Victorian houses

[HummingbirdSong]

Hi, I'm thinking about purchasing a victorian house, but I've heard so much about the liklihood of damp and high ongoing maintenance costs. Anyone had experience of owning and living in one?

You can see this in my street. There's 40 houses in total and one of them is larger and has a grander exterior than the rest. I'm told it was for the pit manager. It's been divided into two separate houses now but it's an interesting historical quirk to see this house with aspirations on a miners terrace 😁

I'm sorry @Papricat but you are talking nonsense.
Brick and stone built houses do not need their bricks, foundations, joists and roof redoing every 50 years. A little maintenance every few years will keep these houses standing, warm, dry and in good condition for hundreds of years.

I've lived in and maintained 16 old houses (including an old church and a 1730s house) over a period of 60 years and work has been done on all of them but no 'full refurb' to the tune of the sort of sum you quoted.

New guttering, replacing the odd tiles, replacing windows with double glazing, installing heating - yes.

Full refurb every 50 years including 'refurbishing foundations' (????) Utter nonsense.

Even new, cheaply thrown up houses are designed with a 70 year lifespan.

The vast majority of Victorian homes lining our streets are dry, warm and comfortable.

I live in a late Victorian terrace. No issues with this house. My last house was older and detached. I did have a damp issue there but put a damp course in. The ceilings also failed in four main rooms which was very messy to replace and I had to get a specialist plasterer to redo the covings. That house was a bit of a money pit but it was a beautiful building and I loved it.
I always prefer period buildings because of the sheer volume of space - high ceilings, big windows, period features. Yes they cost more to maintain, but they are worth it.

Our last house was built in 1880, and was incredibly warm (gas bills £30 per month) because it was a terrace and we retained the heat from our neighbours.

We had good double glazed windows that fit well, and plenty of loft insulation. But very cosy indeed.