Stick or twist? Modern & rural or period character in village

[competentadult]

Now that the youngest child has gone to uni, we have been dithering over whether or not to move. We’ve lived in our modern house in the country for 10 years. It's attractive, we’ve done a lot to it and it meets our needs but we still have a pretty big mortgage (now borderline crippling, since Truss). It has gorgeous views but it’s on an exposed hill, the garden faces north and we have to drive everywhere.

We have just viewed a place in the centre of a nearby village. The house is a similar size but it's 17th century with original wonky floors and lots of character. Little sheltered south-facing garden. The environment is lovely – beautiful village, views of the church, great pub, good little shops etc all 2 minutes' walk from the (gorgeous) front door.

It would cut our remaining mortgage in half meaning that we could pay it off in 5 years with lower payments. My husband adores it and would move in tomorrow. I have never lived in a very old house and although I love the quirks, I am worried about it being cold and draughty.

If we don’t seize this opportunity - while we’ve both still got jobs - to get a good-sized house we can afford in a lovely place, it might never come again. But I’m also worried I’d be making a mistake leaving our warm, insulated house for one with electric heating and single-glazed (albeit beautiful sash) windows.

What to do?

We had electric eco radiators in our apartment and they were next to useless and very expensive. It used to take all day for the apartment to heat up. I'm a cold body and it really affected me.

Years ago my DGM had a coal fire and radiators running off it because the estate didn't have gas. Would that be a possibility?

@user1471538283 How old were these radiators? My research suggests that new electric radiators and storage heaters - 2017 or later - are loads better than earlier ones but if even they can't heat a house properly then this house would never be warm.

Who now wants a coal fire? That’s going back to the dark ages. No radiator warms a room if it’s inefficient and undersized. I think, if it’s listed, there are limitations on what can be done to improve efficiency and heating.

I don't want coal and I'm sure the neighbours wouldn't want us to either!

@competentadult Have you decided to go for it?

I appreciate the concern over the comfort of an old rural house. There is an enormous difference in the thermal efficiency of a single skinned house with floors sitting on the ground (pre 1850s) as against a cavity walled house with suspended floors. How you heat it is almost secondary, it's a question of how do you keep the heat in.