Property Is a fixer-upper the best way to a dream home?

Buying a place in need of renovation is one way of getting on the ladder.

- Holly Mead

When Jess and Rick Sowerby started searching for their first home in 2018, they had not considered a fixer-upper. But after 30 viewings without finding their dream home, it was time for a change of plan. “I was getting disheartened - I thought we'd never find anything,” says Jess, 33.

“Some houses were lovely, but weren't to our taste. I'd have felt guilty ripping out a new kitchen, or bathroom, just because we didn't like it. So we decided to buy a home that needed the work done.”

Renovation projects were about £90,000 cheaper than “turnkey” homes (those that are finished and ready to move into), giving them more budget for the work.

In February 2019 they got the keys to their 1930s semidetached house on a cul-de-sac in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, and got to work.

“It had been empty for six months and was cold, damp, dated and musty. But it felt like a home,” says Jess, who has documented their journey on the Instagram page The House that Colour Built.

As house prices continue rising, many buyers are looking to renovation projects as an effective way of getting on the ladder.

The average first-time buyer home cost £229,094 in August this year, according to estate agency Hamptons, which analysed Land Registry data. It was £156,453 in August 2015.

However, fixer-uppers can go for considerably less than the average. About 7% of the properties listed on website Zoopla are fixer-uppers. Wales, southeast England and Yorkshire and the Humber are regions with the most properties falling into this category, and twoand three-bedroom houses are the most common renovation projects on the property portal.

Lack of choice in their area is another reason why some opt for a property that needs work. Steve Lees from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) says: “Doer-uppers are a real opportunity to do a deep retrofit, and you can really add value if you improve the energy efficiency rating.