Is it worth buying a cheap house?

Graves

Graves

Well-known member
I do understand if this seems too broad a question. But for those who are experienced I’d appreciate your opinion. If you just buy a cheap terrace outright, say in a less desirable area ie Fleetwood or FY1

Then over time invest in fixing it up…

Is it worth it?
 
I bought a terrace house in Preston and made money on it renovating it, but the problem is that the cost of fixing it up is the same whether it's in Fleetwood or Lytham, with a much bigger potential return in the better area. I personally don't see Fleetwood as an area with big growth potential. There is a big demand for bungalows and hardly any new ones are being built. I would suggest buying a bungalow and they can be bought in knot end for just over £ 100K, which needs full modernization. With a growing elderly population, bungalows are something that will be in more and more demand. There is also Cleveleys to look at for bungalows if your budget is a little higher.
 
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If your going cheap to make a quick profit unless you can do all the work yourself and can source building materials cheaper than the normal price forget it.
I've spent well over 50k this year on a kitchen extension on a house that isn't worth three times that amount even with this work done.
 
Depends what it needs, rewire, central heating, windows, roof etc...?

We've done it before, remember everything takes longer than it should and costs more than you think and it depends on how far you want to go. For example does it need a rewire? If it does don't forget there's going to be chases everywhere so you'll need a plasterer, unless you do it yourself, which will look shit, then they might find out your plaster is knackered and it all needs stripping, which is a ** horrible job that takes forever and then takes forever again to get rid of the rubble and dust, then you need a skip or someone to lug all your rubble away etc...

Does it need a boiler? Are the pipes ok or were they last replaced in the 70s so are probably Truwell which means they all need ripping out, so more chases, more plaster, more rubble...

If it needs a kitchen you WILL find damp when you take the cabinets off, which has probably got in to the plaster and brickwork so guess what, yep, you need a plasterer after a month of running an industrial dehumidifier on it, then when it's all dry you need a joiner to put your new kitchen in, about £500 a day last time I looked.

Basically make friends with a plasterer 😉

Every street has an upper limit on value, so find that out first, then price the jobs up, then double it. Or do a crap job and flip it to some unsuspecting buyer.
 
If your going cheap to make a quick profit unless you can do all the work yourself and can source building materials cheaper than the normal price forget it.

Very true poolseasider. Materials and tradesmen rates have rocketed since Covid and Brexit.
 
I'm in the building profession and I don't think there is value for money as a one off project. If you are a developer who can bankroll a job with cash and has a ready supply of tradesmen to turn things round quickly, the numbers may stack up, but it's still a risk. If you have a go I'll guarantee trades will let you down a lot, this will add cost and time. If you're borrowing money to do it, that's expensive if the project overruns both if you intend renting it out or to sell and the market for selling has cooled a lot. The cost of a rewire, heating system, plastering, new windows, kitchen and bathroom will set you back at least 35k and that's without any other defects such as damp, rotten floor or roof timbers and a reroof. Get a structural survey done and really do the maths, house prices still seem too expensive when factoring in the work that needs to be done.
 
We have renovated 40 odd houses over the last few years and this period of a few months have been very tough
 
Shandypants said:
I'm in the building profession and I don't think there is value for money as a one off project. If you are a developer who can bankroll a job with cash and has a ready supply of tradesmen to turn things round quickly, the numbers may stack up, but it's still a risk. If you have a go I'll guarantee trades will let you down a lot, this will add cost and time. If you're borrowing money to do it, that's expensive if the project overruns both if you intend renting it out or to sell and the market for selling has cooled a lot. The cost of a rewire, heating system, plastering, new windows, kitchen and bathroom will set you back at least 35k and that's without any other defects such as damp, rotten floor or roof timbers and a reroof. Get a structural survey done and really do the maths, house prices still seem too expensive when factoring in the work that needs to be done.
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Very good summary and the same conclusions l came too when l had the opportunity to buy an old property earlier this year to make a quick profit, and by the time l did the calculations and added the risk it simply wasn't worth it. Someone else bought the house and done it all up but l believe it is their new home.
 
Lytham_fy8 said:
Depends what it needs, rewire, central heating, windows, roof etc...?

We've done it before, remember everything takes longer than it should and costs more than you think and it depends on how far you want to go. For example does it need a rewire? If it does don't forget there's going to be chases everywhere so you'll need a plasterer, unless you do it yourself, which will look shit, then they might find out your plaster is knackered and it all needs stripping, which is a ** horrible job that takes forever and then takes forever again to get rid of the rubble and dust, then you need a skip or someone to lug all your rubble away etc...

Does it need a boiler? Are the pipes ok or were they last replaced in the 70s so are probably Truwell which means they all need ripping out, so more chases, more plaster, more rubble...

If it needs a kitchen you WILL find damp when you take the cabinets off, which has probably got in to the plaster and brickwork so guess what, yep, you need a plasterer after a month of running an industrial dehumidifier on it, then when it's all dry you need a joiner to put your new kitchen in, about £500 a day last time I looked.

Basically make friends with a plasterer 😉

Every street has an upper limit on value, so find that out first, then price the jobs up, then double it. Or do a crap job and flip it to some unsuspecting buyer.
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£500 per day for a joiner that's £104K/year only working 4 days a week FFS our engineering manager doesn't get that much never mind us the tradesmen. No ** wonder I do most of these jobs myself.
 
Sooty59 said:
£500 per day for a joiner that's £104K/year only working 4 days a week FFS our engineering manager doesn't get that much never mind us the tradesmen. No ** wonder I do most of these jobs myself.
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Off the top of my head yeah, might be wrong or ripped off, I am far too trusting.
 
OK for downsizing and releasing capital.
Other advantage is if you buy a crap house on a good street and it needs a back to brick approach, you renew everything and do layout changes that suit you, and you have an almost new house with generally bigger rooms and gardens.
 
tangysider said:
OK for downsizing and releasing capital.
Other advantage is if you buy a crap house on a good street and it needs a back to brick approach, you renew everything and do layout changes that suit you, and you have an almost new house with generally bigger rooms and gardens.
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I moved house last year to a bungalow and have embarked on a big renovation. Even the floors came out! It's grim living in it though, looking back it was horrendous, I knocked walls down to create an open plan living/kitchen/diner but we are delighted with the end result. It took a lot of planning.
 
Funny, but for the first time in years, I started looking in the Estate Agents windows in St, Annes this afternoon.
I wanted to get an idea of market values and to see if it's worth having a go at increasing my rentals.

Bloody hell.....a 2 bed flat was £190k, that was £120K 2 years ago
A small box in Badgers walk, Lytham that was£100k when I first looked at it was £250k.....WTF

Mate of mine moved from down south and bought a victorian 3 bedroom in Fleetwood at auction in 2021.
He's done it up and even added 2 more rooms in the basement....
Got a valuation from the local Estate Agent and they valued it £10k more than he paid....and he's put £20k into it!!!!
 
Evidence suggests that low value housing is quite risky if it’s in an area considered undesirable. Low value areas tend to see much lower increases in values over time than more desirable areas. Also simple maths a 10% increase on a £60k property will yield you £6k. A 10% on a £180k property will yield you triple that. If you are thinking of letting think really carefully.
 
B_Side_The_C_Side said:
Funny, but for the first time in years, I started looking in the Estate Agents windows in St, Annes this afternoon.
I wanted to get an idea of market values and to see if it's worth having a go at increasing my rentals.

Bloody hell.....a 2 bed flat was £190k, that was £120K 2 years ago
A small box in Badgers walk, Lytham that was£100k when I first looked at it was £250k.....WTF

Mate of mine moved from down south and bought a victorian 3 bedroom in Fleetwood at auction in 2021.
He's done it up and even added 2 more rooms in the basement....
Got a valuation from the local Estate Agent and they valued it £10k more than he paid....and he's put £20k into it!!!!
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I remember those Badger's Walk houses going up when I was a kid, tiny and next to a rat infested brook.
 
buy the best house you can afford in the best area rather than the best house you can afford in the cheapest area,
 
Graves said:
I do understand if this seems too broad a question. But for those who are experienced I’d appreciate your opinion. If you just buy a cheap terrace outright, say in a less desirable area ie Fleetwood or FY1

Then over time invest in fixing it up…

Is it worth it?
Click to expand...
I would fix it up as fast as possible, rent out or sell on.
 
When we came out of our last pub, circa 1988 and once all the costs etc had been settled (a long story) we had £1k for a deposit on a terraced house in Bradford, which was £14k. Managed to find a job as did the wife, took out a mortgage and paid it off asap. A lot of diy and some help from tradesmen, we used the property as a deposit for a better semi detached and rented the terraced house out. That paid our mortgage on the second house and we eventually sold the first house to the sitting tenants. It didn't need to go on the market so all the middle men were avoided and we knocked the price down a bit for the tenants and what was left on our mortgage was paid off. So I would say yes, so long as you're willing to save and put some hard work in it's well worth it.
 
Curryman said:
When we came out of our last pub, circa 1988 and once all the costs etc had been settled (a long story) we had £1k for a deposit on a terraced house in Bradford, which was £14k. Managed to find a job as did the wife, took out a mortgage and paid it off asap. A lot of diy and some help from tradesmen, we used the property as a deposit for a better semi detached and rented the terraced house out. That paid our mortgage on the second house and we eventually sold the first house to the sitting tenants. It didn't need to go on the market so all the middle men were avoided and we knocked the price down a bit for the tenants and what was left on our mortgage was paid off. So I would say yes, so long as you're willing to save and put some hard work in it's well worth it.
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I’d say that’s my ideal scenario. But maybe not as possible in todays market?
 
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