Honest opinion about this grade II listed, and what questions to ask

[Disneyblueeyes]

This house came up today and we absolutely love it. It ticks so many boxes for us.
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/133337237

However are we mad to even consider it as it's grade II listed? We can afford it, and also new carpets and a new kitchen (which it desperately needs). Am a bit concerned at the size of the kitchen and probably wouldn't be able to knock through, but could work around it as house is big enough otherwise and there's plenty of other rooms for socialising.
Currently have an open plan kitchen/snug which we designed ourselves so it's a far cry from that.

No urge to extend or change the exterior in any way. It's stunning as it is.
Main concerns are the windows (I don't think they're double glazed) and general upkeep/maintenance costs as it's an old house.

Am wondering whether to phone the estate agents ...what sorts of questions to ask with a house like this?

Thanks.

It’s a beautiful house and I have nothing to add except please ask why on earth they need 100 strip lights in the kitchen. Someone put a lot of time and effort into that set up 😂

@AnonymousArabella yep that's question number 1 😂

Re the flood risk. Looks like there's a low flood risk the side of the village the house is on.
The side closer to the river has been flooded before, but apparently a group of residents self funded a flood defence which prevented further flooding in 2020+.
Impressive.

We live in listed house. It’s no big deal. You just need to allow a little more time to get planning permission if you want to make any changes.

If the current windows are non-original my gut feeling is you could probably gain consent to replace them with double glazing, although the proposed windows would have to be ultra-slimline. There are companies that specialise in windows for listed buildings and the technology is advancing all the time. If you weren't successful there you could definitely gain consent for secondary glazing.

It’s only really a 3/4 bed house - bedrooms 4 and 5 are minute. Would you be allowed to make internal changes as long as it doesn’t affect the external appearance?

The kitchen is awful, and ceilings are low. Have you viewed it?

North Yorks are pretty good at letting you replace the windows with double glazed casement (done it twice) . Loads of local suppliers and not that expensive as they are small (unlike my victorian non listed in NY at £100k for windows)

Are they Yorkshire sliding sash? (slide sideways not up/down?)

Don't listen to the lies that the estate agent will almost certainly tell you about not needing permissions to change things inside. Almost everything in a grade II will need permission to change. That said, local authority people are usually very helpful if you want to re-arrange things, block up or uncover fireplaces etc. One thing for sure is that nothing can be changed on the facade, but as you're happy with the house pretty much as it is, you won't have a problem. However, and this is a biggie, you almost certainly will not get permission to change the windows in any way. If they're single-glazed the house will be cold. The usual fix for this is secondary glazing - there are some very good companies out there who work with historic buildings who can do this, but be prepared to pay.
You won't get an energy certificate for a listed building - so you'll have to take an educated guess on that.
I see beams - that means a full and very close inspection of all the timber.
We bought a lovely 1720s house about ten years ago. We love it, but it's cold and draughty, but the location and house are so lovely we couldn't resist.
I would say, go for it, but be prepared to pay.

It's a pretty house, that looks to have been modified in the 60's/70's to my eye. I would ask about when it was last rewired. A boiler and replumb might be required too.

I was going to warn you about all the ivy(?) growing up the houses in picture 5, but I think they might be entirely different properties overlooking the garden of the house for sale?

Grade 2 listings are a bit random. I am in a Georgian G2 terrace and one of our neighbours was allowed to gut their house as none of the previous internal alterations had been approved (it was a bit more complicated than that), whereas I have a very important garden wall and 2-storey window that I can't touch. I think you could probably replace the glazing in those windows (not UPVC) if they aren't double glazed already. They look comparatively modern.

I can't get my head around the upstairs layout; it wouldn't really work for many.

There are only two photos of the bedrooms and none of the bathrooms. Loads of the garden though. That would make me think that there’s something to hide with them.

I think there would be absolutely loads to do and you might find yourselves with a cold and draughty money pit. It looks lovely from the outside, but the inside certainly isn’t.

I wouldn't expect a grade 2 listed to be energy efficient.... it looks lovely but like a total money pit. And I think its v expensive for Tadcaster.....

I grew up in a grade 2* house. It's absolutely gorgeous, and so special, but it put me off ever buying a listed house. I live in a 200YO house now (not listed), and even some of the challenges we face with this annoy me compared to something more modern (although I guess not enough to have put me off!!).

Things that drive me crazy about my parents' house (and some of this is unique to a grade 2* rather than grade 2):

-plumbing is shocking - terrible water pressure, showers aren't great. Takes forever for the downstairs loo and kitchen hot water to warm up, thereby wasting tonnes of the stuff.

-electricity - I suspect you'll need a rewire looking at their setup. Which will require re-plastering. Which will require special materials.

-insurance is crazy high and difficult to obtain (this will be in part due to theirs being thatched). Rules around fireplaces have changed several times over the years.

-EVERYTHING having to be approved by English Heritage - even the garden. It takes forever, and often doesn't seem to make any sense.

-low ceilings. I can live with this TBF, you soon get used to it, but my poor 6'5" husband 😂

-small windows = dark rooms. All the time.

-there is no such thing as a simple job - I suspect this may be partly why so many jobs in these houses look like DIY jobs - it just ends up opening a can of very expensive worms that require specialist skills and materials to do. Once you unpick one thing, it tends to unravel many other issues.

Just make sure your solicitor asks about listed building consent for things that have been done.

Mine didn't. Caused a sale to fall through and I reclaimed my costs from them because they hadn't asked anything at all about listed status.

Thank you all.
Think it's probably a bit much for us in reality (work wise).
It's maybe worth a viewing at some point, but certainly a lot more to consider than I thought.

Thanks again for the great advice 😃

I'd want to know if it was in breach of any listed building consent - and check it has consent for the flat roofed extension and fake windows. If that got consent they have a poor conservation officer or a very badly disciplined planning committee v

The exterior is fantastic. The interior …. Isn’t. I suspect there is a reason there are no photos of the bathrooms.

To bring the interior into harmony with the exterior and allow a budget for updating heating, electrics, etc could cost a fair penny. But you would have a fabulous house.

Only buy it if you could live with the layout forever. It’s easier to assume you won’t be able to change anything. Changing things can be expensive - as you’ll have to apply for permission.

Budget for a full rewire. Is it super dark? Lots of crazy lighting. You’ll want to replace all this once it’s rewired.

double glazed wood windows are possible - just expensive.

I live in a detached 17c stone building - the stone is warmed by the sun and by a wood burner. Heating for us is gas but we normally only have it on in the morning and wood burner in the afternoon evening and it’s lovely and warm and cosy - we are more southern than Yorkshire though!

looks really beautiful !! I love it!

I didnt think you could change windows in grade 2 listed? You can get really effective secondary glazing, ( not the diy-plastic-sheets, but ones with really good u-values).
The roof looks like its in good shape to me, thecwalls dont look in need of repointing (on my tiby phone screen as a non-expert!)..
Dont dissmiss it until youve checked what needs doing - it might not need a rewire, the plumbing could be fine, etc.
The garden wall would be spendy to repair if it needs doing.
You have to decide wether you love the quirks - which might include bumpy plaster, uneven floor, etc - because you may well find you cant change them. The higgeldy-piggeldy layout, exposed beams, etc is part of the charm, but could be a pita to live with! Kind of like that boyf at uni...

Personally I love it. Not the interior, but theres a huge amount you could do with it.

@Saz12 indeed.
It's a hard one without viewing it really.
I might not find the layout an issue while walking round.
I might hate it.

It's probably worth phoning about at least.

Sometimes it's worth viewing it if only to get it out of your system. Otherwise it can always be the house that got away when it might not be in reality.

Those bedroom ceilings need to come down and be replaced, I can see the unevenness of them from here. Probably lath and plaster or worse.

Im also cringing at the windows and how much work they need to keep up with.

DS has just dropped out of a listed building that looked great. Took a family friend tradie who has renovated numerous houses and he pointed loads of things wrong with it not visible to the untrained eye. spongy beams, damp, concrete gutterings, window maintenance, flashing on chimney. Estimated repairs to bring it up to scratch 60k before cosmetic upgrades.

He’s gone for a more “modern” Victoria semi, his second so familiar with the pitfalls and not listed.

It’s stone. That means it’s not insulated and will be hard to heat. You will want to change the windows but does your local council let you for specially designed timber double glazed (there are companies that do special double glazing that is better suited to listed buildings. It’s what’s going on in the ceiling and floors to be concerned with - I can see false ceilings in several rooms with artex and weird fluorescent light fittings- this is where to look. The fireplace wall is hideous and that room will need a total refit. How is the flat roof extension? This may have been done before the listing and even if it’s horrible they may not let you change it for a more fitting roof without a lot of discussion.

Find out when it was listed - you can easily do this online. Does it have foundations? A close relative lives in similar age stone Yorkshire house and it has no foundations; could you get a mortgage?

I wouldn’t buy that house unless I could afford to gut the floor and put underfloor heating and have an airsource heat pump; gut the kitchens and bathrooms, rewire, replace ceilings, replace windows, redo the extensions and put a proper stone patio in - not concrete.

I live in a listed building and I know what it means - luckily we didn’t want to change ours when we moved in but I know the previous owner quite well now and it was a labour of love doing our house up and getting permission to sort it.

Lovely, nothing helpful to add but my god, those kitchen lights 😂😂 wow. Hope you get it OP!

3 bed semi where I am 😩

It's amazing , my dream house and the inside isn't that bad ..

Shame I haggle to live in the south near elderly mother and some in Sen school 🙄

The layout would bug me, and bedroom 4 and 5 are ridiculously small, so it's really a 4 bed. Just think about changes you'd like to make and check they are allowed. But it is beautiful, great price compared to where we live!