5 ms·

An aspect of this is also that the build quality of UK homes is worse (IMO) than mainland europe. Doubly so if you buy a period house - expect everything to be

• cameronh90 5y ago
  Our new home build quality is definitely worse, but on period houses.... what would you expect? 1800s building materials aren't as stable as modern ones and things tend to shift over time, and indeed many old buildings are poorly built - especially by modern standards. Even the foundations don't run very deep, and London has a clay rich soil, meaning that some minor foundation movement is not uncommon in older houses. Damp is usually more of an issue, so anything wood can potentially swell a bit during a wet period, leading to things becoming slightly out of alignment over time. Often the only way to fix stuff like that would be extensive renovations which isn't really worth it for very minor visible problems. You can tighten stuff up, rehang etc. but it will usually slowly move again over time. Also a £2 million house in London can be just for a shell in need of renovation in some areas - you're just paying for the land and location.
• tonyedgecombe 5y ago
  It's frustrating because even if you were willing to pay more for better quality the market doesn't provide what you want.