AIBU to buy an old house that needs work when we don’t need to?

[FelicityBob]

We live in a modern 4 bed detached house which suits us well. The opportunity has come up for us to buy a house just down the road which is 100 years old, 4 bed semi. Although it’s not detached It is a bit bigger than what we’ve got now as it would have a living room, playroom, and dining room, whereas now we have one living room and a kitchen-diner. It’s also has a utility room which we haven’t got now. Upstairs space isn’t much different to what we’ve got now except we’ve got an en-suite now which the other house doesn’t have. The garden is bigger and flat and really lovely. I’ve always wanted to live in a period property. The house needs a lot of updating- floral carpets, floral wall paper, strange colours, lots of modernising required. Would be nice to redo the kitchen and bathrooms but they don’t HAVE to be done. We don’t have a lot of time do DIY/decorating and wouldn’t have a lot of money left at the end of each month so would be a slow process updating the house and we’d be living with some weird carpets for a long time.
We don’t need to move. We’re fine where we are. So that makes me nervous. But I feel like we won’t get another opportunity to buy a house like that in the town we live in as there aren’t many and they get snapped up quickly. The end product could be amazing, but I feel like it could take a long time and a lot of money to get there.
So AIBU to move to a house that needs updating, would cost more money, and have the stress of moving when we really don’t need to?

It sounds like a massive pain in exchange for a bit of cachet, personally I wouldn't bother

I would check very carefully the amount of updating it needs. If it’s rewiring, changing central heating and possibly roofing, guttering etc it could be very costly indeed.

If it really is cosmetic work and you can live with it then yes, I’d be very tempted indeed.

You'd be quite mad to do that for so little gain when it would clearly stretch you. It almost definitely needs a lot more than more up to date decor.

I’d do it in a heartbeat! If it will make you happier and you can afford to, why not? Your surroundings are important and a big factor in your happiness! I say do it!

You don’t have enough time, little surplus money at the end of the month.

Sounds like a lot of stress at this point in your life.

If it hasn't been up dated for a long time, I bet it will need more than cosmetic work - rewiring, plumbing etc etc. Unless you have ££££ to throw at it, I wouldn't bother.

Do you have a link?

@Wandafishcake

I’d do it in a heartbeat! If it will make you happier and you can afford to, why not? Your surroundings are important and a big factor in your happiness! I say do it!

Because my worry is that it wouldn’t make us happier. It’s a bit of a gamble

I lover older houses and live in one, but they really are money pits - something always needs doing. I sometimes fantasise about a new build!

@pinkearedcow

If it hasn't been up dated for a long time, I bet it will need more than cosmetic work - rewiring, plumbing etc etc. Unless you have ££££ to throw at it, I wouldn't bother.

Do you have a link?

It’s not on the market- it belongs to someone we know who wants to move but hasn’t found a property to buy yet, they will sell to us privately

I would move to a period property without an en suite (hate ’em!) in a heartbeat but I’m a glutton for DIY, dust, “ooh, what if I just do this one thing whoops that’s the ceiling gone, oh well, in for a penny in for a trip to B&Q”, Pinterest-boarding nightmare project with surprise mice and a diet of supermarket saver-brand toast because you’ve spent all your money on boring renovation stuff before you’ve even got to the fun wallpaper bit.

What’s the neighbour like in the semi-detached place? Because if you’re in detached now it’d be awful to move and share a wall with noisy twats.

ive done 4 developments now. imagine how hard you think it will be and then x 5 to get the realistic stress levels for full refurbishment . id only do it again if there was big profit to be made or major life upgrades.

I think next door are a grown up family, whereas we have young kids so we’d be noisier than them I imagine

If it's not been touched in a while ( doesn't sound like it has) it might need a full Re wire.
If it is original lath, replastering every room will cost thousands (believe me the mess from that black hairy plaster is hell!)
That's before you begin thinking about the big stuff like the roof.
It's a massive commitment. I live in one. It costs a fortune to run. Everything costs twice as much as you think and then some.
Having said that, they're beautifully proportioned and have some gorgeous features. But don't underestimate how much time and money they take.

Detached over semi-detached any time. Even if the neighbours are church mice now there's nothing to say that will always be the case.

Apart from that living with long term upheaval as the latest carpet gets fitted or wall painted wouldn't appeal.

If it belongs to someone you know, who would like to sell it to you, then could you say to them that you love the idea but it's a lot of work and you need a survey first to make sure there isn't anything you can't afford? Obviously there's outlay for the survey, but it could be worth it. Or get someone in to review the electrics and the boiler to make sure they're ok - which will be good for the current owner if they go to open market as well. Those are two of the big potential costs, and a survey won't pick up on whether or not you need rewiring, they just ask when it was last done!

Is it double glazed etc? How energy efficient is it?

Because if you’d not have a lot of money left at the end of each month, any increase in utilities is going to eat into that.

Plus if it’s not been maintained work will be required at points going forward,

It’s fine saying you’d be living with swirly carpets for a long time, but in reality that could get you down.

I think the blunt truth is you can’t afford it, as it needs renovating, you don’t have the time or money so it is better to stay put.

I live in an old house that I'm desperate to get out of. It has been a money pit from day one, total pain in the arse. I wish we'd gone for the modern one when we had the choice between the two.

@FelicityBob

I think next door are a grown up family, whereas we have young kids so we’d be noisier than them I imagine

That can change

We live in a big Victoria semi- 1st 12 years we had an elderly couple next door and we only heard them at 8.45 on a Saturday morning when they hoovered the back on their hall cupboard (Honestly-they liked routine)

Now it is a family with 4 children- I feel like we live with them.

If you don’t have the time and money to do it justice and it won’t hugely improve your quality of life then no, I wouldn’t do it.

I live in an old house which I love but it’s cost a fortune to modernise and get a layout that suits us. We struggled to find time to DIY with working/studying and then a baby/young child, so contractors have done the works for us, but even that takes time, finding tradesmen, getting them out to quote, getting the quotes back, chasing them for snagging etc. Even jobs you think are simple like stripping wallpaper can snowball in an old house when you remove one of the 80 layers of wallpaper and half of the plaster comes away.

We will probably need to upgrade in 5-10 years’ time and at that point will probably buy something like an 80s/90s executive build.

OP I have been in your position several times. Each time we went with the period property that needed a bit of work but would be absolutely lovely when done. Each time we would do a couple of rooms and then run out of steam and live in a half grotty house for years until we needed to move. Our last house we went for mint condition over period features and it’s suited us so much better. We go stay in lovely period houses for long weekends now. But at home we live in a warm, non-damp box that doesn’t constantly need work and it’s lovely.

Sounds like you would have a lot more living space, and ultimately (over time) a home you love. It’s definitely not unreasonable.

We live in a big Victoria semi- 1st 12 years we had an elderly couple next door and we only heard them at 8.45 on a Saturday morning when they hoovered the back on their hall cupboard (Honestly-they liked routine)

We live in a big Victorian semi- 1st 12 years we had an elderly couple next door and we only heard them when the wife played her drum kit in the basement.

The house has huge rooms, a large garden, and cellars. And lots of "period" features. It gives me joy every day of my life. And it was that little bit easier to bring up children when they had the space to get away from each other, and we didn't have to worry about noise quite as much as we'd have had to do in a smaller house.

We did go into it with our eyes open - full structural survey for a start. And we were able to get the roof re-done before we moved in, and a relative to do the rewiring

I live in an old house - Victorian. Yes, it has lovely features - fireplaces and high, moulded ceilings etc - but things are always going wrong. Your swirly carpets will probably indicate a general Iack of modernisation throughout - by that I mean the roof, gutters, windows, boiler, electrics etc. If you want to fit in another bathroom or downstairs loo, that will be pricey. Yes, it can be done, but question if you really want to. We did ours piecemeal, and 20 years on there’s still stuff to deal with, and there always will be. The maintenance costs are crazy and we are looking to move to somewhere more modern.

We have a four-bedroom (plus attic room) Victorian semi, and have done up other Victorian houses while living in them before. Plus side: character/nice features, more spacious rooms, and a larger garden than most modern houses. Downside - they are ongoing money pits and your heating bills will rocket (and you will probably still feel cold in winter!). Noise from next door may well be a problem too either for you or your neighbours, (or both)!

If you don't have time for DIY or much spare cash, progress will be very slow, and unexpected bills like roof repairs (£100s or often £1,000s for even small-ish jobs) might well eat away the cash you really want to spend on decorating and a new bathroom.

I wouldn't say not to do it, but get a really detailed structural survey first to flag up major issues/likely costs, and even after that be prepared for unexpected repair bills and extra costs, as well as the hassle of trying to find tradesmen who will do a good job (or even turn up).

Our gas and electric bill is £356 a month- it was £420 last year- so improving

(spell check just change electric to emetic which is fitting)