New builds or older properties

Older...built to last.

We moved into a new build 6 years ago and love it. Really sensible design which works well for us as a couple or for accommodating extended family and friends. It is so warm - very well insulated - and well built. Energy bills much lower than on previous old house of about the same size. Plenty of natural light. The garden is smaller - which is what we wanted - but with 5 bedrooms. Plenty of storage and a HUGE airing cupboard. We negotiated a very good price as we had sold our old house already and were prepared to move in the week before Xmas. It has had a considerable increase in value since we bought it too, as one almost identical to ours sold for £150,000 more than we paid for it - but we bought it to live in, not as an investment. That was an added bonus. So I would go for new build again, but make sure it was built by a quality builder!

Old with lots of history and character - our last UK house was 1920s - this old Vicarage out in t'mountains is 16C.

Have lived in all sorts, new old, high rise modern apartments and tiny country cottages. Currently in old, countryside property with large garden and all the problems that brings ie mice, rabbits, bats, cluster flies, squirrels. Love the place really but at the right time will be glad to move into a small modern, easy to manage apartment in town.

We were married for 42 years before we bought a new build home. We’d previously had a detached home built in 1960’s. I was reluctant at first but it was the right choice. It’s detached with rooms that are a good size and we have a large garden. The main thing is the heating bills as they are much lower than before and the house is so easy to maintain. I definitely think you have to do your homework as to which builder you choose though.

New build....i hate Victorian houses with a vengeance . Both my daughter and her estranged husband have Victorian, and I have to deal with grandchildren from both houses. My daughters being smaller is easy to heat but my son in laws is a big nightmare of a house.The heating at moment is on 24/7 and I still have to have my ‘survival kit’ at his house . Big chunky cardigan...
Xtra thick socks.... and a hot water bottle. Luckily I’m never there too long 3/4 hours for three days a week. The children don’t seem to notice that the house is cold all the time. Must be my old bones. I have a 70’s house.... and I wouldn’t swap for a Victorian, no matter how much I was offered. Also it is too big and I seem to walk miles in it.

We've lived in so many different houses, mostly post WW2.
Now in an ex-council house which was built in the 80s. Room size and layout, internal finish and attic storage ideal for us. Seems to have a very high standard of design and building structure.
Plenty of grass and trees outside, front pedestrianised.

If you buy new or nearly new build it all depends on who built it. We bought our 'built in late 70s' house 5yrs ago. The garage is too small for the medium car DH bought 4yrs ago. We knew we had changes to make when we viewed and those have proved more costly than planned tbh. its detached & thats bliss after previous v noisy neighbours.

I live in an old property and much prefer them. However, live on my own , about to move into a new property which will not take the upkeep. If I had someone to chat over the costs etc. of household repairs, would probably stay.

Apart from the first four years of married life I have always had new houses.
They are more economical to heat because modern building regulations insist on better insulation and cavity walls.
My sister has always had older properties and the cost of upkeep is so expensive. Dry rot, damp, subsidence and leaking roof to name a few. She has an Edwardian house with stained glass windows, cracked but insisting on keeping so sandwiched in between plain glass at a cost per window that makes your eyes water.
I like everything modern, I do not want to live in a museum.

re the loft. I have a good loft, each house comes with a drop down hatch with safe extending stairs with a handrail and a loft light. I don`t use it for anything apart from an aerial, too easy to go back to pre downsizing clutter

Not all new builds are lacking light and/or have overlooked gardens. Like every property, you have to do the research. I have french doors and my rooms are flooded with light at all times of the day. My garden is fully enclosed and no-one overlooks me and I have enough room for flowers and veg as well as my huge L shaped patio. You do have to take bedroom sizes with a pinch of salt ie get a wardrobe built and suddenly what they call a double becomes a large single but again diy research can work that out and personally it meant that I went for 4 bed and not 3

About losing value, oh dear again it depends on the estate and where you buy. Mine has already increased in value in just 7 months. It is silent here and dark at night but I chose the area carefully, I have neighbours but they are not at all bothersome, they are very friendly

Just to add, my total energy bill for a year is estimated to be £499 and I have gas underfloor heating, masses of hot water, induction hob and a modern multi fuel stove. My council tax is less pa and tbh I am quids in

Many houses built after the 70s have that cheap tinny sound from the walls ie lacking substance, been there and done that. This new build feels solid, sounds solid and will not flood or blow apart in very high winds

I have to add that I would never have chosen a new build from the likes of persimmon or bovis

Currently live in a small 1930s detached house. Lots of new builds around my area. Went to look at one and asked about storing suitcases and stuff in the loft.

Was told that the new build would not support anything weighty up there and they would not recommend doing so. Tiny garden and a bay window (a major selling point apparently) overlooking the plain wall of the house next door!

Considering stamp duty and moving costs and the “quality” of these new builds I will stay put and live downstairs in my current house if I need too!

Old but not too old. 1930s good. Lived in a new build which was awful. Now live in a very old house. Always something needing doing.

New build every time. Our house is spacious with a good sized garden so we are lucky. I love modern furniture, kitchens, bathrooms etc. I hate the worry of maintaining an older property as I have a fear of water and dry rot in the house.
Funnily enough my DS loves Victorian properties with 'character' but my DD loves modern.
It is good that we are all different.

My favourite home in Scotland was a 19th century listed building with beautiful views across the mountains. Freezing in winter, cool in summer. Beautiful ceilings and big storm doors. It was an adventure livIng there.

Then we moved to England and several houses later, we have moved to a small estate in the country to a new build. It is so cosy, easy to maintain and surprisingly well built.

Our Scottish home was right for that time in our lives. This house fits the bill now.

Down sized to a lovely older bungalow in Dorset. New build quality leaves a lot to be desired and small rooms, small gardens and a lot leasehold which is crazy

I've lived in both. Older houses are larger and tend to be prettier but can be badly insulated.
Now I'm widowed I chose new build because of the ten year warranty. It's easy to heat and hopefully maintenance won't be a problem for a few years. It's in a pretty cottage style which I like but I will always hanker after a bit more space and a garage though I have off road parking and great transport links if I don't want to drive. It's 'sort of' win-win.

When I was preparing to buy, I looked at quite a few new properties and really struggled with room sizes and in many, a lack of light.
In one house, the master bedroom would have had approx' 3 ft of floor space surrounding the bed!
I ended up in a terraced house...built in 1880. Rooms are large, with high ceilings and plenty of light. It was fairly well maintained so not much to do either.
If I was to move... I'd always pick an older property.

I have a Victorian cottage that has been refigured to have a modern interior.

I have lived in an old 1876 Chapel. Beautiful but very expensive to run.
Tiny walled garden at the back
20k to replace the roof

A modern new build 2 bed 2 bath apartment. Cheap to run. Easy to keep clean. Bedrooms far to small.
Leasehold so maintenance fees monthly however grounds were kept immaculate, inner halls cleaned weekly to great standard and generally good standards all round

Recently moved to 1970s 3 bed detached bungalow
Good room sizes. Large windows bring in the light and reasonable cost to heat
Decent plot size and mature private gardens
Have had to spend 35k initially to update the property but worth every penny

Overall old is preferred over a newbuild, prefer to buy in a mature residential area

I love old houses and my preference would be old and in the middle of no where. However I must be sensible we have our house up for sale and now we are looking for some amenities a bus route would be good and somewhere easy to maintain and keep clean, somewhere to sit out but not have to labour in.

We are now in a house built in 1970. It was an individual house and well built and thought out. After living most of our lives in old houses this has been a revelation. It is so easy and cheap to keep warm and the excellent double glazing keeps it quiet. It doesn't have the kerb appeal of our older houses but suits us fine for now.

Living where I do, there are a number of new estates being built, and there is no way I would voluntarily go and live in a new built house on any of them.
The plots are small, they are crammed in, there is little or no parking, the pavements (where there are any) are too close to the front windows of the house, the rooms are oddly-proportioned, there is no storage space.....I would worry that as they are being b built so quickly ther=y are not being built properly.

I prefer to live in an older property, thank you!
We have just had our own house (1950's) expended by 4 metres across the back, which gives us a kitchen with space for a table and two chairs (there is only the two of us), a nice large and airy sitting room, a downstairs shower room. The garage, being too narrow for any modern car, we have converted into a dining room. The insulation has been upgraded in the roof and on the external walls, and we have had new windows and doors and a new central heating system. It feels so much warmer!

Older houses - anything older than the 1970s boxes that have absolutely no warmth or character whatsoever!