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Buying shell of house

DjB84

Hi guys,

I'm new here. I'm looking at a shell of a house that's fully built with roof on but no door or windows. Looks like first fix electricity inside but bare brick walls so they need to be boarded and plastered. Concrete floors upstairs but no stairs in yet. Looking for a rough budget for finishing this house completely before I put an offer in on the house. The house is 250 square meters. I have no idea about building so I'd have to get someone to do it all for me and we're in the South East. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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L1011

How long has it been standing? It may not meet current building regulations if its been there for some time; in which case you aren't just completing it; you're modifying it too.

An electrical install, partial or not, that's been exposed to the elements for that long is not trustworthy either.

DjB84

L1011 wrote: »

How long has it been standing? It may not meet current building regulations if its been there for some time; in which case you aren't just completing it; you're modifying it too.

An electrical install, partial or not, that's been exposed to the elements for that long is not trustworthy either.

Looking at the local County Council it was built circa 2005/2006. Would you need to reapply for planning permissions then too?

[Deleted User]

Once it’s roofed planning is satisfied. I would question if it has to meet today’s regulations once it’s as far as being roofed as it would be considered completing it rather than building new to today’s regs.

L1011

Kian Pitiful Self-improvement wrote: »

Once it’s roofed planning is satisfied. I would question if it has to meet today’s regulations once it’s as far as being roofed as it would be considered completing it rather than building new to today’s regs.

Planning and building regs are not one and the same in this regard.

DjB84

L1011 wrote: »

Planning and building regs are not one and the same in this regard.

So we wouldn't need to reapply for planning? But we would need to modify to suit today's building regs. Could you elaborate on what that might involve?

JimmyVik

If you are new to this you shouldnt take it on.
Myself and my brother and Dad have bought and renovated houses at a rate of about 1 a year for the last 10 years or so. The first few were very steep learning curves for me, but my Dad and brother were already experienced and made up for it.
Its a lot more involved than you think. Leave it would be my advice.

[Deleted User]

JimmyVik wrote: »

If you are new to this you shouldnt take it on.
Myself and my brother and Dad have bought and renovated houses at a rate of about 1 a year for the last 10 years or so. The first few were very steep learning curves for me, but my Dad and brother were already experienced and made up for it.
Its a lot more involved than you think. Leave it would be my advice.

I’d assume his intention would be to get it’s completed by tradesmen, direct labour rather than building contractor as it would be far better value.

dubrov

You need to hire a QS to price up the cost to finish. You can't really but until you have a fairly good estimate

[Deleted User]

dubrov wrote: »

You need to hire a QS to price up the cost to finish. You can't really but until you have a fairly good estimate

You could just price it with the trades people. I’m doing a selfbuild via direct labour and won’t be using a QS. I’ll do the pricing myself, and save the cost of the QS.

Difficult to do though if you don’t own the place that’s the only thing.

farmerval

you really need a QS or a professional of some sort on this type of project. Dealing with a partially completed project is very different to an end to end build.

DjB84

farmerval wrote: »

you really need a QS or a professional of some sort on this type of project. Dealing with a partially completed project is very different to an end to end build.

Thanks for all your advice, it's greatly appreciated. It would be our family home so it's not for any profit. It's just a nice house in a perfect area for us. I have emailed two professionals this evening but seen as its Friday I will probably have to wait until Monday. Anyone give a rough estimate of budget? Am I looking at 200k, 300k to complete? I know it's all relative to interiors but basing it on a basic kitchen and basic sanitary wear etc.

SEPT 23 1989

If it was worth doing would it not have been finished already?

Darc19

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

If it was worth doing would it not have been finished already?

Banks and legal arguments can delay half finished dwellings for many many years. There's one about 200m from me and no sign of anything happening

sunnysoutheast

DjB84 wrote: »

Thanks for all your advice, it's greatly appreciated. It would be our family home so it's not for any profit. It's just a nice house in a perfect area for us. I have emailed two professionals this evening but seen as its Friday I will probably have to wait until Monday. Anyone give a rough estimate of budget? Am I looking at 200k, 300k to complete? I know it's all relative to interiors but basing it on a basic kitchen and basic sanitary wear etc.

Friends of ours bought a shell (walls, roof) and completed it a few years ago. They said it only made sense because his brother is a builder and could manage it for them. I know they had to reapply for planning as window details etc. we're different to the original and they had to strip out insulation etc. due to water damage.

Also be aware that decent tradesmen are very busy at the moment.

DjB84

We just found out today that the house is being sold by the bank. We would have to use a contractor as I'm not in the building trade and don't know anyone in the trade either.

kieran.

DjB84 wrote: »

We just found out today that the house is being sold by the bank. We would have to use a contractor as I'm not in the building trade and don't know anyone in the trade either.

If you are going main concrator route you are approx 45-50% of the way through the build. For a guide price take the sq ft of the house multiply it €75 and thats you very approx cost to finish to a builders finish (excluding service connections, fees etc..)