Are period properties money pits? I think I've fallen in love with one.

[ninkyno]

Went to see an Edwardian flat today and I felt the tingles- the high ceilings, elaborate plaster work, winding staircase, wide proportions, hidden rooms, elaborate fireplaces, etc. It didn't help that the gentleman who previously lived there, appeared to have lived the most amazing life- his grand piano was still in situ as well as period furniture and furnishings. I really didn't want the viewing to end BUT... it needs a LOT of work doing to it as it hasn't had anything done to it for the last 50 years. I'm talking new windows, new floors, electrics, etc.

My husband thinks I'm mad and we should keep looking but we're getting twice the amount of square footage in this place than a house for the same price. Would this flat be worth the risk? Is the top floor flat with share of freehold so we'd be responsible for any roof repairs, etc. Are there any other pitfalls that come along with owning beautiful, old buildings?

Gosh that’s quite a change in tack from your previous post @ninkyno! Short answer is yes, they are. Re:value - does it have a garden? You said in your last post you have children? I’d forget about the amount of interior space if there isn’t… plus I assume there is no lift? That’s a lot of schlepping with shopping up flights of stairs… I have lived in a period flat in my former years so here’s my experience…You’ll need to renovate fully before moving in as it’s likely you’ll have lathe and plaster walls which are hugely messy when altered/replaced etc. plus you’ll need a rewire and replumb (check for lead piping) if it’s not been touched for fifty years? Plus sash windows that will probably need renovation/draught-proofing? (That is a whole special category of expensive tradesmen there!) If it is a purpose built flat (old mansion building for example) the soundproofing might be ok but a conversion of a former house is likely to be inadequate in that respect so allow for that. Despite there being a piano, consider that Living in a flat with children who want to learn an instrument might require negotiations with neighbours.. and a Top floor flat will almost certainly have restrictions on allowing hard flooring, so check that. Check also the management of the building.. is there a sinking fund? How much is in it? Is there a company set up between all freeholders to manage the building? Is the roof a joint responsibility? As the flat that’ll get the leaks, you’ll want to know that plus when it was last replaced/renovated etc. is there a loft? Would you own it or is the space above a shared freeholder space? When were the communal areas last renovated? Or the exterior? Don’t forget you’ll have to protect the walls and floors of communal areas from damage caused by workmen when renovating. Can you honestly live with noise from neighbours? These are obviously the pitfalls.. on the upside, I loved my flat for the sheer amount of space, the look and feel and I enjoyed living there immensely! Good luck with your search for a home!

Are you sure you are responsible for he roof? In most of the flats I've owned the fabric of the building is split between all.
Replacing those windows will cost as presumably you will have to replace them with identical windows.
Frankly my biggest issues with flats is dealing with the other flat owners and freeholder.

We need pictures! Love a bit of property porn. It sounds gorgeous!

Yes they're a money pit but absolutely worth it.

Yes totally but so worth it. Took us close to a decade to do ours up, with one big thing a year, plus multiple small things, but so worth it, it’s unique and totally to our taste.

My uncle lived in a flat in split Edwardian detached house, with a freehold share.

They had a management company to manage the freehold and building fabric repairs. 3 flats put in £50/month but that prob wasn't enough, so factor that in.

It was a gorgeous place. Go for it!

Money pit. But if you’re starting from scratch, renovated windows and good insulation will take you far. You’re on an upper floor so no worries about damp from below which is a plus.
You’ll have to spend more on furniture and it might be harder to find. Contemporary furniture often doesn’t work in period properties. If you’re new to a period property it can be tricky to figure out what to buy.
Pros: a bit of shabbiness, paint chips, mismatching, wear and tear - you can get away with all of this in a period property.
Bottom line is if you love the place then you’ll always be happy to come home to it.

Personally you can’t beat the charm of a period property but one thing to think about is that if you have/will have kids. The noise on the ceiling above will drive your downstairs neighbour crazy unless the conversion has been done really well so depends how much a neighbour potentially complaining at you will get to you. Some people are more sensitive to these situations than others!
Also not having a garden with kids will eventually drive you bananas but it does sound lovely but it will be expensive. Also as it’s shared freehold certain decisions around windows etc you won’t be able to make alone. You’ll have to consult with the other owner and likely have to go for original sash wooden windows (stunning but ££££) rather than if it’s was all yours you could decide if you wanted to go for replica UVPC ones etc).
I’m in a period property though and wouldn’t live anywhere else but you have to go in with your eyes (and wallets) open!

We've lived in period properties all our married lives. We LOVE them. True a flat with kids is not ideal though unless it's on the ground floor. Also remember that new builds are often not built well and cost money for upkeep etc. too. All properties cost money. I HATE new esp plastic windows and those 'fashionable' wooden floors yeuch. Get thick rugs and buy 2nd hand furniture, usually it's much better made than the modern stuff .

We now live in a 16th century house so you can tell character is what it's all about for us!

Thanks everyone! I can't stop thinking about the flat since our visit yesterday 🥰 but, it DOES need a full refurb- the windows are original and have seen better days. They'd need replacing before winter.

The lead pipes have caused me great worry as mentioned by @Netaporter. We have toddlers so there's no way I'd be willing to put them at risk of anything just because I love a property. It's a tricky one this place- it's a converted house and listed as a duplex with plenty of space for a family of 4. Sadly, it's not the ground floor- it's the first floor and floor above and the garden is to the side of the building so that's problematic (I think?) but it's over 2000sq ft and perfect for us I feel. Houses we've looked at are half the space, ugly (bland) in comparison and cost at least £50k more.

This is close to the station, the Children’s nursery, the gym is around the corner (I don't drive so I'm looking at all the factors that will make my life easy) and we're just up the road from where we are currently. I realllllllllllllly want it but just admit, I'm daunted by the amount of work and money the flat will take to get it up to modern standards.

The freehold is quite complicated too- the current vendor is selling it as fully freehold with the freehold of the entire building BUT we're relying on a mortgage to fund an upwards mortgage and our lender doesn't mortgage freehold flats. BUT we've been assured that there's a way around this and the vendor is willing to convert the flat to a leasehold with share of the freehold and then hand over the freehold of the property to us upon completion. Is that legal? We've never done that before. I don't know if we'll be biting off more than we can chew. FWIW, my husband thinks I'm mad- as in fully lost the plot to even consider such a huge project and thinks we should buy a modern property that needs very little doing to it but he's naturally risk averse and since Ill be spending more time at home (I WFH 90% of the time), I want to be somewhere I LOVE.

I'd love to share photos but we're (I'm) thinking of putting in an offer and I don't want to jinx things 🙈🙈🙈🙈

We renovated a Victorian flat, we had to replace all the timber sash windows, change the avocado bathroom, change the kitchen, re plaster all the walls (wood chip wallpaper and horse hair plaster originally) re-wire, re-plumb.

But it was so worth it. We made £100k profit when we sold it. Period properties hold their value much better, but you do have to normally gut them to get them to modern standards.

We also had issues with the roof leaking and external drainage and these were financially covered by the leaseholders as it fell under the building structure.

The only important thing in your words is HALF THE SPACE for the other crappier places

You always need more space

I (smugly) compare my 1600 sq foot flat to the houses round the corner at £500k MORE and 600 square feet LESS

I don't understand at all why people spend more on less space

Apologies to anyone for using 'crappy' to describe non-period properties. We live in a modern new build atm so I haven't got room to talk.

I just want something different for the move up. We'd never be able to afford an entire period property because of our budget sadly.

@ninkyno

Went to see an Edwardian flat today and I felt the tingles- the high ceilings, elaborate plaster work, winding staircase, wide proportions, hidden rooms, elaborate fireplaces, etc. It didn't help that the gentleman who previously lived there, appeared to have lived the most amazing life- his grand piano was still in situ as well as period furniture and furnishings. I really didn't want the viewing to end BUT... it needs a LOT of work doing to it as it hasn't had anything done to it for the last 50 years. I'm talking new windows, new floors, electrics, etc.

My husband thinks I'm mad and we should keep looking but we're getting twice the amount of square footage in this place than a house for the same price. Would this flat be worth the risk? Is the top floor flat with share of freehold so we'd be responsible for any roof repairs, etc. Are there any other pitfalls that come along with owning beautiful, old buildings?

High ceilings make a room very difficult to heat - I lived in an Edwardian flat at uni and it was constantly freezing at people level (but the air up near the ceiling was toasty warm - I once stood on my desk with a thermometer to prove to my housemate how much money we were wasting ).

Yes!

My previous and current properties are both period (Victorian and now Edwardian). Previously, it was a converted maisonette - first and top floors. It was airy, beautiful, and actually quite cheap to heat, as you benefit from all the heat from downstairs. Downside was the noise, and sharing a front door got really old, especially when our downstairs neighbour kept slamming. We had a share of freehold, and we paid for all roof repairs, though come to think of it we just assumed that was our responsibility and never asked downstairs for money.

Our house now is Edwardian and it's a money pit. Everything looks fine on first blush, but on closer inspection everything needs to be fixed. We've had quotes for new sash windows, and it's truly eye watering. We're about to pay a few thousand for just one window (the worst, gappiest and draughtiest one).

I love period properties and would always aim to live in one, but you must go into this with your eyes open, and understand how much things will cost to fix. Especially the windows - get a quote if you can.

I live in a Victorian house and had a flat in a converted Victorian house before. Like PPs I would always choose period properties and I just don't get the attraction of new builds - they feel so cramped. Frankly if you're on a budget, move in and do things a little at a time. Good luck it sounds fabulous

Honestly? As said, it’s taken us close to us a decade, but the reality is every single person who walks in says wow. There is nothing we see for sale that comes close.

If youre going to do it, accept it going to cost a small fortune and unless you’ve very wealthy right now, it’s going to take many years before you get there, but when you do,,,nothing will compare.

Some photos (against my better judgement). These rooms are in good condition- there is peeling plaster and cracks in the wall elsewhere.

@Igmum

I live in a Victorian house and had a flat in a converted Victorian house before. Like PPs I would always choose period properties and I just don't get the attraction of new builds - they feel so cramped. Frankly if you're on a budget, move in and do things a little at a time. Good luck it sounds fabulous

I could have written this post. The newest house I've ever lived in was about 1940 (not in the UK). I would never live in a new build. It seems unlikely it still has lead pipes but if so just don't drink the hot water. You can last a winter with dodgy windows too. Just get the electrics sorted. And you will have proper furniture not down sized show home narrow beds!

We're house hunting currently and went to view a Georgian house last week. It wasn't in the right location for us and had no parking but we almost put an offer in because of the windows alone which were beautifully restored. They were original sash windows but had been refurbished and each pane of glass had been taken out and replaced with a double glazed unit.

Crap windows in older houses (or any houses) is a real bug bear of mine, if you go for it and can retain the original windows then it's definitely worth it IMO.

It looks lovely by the way, what's the view out of the main window?