Offer Accepted!!!! We're Buying a Fixer!

[cariad]

We were told yesterday afternoon that ours was the winning bid. Houses in our town go overnight - literally - so long as they are in a decent area and are what I have come to accept passes for 'affordable'. I was insistent that we stay within our original postcode and that has really limited our options, but ours is a white hot market. You go even a quarter mile out of town and houses sit on the market for months or years. This one was first listed Tuesday, we saw it Tuesday evening, put our first offer in Wednesday morning, put our 'best and final' offer in Thursday morning and were told Thursday afternoon that it was ours.

It has loads of potential, but it is nothing but potential right now. The kitchen is *dire*. It only has the one bathroom, no wc or anything, and the (tiny) extension they put on the back is hideous and nearly pointless. However! It has original floor tile that I believe dates from the Victorian era, a gorgeous fire place, original wood floors in the front room and dining room, a beautiful front door, a double garage (Gwyn's happy about that) and a small garden that we can change round to give ourselves a bit more outdoor space. It also has enough loft space, judging by the neighbouring properties, to put in a master suite with bedroom and shower room. It is walking distance to the train station (high on my wish list) walking distance to town centre (high on everyone's wish list) on multiple bus routes and walking distance to Dyl's school (just over a mile) and biking distance to Aidan's (under 2 miles).

We hope to sign on it by August so Gwyn can use his holiday and all four of us can dig in and get to work. We want to tear out the kitchen, knock down most of the ground floor walls so the place does not feel like such a rabbit warren, rip off the extension and replace it with a small conservatory, put a proper flat roof on the garage instead of corrugated tin and put a deck over the garage and possibly a small study on the back half of it if we can get planning permission. We want to convert the loft space before we move in (giving us that all important second wc) then Aidan can have the current (lovely) master bedroom with bay windows, and Dyl can have the other double bedroom.

Yeah, I know. It's quite a job we've got in front of us and we must prioritize. If we can get everything I want to change done within a year, we will have a fantastic little property. Then we'll either sell up and get a larger place, or relax and enjoy, depending on the market and our personal situation.

I am nervous! And so looking forward to the adventure....

[MaryD]

Congratulations.

I can see a multi-paged discussion full of the joys and tears of renovating ahead.

It sounds potentially lovely!

[Poppylicious]

It only has the one bathroom, no wc or anything ..

Sounds like an ordinary British home to me.

 

Have fun with your new adventure!

[jbeany]

 

Congrats to the newest member of the IWOH club.  (That's Idiots with Old Houses, in case you've forgotten!) 

I'm a charter member....

[cariad]

Congrats to the newest member of the IWOH club.  (That's Idiots with Old Houses, in case you've forgotten!) 

I'm a charter member....

Thank you! I will prepare my member acceptance speech for the next conference!

It only has the one bathroom, no wc or anything ..

Sounds like an ordinary British home to me.

 

I live with 3 males who are not getting any younger. I know what my limits are! 

Have fun with your new adventure!

Thank you!

Congratulations.

I can see a multi-paged discussion full of the joys and tears of renovating ahead.

I do believe you're psychic, my dear!

It sounds potentially lovely!

Doesn't it, though?

[skg]

Welcome! It's a great club, so long as you have a plumber, mason, electrician, and carpenter on retainer.

cheers,
skg

[boswife]

aww i read this off my phone earlier and couldnt wait to come to comp to congratulate you )))  This is so exciting and CAN NOT WAIT to keep hearing all about it!! oh Please do :  before, during, and aft pics.    WE love them.. It was so much fun with jbeany and looking forward to it again w/you 

[Angiepkd]

Yay for fixer upper's!  We have done 5 houses prior to my kidney failure, and loved every minute of it!  Hoping to find another one after I get a transplant.  Please post pictures!  I have only been to England once, but loved the architecture and gardens!  I can only imagine having something from the Victorian era.  Wow!  Congratulations!

[Sugarlump]

Your new house sounds wonderful. I so love moving into a new place, the excitement of all that potential and creativity.
I do like Victorian houses with original features...they give such character to places too.
Sadly I live in a brand new house but it has redeeming features of being eco friendly and with a drive next to house (for wobbly people aka me) and a flat garden. My last house had steps everywhere
(To the front door, to the car parking space and to the garden which on bad days was a struggle).
Do keep us posted on your house's reinvention so I can enjoy it vicariously!!!! (Is that the right word???)

[willowtreewren]

Oh, this sounds just too lovely for words! 

You have quite an adventure ahead of you, which I'm sure you already know! Cheers!

Aleta

[geoffcamp]

Very cool!!  Welcome to the Lowe's and Home Depot club!!  Trust me you will be spending A LOT of time there!!  I'm still fixing up my condo, over a year now. Redid MADTER bathroom working on kitchen now!!  Congrats and enjoy making it your own!!  G.

[cariad]

Thanks everyone!

Of course, nothing is in writing and either party can back out at any time. Just one of the quirks with the English system. It all happened so fast that I began to feel a bit queasy and uncertain about the whole thing. The neighbourhood is not the best, but it's perfectly safe and I think it's the nicest at the price we wanted, and it is a rare property that ticked all the boxes for us (garage, room to convert the loft, small garden for some outdoor space, quiet, not in one of these new developments, less than a mile to town centre and train stations.) I wanted to be closer to the boys' schools, and I recently found out that my older child is not eligible for free transportation which is going to make it interesting getting him to school each morning, but houses closer to his school are at least a third more expensive, and can be double or triple the price.

It's a pre-war ex-council house. I don't think the house itself is Victorian, but the tiles appear to be and the listing called them 'original' to the property. We have continued to view properties but so far I am getting more comfortable with where we will end up if we proceed.

Boswife, I'd be delighted to post before and after pics. I cannot hope to compete with jbeany's work, and ours will include structural changes that won't be DIY, but it will be cool to get feedback.

Ah, skg, Gwyn has the rugby club. He plays for the Old Boys and I wish I could stop him because it's already been responsible for sending him to physiotherapy for months for his shoulder, and he very nearly required A&E when his hand swelled up after having an opposing player (accidentally, I think) grinding his stud into his hand. It will be worth it, I suppose, if the carpenter on his team really can help as much as Gwyn hopes.

Thanks, Angie. Wow, you have a lot of experience, feel free to chime in with tips or cautions! Strange as it may sound, my biggest concern right now is my overwhelming arachnaphobia. I've already had to have Gwyn race home from work when I saw one of those *evil* things coming down the kitchen wall in our current flat.

Aleta, it's great to be in the naive, hopeful phase. I'll try to remember this time fondly when I'm living amongst the rubble.

Gah, Geoff, I actually detest those places. I don't know what it is, but I always feel nauseous shortly after going into them. Can one be allergic to hardware stores? Here, I'll be part of the Homebase and B&Q club, but honestly I intend to send Gwyn as often as possible. 

I'll let you know how the buying process goes, and hopefully we can get down to business in August. Watch this space....

[MooseMom]

Good luck!  I'm sure you'll end up with a really stunning home!

[jbeany]

Next time you feel an allergic reaction to a hardware store coming on, go to the insecticide aisle and look at the thousands of options for killing spiders.  It will make you feel much better!

[cariad]

Good luck!  I'm sure you'll end up with a really stunning home!

That is my hope! Thank you!

Next time you feel an allergic reaction to a hardware store coming on, go to the insecticide aisle and look at the thousands of options for killing spiders.  It will make you feel much better!

We've seen a few more houses since making an offer, and now I am coming around to feeling we got quite lucky with this property. We may have overbid by a few thousand, but that is exactly what we would throw away on rent if we were forced to sign another lease. (Actually, it would be quite a bit more as I refuse to continue living in this tiny flat much longer.) And we will never know what the next highest bid was. My American friend did tell me that friends of hers are trying to buy a house and they keep getting outbid. The one we saw today was in a great location but £60,000 more than we are paying and still no WC and no room to expand into the existing space. (Loft space is too low.) Lovely garden but even the estate agent was saying we'd have to drop a small fortune on that house to get it up to standard.

So, I shall unsubscribe to Zoopla housing alerts and we will put our first real money down on this house, roughly £1000 to get a full survey done. I hope it doesn't turn up any problems, but if it does we can return to the sellers and ask for money off the price, or walk away.

I hope to post my first before pics in August! 

[boswife]

Gosh im so excited!!!!!!!  It's exactly what takes my mind to a happier place    Can hardly wait... 

[cassandra]

Congrats already Cariad. 'Your' house sounds very promising indeed.

     


Good luck, an love Cas

[cariad]

Boswife, your enthusiasm is rubbing off on me!

Thanks, Cas. Gwyn and I have never redone a house together so it will be a challenge to say the least. I can see several viewings of The Money Pit in our future.... It's a tradition with us when buying a new property.

[Sugarlump]

Boswife, your enthusiasm is rubbing off on me!

Thanks, Cas. Gwyn and I have never redone a house together so it will be a challenge to say the least. I can see several viewings of The Money Pit in our future.... It's a tradition with us when buying a new property.

Hey cariad Do you watch Grand Designs on the tv?
Some people build the most amazing houses, particular ones with alternative technology like straw bales and heat retaining glass...
But some of them are just plum awful too 

[cariad]

Hey cariad Do you watch Grand Designs on the tv?
Some people build the most amazing houses, particular ones with alternative technology like straw bales and heat retaining glass...
But some of them are just plum awful too 

Oh, sounds like something I should check out, get some fresh ideas, and maybe a few cautions on what to avoid. I actually watch almost no television - we don't even have a television license, but I can watch anything on BBC iPlayer so long as I don't watch it as it's being aired.

[cariad]

It looks like we may be backing out of the purchase unless they are willing to drop the price by about £5000. We had the survey done and the roof needs to be replaced, there is a damp issue in the walls that will also need to be remedied, and the tiny extension at the back was not built to code. Then there is the problem with the garage door not opening and the surveyor unable to properly assess the condition of the garage floor because they have it loaded with their personal belongings.

Wish us luck. 

[MooseMom]

Urp, that all sounds too complicated.  Resolving all of those issues sounds like it would cost more than 5000 quid.

[cariad]

The £5000 should cover a new roof. We have to investigate the options with the damp, there is apparently this new method that uses electrodes. The bit at the back not built to code, well....  we were going to tear that bit down anyway, but won't be admitting that to them. The garage is a problem because the surveyor was not able to properly assess the condition of the foundation.

It's a 1930s house and as my friend's parents were telling me, they built those to last, but you of course have to maintain them regularly. I don't think this couple has been doing enough in the way of maintenance, and I suspect they knew that that may catch up with them when they go to sell. The friend's parents also own a 1930s house and they still have the original roof and were told by the council to not touch it - it's in perfect condition.

We were prepared to take on the cost of minor repairs but we do have to draw the line at a new roof. Our market is white-hot right now so they could always re-list, but they wanted a quick sale so it's time to negotiate unless they want to start over and hope for a buyer too caught up in wanting/needing a property to get a survey done.

I shall report back. I hope they will work with us because I don't want to have to move into another rental property, but we are at the eleventh hour with only 6 weeks left at this flat. 

[boswife]

oh boy.... still seems (to me) that it could still be worth it.  To us, 'area' of house is nearly as important as what needs doing.  Lots to think about but surly hangen with you and hopen for timing to work for you 

[cariad]

oh boy.... still seems (to me) that it could still be worth it.  To us, 'area' of house is nearly as important as what needs doing.  Lots to think about but surly hangen with you and hopen for timing to work for you 

You are just so darling, boswife, thank you for the support.

I completely agree that the location is crucial, and I would be quite happy there, but we have to think really carefully about whether we believe that this neighbourhood could sustain the kind of price we would need to get for it in the future to recoup our investment. It's a tough call, and as you've said, *lots* to think about. We are consulting with people we know who have far more experience with these matters than us, and then we're just going to have to make our best guess and act.