Buying an old house
Mon Feb 2 21:41:26 GMT 2004
So you want to buy an old ruin? No? But you have your eye on a nice little
terrace place built around the turn of the century, needs a little work,
ideal for first time buyer? Yeah - a ruin. Granted, it may not look like
one now (not entirely anyway) but wait until you get the builders in.
I bought a semi-detached house built around 1905. Although most of it had
been modernised (up to date electrics, DIY central heating, gas, etc.),
it has still required a large amount of work to remain saleable. But
enough of my own personal burden. Here are some things you should consider
before buying that lovely old place. They're not intended to put you off,
merely ensure that you go into it with your eyes wide open (in horror,
fear, disbelief - whatever).
- The best type of old house is one that someone else has already
modernised completely, taking the brunt of the grief. Unfortunately, you
may not be able to afford the price they now want to compensate for their
labours.
- How much work does the place NEED doing urgently, since this governs
how much money you'll need to fork out straight after the first mortgage
installment. Look for things like new roofs, structural repairs, unsafe
wiring, etc.
- How much effort and disruption is involved in each required repair?
You won't notice the roof being replaced (unless it rains heavily for
days), but the work to fix something like corroded wall ties is not far
short of pulling the wall apart and rebuilding it. You may even have to
vacate temporarily.
- Finding suitable workmen to tackle renovations to old properties can
sometimes be difficult. Renewing a slate roof can take a week or more; in
that time, a roofer could repair half a dozen tiled roofs. Some may not
even bother to turn up and give a quote; others apparently take fright at
the scale of the job once they see what's required. Aside from the
eventual cost, the hassle in finding and securing a good contractor can
consume large amounts of time on the phone. Bear in mind that many of them
are so busy, they may not be able to start the work for a month or more.
They may even leave you to fester until business is slack. (I had one
roofing company that finally rang up several months after quoting, asking
if they could proceed the following week; the work had long been carried
out by then.) Another tip: if they don't come back to you with a date for
a visit or a quote within a few days, forget 'em. They're either too busy
or too lazy.
- Bear in mind that the scale of many repairs required by old
properties is such that you may have no chance of tackling them yourself.
This may or may not be welcome news, but it won't lower your costs.
- Any mad enthusiasm for redecorating can be dented by lengthy delays
resulting from the type of large scale repairs mentioned above. There's no
point putting up wallpaper if you need to rip the walls apart to install
new heating or wiring. (This is often a discouraging and frustrating
process for nest builders. ;-)
- The older the house, the larger and more serious the type of repairs
likely to be required.
- The surveyor's favourite words are "may", "might", "requires further
examination", "often found in similar aged properties" and other
ambiguities, together with the perennial cop-out, "could not gain access
due to fittings and furnishings". In other words, the floor may be
six months from total collapse - they have warned you that "might" be the
case - but there's no way to tell unless you cough up more bucks. Equally,
there could be nothing wrong with it. Of course, either way their arses
are covered.
- Be wary of commissioning a full survey unless you suspect the property
is at all borderline. "Full" often includes bleedin' obvious statements
such as "the kitchen tile two down, three across from the oven is cracked
and may need repair". You're paying to be told that. A competently
executed "Homebuyer" survey should catch the most serious and/or
dangerous defects.
- One DIY task in an old house tends to lead to several more. For
example, stripping wallpaper will often expose old, friable plaster that
needs replacing, large cracks, bare wiring, etc. This not only leads to
more trouble, it means that there is no such thing as a "quick five minute
job". It also means you have a bare room for two months until you can find
someone to replaster it (see above). (Yes, plastering is a skill that
anyone can learn, and you probably will but you may not wish to start with
an entire room.)
- Prioritise the work you're going to do, based on cost, effort,
urgency, requirements and dependencies. Think twice if the top 50% of jobs
score highly on all these attributes.
- Buy a large toolbox and expect to fill it.
- Meet the staff of your local DIY superstore and expect to get to know
them very well.
- Watch out for some of the typical features of old properties of the
type you're viewing: shared water supplies, shared access, shared drains,
obsolete wiring standards, old-fashioned construction methods and
materials (sometimes better than modern, sometimes missing later
advances), no true corners/flat surfaces/level floors, solid floors, no
allowance for cars, limited access to some parts, limited room to extend, etc.
- Keep in mind some of the modern necessities you may have to install:
wiring, central heating, gas, TV & telephone points.
Yikes! Am I crazy??
Probably. But persevere: there are some important advantages that can
later be bragged about to your friends in their Wimpey shack:
- Older houses have larger rooms than the average Lego construction on
a modern estate.
- If the place has been standing for a hundred years, chances are good
that it can be made to last another hundred (with work!). Even old
terraces that were built as "cheap", "temporary" accommodation for the
poor.
- An old house bought for pennies in a rundown area can end up
multiplying in value many times if the area subsequently becomes
fashionable and/or convenient for some nearby attraction, particularly if
the house has been done up to match. Obviously, this may require luck.
However, a fully modernised and renovated house anywhere will usually
increase in value; just make sure the likely increase covers the
expenditure and doesn't price it out of the market.
- Old houses often have cellars. DON'T FILL THEM IN! They can be made
into extra rooms or, at worst, extra storage space (for items that can
withstand damp). Believe it or not, they're often popular with buyers; why
deny a future owner this extra feature?
- You can put off having kids, because you won't be able to afford any
for several years.
It may help to view yourself as the custodian of a historic property,
which you are helping to preserve for future tenants.
What I did (house bore strikes back)
To give you some idea of what's involved, here's what I've had done or
intend to do. Remember, my residence was nowhere near the worst end of the
scale, as a large amount of work had been carried out by previous owners
(chiefly enlarging the kitchen, installing central heating and updating
the wiring).
- New slate roof with felt underlay to replace original (approx. cost
UK£2,400 - I was told this represented good value). Should last another
lifetime or two.
- Removing obsolete rear chimney stack (the internal breasts had been
removed previously, leaving the stack unsupported; the alternative was to
rip the bathroom ceiling apart to insert a reinforced steel girder, which
was what the surveyor recommended).
- UPVC replacement double glazing (inc. removal of old sash runners
from previous windows).
- New combi boiler, necessitating removal of hot water tank (luckily,
the pipes running up to it could be repurposed).
- New, modern radiators to replace corroded ones.
- Replastering several walls and rooms (initially, a new damp course
was threatened!).
- New, separate water main (water board will waive the connection fee
but we have to get the pipe laid to the boundary, which requires pulling
the drive up). (Being on a common supply pipe leaves your water pressure
vulnerable to the whims and demands of your neighbours - not very nice in
the shower!)
- To do: tank cellar, reinsulate and board loft, potentially create two
new rooms.
The heating isn't brilliant. To make life easier, the previous owner used
thin copper piping (which can be bent by hand). Unfortunately, it only
barely supports the amount of water that must be pumped through to heat the
house, and it is easily damaged by blundering objects like vacuum cleaners
and feet.
Ade Rixon
ade.rixon@NOTTHISBIT.bigfoot.com<
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