The difference in price

mariaalice

If you were looking at buying a house and you found a few you liked,( they are all 3 bed semis from the 1970/80's, what do you thing the difference in price should be between the ones who have had every thing done i.e new bathrooms, double glazing, up to date heating etc. and the ones that still have the original windows heating etc.

When I was looking to buy a house recently I found the above interesting, I think the difference should be between 30 and 40 thousand, because as well as the cost you have to take the hassle in to account, but often you would see as little as ten thousand between the two.

f9710145

guess it depends on the buyer - for me, I wouldn't pay €30 - €40k extra just because it was done, mainly because it would be done to someone else's taste and standards. In my house my kitchen is my favourite room, I cook and bake a lot and have very definite ideas about what kitchen I want. I've seen some newly done kitchens in houses on daft but I'd be happier with one that wasn't done because almost none of those that I've seen would be what I'd want. At least doing it myself I get exactly what I want. Same for bathrooms and possibly windows, I'm not into patterns and fancy sanitary ware, much rather plain windows and clean straight lines in my bathroom. Also, freshly tiled in a colour you hate isn't much of a bonus.
We're currently buying a house with a 15yr old kitchen, heating system, single glazed windows. If the same house was available done up for €30k more I'd still buy the one we're going for. I know it's a lot of hassle, believe me, I've 3 and 5yr old mental boys and another on the way so it's going to be stressful, but I'd still be happier to get the fixer upper.
Other people will invariably feel differently and avoid hassle at all costs and won't mind whether they have oil or gas fired central heating as long as it's new, or whether their windows have flowers on them, or whether they have a little or a lot of counter space in the kitchen.

the_syco

I'd haggle with the more expensive one

I'd also pick the one that was insulated. The one without insulation and that has only single layer windows may attribute to the kids health problems with mold, etc.

Lyn256

For me-thats a hard one to call. Part of me wants everything done so that I can go through the hassle of a move and not have to stress about renovations and decor for a year or so.
On the other hand, if it needs a LOT of work doen then I'm prepared to rent for a couple of extra months to get the house done the way I want it but it would massively depend on the house and it wouldn't be a major criteria.
If its the right house in the right area at the right PRICE-I'll ouldn;t pay extra if they've spent money on the house and I would use the fact that it needs updating to negotiate

(For the record when selling our house last year, we'd spent over e15k putting in a new kitchen with top of the range appliances-we weren't planning to move at that time-but it didn;t come up in negotiations at all)

Victor

It will depend on you situation and what you want as a final house.

If you are in a 'hurry' to move, it would make sense to pick the place that needs the least work to it. If you are in no particular hurry, you need to work out how much the fixing up would cost on each property, work out how much you want to spend in total and deduct the former from the latter.

Examples.

Total budget: €200,000

House A: Needs a paint and some new carpets - €5,000 => maximum bid €195,000

House B: Needs new kitchen and bathroom fittings and redecoration - €20,000 => maximum bid €180,000

House C: Needs new windows, insulating, heating system, kitchen and bathroom fittings and redecoration - €40,000 => maximum bid €160,000. With this property, you also ned to consider the amount of time it will be vacant (how much would the rent be?) and whether additional problems may be found during the work.

Note that even in the same estate, houses may vary. Not only might there be extensions, there may be a bigger or smaller garden, there may be slightly different house sizes or layout changes.