What do people think of this house

[Flyfisher]

Back to houses though, here's one not too far from us:

Back in 2014 it was for sale at £1.5m
https://www.edp24.co.uk/lifestyle/property/this-hall-near-watton-could-be-yours-for-1-5m-714862

All very nice but serious money. So how about if it was almost half price? Well that's what it sold for in 2018!
https://www.struttandparker.com/properties/rokeles-hall

Just goes to show how difficult it can be to value these sorts of very individual homes.

 

[Feltwell]

I feel your frustration!

Yes, the "nothing much to show for it" jobs are the worst. Mrs F wanted a CCTV system putting in a while back, which I groaned at - it was only a few weeks later when the house was in total chaos as I spent the whole weekend just putting the cables in that she appreciated why I groaned. Cables and pipes invariably involve causing chaos in multiple rooms as well!

The other frustrating one I find is fixing things like the washing machine. After several hours you'd think you'd have the satisfaction of it working again, but that's short lived - and then it's "I'm back to where I was yesterday when it was working fine" and you've made no tangible progress.

Ahh well, first world problems. The hall you posted is a good illustration of the risk in unusual properties - you need a niche buyer, and if you can't find one then the only option is to drop the price and go into a price band that other buyers might consider.

 

[plasticpigeon]

Love the bay windows.

But.... it's too big... and whatever money you put in will be a sink as the location will cap the value.
Noise, pollution.
Plus the garden to look after, gardens are good but there are only so many hours.
And you will never finish it. It's too big.
Noooo

I agree there are few places to do up. And so many houses that are attractive externally have been white-spaced inside. Grrrr,.
I learned quite by chance that our previous house on which I spent perhaps 30,000 hours has been 'gutted' by the new owners.
So there's another lovely house gone.

But this one is too big and in the wrong place.. as the price tells you. Imho.

Ivor

I'm sorry to hear your old place has been "gutted", it must be heartbreaking. I remember how beautiful it was with such attention to detail. I wish people would just buy places that they like, there are plenty of bland boxes around, but not many left with charm and history intact.

 

[Monty]

As someone who moved to the countryside between Bishop's Castle and Sarn only a year ago, I can certainly vouch for how beautiful the landscape is and how friendly the people are. A few months later I found myself working from home due to the pandemic, and not in the office in Northampton, which has been great - although now when I should be working I do keep finding more jobs to do!

There are still houses that come on the market around here, South Shropshire / Powys border that are relatively untouched (ours was last 'improved' in the 198o's) and the area is lucky to have such a variety of forms from timber frame, stone or brick, or a combination of all three. It all just adds to the character of the place.

 

[LadyArowana]

I've no taste for choosing Nespresso bowls I'm afraid, in fact I can't stand coffee at all. Sorry. Elephants are nice though.

No worries, the bowl I nearly bought a year ago was still available, so I made a deal on it. Of course it’s still way too big :lol: but I never let a little thing like practicality ruin my life

 

[YorkshireCottage]

Lovely house, but I bet every job you start will turn into a can of worms. If it's already pushing your budget, I would walk away. There's nothing worse, and more stressful, than knowing what work you have to do but not having the funds. The location is also not ideal and will make the house difficult to sell on - unless you are planning to stay there forever, but do you really want to live in the middle of all that traffic?
It's the kind of thing I look at and think "woohoo" then put my practical head on and close the page.

 

[plasticpigeon]

I went to see it today and I'm glad I did as it has got it out of my system. Huge, lovely, but cement everywhere and lots of rotting wood. I think it would need new sole plates all round and a lot of other woodwork would need to be replaced too. Pretty much everything needed a repair of some sort.

 

[LadyArowana]

I went to see it today and I'm glad I did as it has got it out of my system. Huge, lovely, but cement everywhere and lots of rotting wood. I think it would need new sole plates all round and a lot of other woodwork would need to be replaced too. Pretty much everything needed a repair of some sort.

Good that you put the idea to rest. It will be interesting to see what happens to it. There’s a house I walk by quite frequently which hasn’t had any proper maintenance done for decades and just before Christmas there were removal trucks taking things out, so clearly “something” has changed. It doesn’t appear to be for sale and will be a huge project, listed and at least 5 storeys. Broken windows, almost derelict, nothing that £750,000 wouldn’t cure of course :lol:

 

[Feltwell]

As you say, good to get it out of your system, stop you thinking "but what if...."

There will be others!

Meanwhile, what I think of my own house has improved somewhat for having working heating & hot water once again, with a nice shiny new boiler, enormous hot water cylinder and Carlos Fandango fancy new control system, which does seem to be very good. Nice to wake up to a warm house today!

 

[YorkshireCottage]

I went to see it today and I'm glad I did as it has got it out of my system. Huge, lovely, but cement everywhere and lots of rotting wood. I think it would need new sole plates all round and a lot of other woodwork would need to be replaced too. Pretty much everything needed a repair of some sort.

We fell for a grade II* listed place in Autumn 2019. Unfortunately it took us 6 months (and offer, acceptance, negotiations, surveys, quotes, spreadsheets) to realise that we couldn't afford to do it up (even to a basic standard) as, although we had a healthy budget, the cost price meant we were looking at at least a £200k shortfall to do the essentials. With hindsight, we're glad we pulled out as the stress of it would have killed us.

 

[plasticpigeon]

On a complely different scale, this is a cute place that could do with saving. Unfortunately there seems to be a bit of a bidding war which I am loath to get into as I have no idea of whether it is a good deal or not. Problem is it might not have everything I want as there is no obvious workshop space.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/101748146#/

 

[Feltwell]

Depends on if you want vehicle access to your workshop I'd say - you could build something but I suspect it would be foot access only.

Nice house from the outside with a great view across the valley, but it does look like every last bit of originality was ripped out of the inside in the 60's and 70's.