Victorian house: are we mad?

[Matronic6]

So we had been planning to relocate to my hometown for a while. Were planning next year, then renting whilst we look to buy.

A listed Victorian building that looks like it hasn't been updated since the 60s has come on the market. It is definitely a very reasonable price but that it is because of the extent of work required.

If the property wasn't so stunning, it would be an absolute no as the scale of work is quite daunting. But it's the first property that I can see past all of the work and see the potential.

The other factor is cost. We can easily afford the house but don't think we can afford the work in quick time. We will need to break it down over years. It is priced around 200. Whilst we could afford a deposit around 40/50, we are considering a deposit of 20-25 and reserving some cash to begin work. Even with this reduction in deposit our monthly mortgage will be about 300-400 cheaper than our rent. Then we could make an extra payment each year to reduce mortgage.

I am certain the changes we would need to make will be at least 100k. I know that a 300k newbuild would be so much easier. The other factor is as the move will be brought forward I am likely to be out of work for a bit. DH is remote so he is unaffected. So will also be relying on one income for a while. Though info plan to start applying for remote jobs ASAP if we do go through with it.

Are we mad to consider it? Is there anyway it can be made easier? Anyone done the same and have advice?

So we really wanted it to be easy walk to the city centre. But the majority of properties in this category were ugly terraced houses. All the ones with any character, were out of our price range. So we decided to look a little bit wider and were focusing on detached houses. The location is amazing, in a conservation area with stunning park and lovely cafes, great school 1 mim walk.

I wouldn’t do it.

We’re in a Victorian house, half way through renovating with no end in sight. It has sucked the life out of me and every penny we have. It’s a financial drain. I feel especially guilty for the effect it’s had on my kids. They are embarrassed by it as all of their friends live in shiny new builds. Yes, our home will be lovely one day, but not while they’re living in it.

This is the second period property we’ve renovated and the cost is eye watering. Both times we’ve increased the value of the house, but only a fraction of what we’ve spent on it.

Our first home was a new build and if we’d stayed there we’d be so much better off financially.

Another factor is how motivated you are to crack on when you can, how good you are at decision making together. If I had a partner who was a procrastinator, was on the lazy side or we often were at stalemate about decisions. Then it would be less appealing.
Hopefully it'll all stack up and you can go for it and it'll be a beautiful home.

We have a listed house. If it was unlisted I might be tempted, or if it was beautifully renovated and listed I might, as further works could be done gradually, over time. But you'll need to jump through hoops to do everything and as it was listed in that condition you might have to keep some bizarre features. Eg I knew someone who had Crittle windows in a 17th century house but because it was listed with them in place they were told they would have to replace like for like!
We wanted oak framed windows but were refused and we had to have painted pine (in cream). Even though the original windows were oak.
We also had to have planning permission for a shed, and the planning fee was around £400.
I wouldn't touch a listed doer-upper!

Oh and when we replaced our roof we had a lot of restrictions such as only a small percentage of new peg tiles, mixed in with mostly reclaimed peg tiles, which took a while to find, and we had to have sheeps wool insulation, which was very expensive. We would like to take the wall down between our dining room and kitchen but this was refused, and we were not allowed double glazing, even the invisible type.

Can you wrap up some of the renovation costs into your mortgage? Get an additional 30k for the kitchen and bathroom?

I would go for it. We live in a listed house that hadn't been touched since the 1960s. We got planning (and listed building consent) to extend. We did the work over five years. We have a beautiful house that suits us perfectly. Would def do it again. I think Victorian houses were generally well built and hold their value well.

This is a major reservation for me. I will say that having spoke to a neighbour they have had everything they wanted to do approved. It appeared the major points were the facade which we wouldn't change anyway and you can't extend property or knock through the kitchen wall.

They also said another neighbour turned his property into two holiday flats which give me some hope.

You can submit a planning application for a house before you own it. I’d try to get consent before exchanging contracts.
We had a listed building and the council said no to a plan that didn’t affect the exterior. We were baffled by the refusal as was our architect and another planner we hired for advice. They were just contrary. Never again will I bother. We sold and left.

£10k? You can spend that just to redo a bathroom. Are you doing the work yourself?

@mondaytosunday the OP said £100k

I would go for it, I love our Victorian house, and rented one previously. Much preferred it to the new build we had before that with low ceilings and too hot in summer. I've never been cold in our Victorian houses despite what people say. With you being out of work initially it will give you time to do some of the work yourself or at least organise it. If it has modern central heating as you say it can't be that bad.