Thinking of buying an older house - have you done it?

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Hi all, We are currently looking around for a house to buy (in Holland) and have more or less decided we love the 1920's /1930's style big old houses. Unfortunately, all the ones for sale in the "good" areas are out of our price range. We have seen one today which is much cheaper than the rest in the street but which requires a lot of work. We can arrange finance for some of it but a lot will have to be done as we go along (double glazing etc.)

Before we look into it any further, we are asking as many people as possible for any horror stories or opposite about older houses they have bought. Did they turn out to be dream homes or absolute disasters? On first inspection, the house we like would need a new kitchen, new bathroom, hideous fireplaces ripped out and replaced with period ones, possibly rewiring and eventually double glazing put in. The decor is revolting but the possibilities ..... How much do things like rewiring cost anyway?

As always, your thoughts and advice would be most welcome! xxx

I just love, love, love older houses. We are on our second now and both DH and I think they are wonderful. We have not had to do any re-wiring mind you but have put a new kitchen in our last place and are planning to do the same in this one. We have had the fortune in both houses to 'find' fireplaces, they were hidden behind panelling and in our last place the original doors were panelled over too. We have had one modern house and found it flimsy by comparison. We too have always gone for the type of house that needs a bit of work, mainly because it is cheaper but also because you can choose your own decor and kitchen etc, nothing worse than paying a premium for a place that is all done up only to rip it out and replace it as you do not like their taste.

Don't know how things work in Holland but in Scotland there are many reclaimation yards that you can go to to source original fireplaces, doors etc. DH does alot of the work himself in our houses but if you are worried about jobs like rewiring and kitchen/bathroom (if you do not plan to do these yourself) then it may be an idea to get an electrician/plumber/builder out to quote before you buy the place.

All the best IME it can be great fun to do a project like this and make you some money along the way.

We have done it(before children), and I think that older houses are wonderful. But, we now live in a modern house. An old house to fix up can be a terrific investment, if you like DIY, or if you have the spare cash to get someone else to do it. Sadly Dh and I are both rubbish at DIY. I take my hat off to anyone who is organised enough to do it with a small family. I would never manage to have the time.

In scotland it cost us 1000 ukp to get a 3 bed roomed house re-wired, and that was about 10 years ago.

We live in a house built 1900 and every time we drill into the wall half the plaster comes off. Between the plaster and the bricks it is just packed with little stones etc so the drill hits one of these and then you get a big hole in the wall lol. I tried to blame dp's bad DIY skills but all our neighbours have the same problem (and one of those is a pro) so it is definitely the walls. The air is blue on those days dp decides to put shelves up, it takes about a week ie drill, polyfilla, allow to dry properly, re-drill hurrah finally manage it (if we're lucky).

I love old houses. Our last one was 1917 and this one is nearly too new for my taste at 1930s!

If you go for it, I would advise rewiring if it's not been done recently, especially if you have to redecorate anyway. It's not something you want to have done in a nicely decorated house!!

Provided you have a full structural survey done on it and there's nothing horrible shown up by that then anything else can be done on a bit by bit basis.

We looked at a huge 6 bed house, about 1910 which needed everything doing to it: rewiring, new heating, kitchen (it had a sink and an oven!) new bathroom, complete redecoration, repainrs to windows etc etc. The vendors pulled out and we got our current house. Part of me regrets the missed opportunity to give the house the attention it deserved and part of me thinks "thank goodness!" as it could easily have become a money pit.

Thanks for the advice so far! The more I think about it, the more I want this house. It certainly needs redecorating - I think someone either died in it or moved to a retirement home/sheltered housing as the decor is very "old". There is a lovely brown velour curtain separating the sitting room from the dining area, brown and cream swirling patterned wallpaper and a matching brown swirling carpet. But is just so exciting looking in the neighbours houses which are gorgeous and thinking what could be! It seems to have so much character, with 3 floors, attic rooms and little nooks and crannies everywhere. Part of the problem is that my parents, who are eminently sensible, think we are mad to consider anything pre 1970's! They haven't said as much but I can recognise the tone of voice!
Thanks again for your comments. The plus factor is that my kids love it!

Where in Holland are you buying? Nosey, I am!

My cousin picked up a place cheaply in Eindhoven because it was a former brothel! It was over three floors and they used to rent out the top floor.

Have never had an older house, except renting so can't answer your real question - sorry!

Our house is about 1890 and like megg's the plaster is generally rubbish. Also all our floors are bouncy. I think 20s/30s houses were built to better standards though, in this country anyway, but the quality of the plaster is one of those things you need to consider very early on because if it is crap you should have the lot hacked off and replaced before you even think about moving in, it is the filthiest job (and then if you are going to rewire you can have that done while the old plaster is off, saves loads of time). Ditto plumbing. New kitchens are easier to fit with decent new level plaster too.

On the other hand if the plaster is sound you can easily do one room at a time (or however you want to do it).

I would save things like double glazing for much later as that only interferes slightly with what's already in place.

Ours was rewired nearly 20 years ago, it cost 1200 quid (3 bed terrace with attic). No idea how much it would cost now (not necessarily more) in this country let alone Holland!

Demented mentioned reclamation yards, apart from genuine old doors etc being nicer they are properly weathered and whatnot, new doors aren't and the wood warps. Same for floorboards.

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We are currently living in a very old house, c.1816 which dh is doing up in his spare (?) time. I could write a book about this place and the deprivations I've suffered since we moved in 18 months ago ...!

I think it can be exciting but also exasperating. Depends on how much work needs done. Here we don't have proper walls and flooring in some rooms. I know it is going to take years and in retrospect think it was probably not a good idea, particularly with young children. On the other hand they don't care and it's amazing how you can 'make do'.

A lot of it depends on how much money you have. The more you do yourself the less it will cost. Materials can cost very little but the labour can cost a fortune. The downside is that doing it yourself takes a lot of time. It is amazing what you can learn though - dh put a fireplace and stove in last winter - he'd never done it before and it looks great. He finished it at 3am just as the first snow came and I'll never forget coming down the stairs to a lovely warm room with a real fire. However we still don't have full central heating and in some ways I am dreading the winter again.

If you have an adventurous spirit then I would say go for it - it can be a lot of fun and its great having a house that is totally unique and best of all looking just the way you want it to be.

Oh and check out all the planning regulations etc beforehand if you can.

How funny.. I grew up in a house in California (where the houses are supposed to all be "new" according to half the Brit people who chat to me), that was built in 1917. Lovely oak floors and real fireplaces. And now this thread, where "1930s" is rated as "old" in Europe!

My impression is that the very "new" homes usually have pokey bedrooms, tiny gardens, poor-quality construction (eg, cheap bricks). Our 1930-built semi is extremely solid. The old-but-quality bricks alone, if this house were demolished and the bricks reclaimed, are probably worth as much as the entire property. We bought it knowing it needed a lot of work, but it's not been a huge burden.

We're on our third house now. All thee have been vicotrian. MIL told us our first house would cost us £25 grand to put right. We spent about three grand on it and sold it 3 years later for £50 grand profit. Next house we had for a year and spent very little on it. Actually that house was great becuase it had been refurbished (including replastered) three years previously. We're now in our family home- don't intend to move again until the boys have left home (and they're 3 and 10 months). It needs quite a lot of work but we can do it slowly and it's worth it for the high ceilings, large rooms and castle turrets on the roof. And I haven't even mentioned the original stained glass windows. Personally I love old houses. We did look at some new ones but couldn't work out how we'd have room for anything other than a bed in the bedrooms. I think we're too untidy for a new house- lol :-) We are hopeless at DIY so anything other than painting we're having to get people in. Means it takes a while as we have to save up in between, but never mind. It'll be worth it in the end.

Hi Oxocube, It is exciting getting an "old" place. We had to sell our 1790 Burgundy Farmhouse this year because we had to leave France. It was a wonderful challenge restoring it (unfortunately we didn't get to finish it).

If you can get a survey (the notion of survey doesn't really exist in France - not sure about Holland) do so. Check on the wood in particular and check that it is not in a termite zone etc.

Don't expect to make huge amounts of money on buying/selling houses on the continent. The UK house marketplace is an exception to the rule and possibly the only country where property is seen as a moneyspinner. DIY materials tend to be more expensive on the continent than in the UK as they haven't had the mass of tv programmes promoting DIY/gardening/room changing etc. There are not as many reclamation yards either. Antiques/period pieces are also more expensive although you can get good bargains if you get to flea markets in small out-of-the-way places early.

Watch out for tax-breaks. You can get quite large tax breaks if you are living in the house as a main home but not if it is a secondary home. (Check this out for Holland)

Builders/electrians/plumbers are impossible to get - so book 'em early and phone 'em every other day till they come!! Have a friend who lives just outside Amsterdam - says this is his worst nightmare :-(

Would I do it again? If I was young, free and childless Yes but now No. It was great fun when DH and I were on our own but not with children. Too timeconsuming and last comment - whatever you budget for - DOUBLE IT! Don't want to put you off but at present am relishing the freedom that an ultramodern serviced appartment can bring with an overworked DH and a 14mo DS. Whatever you decide, Good Luck.

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Snoobykat, you are right about the tax breaks in Holland. In fact, this is the main reason we are buying: even a top wack mortgage will halve our monthly repayments as, unlike with rented property, when you buy, you are given tax relief on the amount of the mortgage. I know what you mean about the survey - it is not common to have one done here, you are just supposed to ask the estate agent who has to tell you "any known problems"!!

We are not buying to make a quick profit, but rather to relieve a cash flow crisis! Rents are ridiculously high in our part of Holland - t'Gooi -which is about 15 kms from A/Dam. We could get MUCH cheaper property if we moved out, but our kids have changed schools so many times already, it seems unfair to inflict this on them again! Also, we need a place we can rent out to some rich ex-pat family when we go in about 4 yrs time!

Thanks for the warnings about plaster. Unfortunately, due to financial constraints, we will have to live in the house from the minute we buy it (if we buy it) and put up with the chaos, but then , you can't have everything

Our house is a bit older- some of it built in 1690, some 1819, and I would echo many of the comments below.Get things like re-wiring, damp-proofing, central heating done before you even contemplate decorating,you CAN live with brown swirls, even if you don't want to! We've found that whenever we start a job, something unexpected crops up, and we end up spending more than we budgeted for- so give yourselves a lot of leeway.Try and get one room at a time completely finished so you can then forget about it! We've had no skirting boards in our bathroom for two years, just because something else always took priority- now they've been done the lack of draughts is wonderful! Oh, and move heaven and earth to find a good reliable builder- ours is not cheap but can be trusted to do a good job, on time and clear up afterwards. His workmen don't drink our tea or coffee, and don't apparently use our loo, either!!

We bought a Victorian house that needed total renovation 10 years ago and we are still working on it!! Be prepared for a labour of love - if we were making the decision again I would buy this house again and again and again

Things to think of are what you are prepared to live without - we didn't have a kitchen for 6mths but I couldn't have lived without a bathroom. It really depends on how much money you have to spend on it straight off as to what you do first.

One regret I have is that I wish we had painted the whole house a neutral colour to give ourselves time to choose room colours but then that didn't feel like a priority at the time. We lived in a building site for months - be prepared for dust, dirt and lots of hard work but the end result is worth it

Get a survey, get quotes for the repairs and use these when putting in an offer for the house.
It cost us £2000 to have a 2 bed terrace re wired 4yrs ago. That house was built in the 1885 and will stand forever ( or there abouts).

We have just moved to a 1920's house still got lovely big rooms and fairly solid but the plaster is much better.