Tips, Tricks and Things to avoid while purchasing a Victorian property

magn8p

Hi there,

I am thinking of purchasing an 1880s built property which has a very big garden and kitchen flat roof.

I see the flat roof as a potential issue. And although the downstairs bathroom turns me off, the property has been updated/refurbished.

If you have ever owned a Victorian property, is there anything that I need to keep in mind?

The property link added below for you to get a good idea of how it looks like:http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-54994880.html

Niv

I lived in a Victorian house for a number of years and I would say that damp / dodgy plaster issues were often covered with thick blown vinyl style wallpaper - so be aware of that.




Don't forget, if Victorian most if not all the services are retro fitted so the house was not designed with those services in mind.




This does not just apply to Victorian houses of course.

Thrugelmir

I'd get a full survey. You never know what corners may have been cut. That's from my experience of a refurbishment where the surveyors detail report ran to over 20 pages and the down valuation was considerable. In the end I forced the EA's to pay the surveyors fee.

Cakeguts

When you try to decorate sometimes the damp causes the plaster to fall off the wall as well. Solid floors in kitchens and downstairs bathrooms if modernised on the cheap may not have damp proof membranes.

For rows of small terraced housing you need to check the parking availability as each house may have two cars which can't both be parked in the road directly outside the house as the houses are not wide enough.

Surrey_EA

Thrugelmir wrote: »

In the end I forced the EA's to pay the surveyors fee.

How on earth did you manage that? I presume for the EA to cover your surveyors bill there must have been some sort of misrepresentation on their part?

lincroft1710

Looks like it is already sold!

The fireplaces are not original, 1930s/40s perhaps. Sound insulation can be a problem. Front bedrooms are small. Do you really want/need a long thin garden? Agree GF bathroom not ideal.

Flat roofs are relatively cheap to repair, certainly in relation to the asking price! I don't like the single pane front windows although relatively cheap to replace.

I know Cambridge is expensive, but Sawston is about 7/8 miles from city centre. Is there nothing else on offer at around £300K.

magn8p

lincroft1710 wrote: »

Looks like it is already sold!

The fireplaces are not original, 1930s/40s perhaps. Sound insulation can be a problem. Front bedrooms are small. Do you really want/need a long thin garden? Agree GF bathroom not ideal.

Flat roofs are relatively cheap to repair, certainly in relation to the asking price! I don't like the single pane front windows although relatively cheap to replace.

I know Cambridge is expensive, but Sawston is about 7/8 miles from city centre. Is there nothing else on offer at around £300K.

Thanks a ton for your reply. I know it is sold. But the EA told that the house next to it (mid terraced) is coming to market shortly with a guide price of £330K which I thought was a bit overpriced.

Wife works at Addenbrookes and I work nearby, so it's 4 - 5 miles from our place with good transport links (Bus 7 for every 20 mins till midnight).

There are 3-bed Wimpey-no-fine semi-detached in that area which are now going for £300K. In fact, we have already made an offer (and accepted) on one and only to realise a lot of buyers steer away from concrete builds for obvious reasons. So, now we are viewing other properties.

Parking is not a problem as there is a garage at the end of the rear garden and place to park 3 cars next to it. And with respect to the thin garden - I don't really mind/care :-) I think I need to do more mowing in summer compared my tiny new-build garden and I happy to do that. Does a thin garden turn off for a lot of buyers?

EA told me that they have "insulated" the house when it was refurbished, they also added a WC with toilet in the master bed.

What do you think is the right price? We are viewing the property tomorrow, so what do you think should we ask the EA?

lincroft1710

My point about the distance to the city was about price rather than convenience. Long thin gardens will be a turn-off for many buyers, but an attraction for some.

Is the house you're viewing worth more than 10% of the one in the RM link. If the market in that area is static/rising, possibly, but personally I would not pay any more than 5% above the price the other house sold for, unless it is considerably better.

Surrey_EA

lincroft1710 wrote: »

Is the house you're viewing worth more than 10% of the one in the RM link. If the market in that area is static/rising, possibly, but personally I would not pay any more than 5% above the price the other house sold for, unless it is considerably better.

The property shown in the link above was first listed on Rightmove over a year ago, and completed on 25.02.16, so it's possible prices have increased in the area over this time period.

magn8p

lincroft1710 wrote: »

My point about the distance to the city was about price rather than convenience. Long thin gardens will be a turn-off for many buyers, but an attraction for some.

Is the house you're viewing worth more than 10% of the one in the RM link. If the market in that area is static/rising, possibly, but personally I would not pay any more than 5% above the price the other house sold for, unless it is considerably better.

Please check my PM to you where I have shared more details. I agree with your 5% point - thought of offering £310K if we like the property.

What do you think of the Wimpey-no-fines in Cambridge area. Quite a few have changed hands of late....do you still think they are big no-no?

Cheers.

Thrugelmir

Surrey_EA wrote: »

How on earth did you manage that? I presume for the EA to cover your surveyors bill there must have been some sort of misrepresentation on their part?

That's what we went for. Though I suspect that they were duped as well. Was one of those properties you'd fall in love with the minute you walk through the door. Transpired to be smoke and mirrors. All the touches as well. Bread in the oven. Have a cup of tea. See the photographs of the complete renovation that we undertook. We offered £235k which was accepted. Valuation came in at £169k.