Room to Improve (v2)

So in total they've spent over 700k. Wow! Just wow. That's a lot of paying back. Their living space is so very small in the new extension. It's just mad money!

Lovely couple though and I hope they are happy in their newly renovated home.

I think that hole was in the front room and was there from when they exposed the subfloor so before the extension. Maybe I am misremembering though

Ah sorry I thought she said 315 not 350

I reckon a lot of their budget was an inheritance

Which is wonderful for them if it is but then they should mention that. She is an SNA and I work in that sector and there's no way they could afford a mortgage of 700k. Now he works in the financial so could be on big money. But for most people that sort of mortgage is out their reach.

Heard him on the radio advertising fuel I think all right, now that you mention it.

Anyway, good programme, I liked the extension at the back, not so sure about the front. The colours of the kitchen was stunning, the lightish wood and darkish green marble.

Nice couple, glad they love it.

I wish they spent a little less time at the beginning showing how the old house did not work well.We get that. What was the new heating system, a2w ? What were bathrooms like? He could have explained more about why he wanted the fins on the ext at the back. What is it like in the extension at night-time : can neighbours see in? Do they have blinds for all those big windows? What is it like then?

N.b. do they have a manhole cover in the middle of the kitchen floor now, if there was a manhole there, or did they move it??

who did the kitchen? Was v nice..

Or a house with zero insulation to now fully wrapped external insulation and floor insulation

I think they're also including the cost to buy the house in the 700k amount

https://www.propertypriceregister.ie/website/npsra/ppr/npsra-ppr.nsf/eStampUNID/UNID-7EF6BA6E87C487D08025847200477BC7?OpenDocument

This is the house, they paid €405k for it in August of 2019.

Suffuce to say that it would be worth a fair bit more now even with no reno.

Add the €300k reno on top, that turns the old F rated 3 bed terrace into a B2 rated 4/5 bedroom house with approx double the living space, I would wager if they put it up on the market today, they would get every cent back plus a little more.

They did well buying at the time, and the big garden going back 60 meters was the star prize in all of this.

I do like the Green stone top. Different but very nice.

Edited

I would say they couldnt get a dog with the crazy hours they work and with the family commitments.

This couple sum up to me middle income taxpayers and the slog they endure. Years of commuting to the rat race. They pay enough tax, they qualify for the grants fairly.

It's nice to see the clients so far have been totally relatable.

For people saying they could have got a new build, I d rather have that house than an equivalent new build with a postage stamp back garden. The house had a lovely vibe to it, you could see it would make a lovely home. It's a great area and they still gave a huge sunny back garden even with the extension.

Last week's was far more enjoyable.

When discussing the budget the new BER rating was supposed to be B2 however Claire mentioned at the end that it was A1. I presume external wall insulation plus something else brought it up. Disappointing not to see any solar as this imo should be a mandatory planning permission requirement. If you've got 300k budget then make sure 5 to 10k is allocated to solar. Circa 5 year payback. It was great to see 8 or so panels on last week's episode. The Mayo house will have tiny electricity bills, if any at all.

External wall insulation is all well and good but what's the story with the adjoining wall with the neighbour. Assuming next door is not to the same standard isn't the neighbours house not a heat sink? Heat will want to move from warm to cold spaces.

Looks like they ran out of money to finish upstairs which is a pity. From experience it's going to be a hard slog to finish when funds are tight. I hope they manage it sooner rather than later.

Who doesn't pay tax?