My dad recently left some inheritance and I want to make sure I spend it on a forever home for my son and I (single mum here.) I also have physical disabilities and my son has autism so I will rent the lodgers but out and have a spare bedroom for people to stay over when my health takes a turn for the worse (as it frequently does!)
I made a low offer on a house literally just down the road from where we currently rent with an attached Annexe on the side. I have read a lot in places about properties with two kitchens being hard to mortgage.
I will add here that my aunt (who buys run down castles and does them up to impeccable standards, so likely a tad out of touch with the real world) thinks it's a money pit and a terrible investment. I suspect that's because its grubby and hasn't had any work on it in ten years. She isn't aware of the property values around here though, and this is only £40K more than a bog standard 3 bedroom. The school opposite is unfortunate, but it's also incredibly oversubscribed every year so the placement is ideal for resale as I think a lot of parents would tolerate the main road and school noise to guarantee a place for their children.
My issues are the money pit comment and the existing layout. As you can hopefully see from the floorplan the annexe stair case is in a ridiculous position that restricts not only access to the ensuite but full use of the large room. My plan is to use that room as an addon to the upstairs of the house (i.e. My room!) as it would be less disruptive for everyone if I had my own en suite. That would require removing the creaky steep staircase into the annexe kitchen. I'd then want to covert the garage with a door into it from the front of the main house, creating in effect a lodgers quarters. They'd have a bedroom, ensuite, living room (with very basic toast and tea type catering options - I'd expect most cooking, laundry etc to be done in the huge kitchen) and then a conservatory of their own. My instinct is to have the kitchen / living room at the front, then ensuite, then bedroom again. Aunt says this is also wrong as a conservatory is for a living room but to me walking in off the street into your bedroom seems crazy. To me removing the need for a second kitchen as there'd be no oven and only a small fridge for essentials, would make the property much more morgageable in future should I sell it. The interior inside leaves a LOT to be desired and the kitchen is ridiculously laid out.. any suggestions anyone can give me would be so gratefully received as I've never bought a house before let alone had to worry about building works! I've got to give forms back to the solicitor imminently and I still have doubts about whether this is a good buy or not.....
Anyone have any views? Would it be an architect I'd contact for the floorplans? I basically want it to feel as much of a complete home as possible, not like now where it's a home with a bit stuck on!
I have roughly £40K for renovations. Is this reasonable? My only musts are an American fridge freezer in the kitchen, big chunky skirting boards, smooth walls and ceilings with sunken in lights (they seem to be there already so it might just be a case of updating them) and quality materials. I don't want to do things on a budget like I did in my rental house of 7 years (I spent £2K for a kitchen revamp and £1500K for a bathroom! They look lovely and waaaay better than what was there before but it's doesn't take long to realise I spent the least I needed to.) The perks of a landlord who leaves you be and never puts your rent up in nearly a decade! Haha!)
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for ... d=58372105 - this is the house I'm buying. Please be kind!!