Older house or new build?

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Had an offer on our house that we have accepted. Divorce not finalised but financial order in place. Stbx has another property he lives in but I need to find somewhere for myself. I only want a smaller mortgage (due to my age - early 50’s) and I intend to pay it off at 60 when I get my pension lump sum.

We have always had fairly new houses but I have been attracted to older houses as I’ve got older (more character and space). I’m undecided whether to look for a new build or an older house. New builds can lack character.

What has everyone got and what made you decide on your choice?

It looks like I can get a 3 bed older house within my budget - nice house, character, established garden and in a nice area. Or, a smaller new build (2 bed) with little character. But, more economical. I need a 3 bed, preferably.

I love the London type houses and the one I have my eye on is just like them - with a much reduced price tag being up north!

We have a small new build now and love it. We previously had a massive Victorian with bags of character but we were always freezing cold and always needing to get work done - i.e it was a money pit. We've added personality to our new build via decor - light fixtures, art, plants and furniture can do a lot for a space.

what about a previously lived in new build. You can get some that people have lived in for only a year or two, so you still have the benefit of new appliances, and an NHBC; but don’t pay the new build premium. There’s usually a few kicking about due to life issues.

We currently own a 3 bed cottage and its been a great house. It was built back in 1850 and has bags of character. Quirky doors, built in windows, cottage style latch doors, beamed ceilings, a range cooker and a wood burner. But we also have double glazing and gas central heating. We don't find it cold due to how we heat it and the wood burner in the winter keeps us toasty. It needs normal maintenance but I think that goes for most houses. It is definitely not a money pit.

We have owned a new build too, back when we first got together, and we just found it soulless. Even with decor and nice furniture we just always felt it was a bit boxy and meh. I never felt 'home' there and didn't get excited to come back to it when we had been away or anything. I didn't love it. Whereas I love my cottage. Just my opinion, I know some people love a new build.

But I think only you can decide really where you want to be long term. Make a list of all the things you really want and need from a house and see which one comes out on top.

We live in an old house, Victorian. We love it big it's cold and needs money to keep it so there are down sides to older properties

I live in a Victorian house. I love the character and history of it, rather than a plain new build that all look the same. But there are constant maintenance issues and updating needing doing in an old house. They can be money pits.

I've had both, moved a lot. I tend to choose based on my needs and location at the time. New builds are great if the layout is sensible, and would normally be lower in terms of heating and upkeep. Character can be added. Location is a factor on larger estates, they haven't yet had time to settle and you don't know if they will become a great place to live and sought after, or if they will turn out to be an estate people will avoid. Smaller developments with fewer houses won't have the same issue. And PPs point about a new build that is a few years old is a good one as you'll start seeing what the estate will turn out like after a few years.

Older houses can provide larger rooms and gardens, but depends on the age of the house. They could however need far more work if the owners haven't maintained them properly, and often you won't know until you've moved in as the surveys only go so far. My favourite are 70s builds, and I'm currently living in a 50s house bought for the gigantic garden.

Think about what you want your life to look like and choose house and location based on that. Do you want to be walking distance of a town centre, or would you prefer the peace and quiet of the countryside even if you'll have to drive everywhere? Do you need space for entertaining, or hobbies? Would you rather a small home that'll be easy and quick to maintain and clean, or space to spread out? Do you want a large or small garden. How close would you like to be too your neighbours? How much privacy do you want? What do you want to hear when the doors and windows are open? What about the amount of sunlight in the house and garden?

If you can work out the things that will facilitate your future life, and work out what's essential Vs nice to have, and importantly what you really don't want, this will help you make a good choice.

How exciting, good luck.

My house is 1920s and it's had various issues plus it's very cold in winter. It is not particularly big but it is detached, so that doesn't help.
I've lived in a Victorian terrace and that was a small 2 bedroom, and very well built. Not as cold because it was joined, plus it heated up really quickly.
I grew up in a 1930s semi and that was also cold! But had a lovely big garden and quite a lot of space.
Despite the cold, I'm usually attracted to old houses and they are blissful in summer. Also when I go to friend's new builds I am often uncomfortably hot!

I have done both: I had a new built flat in London and I am now in a 1930, 3 bed house on the Kent coast.

The flat although brand new was really poorly built. So many developers go for the cheapest material and workmanship is not always great. It was really easy to heat though.

My 1930 house is a fixer-upper so it is expensive and stressful to do the work. Fairly easy to heat though and I don't have big utility bills in general. But it has a lovely garden, decent location and is quite spacious.

I prefer older houses but you do have to be prepared to do a lot of maintenance work and they often come with decades of dodgy DIY and botched builder jobs...

We have a nearly 300 year old listed building. (we don't know exactly as there are no records old enough that show when it was built)

Never again! (I wouldnt choose a new build either though.... maybe about 50 - 100 ish, with space and character that new builds lack, but definitely not 300 where there are no 90 degree angles and every wall and floor is wonky, and the mains water enters via the lounge and you cant deviate from wooden gutters or change the colour of your front door....)

Had 3 old properties and 18 months ago a new build. Wouldn't buy a new build again ... property is fine but living g in a building site is terrible.

I've lived in an old cottage and house, newer but characterless houses and one new build. Definitely preferred the old characterful homes any day, but recently had a barn converted which is perfect as we have all the convenience but character too.

I’d aim for something built between 1930 and 1980.

Recent builds bring their own problems - small, lacking storage, tiny gardens, poor build quality, paper thin internal walls that you can’t put a shelf on , lack of parking etc. I found both our new builds had terrible problems with overheating in summery weather - became unbearable to sleep. I only lived in one completely new home and that had 98 serious snagging issues - our neighbour’s snagging list included “the builder forgot to build the window in the hall!” I’d never buy totally new again

Older houses have problems but tend to be easier to spot so you can price them in to your offer after a full survey eg needs rewiring, needs a new roof etc.

Very old houses have really difficult problems that are often hard or expensive to fix.

Older property!

Sometimes the housing stock of where you want to live determines whether it’s an older or a newer property! I don’t have experience of a new build or a very much older house. I would go 1930s through to 1980s. Often heard 2970s house had the best size rooms. It depends how much character means to you. I put nearby facilities much higher up on my list,

Should say 1970s houses not 2970s!!!

I would prob go new build as it will be easier and less to maintain BUT would hate to live on a housing estate. So unless the house was on a normal street I wouldn't.

This! Also a newbuild often comes with no floor coverings or blinds / curtains / light fittings, so lots to sort out on your own and extra exoense. Sometimes the garden is not even turfed which is more expense and trouble. A newer house is usually more energy efficient and easier to keep clean with simple lines.

I turned down a new build and bought a house that was four years old and had been lived in by a young family. It has everything I need including a landscaped garden and built in storage. It just needed some redecoration which I did over the first year or so. My energy bills are really low and I don't have to worry about much maintenance or upkeep.

Our current house is a listed Georgian coastal cottage. Sadly, it had all its internal character removed when it was last renovated in the mid 1960s. We chose it more for the location, two minutes walk from the beach, although it's in a pretty conservation area which helped us decide.

We are in the process of renovating sympathetically which does cost an arm and a leg. We had a wood burner fitted to take the chill off after moving in last winter, but, tbh, despite the ancient heating system, it's not a particularly cold house and our bills aren't massive.

Previously we've owned far more characterful (but none of them listed!) - tudor house, arts & crafts house and most recently a four hundred year old mill. The newest we've ever owned was Victorian.

I can't see us ever buying a new build (but if we did it would have to be not on an estate and probably one that was a few years old so the snagging issues had been resolved) as they're just too boxy and meh. Whilst you can add interest with paint colours, art and 'stuff', imho you can never make them as quirky as an old house.

If I was on my own, I'd choose a new build (or at least modern - as pp said a second hand new build might be best).

I love my long garden and my old terrace but I have a husband to share the maintenance with.

If I had to do it alone I think I'd move.

Thanks everyone. I’ll have a look over the weekend.

We've had and enjoyed both, but definitely love my old cottage the best. Averaged out over the years the costs are almost exactly the same and it just feels a lot more like a proper home.

Our last house was an old cottage but had been completely renovated before we bought it. It was perfect as character but no real maintaince and warm. Our current house is old but needs renovating and is a money pit and never ending source of stress. So I’d say not all old houses are created equal!

As others have said, purely from a practical point of view, a slightly older new build.

My house is 1700s - lovely, unique but it’s a money pit.

Personally I would go for the middle ground and get something 1940s- 1980s where you tend to get a bigger house and plot but not such a money pit. My last three houses have been 1980s and they’ve all been economical to run and not money pits but obviously larger than their new build equivalents.

We moved house a couple of years ago. It was our third house in 25 years. Our first house was a 1930s semi, which we loved. Our second house was a 1980s detached house, which was still fairly new when we bought it in the nineties. Again, we were very happy there. When we were looking for this house, we decided that we would look for houses built between about 1930 and 1990. Earlier houses often have lots of problems and deep pockets are needed. Houses built post-1990 often have very small rooms and very little storage space. Brand new houses often seem to have teething troubles with the quality of the build. In the end, we bought a house that was built in the early eighties and are very happy with it. It has well-proportioned rooms and is warm.