Old Victorian terrace houses - the reality, are they a 'money pit' ?

[Redpolkadotpot]

I love this style of housing and after 'wasting' a chunk of money on one (bad survey) we swore to stick to newer houses but I'm just not feeling it!

A lot of friends are advising us against old houses deeming them 'money pits' that they will always have 1 thing or another to fix and that bills would be atrocious, but none of them have lived in one so I don't know how much to believe them.
oooh and bad parking, which is obviously an issue as they were not designed with cars in mind, but surely can't be that bad as there are people living in them now and dealing with it....

Anyone with experience and opinions?

[Kitsmummy]

I've had four old houses and none of them have been a money pit. This one has cost a fortune to renovate but I think that's different to being a money pit as such. People like what they like. If none of your friends have owned an old house, they're obviously just a modern house kind of person.

I wouldn't worry about it too much to be honest. Have a top notch survey so you know where the problems lie and you should be fine

[spots]

hi -no regrets here. As we moved into a Victorian terrace that hadn't had anything done to it for thirty years, and spent money on windows and boiler and so on, someone we knew spent about as much fixing a damp problem in a much younger house. We have the lovely spaces that I don't see in new builds, and everything we do feels like an investment - not just financially, for us, but for the future of the house. Soppy but true. Parking is on street, might matter to some, not to us. There are lots of people who feel like us. You aren't alone!

[Chennai]

Victorian houses were pretty solidly built. At least most of them were and a survey will show up any serious problems.

After that, they're as much of a money pit as you want/can afford them to be. We put money into ours when we first bought it, and we'd budgeted for that. Then as the children were growing up, we spent very little on the house as we had other priorities. Now they're off doing their own thing and we're starting to do the house stuff we've been wanting to do.

Nothing we haven't done has had any effect other than to make the place look scruffier than we'd like.

[ReluctantCamper]

Agree kits, we spent a fortune on our Victorian terrace over 10 years, but it was never to fix serious structural issues, it was fitting bathrooms, kitchens etc. However, you do often have the extra cost of having to re plaster a room before you can decorate it, depending on how little tlc the house has had over the years.

Parking was ok, I got really good at parallel parking!

[Muskey]

I have lived in three Victorian houses and two modern ones. I hated the modern ones as they had no character. I have loved the Victorian houses I lived in (one of which was and still is my childhood home and is 150 years old and Our present home was built in 1901 so is just classified as Victorian.imo the older the house the more money you need but as a pp put it you are investing in the future of the house so that it can be enjoyed for generations to come.

[AnnOnymity]

I've lived in 3 and had no major issues at all. Insofar as we had any problems it was down to dodgy renovations in the 1970s.

I'm now in a Georgian house and they are money pits!

[AnnOnymity]

Parking was a major issue. Each house was the width of a car, but almost all were occupied by couples or families with 2 cars.

[Timeforabiscuit]

I'd say a new build was more of a money pit as they depreciate like a stone down a well around here.

As for Victorian houses, I love them - I don't think they are money pits but I think people seriously underestimate the amount of upkeep required.

Things like needing staging to repaint the high ceilings, double the amount of paint and time to paint the big rooms, getting rid of the bloody 70's wood chip.

They also get chopped and changed from family homes to bedsits to flats a bit, with the amateur diy that comes with it.

They're still lovely though, I'm a sucker for a high ceiling!

[Redpolkadotpot]

AnnOnymity - what did everyone do?! 2nd car park in their garden?
The ones here are on a first serve basis, so I'm told by residents it is difficult after 6pm...but then I just think well everyone must manage to park somewhere right. I've had a sneaky look too and most do not park in their gardens....

Yes I love all the little details that an old house has, and their high ceilings and larger rooms, but are they a bugger to heat in in the winter? Are we talking double the bill here? I guess this is why they all have fireplaces!

Timeforabiscuit - when you say people underestimate their upkeep, how do you mean? (in comparison to a new house say)

[MissMysticFalls]

Our new house isn't quite as old - 90 years, but the money we're having to spend on it before we can move is all down to awful stuff done to it in the 80s (asbestos in artex, bodged extension walls, weird electrical stuff, etc). The actual building is sound according to the structural survey and I love the character of it.

[Polonium]

Old houses are often beautiful or charming but they are seldom practical or pleasant to live in. It feels sacrilegious to remove fireplaces from bedrooms. But if you leave them in, there's nowhere to put the things we demand from modern life: like en suite bathrooms, extensive wardrobes etc.

I would rather have a 1960s house or a 70s house.

[AnnOnymity]

Parked on a scrubby bit of grass at the end of the road or several minutes walk away outside newer houses that had there own drives. Sunday evenings were the worst.

[AnnOnymity]

Terraced houses aren't cold as you get the heat from the neighbours each side.

[TheOneWiththeNicestSmile]

Parking is a bit of an issue here (small market town in E Lancs) but luckily in our street - all houses with forecourts too small to park in:

A) every house hasn't got 2 cars & some have none
B) some have a garage at the back
C) none of the rows are very long & there are several side streets offering extra space

But other streets locally have a lot more problems. (Our worst times are day times in term time due to 6th form college round corner). I can imagine a city terrace would be worse.

Our house has cost quite a bit over the 30 years we've lived here but mostly due to bad planning on our part, doing things at the wrong time/in the wrong order.

And I do like the relatively large rooms, high ceilings & solid build (mostly)

[TheOneWiththeNicestSmile]

They can be cold btw - depends on aspect, where the wind is coming from & how effective your glazing is!

[lightgreenglass]

I have lived in a 40s build and two victorian houses - I love my victorian house now but the 40s build is warmer in the winter. But as I tell people - put some clothes and slippers on and it's fine.

I have friends renovating a newer build and it's a money pit. We renovated ours and agree with a pp is the crap done in the 80s which you have to redo not the house itself. I luvs it and I won't move and for the sake of an extra jumper in the winter it's worth it to be proud of my home.

[lightgreenglass]

Also I paid more for my flat heating than I pay for my house so it depends massively on the property regarding heating costs.

[Timeforabiscuit]

In comparison to a new house things that would need upkeep or need additional spends;

Loft insulation kept up to standard, it does need renewing now and again and there's a lot of square footage in a Victorian loft.

Water tanks in loft, new builds tend to have a combined boiler rather than storing hot water in the tank (I do love warm airing cupboards though). Once you discover a dead rat in one though you'll never brush your teeth with the hot tap again.

All manner of birds, bats and beasties like wasps or bees taking up residents in the loft space.

Guttering, as the roof is so high up you can't spot the damage from leaking water until it costs ££££ to rectify. Equally the down pipes are usually metal so cost a lot to replace like with like when they rust through.

Fascias - I never knew those bits on the front of a house needed repainting and cost so much (see also how the beasties mentioned above gain access to the loft).

Roof replacing, on an older property check when this was last done and whether the supporting timbers are in good nick (see above for wood chewing wasps entering through the fascia into the loft space).

Electrics, on older properties these were run off a single ring, which is fine if you're a single elderly person who just watches tv. For a family who wants to use a tumble dryer and a PC at the same time, then putting in a fusebox and a degree of rewiring is needed.

Redecorating, my childhood bedroom took five years to decorate from its lime green wood chip and chocolate gloss woodwork glory. All needed to be stripped back to wood and plaster, re-primed and then wallpapered and painted - it was a formative experience.

Garden walls - these collapse - they collapse quicker when children play on them - they look lovely and are expense to replace like with like.

Drainage , NEVER and I mean NEVER buy a Victorian house at the bottom of a hill, Victorian sewerage systems weren't built to cope with wet wipes, tampons and all other manner of items flushed down a modern toilet. If it backs up on your property, its your problem to fix even if they aren't your wet wipes!

Box sash windows, pricey to replace - not too bad to repair but a pain to repaint. UPVC could be the old cold frame stuff that needs replacing.

Heating systems, these are usually bonkers, filled up with limescale , or old oil storage heaters which cost a bomb.

Damp course, this can breakdown over time the usual fix being injecting silicon, this costs money and a plasterer.

Removing old boilers, storage heaters, water tanks -costs a bomb.

Shape of rooms - sounds odd, but rooms are never perfectly square, floors never perfectly flat so ther e is always a table with a wobble and modern furniture like flat pack IKEA can look a bit lost in a large room.

Cleaning, lots of floorspace means lots of vacuuming, lots of fireplaces means lots of dusting and high ceilings means cobwebs you need a ladder to get to. Spring cleaning literally takes up the spring.

Curtains, nice cheap ones from Wilco? Oh no not for you my friend - you have a bay window to fill, and that means a bespoke set made up.

Diy small jobs - want to put up a shelf? Simple? Nope! You generally have no idea what your drilling into in an old house, old gas light fitting, electrical wire and water pipes all there for you to put a very expensive drill bit into (oh and you will need a good drill, older bricks are decking tough so a hairdryer drill won't cut it).

Mice, very cute, very tough to get out of the floor space, solid concrete in modern housing doesn't have this problem.

I think I've just talked myself out of liking Victorian properties god that was cathartic!

[17leftfeet]

I live in a Victorian terrace and don't think I could live in a new build

It is relatively expensive to heat as the ceilings are so high but the rooms are really spacious -I've got 3 double beds and 2 bathrooms, I would never get that amount of space for the same price in a new build

In terms of maintenance I have a wooden front door that needs maintaining, when I bought it 9 years ago I had to redo the roof and at some point in the next 5 years the gable end which is very exposed will need re-rendering but that will be the first time I've had to do anything in terms of maintenance

Parking is not too bad as the houses are in blocks of 4 then a gap and most houses are single car houses -during the day the road is very quiet

[Redpolkadotpot]

Wow !!! That is a long list of things that I'd never ever considered !
We've only ever had to maintain a modern flat before so things like roof maintenance I hadn't really thought about .

Good tip about being at the bottom of a hill !

We are seeing one tomorrow that we've quite excited about, the garden is south facing so we were hoping this is better for bills and maybe even damp.

Any tips on what to look out for in terms of 'issues' that are common with Victorians ?
We now know from previous experience to look more closely at window & door frames, skirting and things like location and quantity of plug sockets (can indicate whether house may need rewiring).

[Muskey]

You should pay attention if any of the fire places have been taken out and how they have sealed

[LondonGirl83]

It depends on when they last had anything doing to them. If the electrics, plumbing etc hasn't been touched for 30 years or the windows and guttering etc hasn't been well maintained, of course it will be expensive to put right.

However, that is true of a house that is only 30 years old as well. If you buy one that is generally in good condition, it won't be a money pit at all.

Heating will be more expensive but if the house has double glazing and the loft has been insulated (insulating a loft is not expensive) it won't be too bad. If you have the original sash windows, get them draught proofed and thermal curtains or solid shutters will make a big difference.

[Ludways]

I live in a modern house as my dh wanted one, he was the one moving towns to be with me so I let him gave his own way. It's lovely and warm and convenient blardy blah, I am desperate to move to an older house!

[17leftfeet]

Look at sockets and switches to give you an idea of the age of the electrics

Look at the outside very carefully
-does the roof look straight or does it sag?
Condition of gutters?
End terrace -look at where the wall meets the roof, does it look in good condition?
Are there any darker patches on the wall of the first floor? (Damp from overflowing/ cracked gutters)

But these are 2nd viewing things to look at

1st viewing unless you are in a very fast moving market is for the heart -do you love the property? 2nd viewing is for the head and looking at the small but expensive details

[GermanHouseCat]

Absolutely no regrets here. Love our Victorian terrace. Bills really low. We've done a lot of building work, but equally could have done nothing and it would have been a solid house.

They are so charming, go for it!