Renovating an older home: survey first, cost the works, then the money and the grants

An older house is often the only way onto a street you could not otherwise afford. It is also where budgets go wrong. The rule is simple: survey first, cost the works, then decide what to bid. This guide walks through that order, explains how the money works when a lender is involved, and shows how the vacant home grant and the SEAI grants fit together.

The order of things

1. View the house with the viewing checklist and note every fault.
2. Go sale agreed, subject to survey.
3. Get a full structural survey.
4. Have a quantity surveyor or your builder cost the works.
5. Decide whether the price plus the works is a number you can carry. If not, renegotiate or walk away.
6. Arrange the finance and the grants.
7. Sign contracts, close, and start the works.

The point of steps 3 to 5 is that you can still walk away. The sale agreed guide explains why nothing binds you until contracts.

Survey first

A standard pre-purchase survey (€300 to €600 plus VAT) is for a house in reasonable order. An older house needs a full structural survey by a chartered building surveyor or engineer (Engineers Ireland or the SCSI; see the structural survey page). It costs €1,500 to €3,000 plus VAT and covers:

• The roof: slates, timbers, flashings, chimneys.
• The walls: cracks, movement, pointing, render, the wall type (solid or cavity, which matters for insulation).
• Damp: rising, penetrating or condensation, and timber rot or woodworm.
• The floors: suspended timber or solid, and whether the ground floor can be insulated.
• Wiring, plumbing, heating and drains, with their age.
• Pyrite or mica, in the affected counties and years.
• Any extension or attic room and whether it has planning and a compliance certificate.
• A view, in rough figures, on what each fault costs to fix.

Ask the surveyor to put the fixes in three groups: must do now, should do in five years, and nice to have. That is the start of your budget.

Costing the works

Renovation costs are quoted per square metre like a new build, but the range is wider, because the work depends on what the survey found. Published cost guides, including the SCSI's, put a full refurbishment in 2026 at a typical €1,500 to €3,000 a square metre, including VAT at 13.5%. Structural repairs, a new roof, a rewire and replumb, or a deep energy retrofit push a project to the top. Cosmetic work sits well below it. These are planning ranges, not quotes. Have a quantity surveyor (the SCSI) cost the survey's list, or get three builders to price it against a written schedule.

Add fees: an architect (the RIAI register; see the architect page) if you are changing the layout or extending, and an engineer for any structural work. Add a contingency of 15% on an old house, more than the 10% on a new build, because old walls hide things.

A worked example

Sinéad goes sale agreed on a 1950s semi-detached house at €320,000. The survey finds a sound roof, a 25-year-old boiler, single-glazed windows, no wall insulation, an attic with 100mm of insulation, old wiring, and some damp at the back wall from a leaking gutter.

Her all-in figure is €320,000 plus €115,000 plus the costs of buying, so about €445,000. She compares that with what a done-up house on the same street sold for on the price register. If the gap is too small, she offers less. The cost of buying calculator adds stamp duty, the solicitor and the rest to the price.

The money

Lenders lend on what the house is worth. There are three common routes.

A mortgage on the house as it is, with the works paid from savings. Simple, if you have the savings.

A mortgage that includes the works. The lender values the house now and after the works, and lends on the after-works value within the Central Bank limits (up to 4 times income and 90% for a first-time buyer). The purchase money is paid at closing and the renovation money is released in stages against an engineer's certificates, the way a self-build is. The lender wants a costed schedule, drawings where there are any, and a supervising professional. The self-build mortgage guide explains stage drawdowns.

A top-up later. You buy with a normal mortgage, live in the house, and borrow more against it for the works once you know what you want. A green top-up at a lower rate is available at most lenders where the works bring the BER to B3 or better. The top-up guide covers the rules.

A house that is not habitable, with no kitchen, bathroom or working heating, is often refused a normal mortgage until the works are done. That is the derelict case; the derelict house guide covers it.

The grants

Two grant schemes apply, and they can be used together on the same house, as long as the same cost is not paid twice.

The Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant pays up to €50,000 towards refurbishing a home that has been empty for at least two years and was built before 2008, plus €20,000 more if the home is derelict. You must own it or be buying it, apply to the council before the works start, and use a tax-compliant contractor. You must then live in it (or let it) for five years, or ten for the full amount, or repay part. It runs to the end of 2030. The vacant grant guide explains how to apply.

SEAI's grants pay towards attic and wall insulation, windows and doors in some cases, heat pumps, solar panels and heating controls, with a one-stop-shop route that bundles them and manages the work. Most need a registered contractor and a BER afterwards. The SEAI grants guide lists them. In Sinéad's example, the wall insulation, attic insulation, windows and heat pump are all SEAI items, and if her house had been empty two years the vacant grant could cover much of the rest.

The BER before and after

Get a BER assessor (on SEAI's register; see the BER assessor page) to rate the house before and after the works. The before rating sets the baseline for the grants. The after rating opens green mortgage rates at B3 or better, and goes on the advert when you sell. The BER guide explains the scale.

Planning and protected structures

Internal works and like-for-like repairs need no permission. Extending beyond the 40 square metre rear exemption, altering the front, or changing the use does. A protected structure needs permission for almost anything that affects its character, inside or out, and the council's conservation officer can advise. Check the record of protected structures before you buy. The planning permission guide covers the exemptions.

Where this leaves you

Put the price into the cost of buying calculator, add the surveyor's costed list, and look at the whole figure before you bid. The vacant home journey puts the survey, the grants and the finance in order, and you can get quotes for the structural survey that starts it all.