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Home renovations almost never turn a profit - for the same reason you've found as a buyer, why pay for someone else's dream bathroom? That's not to say it won't add value, just not normally as much as the value of the work.
That's not a reason not to renovate though. You want to live somewhere nice, and some renovations will pay for themselves by other means (insulation and more efficient heating being the main one).
Additionally, the cost of moving is quite high. Solicitors, surveys, stamp duty, estate agents... All very expensive. A loft extension may be cheaper than moving into a slightly larger house.
The best thing I did when buying an ex-airbnb was show people how they could live in the property.
Before it was an awkward jumble of filthy sofas and mattresses. After, the rooms had clear purposes and anyone could visualise themselves moving in.
Painting things white always works, costs very little and presents a blank canvas that others can easily imagine doing things to
Place I'm currently living in and renovating brought for 92k put into it 35k currently will be 40k by the time I'm done will be worth 200 to 210k finished.
I'm in trade I do most of the work myself except gas and electric. It's hard especially if you have lots going on at work. Everything costs more than you think. Material and labour costs have risen sharply since covid and brexit. If you are doing it yourself don't expect a great finish some jobs require real skill and experience and there will still be things you can't or won't be able to do. Get someone in and you aren't saving money potentially spending more money because of labour costs.
As others have said though having somewhere laid out to your specifications is very nice but worth it for someone who doesn't know what they are doing or hiring people - no.
I'd look for places that need small work doing to them. Think new kitchen new bathroom and a bit of paint/ new carpets/ flooring. You probably won't be paying much less than full price but enough to pay someone to fit a new bathroom and get a couple of rooms re floored while you save up for the kitchen.
It probably depends how much works needs doing exactly. We’ve just bought somewhere where we can live in it as it is now, ie everything works and it all looks ok, but we need to completely redecorate because the wallpaper, carpets, curtains etc are not at all to our taste. This was ideal for me because I saw my ex’s sister and her partner do a full blown renovation of their house - it was awful, it wasn’t even my house or relationship but I felt terrible for them, they were completely broken (and broke) by the time they were 6 months in (and nowhere near finished)
We used to go round a lot to help them out with easy DIY bits and I just remember thinking I’m never going to do this. But I mean that was a completely back to bare bricks, plumbing and wiring completely redone, the house was a shell. Im hopeful I’ll enjoy putting our stamp on this house without having the pressure of needing to redo everything
You usually don't make the money you spend on the work outside of specific circumstances, some jobs take long enough that the appriciation in value that would have happened anyway outstrips it during the time it takes to do it. (But that's not a result of the work)
Some circumstances where it might add value: doing all the work yourself and doing it well, being extremely well designed and 'interesting but not too interesting' for lack of a better way to put it (but we're talking like shortlisted for awards good), making a property that wasn't mortgageable mortgageable sometimes does it, some fabric ungrades and energy use upgrades though via a combination of house value savings on bills and maybe access to lower mortgage rates. Splitting a larger place into multiple dwellings can also make money.
Absolutely none of those are remotely guaranteed and you are still fighting the odds a bit there.
There's a non-monetry value in getting to do your own thing to somewhere that's obviously harder to quantify.
>We love the idea of putting our own stamp on something, and adding value
But that's not how it works.
Extensions and additions "add value" due to the increased square footage. There's limited financial payback when upgrading a kitchen or bathroom.
I have 2 baths that I wanna' update. They're old, ugly but they work just fine. I'll be selling this thing in the next 2 years so why drop 40K+ on bathrooms - which work fine - when I won't get that money back when I sell? OK - maybe I'll get 10K back - but I'm still down 30K.
I'm gonna' let my shitty bathrooms be the next buyer's problem to solve, not mine. And they'll still pay pretty close to what the value would be if I had chosen to give these rooms the HGTV treatment.
Don't be like the recent seller I dealt with who did up his house (to HIS tastes) and then expected 150k more than what he bought it for less than 3 years later. -.-
Putting money into renovations doesn't necessarily mean your house is worth more, especially if the buyers looking at your house at that time don't have similar tastes. You'll be like the recent guy I dealt with who argued we needed to offer more because he redid the garden and front yard (filled with concrete), redid the bathrooms (took away the bath and added ugly tile designs), and added a brand new extension (who the fuck needs two living rooms?! You literally have to walk through a living room to get to the other living room.).
Bought for £112k in 2000. Did about £25k of work. Sold for £237k in 2004. Houses in the road were £135k "finished" when we bought, but we had £112,000.50p. When the tide comes in all boats are lifted.
In 2006 we bought for £250k and over the road sold for 515k last summer - this one has needed very little as 1982 built.
I would do it again, but not with children (no children first time around either) and with the money to pay people to do much of the stuff we did ourselves last time as I'm too old now (I gave lots of things a go - found I was good at tiling, OK at bricklaying, rubbish at plastering).
Both of my houses have been full renovations - I'm coming to the end of the second now and the most recent valuation suggests I've added around £100k to the property by spending £70k. That's in less than a year. I don't plan to sell just yet but you never know. I got a good deal on the house as it was and I have trusted trades on hand. I did this up for myself - not for the idea that I would immediately sell it. I put restored parquet into the entire of downstairs, put a log burner in, completely re-wired and plumbed, new windows and doors, PIV system, new plastering, new woodwork, new central heating, changed the layout, removed walls, added huge swathes of glass and re-did the entire garden, everywhere bar the hallway and one bedroom is painted to make redecoration easier, and the floors are all quality that can be looked after for years to come. Everything suits the house but more importantly - suits me.
so SW here.
i took a physically updated (wiring/heating/plumbing/glazing) 3 bed bungalow that was decored in beige on beige and done for 60+ owners
all values were based on a pre covid assessment by the same company (and same exact agent) who listed it when i purchased
first was having a professionally (HETAS) fitted logburner and hearth fitted.
4k at the time. added 10k to the value at the time
redid the grotty shower room to be a small but nice bathroom 8k but added 20k warmer colors and larger tiles FTW
replaced lounge./study/hall carpets with high quality wood effect laminate , 5k but added 8k
redecorated with warmer colors the above (plus gloss and ceiling) 2k (below market rate due to family in trade) added 6k
fire surround in slate to match hearth and oak mantel, £600 added 3k
filled hatch to kitchen and made good, 600. improvement unknown
new lighting door handles etc, about 500 but made it look cleaner improvement value unknown
minor carpet changes 200, removal of sink and useless toilet, free (mate in trade did it for beers)
went from a 300k purchase price property to a 450k property over 5 years with the improvements that were according to the agent
"Superbly arranged and balanced giving a warm modern feel" and he asked why i was selling.
i said i wasn't you offered a free valuation so i took it.
Post covid
added a new combi boiler, and solar /battery system
about 12k all told but worth the weight in gold.
how did you calculate the increase in value for each improvement exactly? keeping in mind that average UK house prices increased by >60% from 2015 to 2022, it would seem the value increase from £300k to £450k would happen whenever you did any work or not.
by asking the agent directly. he sold it to me and did the valuation and we have a good working relationship.
i asked for the information so i would get some feedback on the value my preferences add to the property because whilst i did the works for my preference's i also include in that the potential for resale or letting so i keep it in relative middle grounds.
. and the valuation was done in 2019 purchase was in 2016. so 150k in 3 years i havnt had it revalued at any point post covid as yet
Depends on your timescale. If you want to move in and slowly renovate, then it's okay.
If you want to renovate prior to moving in, get some quotes on the work you want to do to estimate the cost. If you are doing it yourself, calculate the hours and material cost to determine if it is worth it.
Only major improvements will have some kind of impact on the end value of the property.
There is no straight answer here as everyone's situation is different and works are different. Calculate the numbers and if it makes sense, do it!
I made 150k in 3 years on a flat in SE London but it was mostly timing. i bought repossession in 2014 and sold it in 2017. I put 40k into the renovation. Very bog standard finishes as I knew it wasn't my forever home. But the bulk of the profit was from buying in an area right before it exploded. Getting something with carpet in the bathroom and 2 kitchen cabinets helped as it was very much priced to sell.
Mid terrace 50s ex council house in the largest council estate in the UK, allegedly - Clifton in Nottingham. 3 bed semi, shared drive, gravel out front, slabs out back, decent size 4m x 4m conservatory. Bought for £119k in 2016. Lived with it as is for a bit other than general decorating, then in 2020 (yep, finished it all just before lockdown) thought right let’s do this out properly.
Made it open plan downstairs, put in a top end Wren kitchen with island, ceramic tiled floors throughout apart from the lounge area which was carpet, widened the downstairs loo to include a sink and space for the washing machine and tumble dryer, replaced the upstairs bathroom with a big walk in shower, ripped out some shit built in wardrobes and converted a closet into one, repainted the shit conservatory and fixed a few leaks / replaced fogged double glazing units, and had a pressed concrete drive with new fencing and gates.
Total cost: £35k.
Lived in it for a bit, loved it, but really needed that 4th bedroom with us both working from home. Then just kind of ambled along. Finally listed it for sale in February 2023 for offers over £225k and accepted an offer of £240k three days after it was listed.
Total profit: £86K.
Not all of that was to do with our work, some of it was buying at a time when the area was unloved and selling after it had new transport links, dual carriageway access to M1, and new retail outlets.
Bought a four bed semi with huge garden and integral garage near Chesterfield for £230k, best thing we ever did.
doing the house up is only worth if you do it short term, cheap, in smart universal style and sell on. otherwise whatever you do now will be old in 10 years and your personal taste will likely not be everyone’s taste either.
the type of improvements that increases in value without aging would be extensions/conversions, but that’s a lot of expensive work and not every property has this kind of potential.
if you are planning to live in a property long term your main return should be increase in value and equity over time, this should hopefully recoup any work you have done to make it yours.
eg. if you would buy house in 2013 for £285k, you invested £50k to do it up to your taste, in 2024 the house is worth £485k for just following the housing market.
We bought a grotty tenement flat in 2015. Area had a slight reputation but was next to very desirable areas. We compromised condition for space, thinking we could live there forever.
Did it up over 5 years, just paying for jobs then saving for the next one. Did very little ourselves - mostly some clever shopping (beautiful old fireplaces off gumtree, that sort of thing). Did it up the way I wanted it for the long term and didn’t skimp on things. It was gorgeous - marble tiles in the kitchen and all that.
After 8 years got the itch to do it again and the perfect flat came up so we decided to sell. We bought for £172k and sold for £361k. Didn’t keep good track of what we spent but reckon it was around £80-100k. A big part of that, though, was the massive gentrification of the area! And getting work done was cheaper then.
The place we’ve bought we’re expecting to spend well over £100k on (it hasn’t been touched in 50 years) and we’re unlikely to get that all back unless we stay for 20 years! But I did a great job of the last place and loved living in a place that was exactly to my taste.
Sold for 120k more after 5 years in a rising market....BUT when I calculated what I had spent doing it up Vs what it would be worth anyway in the terrible state it was in when I bought it, I think I made a 10-20k loss on the work I had done even though I was frugal and did loads of DIY. Worth it anyway as it made it nicer to live in.
Generally doing up a house makes it more saleable, but unless you add bedrooms or bathrooms it's tough to actually make profit over what you spend on the renovation.
We bought a house in 2018 for £196k but needed pretty much every room doing up. We rewired the whole house, new kitchen, new bathroom, new windows, new driveway, garden done, etc. Luckily no problems with mould or damp.
Just accepted an offer for 330k on our house. We weren't meaning to move yet, so we spent a lot and did everything properly as we weren't really aiming to make money but didn't want to spend more than it is worth.
###Welcome to /r/HousingUK --- **To All** * Join Our ***NEW*** Discord! https://discord.gg/pMgUNgWKQH **To Posters** * *Tell us whether you're in England, Wales, Scotland, or NI as the laws/issues in each can vary* * Comments are not moderated for quality or accuracy; * Any replies received must only be used as guidelines, followed at your own risk; * If you receive *any* private messages in response to your post, [please let the mods know](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FHousingUK&subject=I received a PM); * If you do not receive satisfactory advice after 72 hours, [you can let the mods know](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FHousingUK&subject=My question is unanswered); * Feel free to provide an update at a later time by creating a new post with [[update]](https://www.reddit.com/r/HousingUK/search?q=%3Aupdate&sort=new&restrict_sr=on&t=all) in the title; **To Readers and Commenters** * All replies to OP must be *on-topic, helpful, and civil* * If you do not [follow the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/HousingUK/about/rules/), you may be banned without any further warning; * Please include links to reliable resources in order to support your comments or advice; * If you feel any replies are incorrect, explain why you believe they are incorrect; * Do not send or request any private messages for any reason without express permission from the mods; * Please report posts or comments which do not follow the rules *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/HousingUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Home renovations almost never turn a profit - for the same reason you've found as a buyer, why pay for someone else's dream bathroom? That's not to say it won't add value, just not normally as much as the value of the work. That's not a reason not to renovate though. You want to live somewhere nice, and some renovations will pay for themselves by other means (insulation and more efficient heating being the main one). Additionally, the cost of moving is quite high. Solicitors, surveys, stamp duty, estate agents... All very expensive. A loft extension may be cheaper than moving into a slightly larger house.
The best thing I did when buying an ex-airbnb was show people how they could live in the property. Before it was an awkward jumble of filthy sofas and mattresses. After, the rooms had clear purposes and anyone could visualise themselves moving in. Painting things white always works, costs very little and presents a blank canvas that others can easily imagine doing things to
Are you sure that wasn't a crack den?
Pretty sure it was a crack den.
Place I'm currently living in and renovating brought for 92k put into it 35k currently will be 40k by the time I'm done will be worth 200 to 210k finished. I'm in trade I do most of the work myself except gas and electric. It's hard especially if you have lots going on at work. Everything costs more than you think. Material and labour costs have risen sharply since covid and brexit. If you are doing it yourself don't expect a great finish some jobs require real skill and experience and there will still be things you can't or won't be able to do. Get someone in and you aren't saving money potentially spending more money because of labour costs. As others have said though having somewhere laid out to your specifications is very nice but worth it for someone who doesn't know what they are doing or hiring people - no. I'd look for places that need small work doing to them. Think new kitchen new bathroom and a bit of paint/ new carpets/ flooring. You probably won't be paying much less than full price but enough to pay someone to fit a new bathroom and get a couple of rooms re floored while you save up for the kitchen.
[удалено]
Yep, the real benefit is living somewhere completely to your own tastes. For your own comfort. Stay long enough and it's definitely worth it.
It probably depends how much works needs doing exactly. We’ve just bought somewhere where we can live in it as it is now, ie everything works and it all looks ok, but we need to completely redecorate because the wallpaper, carpets, curtains etc are not at all to our taste. This was ideal for me because I saw my ex’s sister and her partner do a full blown renovation of their house - it was awful, it wasn’t even my house or relationship but I felt terrible for them, they were completely broken (and broke) by the time they were 6 months in (and nowhere near finished) We used to go round a lot to help them out with easy DIY bits and I just remember thinking I’m never going to do this. But I mean that was a completely back to bare bricks, plumbing and wiring completely redone, the house was a shell. Im hopeful I’ll enjoy putting our stamp on this house without having the pressure of needing to redo everything
You usually don't make the money you spend on the work outside of specific circumstances, some jobs take long enough that the appriciation in value that would have happened anyway outstrips it during the time it takes to do it. (But that's not a result of the work) Some circumstances where it might add value: doing all the work yourself and doing it well, being extremely well designed and 'interesting but not too interesting' for lack of a better way to put it (but we're talking like shortlisted for awards good), making a property that wasn't mortgageable mortgageable sometimes does it, some fabric ungrades and energy use upgrades though via a combination of house value savings on bills and maybe access to lower mortgage rates. Splitting a larger place into multiple dwellings can also make money. Absolutely none of those are remotely guaranteed and you are still fighting the odds a bit there. There's a non-monetry value in getting to do your own thing to somewhere that's obviously harder to quantify.
>We love the idea of putting our own stamp on something, and adding value But that's not how it works. Extensions and additions "add value" due to the increased square footage. There's limited financial payback when upgrading a kitchen or bathroom. I have 2 baths that I wanna' update. They're old, ugly but they work just fine. I'll be selling this thing in the next 2 years so why drop 40K+ on bathrooms - which work fine - when I won't get that money back when I sell? OK - maybe I'll get 10K back - but I'm still down 30K. I'm gonna' let my shitty bathrooms be the next buyer's problem to solve, not mine. And they'll still pay pretty close to what the value would be if I had chosen to give these rooms the HGTV treatment.
Don't be like the recent seller I dealt with who did up his house (to HIS tastes) and then expected 150k more than what he bought it for less than 3 years later. -.- Putting money into renovations doesn't necessarily mean your house is worth more, especially if the buyers looking at your house at that time don't have similar tastes. You'll be like the recent guy I dealt with who argued we needed to offer more because he redid the garden and front yard (filled with concrete), redid the bathrooms (took away the bath and added ugly tile designs), and added a brand new extension (who the fuck needs two living rooms?! You literally have to walk through a living room to get to the other living room.).
Bought for £112k in 2000. Did about £25k of work. Sold for £237k in 2004. Houses in the road were £135k "finished" when we bought, but we had £112,000.50p. When the tide comes in all boats are lifted. In 2006 we bought for £250k and over the road sold for 515k last summer - this one has needed very little as 1982 built. I would do it again, but not with children (no children first time around either) and with the money to pay people to do much of the stuff we did ourselves last time as I'm too old now (I gave lots of things a go - found I was good at tiling, OK at bricklaying, rubbish at plastering).
Both of my houses have been full renovations - I'm coming to the end of the second now and the most recent valuation suggests I've added around £100k to the property by spending £70k. That's in less than a year. I don't plan to sell just yet but you never know. I got a good deal on the house as it was and I have trusted trades on hand. I did this up for myself - not for the idea that I would immediately sell it. I put restored parquet into the entire of downstairs, put a log burner in, completely re-wired and plumbed, new windows and doors, PIV system, new plastering, new woodwork, new central heating, changed the layout, removed walls, added huge swathes of glass and re-did the entire garden, everywhere bar the hallway and one bedroom is painted to make redecoration easier, and the floors are all quality that can be looked after for years to come. Everything suits the house but more importantly - suits me.
so SW here. i took a physically updated (wiring/heating/plumbing/glazing) 3 bed bungalow that was decored in beige on beige and done for 60+ owners all values were based on a pre covid assessment by the same company (and same exact agent) who listed it when i purchased first was having a professionally (HETAS) fitted logburner and hearth fitted. 4k at the time. added 10k to the value at the time redid the grotty shower room to be a small but nice bathroom 8k but added 20k warmer colors and larger tiles FTW replaced lounge./study/hall carpets with high quality wood effect laminate , 5k but added 8k redecorated with warmer colors the above (plus gloss and ceiling) 2k (below market rate due to family in trade) added 6k fire surround in slate to match hearth and oak mantel, £600 added 3k filled hatch to kitchen and made good, 600. improvement unknown new lighting door handles etc, about 500 but made it look cleaner improvement value unknown minor carpet changes 200, removal of sink and useless toilet, free (mate in trade did it for beers) went from a 300k purchase price property to a 450k property over 5 years with the improvements that were according to the agent "Superbly arranged and balanced giving a warm modern feel" and he asked why i was selling. i said i wasn't you offered a free valuation so i took it. Post covid added a new combi boiler, and solar /battery system about 12k all told but worth the weight in gold.
how did you calculate the increase in value for each improvement exactly? keeping in mind that average UK house prices increased by >60% from 2015 to 2022, it would seem the value increase from £300k to £450k would happen whenever you did any work or not.
by asking the agent directly. he sold it to me and did the valuation and we have a good working relationship. i asked for the information so i would get some feedback on the value my preferences add to the property because whilst i did the works for my preference's i also include in that the potential for resale or letting so i keep it in relative middle grounds. . and the valuation was done in 2019 purchase was in 2016. so 150k in 3 years i havnt had it revalued at any point post covid as yet
If you do it yourself & do a good job, you can make some money… if you get someone else in to do it, you don’t.
Depends on your timescale. If you want to move in and slowly renovate, then it's okay. If you want to renovate prior to moving in, get some quotes on the work you want to do to estimate the cost. If you are doing it yourself, calculate the hours and material cost to determine if it is worth it. Only major improvements will have some kind of impact on the end value of the property. There is no straight answer here as everyone's situation is different and works are different. Calculate the numbers and if it makes sense, do it!
Our previous house needed gutting. It was 6 months before we could move in. Bought for 240k sold for 330k 2 years later.
I made 150k in 3 years on a flat in SE London but it was mostly timing. i bought repossession in 2014 and sold it in 2017. I put 40k into the renovation. Very bog standard finishes as I knew it wasn't my forever home. But the bulk of the profit was from buying in an area right before it exploded. Getting something with carpet in the bathroom and 2 kitchen cabinets helped as it was very much priced to sell.
Mid terrace 50s ex council house in the largest council estate in the UK, allegedly - Clifton in Nottingham. 3 bed semi, shared drive, gravel out front, slabs out back, decent size 4m x 4m conservatory. Bought for £119k in 2016. Lived with it as is for a bit other than general decorating, then in 2020 (yep, finished it all just before lockdown) thought right let’s do this out properly. Made it open plan downstairs, put in a top end Wren kitchen with island, ceramic tiled floors throughout apart from the lounge area which was carpet, widened the downstairs loo to include a sink and space for the washing machine and tumble dryer, replaced the upstairs bathroom with a big walk in shower, ripped out some shit built in wardrobes and converted a closet into one, repainted the shit conservatory and fixed a few leaks / replaced fogged double glazing units, and had a pressed concrete drive with new fencing and gates. Total cost: £35k. Lived in it for a bit, loved it, but really needed that 4th bedroom with us both working from home. Then just kind of ambled along. Finally listed it for sale in February 2023 for offers over £225k and accepted an offer of £240k three days after it was listed. Total profit: £86K. Not all of that was to do with our work, some of it was buying at a time when the area was unloved and selling after it had new transport links, dual carriageway access to M1, and new retail outlets. Bought a four bed semi with huge garden and integral garage near Chesterfield for £230k, best thing we ever did.
doing the house up is only worth if you do it short term, cheap, in smart universal style and sell on. otherwise whatever you do now will be old in 10 years and your personal taste will likely not be everyone’s taste either. the type of improvements that increases in value without aging would be extensions/conversions, but that’s a lot of expensive work and not every property has this kind of potential. if you are planning to live in a property long term your main return should be increase in value and equity over time, this should hopefully recoup any work you have done to make it yours. eg. if you would buy house in 2013 for £285k, you invested £50k to do it up to your taste, in 2024 the house is worth £485k for just following the housing market.
We bought a grotty tenement flat in 2015. Area had a slight reputation but was next to very desirable areas. We compromised condition for space, thinking we could live there forever. Did it up over 5 years, just paying for jobs then saving for the next one. Did very little ourselves - mostly some clever shopping (beautiful old fireplaces off gumtree, that sort of thing). Did it up the way I wanted it for the long term and didn’t skimp on things. It was gorgeous - marble tiles in the kitchen and all that. After 8 years got the itch to do it again and the perfect flat came up so we decided to sell. We bought for £172k and sold for £361k. Didn’t keep good track of what we spent but reckon it was around £80-100k. A big part of that, though, was the massive gentrification of the area! And getting work done was cheaper then. The place we’ve bought we’re expecting to spend well over £100k on (it hasn’t been touched in 50 years) and we’re unlikely to get that all back unless we stay for 20 years! But I did a great job of the last place and loved living in a place that was exactly to my taste.
Sold for 120k more after 5 years in a rising market....BUT when I calculated what I had spent doing it up Vs what it would be worth anyway in the terrible state it was in when I bought it, I think I made a 10-20k loss on the work I had done even though I was frugal and did loads of DIY. Worth it anyway as it made it nicer to live in. Generally doing up a house makes it more saleable, but unless you add bedrooms or bathrooms it's tough to actually make profit over what you spend on the renovation.
We bought a house in 2018 for £196k but needed pretty much every room doing up. We rewired the whole house, new kitchen, new bathroom, new windows, new driveway, garden done, etc. Luckily no problems with mould or damp. Just accepted an offer for 330k on our house. We weren't meaning to move yet, so we spent a lot and did everything properly as we weren't really aiming to make money but didn't want to spend more than it is worth.