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Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

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Original poster

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

93 replies

ninkyno · 04/03/2022 23:08

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?

OP posts:

Crazykatie · 07/03/2022 09:03

Period properties are OK if you are careful, it’s “listed” properties that need watching, make sure the renovation has been done before you buy.
It can take twice as long and cost twice as much to make improvements be warned.

MyHusbandTheIdiot · 07/03/2022 12:56

@caringcarer

I just bought a fabulous old grand house 1910. It is georgious but has a bit of rising damp. It has really beautiful plaster work, corbels and fireplace to die for. The lounge is large but also opened up into dining room so massive. Sweeping Bay Windows. I really need to get damp sorted.

Before you get the damp fixed - get someone in who knows what they are talking about! There is no such thing as rising damp. Damp invariably has a cause which needs to be fixed, whether it’s high external ground levels, leaking pipes, inappropriate building materials/paint etc etc, and the fix is to sort that, not by stripping plaster, injecting chemical damp courses and replacing with gypsum at an absolutely mind blowing cost!! An absolute con.

I also highly recommend the ‘Your Old House UK’ Facebook group mentioned by a PP, ‘Traditional and Listed Buidlingn Advice Group’ is also good but quite a lot more… strict…

TheHoptimist · 07/03/2022 13:16

@adollopofthisandthat

As a guide, allow 5% of property value for replacing all the windows like-for-like ie timber. but as a pp says you may well not need to do that they might just need repair by someone who knows what they’re doing. It looks amazing but don’t underestimate the value of being able to let the kids into the garden without having to be with them all the time (when they’re a bit bigger obvs) …that would be the only practical downside for me.

Thats tosh- where does that figure come from?

My house house in NE is worth 1.5 million but a similar house on the NE Coast would be £400,000. Windows would cost the same more or less.

urbanbuddha · 07/03/2022 13:44

It sounds lovely if you can afford the renovations but tbh I'd rather spend time and money on my children than my house.

adollopofthisandthat · 07/03/2022 14:33

@TheHoptimist that's a standard rule of thumb calculation in the conservation building sector, not something I've made up!

Crazykatie · 09/03/2022 09:38

Step daughter had a 17th cent Thatched house they bought cheap, as a wreck you could live in, listed of course, the amount of work that was needed was massive. Over 20 yrs everything was restored, if contractors needed paying a fortune would have been spent, husband is a builder so mostly spare time used.

They’ve just sold it close to £1m

Original poster

ninkyno · 09/03/2022 10:14

@Crazykatie

They’ve just sold it close to £1m

Wow. Do you have any pictures of before and after? I'd love to see! Sadly neither me nor my husband are DIY inclined or talented in the area so we're going to have to outsource the work (and there's a LOT of it) :(

OP posts:

JustJam4Tea · 09/03/2022 10:21

We bought an Edwardian property where very little but the roof had been touched for 25 years. New plumbing, extension, changes, decoration, refurbing floor. We bought for 485 and won't have much change out of 250 by the time we've finished.

Love it though.

Ceilings are all lath and plaster so saved where we can and boarded over where we can't. Impossible to hang anything on the walls as the plaster just crumbles....

We got a quote of £30K to replace the windows (which are beautiful old crinkly glass) but can't face that at the moment.

Original poster

ninkyno · 09/03/2022 10:35

@JustJam4Tea

Love it though.

Ceilings are all lath and plaster so saved where we can and boarded over where we can't. Impossible to hang anything on the walls as the plaster just crumbles....

We got a quote of £30K to replace the windows (which are beautiful old crinkly glass) but can't face that at the moment.

We're awaiting a survey on the property but from what we've seen so far, the plumbing appears to be sound (there's a fairly new bathroom- probably early 20 years old) and there's a new(ish) dishwasher in place but the rest of the place is a mess- cracks in the wall, draughty rooms, crumbling window frames and there's previously been a leak as evident by a big water mark in the living room ceiling.

OP posts:

DSGR · 09/03/2022 10:38

Can all be fixed if you have money!

AgathaX · 09/03/2022 10:58

Be aware that to sympathetically modernise you'll need to be paying extra for the correct materials and experienced trades that can use them. For example, lime plastered walls. If you need to replaster then you should really use lime plaster again, not modern gypsum. But the raw materials are more expensive and not many plasterers know how to do it, so you end up paying extra for 'artisan' people who do know how to lime plaster. Cheaper and easier to learn how to do it yourself, there are courses you can do to learn. Beautiful, period properties replastered with perfectly smooth, modern gypsum plaster really do lose some of their charm.

Mintine · 09/03/2022 11:55

We live in a Victorian semi now and we’ve always had older properties.
Ours needs lots of work, but regardless I absolutely love it.
Yes, it’s cold, the room I work from home in has been between 9 and 12 degrees, this winter.
We’ve just replaced the boiler that was from 1974, so I’m hoping the gas bills reduce.
We’re just spending a lot of money to get two eco stoves fitted and I’m ordering kiln dried wood in readiness. Well a lot of money to us, about 8k for the two.
My husband does lots of diy though and saves us a fortune, otherwise it would be too much.
I love the look of that flat, I would definitely buy it. I adore the pink bathroom, I’d have to keep it. The flat is so stunning, I can see why you’ve fallen in love with it. I hope you get it!

Mintine · 09/03/2022 11:56

I’ve stripped a lot of the walls, the plaster is the most beautiful mellow colour, so a lot of that will be tidied up, but left as it is, really.

kirinm · 09/03/2022 12:04

It looks huge!

Are you used to living in a flat? We have a Victorian conversion / share of freehold and it has been a bit of a pain to do up - mainly because of the lease.

If it wasn't for the fact we are fed up of hearing everyone's noise throughout the building and having to deal with owners who rent their flats out so have no real interest in maintaining the building, I enjoy living on one level and the square footage really isn't that much less than a house that would cost us £300k more.

I'd check the position re responsibility for the roof. Certainly that would fall under the responsibility of the "freeholders" at our place.

kirinm · 09/03/2022 12:06

@NeilBuchananisBanksy

You might need planning permission to change the windows- that will add extra time and cost to factor in.

It doesn't add much though - the planning permission I mean. A few hundred pounds. If you're replacing sash windows though you're looking at £££££. We only replaced one (admittedly very big) sash and it cost us £7000

kirinm · 09/03/2022 12:12

Our place needed complete renovation - we've re-wired, re-plumbed, put in a new kitchen, new sashes (conservation area), structural works etc. It has probably cost us about £50k BUT DP is an electrician and other than plumbing, has done a lot of it himself.

Personally, I wouldn't even consider anything but a period building but I have the luxury of a DP who can fix most things! We have been trying to get some trades in to finish work DP doesn't have time to do and it has been a total nightmare. People turn up but then never quote repeatedly.

TinaYouFatLard · 09/03/2022 12:19

I’m sure it could be beautiful but I would not buy a flat if a house with a garden was an option - especially with small children.

Crazykatie · 11/03/2022 19:32

@Crazykatie

They’ve just sold it close to £1m

Sorry no photos the new buyers spent £50k on top of the purchase price to rethatch it, it does look good. It’s not a house I could live in, creaking floorboards, low ceilings, narrow winding stairs, uneven flagstone floors, all listed features that can’t be changed. Deep pockets needed, or inhouse skills it you are renovating.

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