Preparation Plan B: I appeal to the collective PS wisdom

[SleeperService]

I have had my 2/3 bed semi detached house on the market for 6 months with no sale so I'm giving up on selling. I'm considering renovating it and doing an eco-refurbishment.

Renovation: Replace missing and bowing wooden lintels, porch over front door, pitched roof on bay window, replace a shoddily built single storey extension, possible loft conversion and rectify a buckled end wall caused by the supporting wall being almost completely removed.

Eco stuff: Insulate walls, replace windows, minimise windows on north facing end wall, overhaul heating.

Has anybody done anything similar and how much money am I looking at for plans, permissions etc? I'm owed favours by most of my building family otherwise this would be beyond consideration.

Anybody any thoughts at all?

Plan C is to just walk away and become a nomad.

[biffvernon]

I have had my 2/3 bed semi detached house on the market for 6 months with no sale

Who'd want to buy a house with only two thirds of a bedroom?

[SleeperService]

I have had my 2/3 bed semi detached house on the market for 6 months with no sale

Who'd want to buy a house with only two thirds of a bedroom?

Obviously nobody around here

[Tarrel]

What was Plan A? i.e What were you planning to do if you had sold your house?

[UndercoverElephant]

I have had my 2/3 bed semi detached house on the market for 6 months with no sale so I'm giving up on selling. I'm considering renovating it and doing an eco-refurbishment.

Renovation: Replace missing and bowing wooden lintels, porch over front door, pitched roof on bay window, replace a shoddily built single storey extension, possible loft conversion and rectify a buckled end wall caused by the supporting wall being almost completely removed.

Eco stuff: Insulate walls, replace windows, minimise windows on north facing end wall, overhaul heating.

Has anybody done anything similar and how much money am I looking at for plans, permissions etc? I'm owed favours by most of my building family otherwise this would be beyond consideration.

Anybody any thoughts at all?

Plan C is to just walk away and become a nomad.

My thoughts are that you are asking too much money for the house. Your opinion on what that property ought to be worth is out of sync with the true state of the market.

You can sell any house at any time, certainly within six months, if your asking price is realistic.

[SleeperService]

What was Plan A? i.e What were you planning to do if you had sold your house?

Downsize and get out of urban Nottingham. I'd planned to have a piece of land to grow stuff on nearby. Work locally to cut down on transport needs. Fortunately I've found work about 5 miles away (my last job was based in Birmingham) so at least that bit has worked.

I've cleared a load of useless stuff (to me at least) with plenty to go so I'm starting to rebuild my capital.

If I do the loft conversion I'd get 3 proper bedrooms with a second shower room. That would allow me to rent two rooms while I wait for an upturn in the local housing market. Mind you with Nottingham City Council's apparent suicide policies that may be a way off yet.

[SleeperService]

My thoughts are that you are asking too much money for the house. Your opinion on what that property ought to be worth is out of sync with the true state of the market.

You can sell any house at any time, certainly within six months, if your asking price is realistic.

Houses round here just aren't selling at any price, even auctions are failing to move them. The jobs that kept things afloat have gone, assisted by local government, and the town is being used as a dump by Derbyshire County Council for it's problem tenants. A friend works for land registry in Nottingham and the completions are falling month on month. Some houses are being offered at £60K and they don't sell either. I think it's a sign that people simply can't afford to move and/or are finding it impossible to raise a huge deposit while renting at the same time.

Round here BAU is gone. The future is here

[JavaScriptDonkey]

My thoughts are that you are asking too much money for the house. Your opinion on what that property ought to be worth is out of sync with the true state of the market.

You can sell any house at any time, certainly within six months, if your asking price is realistic.

+1

Drop the price to meet the market and it will sell.

[Tarrel]

A lot depends on your confidence in the future housing market. If you do feel it may upswing, and given that you have already prepared for downsizing, one option would be to rent somewhere smaller, in your intended location, and let your place out. You should have a monthly surplus this way, that could be put towards buying a small plot to grow stuff on, near to where you're renting.

However, from your last comments, it sounds like you don't have too much confidence in the housing market growing. (Neither would I at this moment in time). In which case staying put, as you are now preparing to do, would be one option (although it doesn't fulfill your stated aim of moving out of urban Nottingham) or, as UE says, be prepared to drop the price. Bear in mind though, that you can only sell it once, and can never recover that lost equity.

The other thing to bear in mind is interest rates. If you are sitting in somewhere bigger than you need, and are mortgaged, you could take a hit when the interest rates start to climb in a couple of years. At this point, properties will be even harder to sell, so it could be worth biting the bullet on asking price now and getting the place off your shoulders.

We sold our place in May, in preparation for the move to Scotland. Advertised it in early January, got an offer in early April after loads of viewings. Most people viewing said they liked the place, but were having trouble selling theirs. We dropped the price by about 12% to stimulate interest and get the offer. I was prepared to do this as I didn't want to be still sitting in it this Autumn with all its SHTF potential.

Talk to your estate agent.

HTH, and good luck.

[SleeperService]

Thanks for all the help. It's given me plenty to think about.

Just been to the Estate Agents who have told me the local market has been flat for a while now. Apparently buyers are wary as East Midland Airport is pushing ahead with it's unspecified expansion plans

Even Buy to Lets are drying up as the rental returns aren't there due to oversupply. Just one Estate Agent has several places just like mine that are on the market due to deaths, they're heavily discounted but not shifting either.

It looks like I'm here for the long haul, at least until everywhere else falls to this level. We're just a bit ahead of the curve

So it's back to clearing all the unwanted stuff then I'll do the work in bits. I suspect the EMA Blight will be with me for a while yet

[Eternal Sunshine]

My thoughts are that you are asking too much money for the house. Your opinion on what that property ought to be worth is out of sync with the true state of the market.

You can sell any house at any time, certainly within six months, if your asking price is realistic.

+1

Drop the price to meet the market and it will sell.

Blimey - you're a bunch of capitalists, aren't you.

Why are you even moving SS if your job is now closer. Is there any good reason why you can't stay in the current place? Moving is very expensive, why give money to estate agents and solicitors?

[SleeperService]

I hasd planned on downsizing and getting a piece of land but, after considering the options with the advice received here I've changed plan.

The costs you've mentioned reinforce that decision.

I'm looking into Tarrel's renting idea or, I may go for a lodger or two.

Thanks for taking an interest.

[ujoni08]

Just to return to the other questions... Ken should be along in a minute to advise you about internal/external wall insulation, windows, etc. and there are loads of knowledgeable people on Navitron, too. If you have favours to call in, that will save you a lot.