Would it be insane to buy a house built in 1780??

[emmskie03]

We are looking at a house that was built in 1780. We currently live in a new build, energy rating of c or b I would think.

Two small children, the mortgage on the new house wouldn't leave a huge amount left over.

It's lovely and has a huge garden, something you just wouldn't get here. It's been previously rated as an F. It's been on the market before and they've either pulled it or the buyers pulled out.

There's been some measures to deal with energy efficiency/damp put in place. You can see evidence of plaster coming off the walls in a couple of rooms.

I love it but I'm also a little scared of it!

It depends on the house. We had a cottage of similar age. 7ft thick walls and no foundations. We were there 12 years. We had the thatched ridge replaced and a new kitchen and bathroom because they were a bit dated and nothing else.

Friend has a house of similar age in a different part of the country. Thin walls and ill fitting windows. It is a drafty damp money pit.

It all depends the house.

Absolutely depends on the house. Do your homework and don't scrimp on the survey.

Our house is late 1700s and was fully renovated by the previous owners. It is stone with 15 inch thick walls and is beautifully cool in summer and warm in winter.

It has character and an incredible history (I only know part of it but am looking forward to getting stuck in and finding out more), I could never, ever live in a 'normal' house again. It is a very unique property, I have never seen a house that looks anything like it and I would LOVE to know who built it and why they built it in that style.

It has so much character, it just seems to keep giving as you walk around. I'm still finding bits that I didn't notice when we looked around. Incredibly it isn't listed.

If you have £££ yes.

We rented a listed property while trying to buy. It was fab and I would move back in a flash if I had the £100-150k it would have needed just to start to sort out the heating, insulation and windows in a fashion compatible with the conservation officer.

When I win the lottery.

Our last house was built in 1800. We lived there ten years, much had been rebuilt in the late '60's so it was pretty solid. It was really warm, it's fire was the best I've ever seen (massive inglenook) and the room sizes were great. When we sold the surveyor tore it to shreds, but once builders and roofers gave their opinion there was very little wrong - surveyors do not give old houses an easy ride. Whereas the same surveyor missed things on our current 1967 house. So be aware that the survey will be far worse than the actual property is, do get a few builders to look (some go over the top to try to gain a lot of work, but they just end up stopping the purchase, you need an honest one) and you should hopefully be a bit more relaxed about it.
I loved our old house and we had a lot of happiness there. Christmas was magical. So no you're not bonkers at all.

Quick photo photo as requested by some posters. Beams and one of the fireplaces.

That inglenook ^ is as good as brand new.

Love it Darth! What a beautiful room and so tidy! Cluttered like mad here but so cosy - old houses come into their own in winter when you draw the curtains and light the fire and snuggle in!

Well spotted Desperate the original was unsafe so we had to have it rebuilt using reclaimed bricks.

We managed to save the one in the dining room - new pointing and sealing the bricks.

We have a very old house and it is a huge money pit. We have 4000 sq ft compared to 3000 sq ft for the same money if it was a new build but it just needs a lot of upkeep. I wouldn't change it though. Maybe you could get local people in to quote for any repairs that you can see may need doing in the next couple of years to allow you to budget and make a more informed decision?

Also second what Darth said. None of our windows or doors are standard and we really need all the internal doors replacing as they are the originals. They are beautiful but have been repaired and repaired and painted and stripped a lot so are nearly in the door grave they will all need to be made to measure

Love the corner inglenook in the dining room darth. Glad you managed to save that one.

It's a cliche, but it's true that with an old house, you really are just a custodian for the next generation. Our house is Tudor origin and is recorded as having 5 hearths in 1666. We still have 5 fireplaces today, but only use 4 of them. Luckily I have an enthusiastic woodcutting father.

Desperate your house sounds lovely.

Any chance of a photo?

We have recently moved into a house built in 1680. I love it but there are some draw backs. First of all it can be expensive to maintain. (ours needed lots of essential repairs and maintenance before we could even move in). Sourcing traditional replacement materials such as reclaimed hand made roof tiles ( to match), or paying for specialist craftsmen such as a lime plasterer- or repairing something bodged in the past (such as using non breathable paint) is costly. Sizing of rooms can mean needing bespoke or antique furniture - in the kitchen we had to make especially shallow wall cupboards due to the windows being so close to the corners of the room. If is listed (as most older properties are) almost everything ( including checking paint colours and finishes) requires huge delays (thinks year +) to get listed buildings consent- although some areas are not as slow or fussy as ours. Its less of a problem if you don't need to change anything or replace anything major. Its worth assessing how well the building has been maintained. Older houses tend to come with some existing wildlife such as regularly used mouse holes and bird nesting sites under the eaves ( we have several- we even accidently disturbed a nest of baby shrews in a shed- cutest little creatures!) fine if you can live alongside ( I love the birds- not so keen on mice!). It can be very drafty and cold in winter (and double glazing and other modern energy solutions may simply not be allowed or appropriate and generally more expensive to keep warm. (You do get used to the drafts!). Simple jobs in a modern house can be much trickier in an old house.
There are many advantages- but few of them are financial! We too know some of the history of our house, and I love the sound of the baby birds at this time of year!
Agree get a good survey so you know what needs doing - both immediately and in the future. Our surveyor gave us a list of what needed doing immediately -+ next year/next few years etc so we could think through the costs. Of course there may be surprises that could not be predicted - it will depend a bit on how well the property has been maintained over the decades and recently.

I grew up in one, it was full of spiders and cold.

We bought our house 7 years ago and had to completely gut it. We had a full survey like others have suggested. It was expensive but very detailed. We used it to guide our interviews and quotes from builders.

We have re-done the following things:

Roof
Windows
Doors
Drainage
Plumbing
Electrics
Insulation
Floors

Basically, we've had to re-build the house inside, leaving the outside intact. We ripped out all the horrible 1950s features and replaced them with much, much older features from reclamation yards and anqique shops.

Whilst I don't think I would ever do such a large building project again, I love, love, love living here and would never want to live anywhere else.

I note the OP has vanished...

I'd be interested to know if the sale fell through because of something found on a survey

Ours is a 1700 farmhouse. Lovely thick walls, not a straight line in the place. Wide doorways except for one extra tiny.
It holds the heat in winter but is cool in summer.
The damp is a problem with plaster constantly flaking off but I wouldn't swop it for anything.

1700 farmhouse here. Not a straight line in the place! Lovely thick walls that holds the heat in winter but is cool in summer. Wide tall doorways except for the one tiny one into the study. The damp is a problem, we live with constantly flaking plaster but wouldn't swop it for anything.

I have an Edwardian house. Lovely high ceilings, large rooms, wooden windows, old wooden floor boards. But heating is expensive, windows need regular painting, no insulation. Love my house but even Edwardian is a bit of a money pit so think carefully about the running costs and maintainance. Updating is not usually simple on old houses so everything costs a bit more!

I wouldn't rule the house out because of its age and potential damp problems as there are a lot of advantages of an older property - after all, older heritage properties like that are priceless. Even if you do end up spending a bit more time and money on it, generally older properties retain their value quite well, especially if it's in a nice area.

As others on the forum have already said, I would recommend getting a full condition survey as soon as you can. If you're not sure what these involve then try checking the internet for blog posts on the topic, like this one then you will avoid any nasty surprises.

Is it listed at all? The Building Condition Survey would be able to flag up any of those kind of issues.

Let us know what you decide either way!

I read that the old window boxes inside the house were better at insulation than double glazing.

Sorry, I wasn't getting notifications. We ended up not going for it. The risk/cost wasn't worth it for this house but I wouldn't rule out an old house in the future. Thanks everyone for the advice!