old Victorian style homes

Hi guys
Have always been interested in the older style victorian / california bungalow homes.

Given their age and as a potential long term ppor - are there any maintenance / longer term issues one need to factor in to the purchase price? I am still a novice so not sure what to really look out for under the hood.

Thanks

 

Usually plumbing and a dose of rising damp.
Also, kitchens tend to be small if in original condition. If not in original condition, you want to find renovations that haven't ruined the style of the house.
I love them too.
Cracks in corners are usually not a big deal. They may indicate a need to check that rainwater runoff is sufficiently being taken away from the base of the house.

 

How long is a piece of string? It depends on the condition of the property in the first place.

If the property is original you should start with rewiring the house.

You will save a fortune if you are handy.

Period homes always require work/maintenance because there is so much woodwork that needs to be maintained.

I guarantee one thing once you live in a house with 12 foot ceilings you won't go back to new

All the best

MTR

 

Stumping was the biggie that caught us out. Wasn't picked up on building & pest and floor wasn't bouncy. Was pretty apparent once we'd moved in and furntiture started sliding across the room to the lowest point....

Ours is a 113 year old Federation weatherboard house.

Ours was a pain as it's very close to the ground, so replacing 80+ stumps meant ripping the whole floor up and doing it from inside.

Pest is the other one, once the floor was up we soon found we needed 50+ meters of new joists and bearers putting in. Luckily, they'd stopped short of eating their way up the walls, having only just started on one wall plate.

Outwardly the place looked great, wasn't until we were in that those things became apparent.

Been in 6 years now and I cringe when i walk around the outside of the house, so much wood. It really needs a full repaint but along with it it needs a few new window frames and a fair few weatherboards replaced.

As MTR said, 12 foot ceilings are fantastic and the old girl is a joy to live in but make no mistake, they are a lot more maintenance than a modern box.

We looked at a few in Ballarat as a first IP years ago. Would not dream of one as an IP now after living in one.

 

Don't read the above two points as one - electrical work requires a licensed electrician - nothing handy about it.

There's a vast difference between a Victorian 1780's and a Californian Bungalow from 1930's. Have a read of Australia's Home by Robin Boyd - it's been out of print for 30 years but is still the best reference on distinct Australian residential architecture.

 

You need a very thorough building and pest for older homes - not just a visual inspection by yourself unless you are a builder. Things that are common
- electricial work needing to be redone - rewiring
- the house stumps sinking causing unlevel floors and cracks. These need to be redone/raised.
- roof timbers sagging, coming apart from each other or just not built strong enough. Together with broken and cracked tiles causing water leakage
- termites, termites, termites. They do love a nice timber house

All these things are possible in any house over 30 years really but the older they are and if they have not had any work done by previous owners then it can be expensive if required.

 

Absolutely did not imply you should do your own electrical, though my partner is a licensed electrician, very handy indeed

 

but she's a nice old girl