Would you invest in a ‘needs repair’ house as first time buyer?

[sally1996]

Financial status:
- mortgage repayments would start at €1.2k (7 years fixed) so well within monthly budget
- deposit and fees would leave €30k savings to start repairs and cover rainy days, furniture etc
- monthly savings will continue around €1.5k pm

No surveyor in yet because still pondering a bid, but main problems I see are:
- damp / mould removal and protection against
- wallpaper removal and repainting (4 rooms)
- replace carpets (18m2)

Area is perfect so it’s only the amount eaten into my savings I’m nervous about. Appreciate any advice on what you’d do!

 

[jdsenn]

@sally1996 I wouldn’t really consider carpets and repainting as “in need of repair” because most people would that anyway when they move in, but having rented somewhere with a serious mould issue I would be hesitant to buy somewhere with mould.

 

[sally1996]

@jdsenn Aye it’s more the wallpaper is peeling away - relates to the mould. They’re the big upfront payments I’d have to make to have a place immediately able to live in.

Anywhere in the area I’m looking is likely to have propensity for damp, would take a bit of investment to get the house functioning so the mould doesn’t build up (I leave windows open 24/7 anyway but heat pump dryers and insulation and stuff would probably be needed? Would have to bring an expert obvs to sort it, not me churning words I read off a 2 hour google rabbit hole)

 

[roseofsharon38]

@sally1996 Anything in mine was minor, but if I had gone for a “needs repair” I’d have the repairs spec’d out in advance and professionals lined up for remedying the more serious issues. Decorative can wait, structurally sound and mould free would be a priority

 

[sally1996]

@roseofsharon38 So it’s really just a case of bid and then assess? Makes sense - I’m just terrible at waiting, was hoping someone here would give me a red flag notice immediately haha. Thanks!

 

[thegodinme]

@sally1996 Yes bid and assess. You can always pull out.

 

[roseofsharon38]

@sally1996 For me anything too structural wouldn’t have been worth it, but I was kinda rushed

 

[ecsid]

@sally1996 Mould and damp is a big red cross from me. Every second hand house needs repairs and upgrades, but mould, damp, subsidence, structural cracking, or pests are all thankyou, next.

 

[brad94]

@ecsid Bit silly putting mould/damp into the same bracket as subsidence, structural cracking, it really depends on what's causing the mould and damp, could be a relatively easy fix.

 

[ecsid]

@brad94 Yes. It could.

 

[hepayedforus]

@sally1996 If they are the only things you are predicting you will need to fork out for, you’d be doing very well. It’s guaranteed there will be unforeseen costs that your survey will reveal.

 

[sally1996]

@hepayedforus Any chance you’d have a gut feel on if unforeseen problems tend to get fixed for under €20k?

 

[mbraun]

@sally1996 You didn't supply enough info to give a guesstimate. Where is it located, is it terraced/detached, what's it's ber rating, how old is it, when was it last lived in, is the electricity/plumbing redone within the last 20 years ect. What type of damp?

 

[sally1996]

@mbraun Terrace in Dublin near the sea. No work done to the main building where the damp is in the last 15 years. BER G despite double glazed windows (it’s a 1900 build so not unexpected). Damp is visible as black mould but couldn’t find evidence of rising damp. More that it’s sort of mid to high on external walls.

 

[mbraun]

@sally1996 Ah I was in the exact boat you were this time last year. Also have a pre 1900 home in Dublin City, however mine was E rated. You will more than likely be able to move in on 20k of renovations but youll need 80k-150k to modernise the home. It's quite a stressful process, DM if you want anything specific.

 

[aardverk]

@sally1996 If it's damp inside high up on the external walls in a 1900 house it's because it's had modern, plastic-based paint on internal walls, possibly been replastered with modern render and probably been repointed externally with cement mortar.

Those houses are meant to breathe, and for that you need natural lime-based paints (think whitewash, though there are now modern equivalents for use in heritage properties), lime mortar and lime plaster. Modern paints, being plastic based, are the equivalent of putting a couple of people sitting in a big plastic ball and expecting the inside of it to not get damp. And ironically, the double-glazed windows are making it worse. Because again, they're contributing to the house being cometely sealed up and so moisture in the air can't escape.

Any redecoration and remediation you would do that wasn't specifically using natural materials, and ideally using a restoration/conservation specialist to do so (and if it has had cement plaster used inside at any stage it'd literally need to be stripped back to the brick and redone with lathe-and-lime mortar) would literally be cosmetic and would never actually fix the problem.

But at least with that kind of damp it isn't the big problem rising damp is, and is generally cosmetic, so proper restoration and conservation would not have to be done straight away. But you would end up repainting every year or two, and possibly reskimming in the worst places more often than you might like. Which many people do and manage fine. Also you'd need to make sure you didn't put any furniture right up against the external walls.

But eventually the best thing to do would be to get rid of all the modern, plastic, unbreathable paint, plaster and cement and restore the house to its natural living, breathing self.

Oh, and having open fireplaces in those houses is also a vital part of the breathing and ventilation system. It was when central heating came in and people started blocking up the fireplaces to stop the draughts from the suddenly seldom-used fireplaces that the houses started getting damp and mouldy. Those ones in good repair, I mean.

 

[hepayedforus]

@sally1996 Just seeing this now. Mine is also a 1900 build 2 bed terrace FYI. Kinda similar situations to you I’d say. They need a LOT of money to bring up to modern standards. Feel free to DM me if you want and I can share any learnings that might be relevant to you!

 

[breader]

@sally1996 Just be aware that some lendors won't approve the funds for an older house without the works being done ahead of drawdown from what I have seen/may need a full costing for each change needed

 

[timq]

@sally1996 that could be just condensation, happens when old houses aren't ventilated properly

 

[hepayedforus]

@sally1996 Haha, impossible to answer without having someone look at it. Building costs are absolutely wild at the moment. I’m sale agreed on a place and I was conservatively estimating €80k for the renovation. The engineer surveyed it for me and said it’ll take €120k easily any day.