To refuse to buy her house and tell her why?

[StinkyTowels]

A few years ago my sister bought a beautiful period property with all original features. Victorian fireplaces, hand crafted bannisters, Victorian carved coving, the head things that pop out of the coving - I adored the house and always said if she sells it, I’ll buy it.

That was of course until she “modernised it”. Stripped out all original features, painted everything white, installed a clinically white and shiny kitchen, lobbed the standalone bath out of the window and replaced it with a spa bath … I kept telling her she was ruining the house but she said I was old fashioned and nobody likes that shit anymore.

The house is historically important, a local famous post lived there, from the outside it looks like a grand Victorian villa. On the inside it look like a London penthouse. It’s awful.

last year she decided to sell it but rather than coming straight to me she tried to sell it for much more than I would have ever paid due to the “improvements” she’d made. LOTS of viewings but no offers - all feedback was exactly the same - put off by interior. Lack of original features etc

So she’s come back to me - I’m now saying I don’t want it either for the same reasons. She’s fuming at me and says I “promised” I would buy it. In its original state I did yes but once she started pulling it apart I very clearly told her I would no longer buy it as she’s wrecked it. She won’t accept this however and is already eying up another house she’d like to ruin/renovate.

AIBU to be glad she can’t sell the bloody thing. It should be illegal to do what she’s done to that belle house

This reads like you just think you’re better than your sister because you prefer period features. Of course YANBU to not buy her house if you don’t like it.

She’ll probably sell it eventually, plenty of people don’t like period features. Maybes it’s too expensive. The market isn’t great atm.

If people are looking at the details online & want period features I'm surprised they are bothering to view at all having seen that it has all been ripped out.

Perhaps they think they could replace but then realise it would be more effort than they thought?

YANBU not to buy it and YANBU to state that the reason is because the period features have gone.

However, so long as what she's done isn't against any rules/covenants etc, then YABU to criticise her interior renovation.

That would be my bet - they view it thinking that the features may be boxed beneath the panelling and can be reinstated or that they could source the period features from a reclamation yard and reinstall them… only to find out they have been completely stripped out in every room and realise the asking price + that cost + the time/effort involved makes the project a no go.

I was going to ask the same thing. Corbels?

@StinkyTowels do you know what it was that attracted her to the house in the first place??

It’s not just Victorian houses. Not too far from us there are some very substantial pre war detached houses set in large gardens. It’s heartbreaking to see them being “modernised”, all of the character features removed, mature trees and shrubs uprooted and replaced with acres of block paving or decking. Most have been painted white, with grey cladding and dark framed windows. They just look like identikit executive new builds now, dated and a bit Footballers’ Wives.

YANBU

People should remember that you can only take these things out once, and they can never be put back. For me there’s a difference between essential modernisation to make a house suitable for modern living, like a boiler/ radiators, repairing windows, maybe moving a tiny kitchen, and ruining the place on the basis of “personal taste.” I’ve seen the most glorious things- complete 1930s bathroom tiling, stained glass, encaustic tiles, parquet floor, fireplaces etc- removed and replaced with modern tat because they didn’t match the colour scheme. It’s just so sad because the next person in the house would probably love them!

Plus often the people wrecking these places are too stupid to realise that the stuff they are ripping out is better quality than anything they’ll replace it with.

OP's sister will have priced it with her "extensive renovation improvements" added and it's likely over priced!

YABU to be bitchy enough to post this thread but not bitchy enough to share the Rightmove listing 😂

Example below- perfectly preserved original tiles, loo and stained glass replaced with fake MDF panelling, topps tiles, loo and flush which look like they will break within a year and UPVC window.

I’d have ripped out that bathroom too (other than the stained glass) - wouldn’t have gone for the second option, though.

I think both options are hideous!

Well, she has created her own white elephant and you are right to stand your ground and refuse to buy it now.
Just why people desecrate beautiful period homes is beyond me.

She'll find someone who likes the operating theatre look eventually.
I wouldn't buy it either with all the period features gone. That would have been the appeal to me, and sourcing and refitting everything stripped would cost a fortune and is something I wouldn't do unless the property was cheap.
It's a real shame, but it was her house and it's her mistake. Most people looking at a period property want period features. Goes without saying. Unless she was planning to stay put for the rest of her life, ripping everything out wasn't a savvy move.

Maybe but it was original to the house and has lasted over 100 years, fabulous quality and once it’s gone it’s gone.

What about the next 10 people who live in the house and who might prefer it over the mdf nightmare. And even if it’s not your personal taste you could really improve it (replace the black with funky modern wallpaper, maybe ever replace the floor but for the love of god who could hate the stained glass). Apparently the owner removed the tiles because they smelt a bit 🙄

My bet is the next owner will probably install a less good quality version of the original.

What’s more apparently the original was worth quite a bit of money…

YANBU

She clearly doesn't understand the market if she considers what's she's doing her 'business'.

People have different tastes in interior design. I prefer the authentic period look too but recognise it’s not for everyone and wouldn’t be judging people who like different things.
Sounds like it was a fairly bog standard Victorian house, otherwise it would have been protected by a Listing.

Well, you did warn her! YANB at all U to refuse to buy the house as it is and tell her why, but YAB a little bit U to be pleased she can't sell it. I'm somewhat pleased that there are people who deplore the modern trend for flatness and sleekness. We're looking to move, and struggle to find a single kitchens without shiny white floors and glaring skylights and bloody bifolds which mean you can't get a little bit of ventilation without opening a whole door.

Oh how I agree with you. I live in a street of large Victorian and Edwardian houses and ours is one of the few houses left thst still has the original layout and most original features. Our neighbours showed us round their house recently after a major extension, and we were horrified by what they, and their predecessors, had done to the house. Almost every original feature has gone, and in common with most houses in the Road, they've got a huge modern extension box on the back, and almost all of downstairs is open plan. It's been done very nicely but it's SO wrong and out of place in a lovely 1970s house. If you want a modern box why not buy a new build rather than destroy A beautiful old house with lots of character?

💯

It’s sacrilege to rip out beautiful original features and replace them with soulless white monoliths etc.

OP - YANBU.

It's much easier to blame you than accept that she made a mistake.

Obviously don't buy the house you'll spend a fortune putting things back and it'll never be the same.

Best hope is someone with your sister's taste comes along to buy it.

She can do whatever she likes to her house. But she can't expect you to buy it. Leave her to it, and don't bring up the subject unless she does.

Is what she has done particularly outlandish?

It seems quite popular to extend a kitchen at the back & put bi folds on whatever the property!

She took out the original features from a house which holds a significant prominence in the community from the sound of things, she didn't just gut a 1930s semi!

Yanbu - but are you a homeowner already? Would you be getting a victorian house at a cheaper price? Don't cut off your nose to spite your face here! x