I moved into my flat 4 years ago after buying it cheap because it
needed renovating.
I got a lot of the work done on the cheap (or by people who told me
they could do the job cheaper than the next guy, so I trusted them).
Total cost to date about £25k
A lot of jobs were never really done right and some things are starting
to show their age and need redoing ie. upvc windows are draughty, combi
boiler not really powerful enough, not enough radiators in flat so a
few cold areas, wood floor starting to lift especially in bathroom and
basic decorating, etc, etc...
The question is should I keep spending money I can't really afford on a
seemingly never-ending list of repairs and maintenance or should I cut
my losses & move.
Is this just the price of home ownership, always paying out on
maintenance?
I've never really felt happy in this flat and if I sold I would make a
small profit but not enough to allow me to buy a flat of equivalent
size in another area of the city so I would have to start further down
the ladder.

Anyone else been in a similar situation? What did you do?
Thanks for any advice!

wrote:
I moved into my flat 4 years ago after buying it cheap because it
needed renovating.
I got a lot of the work done on the cheap (or by people who told me
they could do the job cheaper than the next guy, so I trusted them).
Total cost to date about £25k
A lot of jobs were never really done right and some things are starting
to show their age and need redoing ie. upvc windows are draughty, combi
boiler not really powerful enough, not enough radiators in flat so a
few cold areas, wood floor starting to lift especially in bathroom and
basic decorating, etc, etc...
The question is should I keep spending money I can't really afford on a
seemingly never-ending list of repairs and maintenance or should I cut
my losses & move.
Is this just the price of home ownership, always paying out on
maintenance?
I've never really felt happy in this flat and if I sold I would make a
small profit but not enough to allow me to buy a flat of equivalent
size in another area of the city so I would have to start further down
the ladder.

You don't say much about the flat - is it part of a house, or in a
purpose-built block? How big is it?

What work have you actually had done for your £25k budget?

My initial thoughts are that a £25k budget should get you quite a bit of
work done, to a good standard, on a 2-3 bed flat. This would include new
CH, new windows, new kitchen + bathroom, and new paint + carpets. Having
spent this, I would not expect to do anything other than very minor
repairs and maintenance for a good few years.

Without more info, it's impossible to tell what's gone wrong. One
possibility is that your quest for cheapness has resulted in lots of
badly done/half done jobs, while costing the same (or more) as it would
have if it had been done properly.

I think if you supply us with more details, on the flat, what work has
been done, and what problems you're experiencing, you are likely to
receive more detailed and relevant advice.


--
Grunff

The flat is in a purpose built block. It's 2-bed with external garage.
The work I got done was replacement windows, central heating, new
bathroom, new kitchen, hardwood floors thoughout, a couple of joinery
jobs - building cupboards & boxing in some things.
I know I over-payed for some of it and I agree, it was my cheapness
that resulted in some work not being done to a good enough standard.
You live & learn!

On 21 Nov 2005 00:51:46 -0800, wrote:

I moved into my flat 4 years ago after buying it cheap because it
needed renovating.
I got a lot of the work done on the cheap (or by people who told me
they could do the job cheaper than the next guy, so I trusted them).

There's your first mistake, right there.


Total cost to date about £25k
A lot of jobs were never really done right and some things are starting
to show their age and need redoing ie. upvc windows are draughty, combi
boiler not really powerful enough, not enough radiators in flat so a
few cold areas, wood floor starting to lift especially in bathroom and
basic decorating, etc, etc...

Did you pay them, or did you bring them back to fix the issues?


The question is should I keep spending money I can't really afford on a
seemingly never-ending list of repairs and maintenance or should I cut
my losses & move.

That depends on whether the cost of getting the work done properly
exceeds the loss relative to the expected selling price and how
quickly you want to move.


Is this just the price of home ownership, always paying out on
maintenance?

Generally, yes. The question is to decide on what needs to be done,
when and how. Some of the work listed above you could have
probably done yourself and saved a fair bit of money.

The heating and windows issues are the most expensive to fix. Perhaps
the sensible thing would be to wait to sell until next spring when
nobody will notice.


I've never really felt happy in this flat and if I sold I would make a
small profit but not enough to allow me to buy a flat of equivalent
size in another area of the city so I would have to start further down
the ladder.

Anyone else been in a similar situation? What did you do?
Thanks for any advice!

Of renovating old property, yes. I had major work done by a builder
and installed heating, new wiring and decorated myself.


--

..andy

wrote:
The flat is in a purpose built block. It's 2-bed with external garage.
The work I got done was replacement windows, central heating, new
bathroom, new kitchen, hardwood floors thoughout, a couple of joinery
jobs - building cupboards & boxing in some things.
I know I over-payed for some of it and I agree, it was my cheapness
that resulted in some work not being done to a good enough standard.

So apart from the windows and the boiler, what else is wrong?

Thing is, it could be that you only need to spend say £5k to get
everything nicely sorted out, or it could be that everything needs to be
redone. If the former, then it's well worth spending the money and
staying put. If the latter, then maybe selling is the best option.

But from where I'm sitting, it's impossible to tell which one it is. A
new boiler isn't that expensive. You could easily get a new boiler and
replace some of your windows for under £5k. But if the whole CH needs to
be redone, then the cost will be significantly more.


--
Grunff

On Mon, 21 Nov 2005 09:14:09 +0000, Grunff wrote:

I got a lot of the work done on the cheap (or by people who told me
they could do the job cheaper than the next guy, so I trusted
them).

One possibility is that your quest for cheapness has resulted in
lots of badly done/half done jobs, while costing the same (or more)
as it would have if it had been done properly.

I agree, pay peanuts, get monkeys. Finding tradesmen who can be
trusted to do a job as they say they will to a high enough standard is
very difficult. That's the main reason I try to do most things myself,
a good tradesman is on a par with rocking horse **** and hens teeth.

I think I have yet to employ *anyone* who has done a completely
satisfactory job.

--
Cheers
Dave. pam is missing e-mail

Dave Liquorice wrote:

Finding tradesmen who can be
trusted to do a job as they say they will to a high enough standard is
very difficult. That's the main reason I try to do most things myself,
a good tradesman is on a par with rocking horse **** and hens teeth.


Yup, this is very much my motivation.


--
Grunff

On 21 Nov 2005 00:51:46 -0800, wrote:

I moved into my flat 4 years ago after buying it cheap because it
needed renovating.
I got a lot of the work done on the cheap (or by people who told me
they could do the job cheaper than the next guy, so I trusted them).
Total cost to date about £25k
A lot of jobs were never really done right and some things are starting
to show their age and need redoing ie. upvc windows are draughty, combi
boiler not really powerful enough, not enough radiators in flat so a
few cold areas, wood floor starting to lift especially in bathroom and
basic decorating, etc, etc...
The question is should I keep spending money I can't really afford on a
seemingly never-ending list of repairs and maintenance or should I cut
my losses & move.
Is this just the price of home ownership, always paying out on
maintenance?
I've never really felt happy in this flat and if I sold I would make a
small profit but not enough to allow me to buy a flat of equivalent
size in another area of the city so I would have to start further down
the ladder.

Anyone else been in a similar situation? What did you do?
Thanks for any advice!

It sounds like you know the answer - you should have done it right the
first time.

Best bet, it to cover it up, make it look good, and sell it to some
mug.

Rick

On Mon, 21 Nov 2005 09:55:23 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Liquorice"
wrote:

On Mon, 21 Nov 2005 09:14:09 +0000, Grunff wrote:

I got a lot of the work done on the cheap (or by people who told me
they could do the job cheaper than the next guy, so I trusted
them).

One possibility is that your quest for cheapness has resulted in
lots of badly done/half done jobs, while costing the same (or more)
as it would have if it had been done properly.

I agree, pay peanuts, get monkeys. Finding tradesmen who can be
trusted to do a job as they say they will to a high enough standard is
very difficult. That's the main reason I try to do most things myself,
a good tradesman is on a par with rocking horse **** and hens teeth.

I think I have yet to employ *anyone* who has done a completely
satisfactory job.

Agreed

Rick

wrote:

I moved into my flat 4 years ago after buying it cheap because it
needed renovating.
I got a lot of the work done on the cheap (or by people who told me
they could do the job cheaper than the next guy, so I trusted them).
Total cost to date about £25k
A lot of jobs were never really done right and some things are starting
to show their age and need redoing ie. upvc windows are draughty,

I dont know why theyre draughty, but generally this can be fixed for
peanuts. If youre seriously brassic, sellotape is probably the cheapest
draughtproofer.


combi
boiler not really powerful enough,

is it running continuously all day long? If not, the (biggest) problem
is elsewhere. Replacing rads with bigger ones isnt hard where theres
the room available. Where there isnt, adding small fans is a
workaround. (One that will no doubt reignite the ire of someone on this
group, but it works.) Adding extra rads is not that hard either. Small
rads on microbore even make the pipework easy.

Another approach to insufficient heating is increasing insulation, but
again I know almost nothing about the details of your flat. Could it be
that fixing the draughts will sort out the heat?


not enough radiators in flat so a
few cold areas,

Not expensive if you DIY.


wood floor starting to lift especially in bathroom and

you said its hardwood, so I assume it only needs refixing. Should not
be hard to DIY.


basic decorating,

Simple enough.

etc, etc...


The question is should I keep spending money I can't really afford on a
seemingly never-ending list of repairs and maintenance or should I cut
my losses & move.

I dont know your full situation, but from what I've read I suspect
neither of those options is the likely best answer. I would look at the
options of either DIYing, or just living with it as is. A roll of tape
might make you warmer and instantly feel somewhat better about it.


Is this just the price of home ownership, always paying out on
maintenance?

of course. Generally the more you know about your house, and the more
you learn to diy, the less it'll cost. You need to know what to spend
when, and when not to.


I've never really felt happy in this flat and if I sold I would make a
small profit but not enough to allow me to buy a flat of equivalent
size in another area of the city so I would have to start further down
the ladder.

which would seem to suggest staying put as the better option. Maybe it
would help to maximise gratitude for what you do have, and make plans
for sorting things out slowly over time, bit by bit, doing it yourself
so it costs sod all.


Anyone else been in a similar situation? What did you do?

Yes, did much of it myself. Came up with 1 or 2 custom solutions for
difficult problems. Had much more to do than you mentioned, and it cost
a fraction of that. Took ages, and still not completely finished, but
I'm sure I made the right choice, and I've got just what I wanted.

Reckon youre gonna have to get into some diy!


NT

In article ,
Rick wrote:
It sounds like you know the answer - you should have done it right the
first time.

Best bet, it to cover it up, make it look good, and sell it to some mug.

Like to guess at the costs of just changing to a new place of the same
value?

--
*Marriage changes passion - suddenly you're in bed with a relative*

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

On Mon, 21 Nov 2005 17:35:11 +0000 (GMT), "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article ,
Rick wrote:
It sounds like you know the answer - you should have done it right the
first time.

Best bet, it to cover it up, make it look good, and sell it to some mug.

Like to guess at the costs of just changing to a new place of the same
value?

The trick is to cover up the mess, and price the house like its all
OK, and thefore at a higher value than its worth.

Just like selling a used car

Rick

wrote:
wrote:

I moved into my flat 4 years ago after buying it cheap because it
needed renovating.
I got a lot of the work done on the cheap (or by people who told me
they could do the job cheaper than the next guy, so I trusted them).
Total cost to date about £25k
A lot of jobs were never really done right and some things are starting
to show their age and need redoing ie. upvc windows are draughty,

I dont know why theyre draughty, but generally this can be fixed for
peanuts. If youre seriously brassic, sellotape is probably the cheapest
draughtproofer.


combi
boiler not really powerful enough,

is it running continuously all day long? If not, the (biggest) problem
is elsewhere. Replacing rads with bigger ones isnt hard where theres
the room available. Where there isnt, adding small fans is a
workaround. (One that will no doubt reignite the ire of someone on this
group, but it works.) Adding extra rads is not that hard either. Small
rads on microbore even make the pipework easy.

Another approach to insufficient heating is increasing insulation, but
again I know almost nothing about the details of your flat. Could it be
that fixing the draughts will sort out the heat?


not enough radiators in flat so a
few cold areas,

Not expensive if you DIY.


wood floor starting to lift especially in bathroom and

you said its hardwood, so I assume it only needs refixing. Should not
be hard to DIY.


basic decorating,

Simple enough.

etc, etc...


The question is should I keep spending money I can't really afford on a
seemingly never-ending list of repairs and maintenance or should I cut
my losses & move.

I dont know your full situation, but from what I've read I suspect
neither of those options is the likely best answer. I would look at the
options of either DIYing, or just living with it as is. A roll of tape
might make you warmer and instantly feel somewhat better about it.


Is this just the price of home ownership, always paying out on
maintenance?

of course. Generally the more you know about your house, and the more
you learn to diy, the less it'll cost. You need to know what to spend
when, and when not to.


I've never really felt happy in this flat and if I sold I would make a
small profit but not enough to allow me to buy a flat of equivalent
size in another area of the city so I would have to start further down
the ladder.

which would seem to suggest staying put as the better option. Maybe it
would help to maximise gratitude for what you do have, and make plans
for sorting things out slowly over time, bit by bit, doing it yourself
so it costs sod all.


Anyone else been in a similar situation? What did you do?

Yes, did much of it myself. Came up with 1 or 2 custom solutions for
difficult problems. Had much more to do than you mentioned, and it cost
a fraction of that. Took ages, and still not completely finished, but
I'm sure I made the right choice, and I've got just what I wanted.

Reckon youre gonna have to get into some diy!


I know you're right! Thanks for the advice.



NT

In article ,
Rick wrote:
Like to guess at the costs of just changing to a new place of the same
value?

The trick is to cover up the mess, and price the house like its all
OK, and thefore at a higher value than its worth.

And then move to somewhere else where the same has been done?

Just like selling a used car

Bodges are easily spotted on those too...

--
*Never slap a man who's chewing tobacco *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.