Houses built in the 1980s

ognum

I am considering jumping out of my comfort zone and making an offer on a house built in the 1980s.

I have never bought or lived in a house of this era. What are the likely problems I should look out for, this is a semi with integral garage, definitely needs new bathroom!

Thanks

FireWyrm

Depends what you're 'comfort zone' is.

Some 'new builds' like the 80's were a bit shoddy to say the least. Some are built on reclaimed land and old mines - depending on where in the country.

If you have never lived in a house that didnt come with a guarantee, I would suggest a decent survey on your chosen property will highlight any issues.

Fire_Fox

Everything depends on build quality and maintenance. The roof or windows or wiring etc. might be reaching the end of their life unless already replaced or well cared for along the way, but that is the same with any older house. Have all the searches and a full structural survey, then any reports the surveyor recommmends.

ognum

FireWyrm wrote: »

Depends what you're 'comfort zone' is.

Some 'new builds' like the 80's were a bit shoddy to say the least. Some are built on reclaimed land and old mines - depending on where in the country.

If you have never lived in a house that didnt come with a guarantee, I would suggest a decent survey on your chosen property will highlight any issues.

That made me smile, in fact I have never lived in a house with a guarantee, all my houses have been elderly, I have couple of let's that are also older that the 80s, this one would also be to let.

Have always had full structural surveys and will continue to do so. House is in Cambridge, no mines or landfill close by!

AlexMac

You can't generalise, so this is maybe no help, but we moved out of our comfort zone when, last year we bought a 1986 house with an integral garage. Previously, we'd always lived in 19th Century properties.

What a contrast! No Victorian charm nor 'original features' but also, no rising damp, leaking roofs & gutters, dodgy chimney-flashing, missing pointing flaky wiring, plug-in fuses or antique plumbing! We have much lower energy bills even though the (original, 1980's timber-frame) double glazing is below modern spec. It's amazing to be able to drill into walls without the lath and plaster collapsing and to put up units without worrying whether surfaces are plane or horizontal!

Hope yours is as good!

Nan_Dingle

My house is 1979, but new kitchen, bathroom and CH installed in the last 2 years by previous owner.

I don't like the dot-n-dab plasterboard compared to plaster over breeze-block. And there's no CAT5 network cables of course. Other than that, seems OK but I expect a lot of the external soft-wood is getting dicky.

m0bov

CAT5 lol! In my 74 one bed flat i put perimeter trunking down one wall for mains and data!

Lavendyr

We live in a mid-80s house and rented one before that.

Things to be aware of/consider:
- The boiler might not have been replaced since originally built which could make for quite an old (and inefficient) heating system
- Walls are fairly thin in the interior (as will be hollow wall/plasterboard)
- They do tend to be fairly non-descript 'modern boxes' so not ideal if you like a bit of character (ours is a modern box but it is quite nicely designed at least and makes good use of the space available)
- Depending on what previous owners have done, may need some upgrading in terms of dated decor (we have a "lovely" avocado downstairs loo!) and energy efficiency (loft insulation etc)

On the plus side (and obviously we lean more to the plus side as we bought the house!):
- Easy maintenance compared to older houses
- You generally know what you're getting - it's usually fairly easy to spot issues
- Expect more parking/larger garden than a similar new-build (very generally speaking)
- Generally sensible, space-maximising layouts

We love our house - it's practical and has been looked after well by the previous owners. Our homebuyers survey only turned up one amber (i.e. one thing that needed looking at, non-urgently) - everything else was fine. As with everything, the quality of a house depends on how it's been looked after and we have seen our fair share of 80s houses that have been badly cared for. But a decent survey should highlight any significant issues (together with a review of the energy performance certificate) and certainly our 80s house is better built than the 90s house my dad lives in and less 'complicated' when things go wrong than an older house.

novo_2

My house is from the early 1980s, built by george wimpey and bought when it was brand new. We have not had any structural issues what so ever. It is a well built house, with more space between other houses and a larger garden than what you usually get with new houses now. Roof and electrics are still original and it good condition. Only thing, garage is too small for a normal sized car.

LittleMax

We rented an 80's house and found the soundproofing between the properties far inferior to 1930's or victorian properties that we have also lived in. This would be enough to stop me living in another 1980's box unless it was detached.

Lavendyr

Ooh, one other thing - the ventilation can be poor. We have to keep our windows cracked open if we want to avoid the windows getting condensation.