Author Topic: Refurbished Late Victorian House  (Read 1869 times)

Jacinle

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Refurbished Late Victorian House
« on: May 15, 2021, 01:56:10 PM »
Hi

Is a refurbished late victorian (~1880) a money pit or a money mustache buy?

It does have kerbside appeal, the size and price is just right.

I found I just landed myself in an area with (only) lovely hundred years old houses. 

I choose here because it is a good commute but never thought about the house age.  And recommendations from people who had fond memories growing up around here and currently living in nearby area.

Though a quick glance around the lines/stations that was recommended was mostly with older housing stock, I guess that when the lines/stations are built, the houses are also built.  As the tube lines are old, so are the houses. 

Obviously I am a foreigner who is learning UK housing :)


shelivesthedream

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Re: Refurbished Late Victorian House
« Reply #1 on: May 15, 2021, 02:34:56 PM »
Sounds like a perfectly normal house to me. Age alone wouldn't concern me in the slightest. My highly unscientific opinion is that a house over a century old that's still standing is a well-built one, as if it wasn't it would have fallen down by then!

draco44

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Re: Refurbished Late Victorian House
« Reply #2 on: May 15, 2021, 02:50:42 PM »
Hi there! Sounds normal but there are so many variables in location and the condition of individual houses that you may need to provide a bit more information to others to get the most useful replies. Any old house is likely to be a money pit to some extent, but if you live somewhere where all the homes are old and someone else has already done a lot of restoration work and the price and location is right, maybe you have found a good choice.

Some questions that came to my mind as reading your post were as follows. Maybe with that extra information other more locally knowledgeable folks will chime in.

1. You say you want to hear from "people who had fond memories growing up around here," but where is here? I understand not wanting to be too specific with strangers on the internet, comparable property prices will be vastly different by area. I'm guessing you are in London proper or a close-in suburb (since you mention the Tube) but more detail could be informative as there's differences within the region.
2. What does "refurbished" mean? Do you already know about any big renovation projects that will need to be done soon on the house? Has there been a housing inspection?
3. Have you already bought this house, or did you just find a listing you are interested in?
4. What is the price of this home?
5. How long would you plan on living in this house?
« Last Edit: May 15, 2021, 03:06:12 PM by draco44 »

Jacinle

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Re: Refurbished Late Victorian House
« Reply #3 on: May 15, 2021, 05:32:19 PM »
Hi Draco44

I am in north london

Refurbished by current owner - was told new roofs, extensions, windows, plumbing, wirings, paint etc

I am renting in a similar house (believe it's 1900) a few streets away and saw the sell signage so went in to have a look.  My rented house is very warm and cosy with all the modern comforts.  This rented house is also 'refurbished' I guess. 

The asking price is around 700, its a very small 3br terraced and 15mins walking to the tube.   I am currently thinking another 10 years perhaps.

There are some newer built I think 1920-70s, but those are further away and not in walking distance from transport and shops.

But to have flexibility I hope it will be either a good rental or easy sell if I need to move on.  I prefer my own bought home vs rental as I guess I have more control.

I am wondering what is the local experience on a 'Refurbished' period property

I am wondering what's the maintenance costs will be on a period property vs new built (e.g fixing roofs , windows ...)

Jac

draco44

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Re: Refurbished Late Victorian House
« Reply #4 on: May 15, 2021, 07:38:20 PM »
I've never lived in your specific area but that sounds encouraging that the recent house repairs included a new roof and wiring. And you know the neighborhood (though not the immediate neighbors, probably) from already living nearby, so that's a good sign too. And ten years would be a long enough stay that it could be worth your while to buy. I don't know your overall financial situation, but what you've shared sounds promising to me.

vand

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Re: Refurbished Late Victorian House
« Reply #5 on: May 16, 2021, 12:57:28 AM »
Older homes can be more expensive to maintain and can suffer from a whole myriad of issues even if they've been refurbed.

Make sure you get a full structural survey - we found someone who has a detailed premium service that runs to about 50 pages for a single home survery who I can recommend.

Jacinle

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Re: Refurbished Late Victorian House
« Reply #6 on: May 16, 2021, 03:27:47 AM »
I've never lived in your specific area but that sounds encouraging that the recent house repairs included a new roof and wiring. And you know the neighborhood (though not the immediate neighbors, probably) from already living nearby, so that's a good sign too. And ten years would be a long enough stay that it could be worth your while to buy. I don't know your overall financial situation, but what you've shared sounds promising to me.

Yeah, I found that living nearby and working from home at the moment has the advantage that I can make my daily walk/errands by the house almost everyday in different times of the day to check the house immediate neighborhood

Just haven't done a midnight/early pre-dawn to that yet, might be will find a day and drive by it. 

Jacinle

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Re: Refurbished Late Victorian House
« Reply #7 on: May 16, 2021, 03:39:18 AM »
Older homes can be more expensive to maintain and can suffer from a whole myriad of issues even if they've been refurbed.

Make sure you get a full structural survey - we found someone who has a detailed premium service that runs to about 50 pages for a single home survey who I can recommend.

Would be lovely if you can pm me details

Is an EPC D a concern?  The older houses I have viewed all have D regardless of if it is newly refurbished or not.  Only the new built has a B rating.

To my layman eyes, the house looks shiny with underfloor heating, no water stain that indicate water leakages yet!  The neighbors house left and right also got a new roof from the look outside by comparing to a few houses down the street, so I guess I would be saved from their renovation noise.  Being a terrace I guess a new roof from your neighbors also protect your house given you have adjacent wall(s)?

former player

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Re: Refurbished Late Victorian House
« Reply #8 on: May 16, 2021, 04:04:56 AM »
EPC D is average, and not bad for an older house.  The current minimum for a rented property is E, with a proposal for that to go up to C by 2025 for new tenancies and 2028 for existing tenancies: something for you to be aware of if you were thinking of letting it in the future.  You should be able to see a copy of the EPC assessment which will tell you whether there might be any further energy upgrades which would give a reasonable financial return.

(If the house has gas central heating then you might need to be aware that the UK getting to carbon neutral is going to need most gas boilers to be decommissioned at some point in the future.  But given that this is currently the cheapest and most efficient way to heat a house that's on the gas grid - that's every property in a city or town, basically - this is going to be an issue for almost every property, and one the government is going to have to come up with an answer to, I think.  An air source heat pump seems the most likely alternative at the moment.)

Underfloor heating is great: I've retrofitted it into my older house where practical.  It's energy efficient, it's a nice feeling (like having an Aga under the floor, I think, although that's a rather British reference), and it definitely helps not to have radiators if space is tight.

New roofs on yours and the adjoining houses might be helpful: you'll still have to make sure the gutters don't get blocked by leaves to keep out damp.

I'd definitely want a full structural survey, although if the house looks nice and level and sturdy it quite probably is.  There should be building regulations certificates for any structural work that's been done, which tells you that a surveyor from the local authority is happy with the standard of work.

UK housing stock is generally much older than in the rest of the world, partly because the land has been settled a long time, partly because we were first to the industrial revolution with its concomitant population increases and wealth for building and partly because we haven't had ground wars knocking it all down.  The house my father grew up in was 500 years old and reputed to have Roman tile in the basement, the house my mother grew up in was only 300 or so years old.  Very often the older houses have the better locations.