Is it a pain to own a Grade II house?

[NinNinJin]

Viewing a grade 2 house in a couple of days and it is gorgeous but def need work to be done. Is it a bankruptcy project? We are not made of money. The house is comfortably within our budget but I would not want to drown us.

It is just nothing is coming for sale and I'm becoming a bit desperate.
Tell me your stories of dealing with grade 2.

I grew up in a Grade 2 listed house, it was beautiful truly but I would never buy one. It drove my Mother to despair and after she was widowed she sold it to a developer who sadly turned it in to 5 apartments. I mean it was a huge house so that added to the stress. But I settled on a 1920’s build. Easy to maintain, still has picture rails and original doors.

No, grade 2 in our experience is fine to decorate inside as you wish. Outside pretty easily got planning for a modern extension.
It is grade 1 that seems to be more of a tricky one in terms of decorating and planning.

I own a Grade II listed townhouse. How much of a pain it is depends on what you want to do to it and what the condition of it is. If it's the layout you want with no extensions etc then it's more straight forward and not a massive pain. We have extended but we accepted what we would and wouldn't be allowed to do, so it's not been too much of an issue. It was disappointing when we couldn't knock a wall through but actually I'm glad we didn't now.
It is a bit of a money pit but we love living in it so it justifies the unexpected bills.
You do have to do some research on the correct materials to use. I would recommend asking the council for advice on anything you're unsure about (and get the answer in writing).
I think you have to be prepared to put more time/admin/research into it but what results can be a beautiful and authentic place to live.

Hasn’t been too bad for us. We want to put a low fence around our front garden but need to apply for permission to do so, that’s been the only obstacle thus far.

No it isn't as long as you understand and accept living in a period property means doing some things differently.

Estate agents round here often point out if a period or ‘character’ house is not listed. They don’t do this because it is a bad thing.

We live in one. Ours is fine because the listing only applies to the outside wall and therefore any internal stuff is absolutely fine and easy to do.

Have lived in quite a few different grade 2 listed houses and never had a problem at all. All well built and long lasting structures with lovely big windows. Yes you are restricted in terms of extensions and changing the windows etc but we would never want to do anything which detracted from a beautiful building anyway.

Are you saying you live in a house that has a listed wall around it, or that you live in a listed house? Because if your actual house is listed then the listing most definitely does not only apply to external features, even if they're the only features mentioned in the listing (which is a common misconception).

@Persipan Sorry, I explained it badly (multitasking badly!). The wall of our house is listed but they don't care about internal works as all so it's easy to get permission for whatever we want to do (so long as it doesn't interfere with one of our external walls).

Depends on the house, the period, what it's made of and what work needs doing.

New kitchens and bathrooms - no problem

New roof - turns out handmade clay tiles are expensive

Plastering - must be lime plaster...

Only time I have need Listed Building permission is for changing windows to double glazing.

Grade 2* or Grade 1 are another story.

We live in one, it’s totally fine as you only need permission if you effectively wish to replace or change original fixtures. Things like bathrooms, kitchens etc , unless they are original and part of the listing, you don’t need permission.

really you are a guardian of a building of historical interest, and if you view it like that you will be fine.

they do cost more though to buy, period properties usually do and particularly listed ones. A lot of folks don’t understand listed properties, ie person above saying it’s a bad thing, it’s not, it’s a positive, and listed for a reason. But if you want to rip out original features or fundamentally change the layout it’s not the house for you and yes it’s a bad thing as you won’t be able to turn it into a featureless new build.

Agree with pps depends on the house and your council.

Our house is v ordinary inside, fancy outside. Therefore our council isn't bothered about internal works so will give permission easily, but v perfectionist about doors, windows and pointing.

Materials and building insurance generally more expensive, structure of the house makes it quite expensive to heat.

Posting a link. How much more will we need to live in it? 😅

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/140025497

As long as you have full survey and check the electrics, damp, roof etc, not much, looks cosmetic to me, so kitchen, decor, floor sanding etc,

That house is wonderful and mainly looks like kitchen needs doing but that would not require listed approval as long as not touching original features like beams. If its a bespoke wooden kitchen you could get it painted and new flooring, new tiles etc.

Looks like there is quite a lot of damp to me (downstairs especially) which could be concerning. You may need to get all the plaster and render off and re-do it in breathable materials (lime). Seems covered in plastic paint throughout.

I'd recommend this GB group - Your Old House UK - Repair and Conservation

Honestly don’t be scared by these posts. Get a full survey op. No one can tell from those images you’d need to get all the plater off.

I grew up in one, I don’t remember anything being especially difficult - we decorated inside pretty much as we wanted. When we built an extension there were regulations and planning permission to get through.

It really depends on the condition. Be absolutely fastidious when looking at the windows etc. Lots of people will bodge wooden windows wirh hardener until it reaches a point you have the replace the whole thing. One of those windows will be £10-15K if you need a full replacement (speaking from experience) We've also just paid £2,000 for half our windows to be reputtied, broken panes replaced and sanded for painting).

Then theres the gutter. Get someone you trust up there, pop over when its pouring with rain - iron gutters are expensive to repair and replace.

Pointing - again expensive as will need to be matched to the original if it needs redoing.

Grade 2 houses that have bee. Well maintained shouldnt be bank breaking but its easy for a survey to miss a load of bodges that will be very expensive to fix.

We werent niave buyers and I have a degree that included building conservation but weve spent 30K on a house half that size in 2 years on stuff that was covered up or 3 x the original estimate.

Surveys most if the time are absolutely pointless - they just cover their own backs especially recently.
If you do get a survey get it from someone who is specialised in old buildings; we used someone who had a RICS conservation accreditation.

Lovely - looks tame to the work needed compared to some older properties. Eyes open as to what needs doing, do not try to make it a "modern" property, work with what you have, use traditional methods and embrace any quirks of an older property, finally think of yourselves as custodians then you will not go wrong.

Spend the money on ensuring any gypsum plaster is removed, allow the walls to dry and replaster with lime. Ensure the roof, downpipes and guttering are sound with no leaks. Irrespective of what people say, do not insulate the house to within an inch of its life - it needs to breathe. I would suggest using sheep wool insulation if possible. Lining a roof can cause problems so be careful if it is part of the suggested works.

Rewire and upgrade pipework whilst any plaster is removed and flooring is up. Do not allow electricians or plasterers to channel period walls out for cables/pipework unless they are used to period properties - they will cause damage which needs repairing far more than if your period builder/plasterer does it.

Most of the money spent on period properties is on bits you never see but will be money well spent.

Looks lovely.

my only hesitation would be that those beautiful windows might be tricky to maintain and probably are single glazed. That might put me off if it were to make the house cold.

Thank you for all your comments. Really helpful and educating as I'm a total novice and I grew in a block of place outside UK.
I see a need for a new door, that would probably need some permissions. My husband usually likes boxes with plastic windows, not exciting. So it is mostly me looking into how we can make smth like this work. The EPC is probably F. Unfortunately I cannot find any pictures of what it used to look like when it was last sold.

I think once you do up the kitchen and rear of the house and sort out the damp you're on to a winner! The front of the house is beautiful!