Owners of (freehold) houses ....plse talk to me about longterm exterior repairs/maintanance budget...

[Maiden2021]

...for a roof, wall, driveway etc. [This is not a house renovation on purchasing thread.]

I lived in a brand new house for 2 years and it was lovely as nothing needed doing.

However, I am considering buying an old 2 or 3 bed freehold house in central London (as in previously lived in for 4/3 decades as most of central London is).

I have had leaseholds (this is not a thread about leasehold bashing) so I have the experience of doing up all interiors including a complete interior renovation- new bathroom, new kitchen, wardrobes, fence etc. I have also done double glazing windows on a large 3 bed flat, so I know the costs involved in all of that.)

1.However, I am wondering what maintenance budget I should have for having the responsibility of the whole house, albeit small house, especially for the exterior. I used google months ago, and I think it gave me something around £38K a year.

2.If your roof caved in in your current house, how much will it cost you to fix- do you know; are you concerned; and do people just take out a second mortgage for things like that ( I read that a lot here but I want to be prepared.)
3.Can I take out sound (but not too expensive) insurance for the exterior works to the freehold house?
4.I like to think ahead but can't make up my mind ( as retirement is too far away) if I want to retire in the country (brand new house) or in London but I don't think living in a leasehold flat/ house in London when I am old/older is what I want to do as the Management companies seem to charge so much for 'maintanance'. Hence I'm thinking a small freehold house. I might move to another country anyway, but don't want to put all my eggs in one basket and fail to make the necessary planning while I still can, I decide against the move when the time comes.

Thank you very much.

Property in Scotland is almost all freehold (I say almost to cover myself but I've never known of any standard residential property not to be), and certainly your average person here is not spending £38k a year on maintenance! We lived in a 1970s house for 10 years and over that time it was just stuff like a couple of new windows, a few slates off the roof in a storm, some guttering repairs, that sort of thing. Whole roof replacements aren't that common unless you have a surgery telling you it'll need to be done in the next couple of years.

@Hugasauras Thank you. I have noted 'surveyor' or 'architect'.

And the boiler is still going strong and the property is fully compliant with legislations on let properties including EPC C- hence I am glad of the works that I did so long ago- I didn't skimp on anything and it has been worth it. It is on British Gas annual maintenance plan since its installation.

Mindful of that cost, I enquired last year if I need to replace it any time soon and the cost. I was told it is perfectly fine and doesn't need replacing. I was also told it would cost around £3k to replace it. I queried the low cost and it was explained it is because the pipes etc were already installed when I did the renovation so that will no longer be necessary but only a new unit. It was a dated flat which didn't have modern stuff hence a complete renovation. They had only done the electrical rewiring at the time. However, I have since had it rewired , 3 years ago.

Off the top of my head, in 8 years we've lived in our house the money we've spent on exterior maintenance has included:

£10,000 for refurbishing/repairing/repainting timber sash windows (this also included replacing in uPVC where they are above a single storey extension and impossible to access by ladder for repainting etc.

£7,000 for new roof (fully reslating and new membrane under, as there was no original membrane). This cost was reduced a lot because we replaced the original slate with 'fake slates' which cut the labour cost (they're easier to work with and consistent sizes) and resulted in the cost coming down about £3,000 as the old slates were sold. I do slightly regret not reusing the original slates, but the cost saving was significant.

£2,500 for repointing, including the cost of scaffolding for access.

So, in our first 8 years of ownership we've spent about £30k and replaced the roof and done major maintenance on the entirety of the exterior walls and all the windows. I'm pretty confident we'll get to the end of a decade having spent less than £38k total on the exterior maintenance and with the building in a condition where I'd be hopeful that nothing further would be needed barring paintwork for another 20 years or so. This is a 100-year-old house which wasn't in the best condition when we bought it, so our experience strongly suggests the £38k per year is massively overblown!

@CasperGutman Thank you. Very useful.
Yes, I now see, as another poster already mentioned, the £38K p/a was for a mansion in central London ;or maybe even for a property management company which I will not use/have, which probably many owners of houses in central London use, as most of those houses are lying empty!

I really appreciate everyone taking the time to write a detailed (and therefore very helpful) post of their experiences over the years. No money could give me this info- so, another massive thank you.

Yes, I did buy and still own an (investment) freehold house (very big) in a foreign country but things are different there. That one is now in need of a big renovation (and a small extension) after nearly 20 years, although only when I am ready, and I will prioritise the ceiling and electrical rewiring first. Not where I would move into, if I did move abroad, as I will be able to build a brand new one elsewhere which would be more cost effective and suitable to me. The old one is in a big yard which is what I was advised should be the focus (and not the condition of property) as land there can be expensive- so I have land to even add a small development. When I think of the costs of redoing that old house in terms of its size, at least it has helped me fully appreciate I will be needing to buy a small house in UK for retirement. Have learnt quite a lot over the years having had direct experiences in addition to respecting the advice I was graciously (being) given.

I recently asked if I will need it (the old house) pulled down and a new one built in its place, but the advice has been that it is perfectly fine (it is perfectly liveable - but I like to plan (or don't I?) and just need a proper, full upgrade and renovation at some point in a not too distant future- I was pleased with that opinion.