Need advice on buying a house needing refurbishment

chewchew

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I'm going to view a house that is in need of some refurbishment/modernisation. I'm a 1st time buyer so I'm very clueless about what I should be looking for and what questions I should be asking. I'm going to view the house alone this week and if it looks some bit promising I will ask a handyman friend of mine to take a look too and give me an idea of how much needs to be done to it. In the mean time what questions should I be asking the estate agent? Thanks
 
When estate agents say refurbishment/modernisation it can mean alot of work.
You'll need (a surveyor) to check for:
- structural problems, subsidence.
- damp
- condition of roof & gutters
- Insultation, general BER
- condition of windows and doors
- type of heating, age of (& age of boiler)
- condition of plumbing.
- when was the house wired. Is there a RECI cert or equivalent.
I would also ask them what work they think needs done, are they're any faults they are aware of, have there been previous inspections etc.
I would ask if the house has been the subject of any insurance claims in say the last 10 years (e.g. flooding, burst pipes)

(Note I don't work in this field, so this is a non-expert list!)
 
From experience i would advise that you stay away from it. It will cost away more than estimates, it will take up a lot of time, cause undue stress and you will be living in a building site for your troubles. been there done that not doing it again
 
Thanks for the replies. I had a chat with the estate agent today and he told me that the roof needs fixing, there is no heating, and the wiring needs to be redone. He estimated 30-40k needed to fix it up, and I'm not even sure if he was factoring the cost of modernising into that sum. Looks like it would be cheaper to buy something new.
 
Thanks for the replies. I had a chat with the estate agent today and he told me that the roof needs fixing, there is no heating, and the wiring needs to be redone. He estimated 30-40k needed to fix it up, and I'm not even sure if he was factoring the cost of modernising into that sum. Looks like it would be cheaper to buy something new.

The estate agent acts for the seller, not the buyer. As such I would not believe what he says - the situation is likely to be worse. Get a proper survey if you intend to buy.
 
from experience i would advise that you stay away from it. It will cost away more than estimates, it will take up a lot of time, cause undue stress and you will be living in a building site for your troubles. Been there done that not doing it again

+1
 
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