Older homes - how desirable?

[AlexisP90]

About to put an offer on a home. Obviously subject a survey etc..

It's a good home for us right now. We are relocating and although it needs some work ( a downstairs low and some modernising) it's pretty perfect. Big size for a 3 bed which we struggled with. Our current home is 10 years old but we got lucky with the room sizes (they are HUGE) but while viewing newer houses in the new area realised this isn't the norm!

The house was built in 1910. Solid build. Looks in great shape (on the surface...Obviously a survey will be happening) fireplaces throughout the house so has that appeal. I don't love that but happy for it to stay.

My question... I have only ever purchased a newer home so I have no idea how desirable they are. We would live in it for about 5 years then hopefully have enough for something slightly bigger. Location is great.

Do people still want these older houses? Would I struggle to sell?

I realise mumsnet isn't an estate agent or can predict the future but any advice/ experience would be fab.

I mean many castles have stood the test of time in the respect that they are still there. That doesn't make them good places to live - freezing cold, damp, draughty and practically impossible to heat.

A lot of people seem to be obsessed with thick stone walls but there is a reason why we don't build houses out of thick stone walls anymore. They are expensive and terribly cold and really difficult to resolve problems with like damp if something goes wrong. It's almost as if we have learnt something about how to best build houses over the past few centuries.

In fact some of the best houses I have been in for living in are Scandanavia. Made from wood with optimised insulation in the walls. Easy to modify and repair. Very warm from the insulation used in the walls and look great from the outside. Not a thick stone wall in sight.

The problem is that we don't build modern houses in the UK that are like Scandinavian homes. Too often in the UK, developers throw up bland boxes using as cheap materials as they can get away with. Modern homes are fabulous if well-constructed.

I think older houses are charming, but I have noticed a definite switch away from them in the last couple of years. With energy prices where they are, the cost of heating them is mad. The cost of building works (and my experience is that older houses always need something done!) is insane. A lot of them are getting harder and harder to insure (thatch!). Anything listed is an absolute bloody nightmare. Solicitors and mortgage companies pick up a million problems, and they used to shrug and say "it's stood for a hundred years, it'll probably be fine", but they just don't do that anymore. A lot of eg Victorian two-ups, two downs were never ever expected to last as long as they have. The brick just turns to dust eventually. We've just moved into a brand new house with amazing insulation and everything works and all of a sudden I just can't imagine ever moving back to an old house.

We’ve bought a 1920’s house and it is so warm and the cheapest to heat we’ve ever had. Previously we rented a house built in 2003 and it was freezing despite being the same size.
We have fireplaces (closed off) in 3 of the four bedrooms and a working one in the living room. It’s been lovely using it during the winter.
We had a full survey done so know the roof is sound and there’s no damp and excellent insulation.

@poetryandwine Early Edwardian, eg 1901, is not necessarily a cavity wall construction. Far more likely to be 20 years later. So it depends on when built and who built it. Some houses were shoddily built even 100 years ago. Many have the issue of very small kitchens and might have been extended poorly too.

Thanks, @TizerorFizz . Our cornerstone says 1905 so perhaps we got lucky.

@poetryandwine. It’s very much about forward thinking builders or builders just doing the same old Victorian designs. Adding a second wall pushed up costs and not all builders embraced that!

On a wider point, lots of people admire Scandinavian style homes but we need to question where the wood products would come from. They are not cheap to construct and some timber framed homes cost more to insure. We have always been a cost conscious country and tend to want Rolls Royce products for Mini money. There’s more we could do but it needs far more government push to ensure it’s done and not optional.

Thanks for all the comments guys - appreciated!

Have instructed a surveyor now so fingers crossed. It's a lovely house and the biggest by far for our budget. Something we were really struggling with the née builds in the area ("3rd bedroom" if you're a mouse maybe....)

I also love Scandi homes and designs.

Our first home in America was cedar plank and this worked very well in a climate of cold, snow laden winters and hot summers. Not fire country however.

How exciting, @AlexisP90 ! I hope it all works out.

Good luck with the survey. Just be aware that surveys are generally designed to terrify so don't panic when you read the report. It'll likely contain a lot of ass-covering statements.

My home was built in 1911. Love it. Solid.

The key with reports is to make sure anything that’s obviously worrying is investigated more deeply. If a wall is damp, (not saying it is) there needs to be a reason identified. Ditto a sagging roof or issues because a chimney has been removed. There’s minimal things of course but just one serious thing is costly.

@LaPalmaLlama Your Old House UK - Repair and Conservation, and Victorian, Edwardian and Georgian Home Renovations UK are two I have found most helpful.

There is also a Your Old House For Sale page which is the best property porn 😁

For me the best houses were built between 1890 and 1940.

In my area you pay a premium for an older house (ie Victorian or Edwardian) and newer houses tend to be cheaper (unless completely new)

Yeah- when we were looking I was really period agnostic but I found that a lot of more modern properties had been built with really uneven bedroom sizes, so some huge 20ftx 20ft master bedroom and one reasonable sized room but then 3 rooms that were either tiny, oddly shaped/ not full height or weirdly situated (eg next to the garage on the lower ground floor). The highlight of my viewings was a 5th bedroom that was actually a windowless gun room, complete with steel reinforced barred door and racking. The house we ended up with was built in 1895 and has its quirks but is blessed with 5 evenly sized square bedrooms that you can arrange furniture in without too much thought

No one I know wants a new build. Totally your prerogative to remove things you don’t like, but given you’re only planning on being there a short time I’d be weary of stripping a house of “features”. We ruled out a house that had had the chimney removed because it was going to cost too much to “put it right”.

I live in old house. I’m a tiny bit jealous of new build cheap heating and insulation but I reckon my house has stood for 200 years and will easily last another 200 with tlc. I think most people prefer older houses for space and features.

We live in a house that is really, really old (Tudor) and people are always saying it must be a nightmare to heat, but it honestly isn’t. Wood beams and plaster just retain heat, I can’t explain it scientifically, but it’s definitely true!

If you remove the fireplaces, the next purchasers will reduce their offer price to factor replacing them. You choose.

In all honesty I would buy a house you can see yourself in for a good while. The days of climbing the ladder through repeated moves is gone because it’s so expensive to actually move these days and there isn’t much profit in refurbishing houses.

obviously many people move due to change of circumstances but i would not buy a house I would outgrow in 5 years

@Flowersforcharlie Your walls will not be 1 brick thick. You will have sturdy walls. You probably have small windows. As long as you draught proof you are probably much better off than a mid Victorian house.

Absolutely – plenty of people love older houses, especially ones from that era. 1910s homes are usually solidly built, with high ceilings, proper room sizes, and loads of character – fireplaces, cornices, nice big windows, that sort of thing. They're often in established areas with good-sized plots too.
If it’s in a good location and looked after, you definitely shouldn’t struggle to sell down the line. In fact, some buyers actively avoid new builds and go looking for older properties exactly because of the charm and space they offer.
Just be aware older homes can throw up quirks – electrics, plumbing, insulation, etc. – so make sure your survey is thorough. Get some roofing quotes to check what's happening up there, same as guttering. You want to make sure that it's water tight. But if it’s been maintained well and the work needed is mostly cosmetic or expected for the age, it could be a great buy, especially if space is a priority for you.
Sounds like you’ve got the right mindset – best of luck with it!