1st post - Choosing a property; what to look for?

[MatthewC]

Matthew,

Is it your floor thats pictured in the Haynes Period Property manual?!

Sure is. Most (but not all) of the photos on p170-171 are mine, plus the pallet of old quarry tiles on p169, plus the one on p228 showing the empty doorway.

 

[PointySticks]

A bit of caution:

If you need a mortgage you may find this a tricky property and you may need to get a mortgage broker involved to get something suitable and talk to them before you put in an offer. I've just been through a lot of pain over the mortgage I've eventually got through Barclays over damp and retentions...[1]

Thanks very much for this advice, Peter. I had chats with several mortgage brokers today, who confirmed everything you've written. On the bright side, the house isn't actually uninhabitable, though the roof definitely needs fixing. There is a bathroom, hot and cold water, and enough of a kitchen to start with. The general consensus seems to be that a lender will hold back the value of the works, just as you mentioned, plasticpigeon. So we're moving forward, albeit slowly.

[1] We might exchange next week finally!

Congratulations!

Further to MdB's post, an additional Option 3 is to lay a limecrete floor as suggested by TheForge. We did this with advice from Mike Wye (see my blog for May 2011 - blue spot on right) and I am delighted with it. However, I would NOT want to have done it after living in the house for a while as it is so disruptive for a long time ; if you decide to do one then I recommend that you do so before moving in (unless you're a real masochist!).

Matthew

I have been reading your blog, Michael, starting with the very first posts, and am amazed at what you have achieved in so short a time. As you pointed out earlier, I really am in the same position that you were 30 months ago, watching water enter a house you very much want to live in someday, with nothing to do but wait.

The limecrete posts were very interesting. Thanks for pointing those up. I did a bit of research on limecrete when I viewed the first old house I wanted to buy, as the old scullery turned shower room had a concrete floor, and there was much damp in evidence. We passed on that house in the end, owing to the dog breeders 100 metres from the front door, who would have been our nearest neighbours. (We decided that no house is worth 30 Westies for neighbours, at any price.)