Bungalows in need of modernising

Yes I would. My DH is in the building trade and we’ve had 4 doer uppers . Two we’ve lived in and two we flipped .
So a complete renovation doesn’t bother me or my DH. Although we are younger than many on here .
The beauty of a renovation is that it’s exactly how you want it. I would hate a new build on an estate , which has no character.
People on here are complaining that bungalows are small and poky , but many new builds are small and poky, where I live developers are buying up several gardens and building small developments with small rooms and tiny gardens .
The problem with bungalows is that they have the footprint of a house and are therefore not far off the price of a house . The other issue is that they are often owned by the elderly who are probably quite happy living as they have done for years and don’t have the inclination to modernise .

nanna8

I cringe every time I hear of bungalows. It means something completely different here. Small add ons in someone’s backyard.

I think it was the same in NZ, nanna8

However, what you call a house, eg lovely large open plan kitchen dining room, sitting room, three or four double bedrooms, an ensuite or two, bathroom, utility room etc - would be called a bungalow here if it's all on one level as they often are in Australia. 😃

A house:
a building for human habitation, especially one that consists of a ground floor and one or more upper storeys

A bungalow:
a low house having only one storey or, in some cases, upper rooms set in the roof, typically with dormer windows.
in SE Asia a large detached house with more than one storey.

I just don't like the idea of sleeping downstairs and bungalows are always associated with older people.

I'd really like to downsize to a nice character cottage but trying to find a suitable one is very difficult.

I don’t like the word bungalow, despite having been brought up in one and bought one. Don’t know why, perhaps because for so many people it conjures up exactly the sort of place I don’t want to live.

I cringe every time I hear of bungalows. It means something completely different here. Small add ons in someone’s backyard.

I've lived in a rented (fair rent) bungalow for 7 years. I'm not fit, it is dated, swirly carpets etc but big garden. I love it.

Elegran

You could buy Buck House and still have to do things to it.

You would have to do a tremendous make over. It’s falling to bits🥴

We acquired a bungalow about six years ago. We looked at a lot of horrors, but feel we were really fortunate to find a bungalow which had been totally refurbished and extended by an excellent local builder who lived it in while doing the work. The only thing we changed was one of the bathrooms which had a huge roll top bath and no way a shower could be fitted. We now have a very large kitchen diner with room for a sofa,a large laundry, a smallish snug and four bedrooms, all a decent size, and two bathrooms. A manageable very private garden. However, there’s always a downside! It isn’t in a road we would have chosen. I think you need to prioritise what you want and make a list, the most important at the top. Our number one was off street parking. I don’t think at our age we could have coped with living here while a huge amount of work was being done, one bathroom was enough! Our second house was totally gutted over a period of time when our children were young. Once was enough!

Definitely, we bought a bungalow on behalf of my very elderly parents, close to our house . It was a perfect design but hadn’t been touched for decades . As soon as we got the keys , we gutted it . My son , an architect, redesigned the tiny kitchen to create a kitchen diner with a wonderful utility . All artex walls were re plastered , new everything, internal doors are now beautiful natural wood, everything is easy for parents . It’s light , airy and they LOVE it . It must have cost £50 K to do up . I project managed and got in a fab team who created a lovely home for my parents . Hard work but so worth it .

Not everybody has this amount of choice at their fingertips. Some of us plodding on in pokey little dark terrace houses.

If you like the upheaval of renovating and can afford it: go ahead.

If not, look for a property that is more in line with what you want.

Renovating a run-down property is not a paying proposition, as the cost of the renovations will not be recouped when or if you sell.

We did this 2 years ago. Bungalow hadn’t been touched since mid 1990’s when it was built. The owner had died. We have done the whole place up, new kitchen, bathroom, fitted wardrobes, new flooring, replaced some doors/windows, skimmed artex ceilings, new boiler and decorated throughout. Had to move out for a few days twice when floors were being laid and we had no working bathroom. New area is lovely and more convenient than our previous home. Husband has retired and I work part time - suits us perfectly

Elegran

You could buy Buck House and still have to do things to it.

At least the roof's fixed now, I think.
It was in a terrible state with the leaky roof.

You misunderstand me Elegran. I love the peace and quiet here, nothing but birdsong and the occasional tractor. Suburbia suits many but it’s not for me - I have always lived in the countryside. I would be extremely miserable if I had to live amongst people, as opposed to wildlife.

Elegran

You could buy Buck House and still have to do things to it.

Now that would be a dream project, though the facade isn't very appealing imo.

You could buy Buck House and still have to do things to it.

https://signal-corridor.live/uploads/talk/202404/medium-388866-42497-hsott-651366-img-34-0000.jpeg%3C/span%3E https://signal-corridor.live/uploads/talk/202404/medium-276765-42497-hsott-651366-img-08-0000.jpeg%3C/span%3E https://signal-corridor.live/uploads/talk/202404/medium-18464-42497-hsott-651366-img-02-0000.jpeg%3C/span%3E

This is what you get for £1 million near us. It's nice, but I wouldn't say anything special. Still needs things doing.

Esmay

I wanted to buy a bungalow years ago in fact I was tempted by one when I was still young and fit .
It had an incredible garden .
If I buy one I won't be stripping the interior out and painting it grey .
I far prefer a separate kitchen and rooms that I can close off .

Yes. I don't know how it is "extending the living space" to knock two rooms into one. The arithmetic doesn't add up, there are still exactly the the same square feet of space. You just lose a room where you can leave sewing stuff all over the table while sitting in a tidy room that takes less heating and feels cosier, and itself can be closed off to grandchildren's toys and sticky fingers but is available for instant adult relaxing once the children are in bed.
As for sacrificing your quality of life to live on one level in a bungalow - I detect a touch of prejudice there against suburbia, where a large number quantity of middle-class people live lives of excellent quality. Your life quality is whatever you make of it, not the shape of your home.

Here most old bungalows are demolished and a larger new one built, they are of course expensive but they sell quickly.

In our area they are often bought by developers who may extend, knock through so it's one living space and block pave the front. Everything is then painted white. They are often bought by families who to then buy lots of pots to put out the front.

We bought a smelly, scruffy bungalow in a great location on a big plot - with views. Garden was also neglected - a mess & overgrown. (We left our lovely family home of over 30 years for this). Within a year - all was totally renovated to our own design. We love one floor living & the fact it’s unique. Visitors often say “Wow “when they walk in. We know we’re fortunate and have never regretted moving

Callistemon21

I don't think you'd have to sacrifice your quality of life, it's just finding the right home.

Indeed! No sacrifice here, we have a lovely home which we have lived in for ten or so years and suits us fine. We are fit and able, thankfully, but should the future be otherwise, at least moving home won't be something we have to deal with.

I don't think you'd have to sacrifice your quality of life, it's just finding the right home.

We’re not there yet either HPQ, and don’t want to sacrifice our quality of life any earlier than we have to.

HousePlantQueen

I just don't understand why some people have this sneering attitude to bungalows, ours is spacious, on a large established plot with mature trees and hedges, and in a mixed road of houses dating from Edwardian semis through to 1960's detached, the road was sold off aeons ago as plots so all of the houses are different. Certainly not 'God's waiting room'.

Ooh, where - and are you thinking of selling?