To think 'character' properties aren't all they're cracked up to be?

[LellyGreen]

We live in a Victorian house. Its cold and drafty, we've had various issues with damp and leaks, the ceiling on the landing collapsed three years ago, we got it fixed for it to happen again last year and we had to have the whole roof replaced. There are weird alcoves in the lounge on every wall that has stopped us from being able to hang the TV on the wall like we wanted to. Solid wood floors in every room that haven't been maintained well by previous owners and dons hard hat I've wanted several times to tear up and chuck carpet down because they're in such bad state. The room sizes are very generous, but they're too big and apart from a few more sensibly sized rooms they feel cold and empty. Our hallway is 5mx5.5m!! Who needs a hallway that big? It just looks like a big empty room. Anyway.. it's just been so much hassle. We go to do one small job and it turns out it's actually a huge job, every time. I've always vowed to never buy a new build because "they have no character" but I've done it. I've gone to the dark side. I have bought a new shiny new build and I couldn't give a toss about the character I'm losing and I can't wait to be in a house that is warm, and doesn't feel empty all the time! I get a lot of it is down to developers, I've heard the persimmon horror stories of paper thin walls and box rooms.. but I'm firmly in the new build camp now. Pick a good developer (ideally a small/local one) with a good build quality and generous room dimensions and don't look back!! Character is a pain in the ass and over hyped. You can add character to your beautiful new house that isn't full of hidden problems.

AIBU? If you're avoiding new builds purely because of these reasons everyone goes on about.. I highly recommend viewing one for yourself. You may be pleasantly surprised

We've just moved into a new build - the only way I'd do so again is with a small developer - the big ones are nightmares! The snags we've had on this house have been horrendous (exterior doors not locking, broken bath, wonky floor, scratched windows... the list goes on), however my DH is on them like a hawk and they're fixing everything as they know they won't get away with not doing so with him

Once it's all fixed I'm sure I'll feel better about the house, but my goodness it's a pain while you have to sort it out. I wouldn't take on an old property either though, I'd like something just low maintenance and hassle free please!

I don't think you can blame the 'character' of your house on your new ceiling collapsing

Maybe you and your friends have nice old homes that are lovely and warm, but the lovely old Victorian homes I’ve seen bought by friends in recent years have been so draughty and seem to cost a lot of money to make marginally warmer

I mean this gently but you understand you and your mates homes are not representative of all old properties right, neither is my or my friends homes, which is why I corrected your statement that not all old properties are either rickety or draughty,

The first thing I noticed and have contributed to appreciate in our new build is the fact it is so warm and draft free! I love character buildings to look at, but I wouldn't live in one as a first choice.

I live in a thatch. It costs a fortune as every single little job needs a custom size of everything. In the plus side, it is stone built, so retains heat very well and keeps cool in summer. It was also quite cheap as the cost of the roof drags down the asking price, so I get a lot of house for my money. I love it so much I want to be carried out in a box, I don't really care how hard it is.

@Bluntness100 A mere 350 years old here! Slight thread derail but have you bothered joining the listed property owners club? It seems quite useful for getting suppliers and possibly for campaigning on the VAT discount, but I wasn't sure. Any thoughts?

Old houses do require maintenance, but it sounds like you bought a particularly big house with a lot of pressing jobs that you don’t have the funds/energy to tackle.

That’s a hard situation to be in.

I've always loved older homes but I will never buy one again. You only need one that has not been maintained with thin walls and that's it. I'm going for a mid century bungalow after our next move

[quote Tootletum]@Bluntness100 A mere 350 years old here! Slight thread derail but have you bothered joining the listed property owners club? It seems quite useful for getting suppliers and possibly for campaigning on the VAT discount, but I wasn't sure. Any thoughts?[/quote]
I just had a look, I think I’d only join if I needed advice, as you have to pay for it! I’m tight like that...😃

My house was built in 1800....it needs a bit of money spending on it which i cant afford....im currently paying a fortune for someone to repair and paint my wooden windows.

@Tootletum

I live in a thatch. It costs a fortune as every single little job needs a custom size of everything. In the plus side, it is stone built, so retains heat very well and keeps cool in summer. It was also quite cheap as the cost of the roof drags down the asking price, so I get a lot of house for my money. I love it so much I want to be carried out in a box, I don't really care how hard it is.

Yes, I love mine, it’s chocolate box pretty and we have spent six years renovating it, so it’s to our taste, it’s sound structurally but cosmetically the last owners had not touched it for over three decades.

The main bathroom is being done next month and it’s the last big thing. I’m nervous about what they will find when they take everything out. But it needs doing and we can’t put it off any longer.

We won’t be able to live here for ever, if we are lucky enough to get old, because it will become too much for us, so we will move into something new and smaller. But I’d be very sad. It’s the first house I’ve lived in like this, and it’s the first time I’ve renovated a property, so am attached to it emotionally.

We live in a large 1910s detached house. DH lives period houses (as do I) but I would live in a new build on an estate quite happily.

Weekends and time off are spent doing repairs and diy, every job takes forever due to the scale of the rooms, everything is more expensive, again due to scale.

Bills are higher due to the fact that eco options weren’t available when the house was built.

We’ve spent a fortune on timber double glazing, to stay in keeping with the age of the property.

I could go on ...

My first house was an old (1880s) mid terrace. Cold and needed loads doing to it that I just couldn't afford. Stayed about 3 years then DH and I bought our first house together.

This wasn't a new build but was only about 20 years old (1970s). Lovely house, very comfortable.

When we decided to move to something bigger we thought we would like to live in a " with character", mature house. However, when we started looking we found none of them were quite what we wanted inside. On the outside - lovely. But there was always something that just wouldn't have worked for us. Either that or they needed loads doing that we couldn't afford.

Then we spotted a new estate going up near where we already lived. The developer had a good reputation and had built lots in our area. Traditional style houses that just exactly met our spec. We have been in it now for over 20 years and have never really had any problems.

So on balance I have to say I have been more satisfied with newer houses - but maybe we have been lucky with reputable builders.

We left a new build to move to an edwardian house. It’s just one nightmare after another. Everything needs doing, the previous owners have either done nothing for the last 20 years or done it so badly it all needs ripping out. It’s cold, damp, we’ll spend more than it’s worth just to make it acceptable. My new build was amazing and I loved. We had very few issues with it and the ones we did have were sorted very quickly.

This reminds me of slightly posher late Victorian terraces in Hull with bay windows where the wood framing over the bay would start a few centimetres deep on one side of the bay and finish 25cm deep on the other side. Obviously the houses were subsiding as they were going up!

The terrace was still standing because one house was leaning on the next.

I suppose our old place would be described as 'character with knobs on'. We have a love/hate relationship with it and it's not easy to live in, far from it, especially without staff, but nor is it easy to leave. Strange that.

Living near Bath there are lots of Georgians round here, but due to being money pits, people keep buying them, spending a fortune and trying to recoup via a sale. So your £300k buys you a 4 bed new or nearly new build detached with a garage, or a 3 bed period property with only one toilet.

We bought a new build in the town centre 7 years ago and it's brilliant. Small developer bought an old brewery and demolished it.

Glad you find my general observations so funny smile*

I think it might be like a nervous twitch...

Glad you find my general observations so funny smile

I think it might be like a nervous twitch...

I find it amazing how EAs think character and potential are marketable qualities especially when they mean some run down wreck that you can "make your own stamp on ".

We avoided newbuilds because for the price of our decent sized 3 bed character semi we could have bagged ourselves a 2 bed apartment - on a persimmon development round the corner, or we could have stretched ourselves to a poky 3 bed townhouse. The only house on the nicer, not persimmon, development around the corner that would have suited us was double our max budget.

My Welsh crog loft cottage is 170 years old. We are off grid for water and sewage and have had to fit a new sewage treatment system £££ and a new pump in our bore hole since me moved in 5 years ago (fortunately shared with 2 neighbours). Nothing is straight and the walls are made of rock and so drilling into them to mount anything is a lottery and generally requires expansion bolts.

However, the meter thick walls mean we can't hear our neighbours (semi) at all unless we both have a window open, and it would be near impossible to buy a new build 300m up a mountain.

I love my little cottage.

I would love to move into a property period, I've even looked round a few I think they're beautiful but yes it's a big factor I have to remind myself of.

My new build has no character at all and I really bothers me

Funny isn't it? You can buy a Victorian 2 bed in my northern home town for about £125k but a new build 2 bed is more like £180k. I guess it depends on the audience.

@Arnoldthecat

I find it amazing how EAs think character and potential are marketable qualities especially when they mean some run down wreck that you can "make your own stamp on ".

Thing is they’re right. Or at least they are round here.