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).

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:

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).

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< /A>