Owning your own home

Also the view over that garden onto the allotments and railway embankment is lovely.

Bouncy floorboards. You don't want bouncy floorboards. Touch the walls, there's been a fair amount of rain recently and it's been cold, so an un-lived in house probably won't have dried if there's active damp. Costs-wise, it could very easily be in the 10s of £ks to sort out. But on the other hand you might be able to just move in and live with it. If you are interested - get a full buildings survey, about £1k, and if possible get a knowledgeable friend or builder to have a look. Best of luck!

And finally, Bristol prices for building works are massively cheaper than London, judging by my experience compared with what I see on the forum, anyway.

This was mine. If you were doing it not to sell you'd definitely do the side return extension and loft. Watch out though as the gardens are all pretty bloody small even if they don't look so on the pictures.

Tarting it up pre-sale cost £13k, Bristiol builders are a good deal cheaper than the f**kers in London.

@nankatsu @tbc @konastab01 @Howard @lemonade @si_mon628 thanks so much for this advice. Will report back afterwards. Done a recce the other day

Edit - sorry for all the subsequent spam

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Another one in the area had 4 offers in a week https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/85385878#/

@konastab01 thanks for this :)
Konastab / @Howard Just for my learning for future looking - what looks like it needs doing on the nicely done up one? Full survey would I guess help point stuff out if pulling the trigger/ quality of the previous work done?

@Howard wow - thanks so much! Hadn't noticed next door's extension. That is bastardish. Suppose can't do anything retrospectively? At my dad's house, he once got home to the next door neighbour having put 2-3ft on the garden wall in an unmatching non-Victorian brick.

Parking is a bastard everywhere around here. I ride to work, should ride to the supermarket so my car only really moves for trips. So it would be a fortnightly battle only.

Conservation area I think quite likely. Would be big enough I think without extending it for a guest bedroom.

Second list also really helpful :)

@lemonade ah amazing! I moved to Bristol in September, live near Ashley stores atm on Albany Road. I think St Werbs is an ace are from what I have seen so far. Easy ride to work out in Filton, not Clifton/Redland prices, good pubs and amenities. Not a new build kind of person though the Dye Works development looks interesting.
HMU if you ever want to go for a road or mtb ride :)

@Señor_Bear nice house and that would make the Duke of York your local :) Did you move elsewhere in Bristol? Where did you keep your bikes?

Fuck the done up one just looks old to me, as Howard has said it’s had a lick of paint and look fresh but if I was going on there.

New bathroom, kitchen is a bit old and layout looks shite. Are the electrics needing done, the extension as Howard has said is a lean too, I’d want that proper done and is there planning for that and he mentioned the loft has it been done right, if not could be fuckin freezing and needs properly stripped an re done. So many people go see houses that looks great in photos with rose tinted glasses and then end up being money pits.

The list can be endless and depends how deep your pockets are/skill you have.

You’re one, depending how keen you are could be a proper money pit especially if there’s a serious damp issue that isn’t something daft but an expert could give you a good idea at the proper costs of fixing it!

Never lived there. My intention was always to, but life panned out in a different way so I ended up renting it out for nearly a decade and flippin' it.

By the way, you probably want to factor in at least 15k above asking price to get any house in Bristol at the moment. I'm looking in St George area, and all the victorian terraces are going for 15-20k above asking. Probably more in St Werbs

EDIT: as a FTB, potentially worth waiting until you know what's happening with stamp duty? You don't benefit (much) from the current holiday, but it's definitely causing a huge price inflation at the moment.

@roythamez absolutely agree on stamp duty. I don't benefit at all from it - it hinders me by putting prices up as you say. There was no stamp duty for FTBs before. I need to wait until the current holiday ends really unless the right house came up now

Shit news on the premium though. Did kind of expect something like that if there are multiple offers going in on a house within a week of it going up

@konastab01 if it's looking okay tomorrow I will do that. Not done much DIY not going to lie but can't see myself having any weekend plans within the next 6 months - so time to learn

You can definitely learn if you're a practical sort and willing to give it a go. It's really rewarding doing stuff yourself.

what looks like it needs doing on the nicely done up one? Full survey would I guess help point stuff out if pulling the trigger/ quality of the previous work done?

It looks homely and it's certainly very livable but there's not much evidence that it's been well modernised. Plaster looks a bit of a mess in places. The lean-to with the boiler gives me the scares. The ground floor is probably entirely original except for wall between kitchen and dining removed and the kitchen itself (and annoyingly the fireplace). It's nice though just don't overestimate how much was done to it. It might have simply been well looked after.

Pay close attention to the electrics when you view a done up place - number / type of sockets and the type of light switches. Numerous sockets with metallic faces indicate a recent electrical upgrade. Everything plastic and jutting out from the wall indicates its not been done in quite a while. Useful clue to the rest of the house.

Surveyors are a funny bunch, they can tell you some stuff but it all just feels a bit vague.

re: extension thing: Not sure about retrospective planning action - it's likely been there for a while and at some point the authority loses the power to demand removal (assuming planing wasn't granted) unless it's really fucking the building up. And then you have to think about wether you want that kind of battle on your hands.

I am not doing much bike riding at the moment but cheers anyway - assume you've discovered purdown and Ashton court / Leigh woods for MTB?

A friend is getting a place in the Dye Works and it does look good as these things go but I'm not a new build kind of person either. The way they are meant to be extending Mina road park as part of that development looks positive, though.

I'm biased but I think the bit of st Werburghs on the other side of the railway tunnel is even nicer. Another possibility to look at would be Ashley Down - Station Road and thereabouts. You're only a few minutes from St Werburghs on Concorde Way and closer to Gloucester Road. They are also supposedly building a new railway station on station road, but I'd be surprised if it actually happens any time soon.

Also may be of interest that the council is consulting on further walking/cycling improvements on Mina road, this time near the shops. Potentially promising but it's at a very early stage.

You may know this all already given you only live around the corner...

Also its not a conservation area:
https://maps.bristol.gov.uk/kyp/?edition=

Just picking up on the comment about the loft conversion. When you say "not done right", what's the issue here? Our place has a loft conversion and, while apparently put in by a professional in the early 00s, it seems to be a total hack job.

Everything plastic and jutting out from the wall indicates its not been done in quite a while. Useful clue to the rest of the house.

Just like our bedrooms - Tbf we’ve still not done anything about this despite living there for eighteen years. The lack of plugs up stairs, only one in the spare room and by the door not the bed and two doubles in the main, is actually a bit of a pain, our solution has obviously been extension cables, so it is liveable with. It may also indicate that the internal walls are horse hair and twigs and likely to fall apart when you do re-wire. But electrics safety is a tad over-rated.

@lemonade AC/LW yes but Purdown no. Are there trails there?

Nope, didn't know any of that - not really in any community groups or anything down here yet. Sounds good though.

No real trails up on Purdown, but the views are immense and it's great bimbling. Up Sir John's Lane, or up over the grass opposite Fairfield High School, and then there's a huge open space to explore, all the way up to Long Wood/Hermitage Wood, even up behind UWE.

st werbs is so great. used to head to the miners arms after climbing sometimes. great pub (as are all other dawkins pubs) that does killer roasts on Sundays!

I’m not sure if it’s over rated. More, low probability and high impact.

That looks like a nice street. Buying the worst house on a nice street is a good idea probably.