AIBU to think there's nothing wrong with buying part of an old country house?

[notborntothemanor]

DH and I are moving (within Yorks). We've been house hunting for a while like 3 years so no hurry then. Three DCs. Finally found a place I really like. Old Victorian house divided into three, each with 4+ bedrooms a third of the garden etc. I'd say manor house but not really that grand or big more like big old country house for some rich old Victorian bloke. Mostly done up. I love it. High ceilings, big windows, details, wood floors and so on. DH is worried about offering on it for the following reasons: (1) There are several like this around the areas we are looking and they all take ages to sell and price drop a lot or go off the market (we've been looking at three of them for years and none sold, one in this same house). Maybe the prices will go lower, he says, and more importantly (2) why aren't people buying them? Is it because (3) homebuyers reports often show roof and windows problems, spot of mould etc, or (4) septic tanks and shared driveway responsibilities? But this place is literally twice the size of something newer, and it's grand-shabby outside (I quite like that). Am I missing something? AIBU? If you wouldn't buy a place like this, why not? I could post in property, but I'm more interested in what the people not in one of those stress chain situations would say, I think....

They don't sell well, I've seen 2-3 round here on the market for 12 months plus.

I wouldn't want to pay ££££'s to live near other people or share a garden. Is it leasehold? I bet the monthly service charges are huge as old buildings need maintenance.

I'd also get fed up of people "wowing" at my grand estate and then having to explain that actually it's three houses and I'm basically in a 4 bed semi!

I have a shared septic tank there is absolutely no issues there. I'm not sure what people's concerns are?
Because it only takes one person to pour bleach don't their toilet and it's messed it up. I'd have to really trust the other people sharing my septic tank to treat it as it should.

Septic tanks in rural areas are the norm in NI so I don't understand the aversion to them. It will be part of your solicitors job to check that there are arrangements in place regarding their joint usage.

It's share of freehold so differentbto terraces. You are all responsible for a share of communal areas (roof, walls, windows, potentially heating/ water systems, structure)

We've just moved from a courtyard where there were 3 houses sharing and prior to that we lived in a house that was split into two with a shared garden.

We now live in a detached house and it is so nice to have a bit more privacy. I never want to share land/maintenance with anyone again.

There were issues over maintenance of the roof, one house wouldn't pay towards maintenemave of the courtyard.

Don't do it!

I live in a property a bit like this but in London. I love it in some ways, it's beautiful and old and we could have never ever afforded a house of this size if it didn't have quirky shared aspects and needed a lot of work. After having lived there for 2 years I don't think I would have bought it if I'd have known what it was like living up in the faces of other families, having to run decisions about the garden etc past other people, and it just doesn't feel private, ever. Our neighbours are fairly nice as well, it would be intolerable if they weren't. I also think we will struggle to sell it, so we are basically stuck there long term. Our neighbour tried to sell his house but had no offers at all. Our house is bigger and nicer, but had sat on the market a long time until we bought it.

I wouldn't buy it. You might move in and get hit by a big bill. I presume your surveyor doesn't look at the entire property?

Also because of the garden size. Surely one of the joys of a place like this would be the garden. You might as well buy modern if you're going to have a small garden, imo.

What I meant was, where I am the terrace roofs have clear dividing lines between properties marked by the chimneys and (I'm not sure of the terms?) some kind of ridge / line that clearly delineates the properties and separates the tiles. So it's possible to have all the tiles on your roof removed and repoint up to the ridge without encroaching onto your neighbours roof at all. One roof arbitrarily split into three by legal paperwork rather than by construction is unlikely to have clear dividing lines.

I'm surprised to hear that terraces are frequently constructed as one long roof with no dividing lines. Sounds like a recipe for trouble to me. I wouldn't buy a terrace like that either I don't think!

Oh and of course you can get single tiles removed/replaced and small areas of storm damage separately repaired. I was thinking of a major issue that affects the whole structure, you wouldn't have much luck trying to just repair a third of it. What roofer would touch that given that the new work would be quickly undermined by the unfixed areas.

Wouldn't touch it. Too many potential issues with the 'sharing' part. Septic tanks are ok but would not want to share one - eg we are very careful with what goes into ours but others might not be, particularly if they are paying only 1/3 of the bills/maintenance/repairs etc. Also as pps say, may be disputes arising from roof, driveway, garden etc. Also re neighbours, as with nbs anywhere, they could be perfectly lovely but then move out a month later ... something you have no control over whatsoever. Apart from all that, if it's rural, then I've always thought that if I live rurally, with all the drawbacks that entails such as no amenities, no shops/pavements/streetlights/public transport, then the least that I want in return is solitude!

It's not whether it's technically possible though it's that you should only pay say, 1/3 of the cost no matter how minor or major. Why should you pay for roof repairs just because the damaged area sits above the part you own?

I have not lived in a "shared" house like this, but our house is Georgian. We spent a six figure sum fixing all the issues before we moved in. It still costs £££ in maintenance, and we hold large amounts of money in a specific fixing-the-house fund.

What I'm saying is be prepared that you will end up spending your fun money on replacing the bloody windows.

Just to say, whatever you decide, DEFINITELY get a homebuyers' survey. We just had one done on an older property which revealed £38k of essential remedial work that needed to be done - £33k of which is urgent as in "as soon as you move in". Some of it we knew about from viewings but around £27k of it we couldn't have known. There's no problem with buying an older house which needs work but just make sure you know about it before you finalise your offer!

Wow, thanks so much everyone. Your feedback is fantastic and so valuable. As I am a bit anal control freak careful, I've put your comments into a spreadsheet. Overall with a current sample size of 64 (a few post more than once), it seems like ppl see more disadvantages and fewer advantages.

Just in case it affects what you think, I spoke to the agent. So it's like a terrace of three with each garden separated out by boundaries, and each one of the 3 properties being solely responsible for its own upkeep from walls to drainpipes to roof and chimneys (eh?) and for its own garden. The driveway upkeep is shared and the septic tank for this one is shared with just one of the three properties. DH now on board devil's advocate thinks if we hear ppl through thin internal walls we can add sound proofing and says if septic tank an issue we can install our own (but cost and new regulations apparently potential issue....) Septic tank not even on land of this house. And now, both of us agree we would have to know much more about the neighbors and of course, can't control who moves in and when... So basically yes, very much like terraced house at detached cost and also yes, grand big-roomed terrace in great spot with a lot of pros (could never afford this much space and views etc in a detached house...)

All this has absolutely helped us understand why these places sit on the market for so long! We'd had a few clues but never really thought about how your neighbors can affect you.

Thanks again mumsnetters, you are brill!

You can not easily add sound proofing - acoustic consultant (formerly) and whilst you can attenuate the sound you don't get rid of it. it wont just be the noise that you hear but the noise that you make that your neighbours complain about. friends around until early morning with music on or kids parties will be a thing of the past!

disputes between neighbours living in properties like this kept me in a job for years. unless you have first hand experience, you have no idea how some people can make your lives hell. the closer in proximity you are and the more you share stuff like land the worse it is.

a few examples; leaking roof from one property going down the walls into next door. property one refused to do the works, it wasn't affecting them ended up having to take them to court.

noise sensitive neighbour pushing notes through the door all the time complaining about the alarm in the morning, door slamming as you left for school, the tv, friends visiting and on and on and on.

Please, please do not rely on insulation it is very expensive and very difficult to get right

My mum lives in a house like this. On mains water, but the services were not separated/metered properly and it took years to sort out, so everyone (3 houses) git their proper utility bills. DM's house was actually a Victorian extension to the Georgian house, and has a lower roof. I understand that there has been much debate about the maintenance of the main roof.

Oh well that sounds much more like a terrace, I was wrong!

I've always lived in terraces, never had any problems. Sounds like you should go for it if you are confident it's easily affordable (a high pressure sale if rates go up and you can't afford the mortgage would be tricky indeed by the sound of it).

For a small fee (£4 I think) you can download details of the property from the Land Registry. So you can see exactly what the title is.

Having had experience of a leasehold flat, I wouldn't touch a shared property like this with a barge pole.

We live next door to a large country house which is now divided into 3 'terraced' houses. They don't come on to the market often, but each time they have they sell really quickly with no problems.

We are crowded south east in popular commuting area which might help though.

Sounds like a very expensive way to live cheek by jowl with neighbours!

Septic tanks no problem if treated sensibly, I.e only body waste and toilet roll, but only need dippydrawers princess next door flushing her wipes or throwing bleach down a sink because she thinks it is a bin and you have a problem.

Put a link and you will get better advice.

Is there any way to check what the sound insulation is like? That would be my main concern. I've lived in a place that was originally a single house before it was divided into two properties. Good thing I was renting because the noise nearly drove me crazy!