omega0684
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| posted on 25/6/13 at 04:54 PM |
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House Restoration or not?
Hi Guys,
im living at home at the moment and stuffing all my money in the bank to save for my own house. i have enough for a good deposit at the minute but
plan to continue to live here until the new year, so i have another 6 months of saving to get some more money. Now i have been thinking about
renovating?
in the current market, would i potentially be better off buying and renovating (if i can get a good price) and try and turn a better profit in a few
years time, or , buy a house that needs minor work, haggle for my life and move in and "touch up" the property whilst living in it.
what are peoples general thoughts? Some general advice would help on buying a property as well, what are the things i need to be looking out for, im
single and dont have any children, so not worried about schools close by and all that kind of stuff.
Any comments/thoughts welcome
ATB
EDITED: just had a thought, what about bank/building society repo's? are there any websites i could turn to for these?
[Edited on 25/6/13 by omega0684]
I love Pinto's, even if i did get mine from P&O!
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coozer
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| posted on 25/6/13 at 05:08 PM |
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I bought a house in 1989 that had been with one couple since 1905... one cold tap, 2 sockets, 1 upstairs, one downstairs, no hot water...
Paid £17,500 for it, poured about £25K into it and turned into a nice home... only major outlay that caught me out was sever attack of woodworm in the
floor, did all the treatment myself but still cost nearly a grand..
1995 its up for sale at £40K Happy days... then a divorce and that was the end of that... I had to buy it again at £35K to get the witch off the
mortgage...
The people who bought it off me did some more to it and sold it in 2002 for £100K.
Present time, I picked up the house I'm in now for £55, a wreck.. poured about £60k into this one and had it valued 5 years ago at £240K..
currently for sale (2 years now) at £170K...
For me buying a wreck and doing it up is the most cost affective way to go avoiding negative equity, the more you can do yourself the more you get out
of it.. or ,if you have the stomach for it, I never did but, did think about it, buy some land and build what you want. I would go for a no frills 2
up 2 down and a 4 car garage with a 4 post lift and a workshop....
Good luck!
1972 V8 Jago
1980 Z750
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daniel mason
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| posted on 25/6/13 at 05:26 PM |
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youll not get a mortgage on a plot of land i dont think. especially as its your 1st.
my take is this;
if renovating id put down a relatively small deposit and keep plenty of cash to do it up,as even with a smallish mortgage + bills,council tax,food
etc, its not easy to save. so basically if you put all your cash down and can only manage to save say £250 a month itll take you a very long time to
do it up. 100 months for £25k
and on the other hand if your slightly stretched and want a house ready to move into. get the biggest available deposit down you can.
id go for the first option if you dont mind long hours as it really is the only way to make good money without bieng very lucky!
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SteveWalker
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| posted on 25/6/13 at 06:00 PM |
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Personally I'd go the restoration route, but stay living at home while you get the first stages done.
I didn't move in for three months after buying, but got re-wiring, re-plumbing, a new central heating system, new ceiling for hall, stairs and
landing, new doors, a new window, stripping and painting the interior woodwork, some new carpets, etc. out of the way. By the time I moved in, I had
the kitchen, living room, hall stairs and landing, bathroom and one bedroom finished. I could then finish off a "guest room" at my leisure
and finally the other bedroom when I got round to it. It meant that I didn't have to live in muck and mess while I did the main work,
didn't have to put everything away at the end of the day, didn't have any problems if the electricity, water or gas needed to be left off,
etc. - and had the added benefit that I didn't have to worry about cooking, cleaning and ironing for myself when I was busy on the house during
the evenings and weekends!
[Edited on 25/6/13 by SteveWalker]
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cliftyhanger
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| posted on 25/6/13 at 06:00 PM |
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How skilled are you and do you have mates who are in the building trade (who will work at trade rates rather than retail)
Also bear in mind that mortgage on a poor condition house is sometime harder to get, and if real issues they may put a retention on the mortgage (or
certainly used to)
However, if you are up for it, have the funds to do everything available (or at least certain you can cover it as and when) I would go for it. We are
just doing up the third house (only the 3rd I have bought for ourselves to live in) and it is again a project. Garage, done. Garden, done. House. err,
unlivable at the moment....
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bi22le
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| posted on 25/6/13 at 06:16 PM |
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A few of mt mates have brought houses for investment. Some have lost out, most have won.
The people I know that have done best are the ones that can do all of the work themselves or know tradesman to do the work. I dont think you will cut
even if you need to pay somebody to do all of the work as it will mount up.
This is unless you buy a real wreck but then you are at risk of buying something that has a major issue which you will need to through some real money
at to fix. You are at a reduced risk of this happening if you know a building surveyer or structural guy that can help you out.
If you have a friend in the same situation then go in with him. Reduced risk and increased chance of finding a good deal. Also if your planning on
doing it your self then you can halve the jobs!!
Even if you dont want to live there, do consider area when buying to invest. Just because it has no value to you, it will be worth more to your buyer.
Good luck, if it works out then you can earn good money from it. My father in law brouht a house near my wifes uni. He earns good money from that with
a constant supply of students coming in.
Track days ARE the best thing since sliced bread, until I get a supercharger that is!
Please read my ring story:
http://www.locostbuilders.co.uk/forum/13/viewthread.php?tid=139152&page=1
Me doing a sub 56sec lap around Brands Indy. I need a geo set up! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHksfvIGB3I
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Slimy38
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| posted on 25/6/13 at 06:20 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by coozer
I would go for a no frills 2 up 2 down and a 4 car garage with a 4 post lift and a workshop....
Good luck!
Love it! Location, location, 4 post lift....
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zetec
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| posted on 25/6/13 at 06:56 PM |
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Chances of finding a place done up as you want is low, so buy one that needs the work and do it to your own taste.
" I only registered to look at the pictures, now I'm stuck with this username for the rest of my life!"
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owelly
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| posted on 25/6/13 at 07:31 PM |
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My advice would be to do your homework and buy at the right price. It sounds obvious but in the current nutty house buying climate, you need to know
the area and market very well. For example, I've been looking at a house near me. It's a 1970s house that has been looked after but now
needs some renovation. That will include a re-roof, new dormers, windows and doors, facias and soffits. Inside it needs a bit of decorating, new
heating system and a rewire. The price is right at £360,000 as once finished, it should be worth £410,000. But a very similar house has just come on
the market three doors along that has just had all the work done and is £380,000.
http://www.ppcmag.co.uk
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mark chandler
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| posted on 25/6/13 at 08:14 PM |
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House values are still all over the place, we got a early 80's house 5 months ago that had not been touched since being built, needs new
windows, kitchen bathrooms etc as it is all very tired but works well so no urgency.
Got a good price, we looked at some awful houses for more money than this one.
I would set a wide search area, we calculated maximum 1 hour commute for work and factored in a decent diesel car, this allowed us to view plenty and
submit cheap offers on suitable properties.
Regards Mark
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omega0684
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| posted on 25/6/13 at 08:36 PM |
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thanks for all the advice guys, keep it coming, but at least i have areas to start researching. at present i live in coventry but work in Milton
Keynes, for the commute i consider it a good one if i can make it in less than an hour. its 45 miles door to door, the m45 is lovely but the m1 can be
a nightmare!
I love Pinto's, even if i did get mine from P&O!
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JoelP
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| posted on 25/6/13 at 08:40 PM |
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I used to regularly attend auctions by eddisons, bought 4 houses dirt cheap. Still got two of them, paid £24k and £34k. I believe that some banks can
arrange mortgages quick enough for the 28 day deadline that most auctions have, but it can be difficult. I would defiantely recommend getting a
refurb, it should mean that the house is just how you want it when finished. Nowt worse than moving into a perfect house that you dont quite like.
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DarrenW
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| posted on 26/6/13 at 08:09 AM |
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Firstly, the golden rule of making money from houses - You make your money when you buy.
Wether to embark on major restoration or a light make-over depends so much on your abilities, your contacts, finding the right house etc etc.
Even in the right location, some houses sell quicker than others. In my area i found the was a larger market for 3 bed semi's and detched
houses, mainly i think because they were both more affordable to those looking to trade up from a terraced as compared to 4 beds and bigger, and also
attractive to people with larger houses wanting to downsize after the family has moved on. With this in mind we had to be careful how to kit out the
houses and how to do the final decor. That said - we lost out big style when the market collapsed and still feeling the pain from that now.
Dont be put off though, i think now is an excellent time in most areas of the country to buy a fixer upper. Personally i would try and bag a great
deal on a house that needs minor upgrading. Something that perhaps last saw a make over in the 80's, or was built in that time and is still
original. As said, you make your money when you buy so look for the ones that have been on the market for a while, look a bit tired (or maybe
ghastly!!). Horrid old artex can be plastered over, kitchens etc ripped out and refitted with a better layout. These are all what i call light make
over jobs. Refitting heating, plumbing and wiring can get more into the fabric of the building and push the budget up, as can major roofing works etc.
It all depends on your available time, skills and contacts to some degree.
If in doubt, take somebody along to viewings. Of course get good surveys done if you feel they are necessary. Often you can haggle the price of the
survey off the house price. Just enjoy the process. Just like buying cars from auction, the more times you go and the more cars you see the better you
will get at spotting the things that put others off buying, but you know are dead easy to fix. With houses though just be aware of what can be hidden.
That freshly rendered patch on the front of a house could be hiding something costly to fix, or in the case of an old cottage i once bought could just
be where a mains electricity wire has been rendered over (a surveyor told me the front wall was bulging due to heave in the foundations, i proved him
wrong on the occasion).
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