Completely 'gut', or sell and re-buy?

Over the last 18 years that I have lived in my house I have made so many alterations to get it the way I want it, I feel like I am in a totally new house. I have done the work myself wherever possible but luckily had some money from my Dad's will to allow me to get professionals in for the harder work. I would dearly love to travel but my animals are getting too old to leave, so I've decided to run with "a change is as good as a holiday". Every time I walk around my house I get a feeling of satisfaction, pride and contentment. If you love where your house is, I'd say keep it and change it to what you love.

You would be able to improve the insulation, install solar panels etc and make it cheaper to run as well as better for the environment. A warning though that the cost of building materials has gone up in the last few years, but you would be able to spread some things out if you get it habitable. Good luck

I think, probably a bit differently from many others here, that you might be wise to be led by your hearts on this one. It's a good idea to see what your feelings are about the old house before you decide from afar, especially if the tenants have left it in a mess.
It is an emotional thing returning to the UK from overseas, and it feels so comfortable to imagine picking up from where you left off, I know. But in real life things aren't always like that, and so much will have changed and moved on. It might be refreshing for you to have a new start. Good luck!

Thanks to everyone for giving me your thoughts and advice. It's good to hear what other people think, as I feel we can sometimes run away with ourselves, and our ideas of what's best to do.

We don't always think about the true costs, and logistics, of everything involved, whether keeping/renovating, or selling/buying. I admit that I've probably been a little carried away with the idea of having everything new in the house we already own, and to a certain extent so has DH. But I am beginning to understand his point of view, and apprehension, about moving back to live in the same house.

Having discussed this a lot with DH over the past few days, I don't think either of really know what's the best thing to do.

Neither of us relish the idea of having to go through the selling/buying process yet again. You just never know how it's going to turn out, and the cost of it all is crazy. We've already lost well in excess of £2k on the previous house. Then there's the dreaded stamp duty to consider, which is even more expensive as we're still currently living overseas.

We've just had the house valued 'as is', but we would need to spend some money on it to get it into a more desirable state to put it on the market, if we decide to sell.

I'll be visiting UK in a few weeks, so I'll see what my feelings are once I've had chance to see the house again for myself. I may decide that I hate it after all, so living back in that house would be out of the question! Or, I may see it and imagine what a wonderful home we could make it.

Lots of decisions to be made for sure, but you have all given us plenty to think about ...

I was in a similar situation although very different reasons. I stuck with the old house and had it completely refurbished. All is now up to modern standards, new windows and doors, new wiring, plugbsockets all over including one that should I need a stair lift could plug it in, new bathroom with everything in a different place making it more user friendly and kitchen with all new appliances, completely redecorated, new heating system, ugly 70s fireplace replaced. And various structural repairs that needed doing.
It was a lot of work but taking into account the cost of moving, stamp duty and the fact that anywhere else would need work doing on it in the future even if not now, it seemed the best option. It is a house that I am not going to need to worry about anything structural for the rest of my life. Still some outdoor stuff to do but that wasn't urgent.
It is the right size for me and am near many things I need, on the edge of suburbs and countryside and a 20 walk from the station. Any village nearby has transport problems.Near my daughter, I can get there by car easily, and she works nearby. Not too far from my son either. If ever I need to sell, it will sell for a good.price.as it is in effect a new house
Give refurb a serious consideration, you could end up with a home that you have made ready for the rest of your life to your own specifications

Interesting post….we were having similar thoughts when we about to retire and return after 15 years of working abroad but deep down I just knew we couldn’t go back to living in the same house we had left all those years ago. So we sold it - eventually (as it was looking tired from having been rented out) and bought a spacious apartment in a beautiful location that we had completely renovated throughout before we actually retired and moved back. It was a good decision as we travelled a lot in those first 8 or 10 years after retirement and we had the freedom and peace of mind to come and go without worrying about leaving an empty house.

Local amenities would be a big influence for me. The only concern I would have with gutting a property would be the mess and dust which would cause no end of health problems for both OH and myself.

Is a house ever perfect? You might do it up then one of you get very ill and you need a flat or a bungalow. All the money invested to make your home 'perfect' might not be to anybody's taste. Let's hope your husband is more sensible!

My vote is for refurbing. I have had 2 lots of solicitors cease trading and 3 buyers pull out. Buying and selling a house has become much more difficult over the last few years. Each failed deal took about 5 months to fall apart. So much stress and disappointment let alone money wasted by all involved.

A refurb would allow you to create a future proof home and if you find it doesn’t suit you in a couple of years time you can always move then and be selling a ‘move into condition home’ and would potentially recoup your refurbing costs.

the one thing you cannot change is the location, so I'd be focussing on that....not just as it is now but which way is it going? More crime, less crime? more building? local shops coming or going? I have got many practical reasons for wanting to move from my current house but the location is pretty much perfect so here I stay. I really don't get the "not moving on" argument unless you want to live elsewhere for a reason (nearer shops, more privacy and so on)

Dear Nansnet
We were in exactly the same position - years abroad because of husband's job - rented out Grade 2 listed house, came back to a wreck... and they hadn't paid any rent for over a year - saying the place wasn't up to scratch - washing machine and dishwasher faulty etc. We were advised to send money to buy new machines - which weren't there when we came back of course. They had also been subletting the rooms to immigrants, causing lots of annoyance to neighbours because of parking, fights and noise - as well as running a secondhand car business - all the drains were blocked with filthy old car engine oil, so we had to have a professional clean out which took 2 days. They had nailed carpet onto the Minton Tiled hall and sawn off the bosses on the ornamental bannisters. When we came back we also had a procession of debt collectors calling for money owed - some of them quite aggressive! In those days if you were a 'landlord' it was assumed your name was Rackman so we had no redress as solicitors told us they would never pay any fines. We stayed in a hotel when we got back until they eventually left - I had threatened to camp out on the front lawn with my children and ring the newspapers.....

We had a LOT of stress buying our current house. Three deals fell through for various reasons (and we were cash buyers with nothing to sell at the time).

The one we bought still took nearly a year from offer to completion and then needed quite a lot of work done. Thankfully we had somewhere else to live while refurbishment took place. We've spent money, particularly, on a downstairs shower room, insulated walls, and lots of extra insulation in the loft. It's not perfect but it's a lot better than it was and the heating bills are bearable.

We then had a lot of stress selling the old house - mortgage deals falling through etc.

So my advice would definitely be to tell your DH to get over himself, and refurb the existing property.

I would do up the house to an acceptable standard and then live in it for 12 months. Then make a decision if you're going to stay there or sell and move. It will give you a chance to make a decision that you have thought through properly as atm you are disappointed about loosing the other house.

Love it or list it? It's surprising how many on that programme decide to love it after Kirsty's refurbishment. (But I feel a bit sorry for Phil.)
Good luck with whatever you decide.

I used to work in an estate agents and it is always better to think of location first as a slightly neglected house in a good area is much better than a renovated house in a bad area.

Is your old home near doctor/dentist/shops etc? What seemed ideal when young can turn out a liability in "old age" (sorry!) If all is well then I would definitely spend on getting my old home transformed into my new ideal home.

When I moved back from abroad to the house I'd rented out.it was such a relief to be encircled by my old friends and it was in a location that suited me.. I would talk to an architect and have your house designed to your specifications. It will feel completely different but all the things that really matter will remain the same.. you can explore new places on holidays

keepcalmandcavachon

You could always get Kirsty & Phil to help you 'Love it or List it

Ooh, yes!!

We can all watch, Nansnet
🏚🏠🏡

We bought our house in 1991 and over the years made many alterations and improvements, but there were still things I wanted to do.
In 2017 we had a major house fire and had to move out while it was rebuilt. The insurance company and the builders said now is the time to make any changes if you want to: we had no internal walls upstairs so they could be put back anywhere. At my friend's suggestion we had one bedroom made bigger and one smaller so they're both the same size now.
Downstairs we had a dividing wall removed (that was at extra cost to us) and an open-plan space created, something I wanted to do for a long time.
We had the conservatory side walls bricked up and a solid roof put on, plus a radiator fitted in there for the first time, so it is a much more useable room.
So now we have the house we bought, in the area we know and like, but it's finally how we want it.

Having bought and sold over 12 homes, we have quite a bit of experience!

We have done complete refurbs and I would love to do it again.
To have a property in a good position is worth a lot.
To be able to have the work done before you move in is perfect!
Plus you know the house well enough to have a very good idea of how the house will work for you.
Better the devil you know…the house won’t hold any surprises!

You could always get Kirsty & Phil to help you 'Love it or List it

If you decide to sell and re buy you’ll have twice the hassle and houses are not selling too well just now because of high interest rates.

The important things to me as I age are living in a safe area, close to friends and some family, accessible facilities as others have said, easily maintained house & garden, and access to countryside, and transport.

Depending on the cost of a new house, stamp duty alone would probably pay for a new kitchen in your present house, plus all the other fees incurred in buying/selling, which could go towards refurb. Importantly imo better with “the devil you know”!

If you have lived away from your original house for any length of time nothing will be the same as it was! Life moves on and things changed. But the importance of local facilities doesn’t change. I think your old house has a great deal going for it.

Yes refurb and have the kitchen of your dreams. Future proof the layout of the house. Done well it will always be saleable in years to come. Sounds ideal and an exciting project. Good luck in whatever you choose to do.

The refurb seems to be the short term answer to your dilemma, Nansnet. There is always the option to sell up and move at a later date if DH still wants a different house. But he may well love what you have both done and be happy to stay.