballustrading, reinstated original features fitted 2 new reproduction fireplaces, new wood floors, repaired the DPC, fitted new fencing, etc. etc. my skills have come on massively to the point i even went back to redecorate the first rooms i'd finished as they weren't up to my new standards. the learning curve has been huge but i am confident i could do things much better the next time and it hasn't diminished my desire to build one day.

fingers crossed, even given the state of the market locally, i should make a 30-40% profit though i reckon i'd be breaking the local ceiling price at that upper figure.


bad points:

i started 3.5yrs ago and thought it would take 12mths tops.

tbh, life got in the way - new OH who lived 4hrs drive away and a demanding job meant enthusiasm to work on the place has been in short supply at times. i also vastly underestimated the scale of the work involved - i basically had to strip back to a bare shell of brick wall and bare floors and build it back up - and the red tape involved in living within a conservation area. it took 9mths of to-ing and fro-ing to have my chimney repaired - the builders were on site for 4 days!

£30k of my hard earned has been sunk into it and at certain times i resent even signing the mortgage docs. its certainly been a lesson learned the hard way, though the fact i'd tackle a similarly scaled project again in future means it hasn't been all bad. it just wasn't a project a first timer should have taken on.


success or horror? i'll tell you in 6mths when i know what the profit is and if i'm allowed to leave this place!

[T5R+]

Go for it but some advice/words of caution if you have never "managed" similar:

• it will cots more than you estimate
• it will take longer than you think
• you may need a mortgage however small
• do not rely on mates for trade jobs
• do not buy cheap quality tools/materials

the list of woes could go and on BUT on the plus side it can be extremely rewarding and you learn so much about yourself and other people plus houses/homes. Oh, and undertake outside jobs in the summer

[98elise]

Everything will cost twice as much, and take twice as long as you think. We're 12 years into our 3 year plan, and the house is nearly finished!

At the end though I'm mortgage free and in a 4 bed detached in a reasonable area.