To ask for your reasons for preferring period properties?

[Derlei]

Sorry, another LLL thread.

I always come across buyers on this programme looking for "period properties". What is it about period properties that people prefer? Is it the charm, is it the potential history associated with it, or is it the way that they're physically constructed? Do they appreciate more in value relative to other types of builds in the same area?

Some of the period properties Kirsty and Phil find are quirky and quintessentially British, but at the same time are tiny and imo don't look very cosy

It depends on the property tbh. I live in an old mill town and there is row upon row of terraces built during the 1800s to accommodate the workers. Some are lovely but they are all a bit samey samey.

Apart from university halls of residence for 2 years I've never lived in a house built in the 20th or 21st century.

Older properties are just more interesting. The ceiling heights of modern property are weird. The first 3 flats I owned were in what were built as ordinary working class Victorian tenements and they had higher ceilings than a standard new build. Current home needs internal scaffolding to paint or decorate. Ceiling height is I think 15ft, possibly more.

That's quite interesting re their location and the fact they're likely to be in well served areas, never really noticed that.

Although I'm in a 70s property, I've always liked new builds and quite like the idea that we're the first inhabitants. I know this is going to sound pathetic but older properties really freak me out and I don't like the thought of people living and sleeping in it 100 years before I did (I think I watch too many horror films)

Build quality. Modern houses are ugly and poorly built IMO.

I think as others have said, it is the character and the history of who has lived there before that appeals.

Saying that, I am not keen at all on Victorian houses. I find them dark, and while they may have high ceilings, I often find the kitchens on the small side.

I like the proportions and the character, plus we figure they're not going to build anymore of them, so they will always retain a certain value over new builds which can be found everywhere nowadays.

That said I would much prefer a brand new house. Old houses creep me out, I hate going in our understair cupboard, I hate the little creaks the house makes and as we live in a terrace house we can hear the neighbours when they sneeze or laugh loudly, it's like there are ghosts living in the walls! I'm clearly a bit of a sensitive soul, although clearly doesn't bother me that much as we are still here

I prefer a house to have had a history. Modern or newer houses feel like shells to me.

Mainly character. New builds tend to feel like square boxes out of an identikit computer plan. Period properties can be (aren't always) quirkier, more interesting.

Having said that, they can also be a bit too quirky in places. Like doors that don't fit the frames, uneven floors etc. I don't mind it but I can see how it wouldn't be everybody's cup of tea.

I currently live in a 1970 build, through necessity rather than choice. If I could have my own place I would love to go back to the 18th century cottage we were in before.

So many reasons - character, rooms are usually larger, higher ceilings, good quality build, larger gardens that haven't been filled with builders' rubble and turfed over. No contest really. I would never buy a new house and particularly loathe estates.

Ghosts, it's nice to have some company.

I used to think I loved only period properties until DH and I realised how much cheaper it would be to build our own house than buy in our preferred area.

Now I think it's about space- old places often have higher ceilings and bigger rooms. They're often quite identikit though in terms of the layout (think terraces) so the argument that they're better than estates doesn't really stand - it's just that people have done different bits and bobs over the years.

Our new-build is unique to us, exactly the space we want and has lots of unusual and IMO characterful features. Plus it costs us nothing to run- which is a huge disadvantage of often poorly insulated period places, especially the listed ones that you can't really change.

Basically I think that people assume period = character which is sometimes the case, but in actuality that's not very imaginative.

Aesthetics for me. If a new build was beautiful I'd buy it. But I just don't like the look of the majority, personally.

Also is it just me or do brand new builds (of the new estate kind) seem really expensive for what they are? Like you pay a premium for a house no one else has lived in. It seems like they're a bit like a new car - once its been driven off the forecourt, the value drops massively.

I'd love to build our own house though.

I like period properties because they are pretty. I like new builds because they are shiny and new. But the latter don't stay that way for very long.

I've always lived in Victorian houses, bar at university, and am now in a Victorian terrace. The ceiling heights are much more appealing, I like proper wood windows, sadly the previous owner of our house lowered the ceiling to put those little round lights in (no idea what they are called) which I HATE and it means it's awkward to fit curtain rails or blinds properly and the picture rails and cornicing are gone. Also, all of the furniture and decorating I've acquired over the years is antique or in that style and just looks weird in a modern boxy house, which I think does suit ikea type stuff more. But the modern stuff also looks good in an old building, I feel the juxtaposition works that way but not the other if you see what I mean?

Character, higher ceilings, bigger rooms, bigger gardens.
Also build quality though arguably a 100 year house will have various stuff needing attending to.
I don't see us ever buying a new build house.

Aesthetics really, they're just much better looking.

New builds are generally ugly in comparison. I have minimal white boxes.

appearance mainly. I just prefer the look of them.
Although having once lived in a new build, I would also add that the solid construction and attendant soundproofing of older properties are definite pluses

hate* not have!

DH and I both grew up in Edwardian houses and wouldn't live in a new build.

Our first house was a purpose built Victorian maisonette with beautiful sash windows and an amazing internal staircase down to the shared garden. High ceilings, original fireplaces etc. We now live in a 30's house, not quite period but still much more space than a new build.

DH is a surveyor and would never buy a new build. Spends a lot of time working with maintenance companies that look after new builds and people are constantly being called out for repairs. They're just not built to last.

Having lived in a two bed Victorian terrace and a three bed inter-war semi and been brought up in cottages in various states of delapidation turned into cosy homes by my DM, I now live in an externally soulless four bed detached. We made the sacrifice because we were in a rush, had a very limited budget and were moving back to our hometown which has limited stock, the 'slums' (prob perfectly good Victorian workers' terraces) were demolished to make way for car parks and supermarkets.

Anyway, though the exterior of my house makes my soul sad, inside it's becoming cosier and because it's our space it doesn't matter so much.

While I loved the period features such as sash windows with warped glass, fireplaces and original floorboards and tiles of our first home; the bay windows and Formica door handles of our second and the wood burners and isolation of my mum's cottages, I can see a kind of potential here. It need a bit of a Grand Design but there's masses of space for conversion and open planning as well as a pretty good view from the top of a hill. And it's cheap which means we work to live rather than to pay our mortgage.

Oh, our current place is 1970s, so will modern-yet-dated, flimsy it ain't.

while 🍷

Horses for courses surely. And it depends who the builders are in a new build. Some are badly built, crammed in and some aren't. Ours has high ceilings, south facing garden, garage and parking spaces, open space nearby and proximity to public transport and shops, although it's a quiet road and not near a main road. It's also a five minute drive from the sea.

I'm always drawn to high ceilings, dual aspect rooms, working fireplaces, pantries, good quality floorboards that look good polished, large attics and those things tend to be found in period property. I love a classic Georgian doorway and proportions, or the space you find in Victorian houses.

However more practically I also like having a garage and a house that's easy and cheap to heat! Our previous house was an 1830s end terrace that had terrible, ineradicable damp and street parking only; now we live in a 1980s mid-terrace with almost the same amount of space internally and has the advantage of a garage and, blessedly, no damp.

So I guess what I'm waffling about is that while I'm aesthetically drawn to period properties, the most important thing is that the house works for us and I'll happily live in a newer build with only the odd wistful hankering after a nice big inglenook or whatever.

I love period properties, particularly those in the Georgian style like ours, they are aesthetically pleasing and they feel solid and more durable. Modern houses look like lego houses to me - at least the ones built in our area do. They are whacked up in no time at all and are often built with substandard materials.

In the small town I live in there is a class division when it comes to buying houses. People with a 'working class' background tend to view moving up the housing ladder as buying a new house and more 'middle class' people want period properties - just the more expensive ones.