Hi all,
Well, after less than six months in our new period home we've decided we miss family too much and intend to sell up in order to relocate back in the South :roll: Both of us independently came to this conclusion with Pip only admitting he felt the same after I confided my views.
We purchased this house (non-listed, but in a Conservation Area with an Article 4(2) Direction on the property as it is of 'townscape merit') as a bit of a project, but not what we consider a major one. However, in order to attract a larger pool of potential purchasers we feel it would be beneficial to do *some* work. Moreover, in this area it seems that buyers prefer more modern houses to the period type, so we need to be able to compete with those. *Unmodernised* period houses seem to languish on the market, whereas 1970s or later boxes (although similarly sized/priced) appear to sell much quicker here
Our house had been on the market in excess of eighteen months before we came along and - judging by the internal decoration - had not been touched since the 1990s, with some *features* being remnants from even earlier decades.
That said, the kitchen and bathroom are ok-ish - but, by *modern* standards (and for a four bed house of 2000 sq ft) the kitchen is positively tiny. With that in mind, when we bought the house at the end of 2014 we intended to move the kitchen into a reception room across the entrance hall. This would still leave two further receptions and the old kitchen would become a laundry/utility room. To that end we went ahead and purchased new kitchen units but have not yet fitted them in the new space.
Our dilemma now is -
Do we go ahead and fit the kitchen? This would entail further expense of worktops (granite/iroko was the original plan) plus reconfiguring the plumbing - for which we have yet to obtain a quote and which could we'll be pricey due to the fact the house is built into an escarpment.....
In addition the house has very few electrical sockets and has not been rewired for many years. Should we get it rewired?
Finally, externally the decoration - particularly the original 1920s render (applied to both the original 1850s wing and the '20s extension when the extension was added) - is in need of refreshing. Is this worth the outlay for kerb appeal - although those posters that have seen pics of this house may well be aware it is the garden frontage that is most attractive, so from the road the house will never look that pretty.....
Obviously we are keen to spend as little as possible - we have previously lost lots of money on houses we have restored (as we've tended to choose high end finishes) and fear that whilst we didn't pay top dollar for this one, prices are not rising here the way they are in other locations - and although we will do all the decorating etc ourselves, we are torn between selling as is and cutting our losses (but risk a two year wait to sell) or doing/spending as little as we can whilst creating an overall improvement on what we purchased. We really want to move asap!
Currently we are in the process of removing all vestiges of woodchip, nasty patterned carpets and enhancing the original features. We have tamed the overgrown but once beautifully manicured garden and replaced 140m of broken fence. We are also going to change the suite in the downstairs cloakroom as we have already bought this and we plan to add insulation to the three attic spaces.
What would other PPUKers do faced with our situation?
Apologies for the huge essay, but felt the need to get this off my chest apart from anything else :roll:
Thanks in advance for any thoughts/suggestions
Mims x
Well, after less than six months in our new period home we've decided we miss family too much and intend to sell up in order to relocate back in the South :roll: Both of us independently came to this conclusion with Pip only admitting he felt the same after I confided my views.
We purchased this house (non-listed, but in a Conservation Area with an Article 4(2) Direction on the property as it is of 'townscape merit') as a bit of a project, but not what we consider a major one. However, in order to attract a larger pool of potential purchasers we feel it would be beneficial to do *some* work. Moreover, in this area it seems that buyers prefer more modern houses to the period type, so we need to be able to compete with those. *Unmodernised* period houses seem to languish on the market, whereas 1970s or later boxes (although similarly sized/priced) appear to sell much quicker here
Our house had been on the market in excess of eighteen months before we came along and - judging by the internal decoration - had not been touched since the 1990s, with some *features* being remnants from even earlier decades.
That said, the kitchen and bathroom are ok-ish - but, by *modern* standards (and for a four bed house of 2000 sq ft) the kitchen is positively tiny. With that in mind, when we bought the house at the end of 2014 we intended to move the kitchen into a reception room across the entrance hall. This would still leave two further receptions and the old kitchen would become a laundry/utility room. To that end we went ahead and purchased new kitchen units but have not yet fitted them in the new space.
Our dilemma now is -
Do we go ahead and fit the kitchen? This would entail further expense of worktops (granite/iroko was the original plan) plus reconfiguring the plumbing - for which we have yet to obtain a quote and which could we'll be pricey due to the fact the house is built into an escarpment.....
In addition the house has very few electrical sockets and has not been rewired for many years. Should we get it rewired?
Finally, externally the decoration - particularly the original 1920s render (applied to both the original 1850s wing and the '20s extension when the extension was added) - is in need of refreshing. Is this worth the outlay for kerb appeal - although those posters that have seen pics of this house may well be aware it is the garden frontage that is most attractive, so from the road the house will never look that pretty.....
Obviously we are keen to spend as little as possible - we have previously lost lots of money on houses we have restored (as we've tended to choose high end finishes) and fear that whilst we didn't pay top dollar for this one, prices are not rising here the way they are in other locations - and although we will do all the decorating etc ourselves, we are torn between selling as is and cutting our losses (but risk a two year wait to sell) or doing/spending as little as we can whilst creating an overall improvement on what we purchased. We really want to move asap!
Currently we are in the process of removing all vestiges of woodchip, nasty patterned carpets and enhancing the original features. We have tamed the overgrown but once beautifully manicured garden and replaced 140m of broken fence. We are also going to change the suite in the downstairs cloakroom as we have already bought this and we plan to add insulation to the three attic spaces.
What would other PPUKers do faced with our situation?
Apologies for the huge essay, but felt the need to get this off my chest apart from anything else :roll:
Thanks in advance for any thoughts/suggestions
Mims x
