First time buyers

grandtante I totally disagree, As I and others have described many times in this thread, this is something we have done successfully, in our case and DD's, several times with great success and without bankrupting ourselves or running over budget. We would not be living in the large Listed property we have now, if it had not been our ability to assess and buy project houses and improve them within budget,

We have lived in all our houses while renovating and done them up gradually over years as we could afford it. Not every run down house needs major work, often it is just a question of redecorating and updating kitchen and bathroom and garden clearance.

When we bought our current house 20 or more years ago, we were disappointed that it was not more of a project than it was. We installed central heating, a contractor job and done in a week, knocked a couple of walls down to make a bigger kitchen and refitting it and that was really it, apart from redecoration and putting in draft proofing and insulation - oh, and the garden, but that is hard labour not money.

Any work we have done since has been the updating any house owner does, when they have owned a house a long time, refitting the bathroom, having the roof relaid.

We are currently planning a Kitchen extension, but again many GN members who aren't house renovators have done that.

Be very careful with a “semi derelict” property it can hide many nightmares even a house that is liveable but needs improvement can take a lot of work to bring up to standard. Location is a big part of a houses value, and isolated cottage in a rural area may be attractive but in practice that means long journeys to work and probably 2 cars.

Beware listed houses and houses with major structural problems they can be money pits

The amount of mortgage and loan depends on how much you are earning and can reasonably meet the repayments. It ever was easy to get the first foot on the housing ladder, in a great many cases parents help with finance or improvements. Those that do renovate old properties usually have the skills and the cash to do much of the work, don’t be seduced by the TV programmes that show improvements looking easy, they’re not.

I think the doomsayers on this thread are overegging the dangers. Buying a house you should get a survey done which should let you know if there are any serious problems. Do without a survey and you deserve all you get.

For all the tv programmes showing home renovations done in months at huge costs, most people doing up a rundown house are usually doing it over years and out of income. I know that is how we have done it and anyone else we know has done it.

Yes, you need to be a practical person, but most impractical people know not to consider a rundown house. Our DS certainly wouldn't touch one

And considering all the expensive problems that many purchasers of new houses are having, from leaking roofs and misfitting windows to purchasing houses that are leasehold or have unrestricted charges for estate maintenance, a project house is a doddle.

One tip, check what any roofing insulation is. My daughter and family were buying an old farm in Cornwall. Sold their house, got right to the survey stage and then discovered that their mortgage offer was withdrawn as the house they wanted has spray foam insulation and they give them a loan because of this. Otherwise, good luck!

Our current house did not have a shred of insulation in it in 1996, when we bought it. We moved in during a cold snap just before Christmas. Fortunately we knew that in advance because we had inspected the loft when making our second viewing. So, shortly after the removal vans left, the builder's vans rolled up to put in roof insulation. One of our rolling projects is increasing the insulation in the house. In the next year the last part of a flat roof will get insulated and we will have double glazed windows installed in that part of the house.

With Listed houses wholesale installation of double glazing is not possible, although we do have quite a lot of internal double glazing.

Thanks for your good wishes. I hope they find a house they can live in. A lot is down to luck I feel, and neighbours!
They are young and have restored a house before but didn't own it.

We bought an old house 40 yrs ago which was a project. It hadn't been lived in as a house since the 1950s and we had to apply for change of use.

Friends advised against it because we lacked DIY skills. However it was sufficiently cheap - we offered a realistic price which was accepted - that we were able to pay for the big works to be done and just had to decorate big time, and put up with living on a building site for months (and months and months).

I agree with MOnica though, older properties don't have the teething problems of newbuild. Although I used to advise others never buy a house with potential!

Be very cautious if they decide to look at new build - I've only just found out (maybe everyone else knew this!) that as soon as you buy a new build home, its value drops, just as it does if you buy a new car. There are heart breaking stories of people who cannot sell homes they paid quite a lot for when new - or only at a desperate loss. An older property sounds a better bet, so long as they can get a mortgage and do whatever work is needed.

As an independent financial adviser, my recommendation would be to to speak to an independent mortgage broker who understands the local area, rather than an individual bank, or tied adviser, who only has access to their own products and lending criteria.

They can help prospective buyers understand all of the related costs (stamp duty, valuation, solicitors fees and other disbursements etc) and will be able to advise them of the deposit required and how much they can afford to borrow.

Whilst I can’t help you find a mortgage myself, I’m happy to point you in the direction of good independent brokers who are also able to assist with the help-to-buy ISAs too.