Is it OK to buy a 75-years old house

dipcho2002

Please help me out. I am a first time buyer and have been looking for houses. I have found one house which is semi detached, 4-bed house with a big garden. I'm happy with everything but it was bulit in 1935. My queries are:
1. What will happen with my house when it will be 100 years old or more older?
2. Will other people be interested in buying it in 25 years time?
3. Do I need to do capital repair after a specific period of time? (any legal requirments ?)
4. Will I receive any financial help from the Government if demolision needed?

Thank you in advance.

jonewer

dipcho2002 wrote: »

Please help me out. I am a first time buyer and have been looking for houses. I have found one house which is semi detached, 4-bed house with a big garden. I'm happy with everything but it was bulit in 1935. My queries are:
1. What will happen with my house when it will be 100 years old or more older?
2. Will other people be interested in buying it in 25 years time?
3. Do I need to do capital repair after a specific period of time? (any legal requirments ?)
4. Will I receive any financial help from the Government if demolision needed?

Thank you in advance.

1. It will get a telegram from the queen
2. Yes, If its nice
3. Only if its falling down
4. No

My house is 110 years old. The last place I lived in was at least 300 years old.Dont be afraid of old houses. They are probably better than most cardboard and string new-builds.

seraphin_2

Hi there, im a little confused by your post really, im unsure why youd think youd need to demolish the house ?

Loads of very desirable houses are well over 100 yrs old, for example i grew up in a 300 year old house, and all of my houses have been well over 100 years old, i find them much more appealing than new builds, as yu say it has a good size garden etc.

Theres no need to worry regarding selling it on again, as long as its structurally sound etc not a problem at all.

hope that helps abit
sarah:o

JustKeepSwimming_2

I've lived in a few houses much older than that with very few problems & I'd agree with jonewer that they are probably much better than new builds. We have several roads on houses built in the 30's in my town & they are always snapped up very quickly (current mad market may be different but none currently for sale). They tend to have larger gardens as well as larger rooms with bigger windows.

You would still need to maintain your house regardless of age. The current seller should give you details of when "stuff" was done (rewiring, boiler servicing etc.).

I've always had a full structural survey done on any house I've bought (not that I've bought many) & I've always gone around the property with the surveyor & asked questions as the survey was being done - much easier as you can ask straight away & often the surveyor will spend a little more time explaining a problem. There was a damp problem in one room of a house I bought - the report just said that damp was detected & would need further investigation, but as I'd noticed it I could ask him what type of damp he thought it could be & how I could treat it. Gots lots of free advice & it put my mind at rest about how serious the problem really was, which I may not have got from the report.

Have you got anyone you could take with you for advice when you view the house?

casper_g

What a strange post. Houses aren't like cars or computers. They can last centuries. Many of the most desirable houses in this country are many hundreds of years old. You speak as if the government would come round and make you demolish it because it's old!

I know attitudes in other countries may be different, and modernity may be desired where old houses are associated with poor living conditions in living memory, but in the UK there is no prejudice against old houses. Properly-maintained and updated houses basically don't depreciate (at least not after the new-build premium/stupidity tax has worn off three minutes after the first occupier moves in).

puddy

op, where do you live? are there not any victorian, edwardian, georgian or tudor houses were you are?

Doozergirl

puddy wrote: »

op, where do you live? are there not any victorian, edwardian, georgian or tudor houses were you are?

The Moon?

This wins the prize for the most random post ever.

Yorkie1

My house is 75 years old. The original roof has now reached the end of its useful life - but the one you refer to might have different tiles on it so this will not necessarily be the same.

The original windows are also needing replacing, but that is partly owing to the previous owner's lack of maintenance.

I'd echo the other posters' comments about obtaining information about when it was last rewired, heating / boiler replaced etc but otherwise there's no reason in principle for there to be any difficulties. My previous house (rented) was a standard late Victorian terrace without problems other than a lazy LL who couldn't be bothered to mend the leaks in the roof (which wasn't original).

pararct

Most houses in the UK are built from bricks and mortar.

They are built to last and many towns have streets full of properties over 100+ years old. My house was built in 1850 and is still very sound. Over that time it has had at least one new roof and probably several replacement windows. At the time it was built there would have been no electrics and very limited plumbing (a toilet in the back yard evidence of the drain it sat on is still in place). Since it was built all of these services would have been added.

It is true to say not much remains domestic wise from over 300 years ago but that is much to do with slum clearing and advances in building technologies.

The street system in London and many other UK cities is pretty unique in that it evolved from narrow lanes in the days before traffic. Over time these lanes were widened to allow for traffic and to build more modern housing.
This means we have in place a maximum size on heavy vehicles length and weight to allow them to be able to traverse this road system. Many of our neighbours are not bound by such restrictions.

The US system in comparison is usually built on a grid system as the motor car was already around when most cities and towns were being developed.

In many places in Europe (particularly Eastern) a lot of houses are still built from wood or traditional materials. It is on this basis I assume you asked the question.

neverdespairgirl

dipcho2002 wrote: »

1. What will happen with my house when it will be 100 years old or more older?
2. Will other people be interested in buying it in 25 years time?
3. Do I need to do capital repair after a specific period of time? (any legal requirments ?)
4. Will I receive any financial help from the Government if demolision needed?

Thank you in advance.

1. Nothing.

2. Yes.

3. No.

4. No.

sooz

No one wants to buy a second hand house.
Buy a new one every time