Do you know anyone who spends all his or her savings on buying a property which, to put it mildly, is beyond their financial reach, requires a lot of work, but is in their dream district? With two small children at your side and a minimum of knowledge of what a general house renovation looks like.
When we bought the previous flat, everything was ready in it and looked like from a catalogue. I’m not exaggerating at all: new and fragrant interiors, not only furnished with taste, additionally equipped with all the necessary appliances and equipment. In the bedrooms, there were beautifully folded towels, and in the kitchen, there was a tray with coffee, tea and a set of cups. Normally America! When we decided to buy a house, we knew that we wanted a property with potential – one that could be changed, improved and even significantly rebuilt in the future. After a long and rather arduous search, we came across a TEN house that met all our criteria. A super-districts with good schools, close by everywhere, lots of space, a large garden and great potential. The house is clean and well maintained (outside the garden!), but… not at all in our taste! This is the project we wanted.
How to buy a house in England…
This is worth mentioning. First of all, here nobody ‘builds’ themselves, because of the high price of land. Most people buy houses on the aftermarket, possibly new homes from the developer, but these are mostly in worse districts, or relatively small. The real estate market in England is very dynamic – well-maintained homes sell within a few days. As far as the factors influencing the price are concerned, the most important is probably the location, another number of bedrooms (square meters do not matter) and the size of the garden. The English appreciate additional bathrooms – for example, an extra bathroom in the bedroom (the so-called en-suite) is an additional 5-7 thousand pounds worth of the house! Each transaction is handled by a staff of lawyers, and this usually takes 8-12 weeks. Lawyers check all documentation: mortgages,
General house renovation – what exactly do we want to do?
We will renovate virtually every corner of this house! This includes demolishing walls, tearing down old floors and plasters, replacing cables and pipes and many things I don’t even want to know about:) We will remove unnecessary radiators, install underfloor heating, tear off wallpaper and tiles, brick up doors, renovate wardrobes and then put everything back together. The most enjoyable part – the choice of furniture and accessories will be at the end, but I can’t wait to see it now! I will show you the whole process here on the blog – I count on your spiritual support and of course, valuable advice and hints!
Some of the work is behind us – we have demolished the wall separating the dining room and the living room, we have broken down the old floors, we are making a new fireplace, and we are starting to work in the kitchen – everything is going very well, and I hope it will remain so. Dust rises everywhere, most things are still in boxes, there are many difficult choices ahead of us, often requiring compromise, but we do not complain. We are delighted that the GENERAL HOUSE REMONT project, which we always wanted to undertake, has finally begun! Please keep your fingers crossed, give advice and be with us during the whole renovation.
