Love period properties? Have your say...

i bought a new build and all the residents leave their water on. I have had numerous leaks and am not happy. The council wont help.

Anyone out there have any advice?

For me there is no contest between period homes against new builds. I have been lucky in buying period properties since stepping onto the property ladder. High ceilings, deep skirting boards, large rooms, albeit sometimes with quirky shapes, all add to the character and charm. I agree that they may take a bit more in maintenance, but the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks.

Oh, if only I could have a lovely period house. I'm a wheelchair user, and most older properties have steps or other unhelpful obstacles.

I'd love to live somewhere with a bit of character. My friend has a lovely Victorian mid-terrace, with some beautiful features, and my Dad lives in a Georgian house that used to be an hotel, which I love.

The down side, of course, is if your house is listed - that causes a lot of problems if you want to make improvements, and so wheelchair access is usually limited.

Would never have a new build - no character - no history - no feeling of the years of living souls in the property. Would not want to live in a box

Recently moved to the Midlands after buying a three storey victorian semi. Needs lots of time and tlc, but will eventually make a fantastic family home. The rooms are hugh great original features. Friends of mine have new builds and they all seem quite soulless and generic, like they could belong to the 1 same person. It all comes down to personal choice and I much prefer old than new they have more character.

Yes, I am inclined to agree with Sue. We will be moving soon into an ex local authority house built in 1970. While this house is in a really lovely location, given the choice - and of course money permitting - I would passionately prefer a period home over a newer build anyday.
We have been really lucky for the last year to experience renting a full of character home with wonderful features which will be very hard to leave. Previously, we lived several counties away in our lovely Victorian little 2 up 2 down that I will treasure in my memories for always.
As for now, we will have to make the best of our 70's pad and realise the advantages of the lovely rural location it is set in.

Its all very well to say that period properties are better but it all depends on your circumstances i would love to live in an old house but having been left alone with my young daughter I had to plump for a new built, for lack of maintainance and peace of mind for the next 10 years at least with the HSBC certificate.
There has to be variety to suit all ways of life and different people.

I would always choose a period property over a new build, for character and the feel of it you cannot compare the two. Turn of the century properties are very easily adaptable to modern living and make great family homes.

I think period properties win hands down. They boast much larger rooms, have great period features you'd never in a million years find in a new build and tend to be less overlooked than a development with houses sitting ontop of each other with very limited parking where it tends to be a free for all. The gardens are obviously much more established in period properties with beautiful trees and hedges, rather than buying a small allotment size plot with just about enough room to swing a cat surrounded by very basic fencing. And... as for the size of the garages they expect you to use these days? You have to be a size 8 to be able to get out of your car without scraping your car door or wing mirror on the walls. These new build developers seem to have the imagination of a fly (no offence to flies!)

This is a the wrong way round, but I'm currently living in a new build development in South London which, while great, has something of a Spanish holiday camp vibe about it. It's great for now, but it's not somewhere I'd settle long term. There's just no character in it, and the whole thing feels like a quick puff from a passing wolf could have the whole thing crashing down around us. I'll take a period house in the long term any day.