Estimating refurb costs before purchase offer

I

InSearchOf

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We've never had / done significant work on a house. We're considering making an offer on a house that needs some work and we have a view as to what it is worth in walk-in condition. We want to work back from that to the offer we'd make.

Is it a builder, architect, or some other profession that I need? I want someone to walk through the house with me and give me a ball park for the work. The work we would want done would be a mix of:
- cosmetic (flooring, painting, bathrooms, replacing built-in wardrobes, removing and sealing up a number of fireplaces)
- plumbing (tank and immersion tank replacement)
- extension (involving knocking out the kitchen, extending and replacing the kitchen)
We'd also like an intelligent assessment of whether there is anything else glaringly obvious (to the professional eye if not to ours).

We're not expecting this to replace a survey. We realise additional issues could show up at that stage.

My question is, is there a single professional who could cost the above?

Thanks.
 
An architect should be able to walk through the house with you and give an estimate of the cost of work involved. If you then go ahead with the job, you'd get into obtaining quotes for all the component parts of the job, but an experienced architect should know broadly what the cost will be.
 
Thanks. I wasn't sure if an architect would be good at costing work.
 
Hi, I am in the same process myself right now. What I did was ask a reputable builder I know, to do a walk through of the house with me and he gave me an estimate of what he thought it would cost, so i made my offer accordingly and it was accepted. Of course any estimate like that would be subject to modification when work is actually contracted, when you would get a definite quote for the whole job, but if someone is experienced, then he should have a good idea.
 
Thanks Intrepid. That's one for an architect and one for a builder :) At least I know that either can do the job, if they're the right one.
 
i am a builder.. architect will charge you for the site visit/ a builder wil give a realistic quote for free..
 
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