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

I love old properties- maybe you’ve just been unlucky. Enjoy your new build though xx

One half of our house is 700 years old and I think it's the cosiest part of the house. Although the rest of it is pretty lovely and warm too. We've just fully renovated it but we were always planning to do that to whatever house we moved into.

It's been well maintained over its life, according to the surveyor before we exchanged. Presumably that helps.

I understand the stress - I'm in a 200 year old home that needs a major job done at the moment, which was neglected by the previous owner. There is some question as to how far we will have to go with it once we start. It preys on my mind at times.

Generally though, I do not think that is inevitable. More important is how careful people have been about maintaining the property over the years. If you buy a place that hasn't been maintained for some time, there may be damage or problems that have gone further than you think, or which are difficult to pinpoint. The difficulty often, IMO, is that an old property that has been well maintained or completely renovated is very expensive, so people buy one that seems to need some work - and it turns out to need a lot of work.

As far as things like odd alcoves in the lounge, I'm not sure why that would be unexpected, really. You do sometimes have to think differently about decorating in an older house, but usually there are solutions.

I grew up in a 500 year old thatched cottage and my dad did do quite a few bits to it all the time to maintain it. He had to learn how to lime plaster and it had to be totally rewired, plus they’ve had it fully re thatched once and the top fine every few years.
I currently live in a new house (25 years) and we haven’t had any issues so far but I would love an older character property, something like an old farmhouse or similar would be lovely. I also love barn conversions as you have the interesting character features but often with quite modern fittings, and high ceilings.

I love my house. Part of it is 1870s, part of it is early 1900s. It doesn't leak, it's warm, and it's comfy. For sure, if I removed the wood chip wallpaper from most of the walls, the plaster would probably come off with it, so I just won't remove the wallpaper. And yes, half the floor in guest room has dropped slightly 😂, but it gives the room that little bit of extra character. And yes, I'd it's raining and there's a strong wind, the rain might leak through the window in the kitchen, but that's always quite amusing! I love the quirks of it tbh. I don't think I could ever bring myself to buy a new build.

Op.
It will take time to acclimatise. We bought a newer house with proper double glazing and insulation. Took 3 years before we could home and not open all the windows and doors cos it was so hot! Heating is barely on even now!

If I were to buy and could choose any era I think I’d got for 1920s. Beautiful houses.

Old houses tend to be built in the “right” place. A few miles from us there are twenty new builds - on a floodplain.

A new build (if it were decently built, i don’t mean some plywood box thrown up in 2 minutes) probably would be easier to heat and more economical than our period house. But I’d far far rather live in our house than a new build. I love its character, quirks and history. I love that families lived in it 200 years ago. I love the fact we’re preserving some of the features and continuing a piece of history.

I think you also need to be realistic that if you’re talking an individual architect designed, environmentally friendly new build, then yeah, that could be really attractive. But it’ll cost you at least as much as buying and maintaining a period house - and probably be bloody difficult for a developer to obtain the land, planning permission etc for something really individual. Be honest- most new builds are going to be uniform houses on new developments. Often they’re not in such convenient locations either. You’re more likely to get an older property in a town or city whereas new estates are likely to be outside

But I’d far far rather live in our house than a new build

And the op would rather live in a new build as ultimately she wishes convenience and her previous period house wasn’t a good buy as they didn’t realise the issues with that particular house or have the resources (time/money) to deal with them/turn it into something efficient..

We are all different, and that’s great. It would be a weird world if we all wished the same thing. 😃

I'd lived in Victorian houses all my life and was sure I would never look at a modern house.

Then, to stay in an area we love, we bought an ugly, bland 1970s house. It was a revelation - no drafts! I didn't know it was possible to live in a room without drafts. I actually find myself opening windows in November because it's so warm.

In the end, I've totally sold out on aesthetics in order to snuggle down and feel nice and toasty.

OP I'm with you. I've worked in the heritage sector, history at university, love history and all things old, going to historical places etc etc. But that's not what I want from my home, give me functional, economical, and easy any day. I grew up in a Victorian terrace and was so jealous of my friends in the "boxes" by the school as my dad called them, our house was big but cold, and we didn't have the money to repair or decorate. I've lived in several new builds, always opting for modern, never had any issues, our current house is a beautiful large 4 bed, with double garage overlooking countryside. Developer were fantastic, fixing all snags found in snagging report within a couple weeks, their customer service was next to none. There's a lot of generalisation with new builds, but you can't generalise new builds any more than you can old houses, just like an old house the more money you have the bigger and better quality you'll be able to buy.

I think it would depend on the new build.
We lived in a new build when DD1 was tiny. No storage anywhere which was a major issue. Tiny hall - nowhere to hang coats. One tallish cupboard in the kitchen to try and fit hoover, mop, ironing board in plus coats.
Three toilets, one downstairs, two upstairs. Master bedroom fitted a bed and a chest of drawers but that left nowhere to put sheets, towels etc. We ended up turning a bedroom into a storage room for all of that. DDs room was a box room that just fitted her cot, drawers and changing table. We put a shelf on the wall, I put her two baby towels on it and the whole thing ripped out - it was plasterboard and it couldn’t take it.

Would never, ever live in a new build like that again. One where the developers understood that you might need storage as well as/instead of a toilet each? With walls you could put a shelf on? I’d consider that.

I am now in a nice, solid 1950s house. Nothing special to look at but walls we can put shelves on, decent sized rooms so we can have drawers to store things - life is good!

I'm in an old house. I secretly agree with you. Money pit.

@babybythesea why can't you put shelves on the walls? We've always had shelves in every room practically, even in our cheapest poorest quality new build we managed shelves (DH did put some extra supports on one set actually come to think of it, floating shelves aren't great on soft walls but other shelves were fine)

I'd much rather live in a house with character than a new build. All the new builds near me you would struggle to swing a hamster in the main bedroom. They often don't come with a parking space and the garden is pocket sized. The only reason that downstairs tends to look large and airy in photos is because it is open plan. If you put walls in to make a kitchen, living room and dining room, you would struggle to use any of the rooms for their intended function.

I grew up in a Victorian terrace and was so jealous of my friends in the "boxes" by the school as my dad called them, our house was big but cold, and we didn't have the money to repair or decorate

That’s the nub of the issue though, it was you were living in a home your parents couldn’t afford. If you can’t afford to heat it, repair it or decorate it, then you’ve made a terrible decision.

@Kpo58 but you know not on new builds are like that? If the OP had a 5mx5m hallway I'm sure her budget stretches further for a bigger house than what you're describing.

My new build has 6 private parking spaces 🤷‍♀️

@Bluntness100 absolutely I don't disagree I said that to show they weren't in the right position for it, nor would they, but in their defence they bought before the massive interest hikes so just demonstrates it's a risk to buy a house that comes with more financial responsibility if your situation changes. But they were lulled by the "character" my mum now lives in a new build, my dad still opts for characterful (and freezing!) houses though.

I’ve had 3 old houses. One Victorian very cheap converted stables, affectionately referred to as the lean to. It’s got endless issues, I rent it out and I’d sell if I wasn’t fond of my tenants.

Last house, big Victorian terrace that had been well looked after, quirky, lightfilled, loved it but no drive and parking was a mare.

This house, 1908, we are getting issue after issue of the last 40 years of bodge jobs.

Next house I fantasise about a characterful well insulated new build with a view!

I rented a new build and it was not warm, not enough storage, small rooms, tiny garden. The worst thing for me was the 10 year guarantee on the roof. Not very optimistic about the build quality!

But they were lulled by the "character" my mum now lives in a new build, my dad still opts for characterful (and freezing!) houses though

Sounds like your mother has sense, your father is still living some place he can’t afford if it’s freezing, the fact it’s freezing is nothing about the house, it’s because he can’t afford to heat it and make it efficient.

Mines toasty warm, but we know the cost of heating it and how to do it efficiently, we also have two wood burners and are self sufficient in wood, so other than the cost of the sweeps that doesn’t cost us anything,

Downstairs is drafty but we have thermal backed blinds, and rugs over the floor boards, as the cold air comes up from the cellar. If we couldn’t afford to heat it, no way would we live here.

And I think that’s the issue with a lot of these posts, people are like your father, they have bought properties lulled by the character that they can’t afford to live in, so should never be there in the first place. They should be in a new build that they can afford to live in.

Old homes weren't designed for central heating or double glazing and often have single brick walls. This is why old homes get condensation. Unless you strip an old property to it's shell and start again you need to think about the way you use your home.

I prefer cool bedrooms and have the window open at night even in winter.
My bedroom is only heated by any warm air from other rooms.
Our main heating is a huge woodburner. In cold weather it is lit first thing and kept going until 9pm when we turn it down to a slow burn. Obviously not practical for people out at work all day.
We are rarely cold and we never get condensation. We do have thick stone walls though that retain heat.

so should never be there in the first place. They should be in a new build that they can afford to live in

My goodness, seriously? We can afford to live in our 400 year old, listed house but it is draughty and no amount of money will change that. It’s a price we’re willing to pay for living in a little slice of history. Perhaps we should never be here in the first place either?

@Bluntness100 absolutely, and space as well, it was a huge house that we had growing up (but we didn't need it, another mistake I think some people make miscalculating what space they need, on both sides of the debate). His current house is a stone cottage and as he only rents not owns there is a limit to what he can do to it to make it warm (as it doesn't have central heating!!) but he also wants to be in the middle of nowhere with no one around him which you can't really get from a new build unless building your own!

But it's one of those things where I grew up seeing them struggle with a difficult house, despite the fact we have a lot more disposable income than they had, repairing and heating an old house isn't how I want to spend it despite being able to afford to do so if we so chose!