Victorian house owners - talk me out of it!

[sarahb083]

We're looking for a house and I find myself exclusively drawn to Victorian houses. They're smaller, more expensive to heat and you pay a premium for the charm. But they're so lovely that I can't help it.

If you own a Victorian house property, please talk me out of it! I know logically a 30s semi-detached is a better buy for all of the reasons listed above, but I can't seem to convince myself.

Sorry. No can do. You cannot beat a Victorian House - my last 3 have been and I don't think they are more expensive to heat actually. A friend of mine moved into a 1960s detached and that was super cold. Go on, you know you'll love it....

I grew up in a 1960s house and as an adult I have bought two Victorian Houses and an Edwardian house. I love them.

I love Victorian houses. Beautiful, solid and lovely proportions. Grew up in one that had lots of original features (inc draughty windows and floorboards) and loved it

I rented a Victorian house for six months.

A long, drafty corridor with no parking?

Hmmm, no.

And they're always fucking freezing... Why is that?

Slugs!
We had a Victorian end terrace and was plagued by slugs.
We tried everything (even lifting the floor to put slug stuff down( and we couldn't get rid of them .
Other than that it was great.
We did have a really hot attic bedroom in the summer that we ended up putting air con in so that solved that problem.

I stopped going downstairs with no shoes on/without lights on as stepping on them barefoot is not nice.

Nope, Mine is full of character has quirky nooks n crannies, I have a wood burner for when it gets really cold a thick thermal lined doorcurtain & lovely thick curtains on the big windows, so we are pretty cosy in the winter & it was godsend in the heat as it stayed quite cool due to high ceilings & large windows.

Thought of something else, no sound proofing. Glad we moved out before nextdoor were teenagers.

It was a great first house but I wouldn't want to you back.

The temperature in ours is relatively stable, because we have lovely thick walls - not so good for internet/Wifi coverage in all rooms. I love the high ceilings and quirky features. The maintenance is constant and it will keep me poor for the rest of my days, but it has buckets of character and I love it!

Sorry, can't. I also have a victorian house and I absolutely love it. It's not that impossible to heat if you manage it properly and it's no more expensive that the converted barn I used to live in.

But then I love character properties, so I am probably quite biased!

All my parents houses since I’ve been old enough to notice we’re Victorian. Last one was far too big for them to handle the maintenance on. It got damp. When I say damp I mean there was once a mushroom growing out of the wall. Not mould. An actual mushroom. I said hello to the mushroom, and my dad told me off and said he didn’t want the mushroom to feel welcome. Anyway my point is probably not too relevant since you’re talking about small manageable ones but ...there was a mushroom man... you should have seen it!

Ive grown up in victorian houses, just about to move out of the one I bought ten years ago into another one!

Charm, character, 10ft ceilings, alcoves, tall skirting boards. Its alllllll worth the extra little bit of maintenance.

I also wanted the Victorian terrace. I bought the 1930s semi. Never looked back, well for no more than 5 minutes. It's warm, decent sized rooms, we have off street parking, side access, a proper garden... You can still add charm but it's more modern/mid century charm.

Hatex ours, it was beautiful, but damp, slug filled and noisy. We just waited for the next expensive thing to go wrong, which it did until we sold it with oodles of relief.

Ours is really warm. 15 years and no problems.

My 30s detached costs more to heat than my old Victorian terraced. It's equally costly to maintain, it's still an old house.

I don't miss my nosy and noisy neighbours. Do miss my super long garden.

@DieAntword hehe, we had mushrooms on our ceiling too.

Haha that's reminded me, my friend had a flat in a Victorian mansion, there were frogs in her bathroom

Another Victorian house fan here. After my divorce I downsized into a sensible modern house with the DC. Low bills, no maintenance, very good internal layout (boiling in Summer due to the idiotic regs for modern houses, to the extent that we had to fit aircon), attractive modern design. It ticks all the grown up boxes BUT neither me nor my children love it, it is just a dormitory.

My next house will be another Victorian and I am already planning the move.

You won’t get talked out of it by me; I love my house with all its quirks and idiosyncrasies.

As pp have said, high ceilings, characterful, built to last.
Ours is small but so cosy and we have a log fire in our bedroom which is the most luxurious thing I know.

We’re just back in a Victorian after 6 years of new build. Felt at home within hours of moving in. Sure, I already have extra layers on where in the modern house I would be too hot within minutes of the heating on and I kid you not, we had a leaking roof on day two but having owned Victorian before, we know to expect this. You can’t beat them for character but you've got to be realistic about winter temps- feel that wind blow through- wobbly windows that you may have to replace at a high cost and generally keeping an eye on maintenance- but with tlc they make drafty wonderful family homes. Not that a 1930s build wouldn't be without its problems either, but for character, go Victorian! Good luck with decision OP, it’s a tricky one.

I am in my first Victorian house and it is lovely and warm so far. I have been looking out for slugs in the house cos I keep reading about them on mumsnet. When do they come out to play?

Get a full survey.

Thank you! Sounds like some people are just Victorian house people, and I'm one of them..