Hedgecutter Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 a lot of the time on land that's prone to flooding and so on. Owners usually the first to appear greetin on the news, confused toddler in arm. "We never expected this to happen to our dream home etc". A look at the free OS Maps online or forking out a few quid for a paper copy was just too much effort. The streets are virtually never called Street, Road or even Avenue or Drive either, but twee stuff like Wynd, Gate, Way or Close. Usually named after some sort of flower or hill e.g. Primrose Circle or Nevis Wynd. Any streets, old or new, named after Provosts should be avoided at all costs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
th1stleandr0se Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 New builds are a pile of shite. IMO. Better off going for a Victorian property. That is built correctly and has a bit of character. I have one of them. Solidly built is an understatement. I was one of the first users of homeplugs (networking using the power cables in the house) as the wifi couldn't penetrate the walls. Also you heat the vast space at the tops of the rooms first - you'll find that out when you're decorating the ceilings. Finally, there are secrets lying behind every wall space and under the floors as there are generations of pipes and wires lying undocumented. Overall though, if you can afford them, they're going to hold their value and have a sense of character. Personally, I like the idea of a second-owner house once the snags have been dealt with but the house hasn't been wrecked with too many alterations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Archer (Raconteur) Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Indeed it was. £28500 and I thought the price was astronomical at that! Friends of mine were interested in those flats over 30 years ago, they ended up in a flat in Abbey View because they couldn't stop shagging and she popped out three kids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedgecutter Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 I have one of them. Solidly built is an understatement. I was one of the first users of homeplugs (networking using the power cables in the house) as the wifi couldn't penetrate the walls. My previous workplace in Aberdeen was inside a solid granite (what are the chances?) Georgian tenement and a nightmare for mobile reception. Had to go outside to make any calls and you could see five bars on your phone drop to nothing in a couple of steps through the front door. Great if you hate getting personal calls at work of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Rational Posted July 12, 2015 Author Share Posted July 12, 2015 I was single when I had it, no kids though! If I had kept it, I would have been more or less mortgage free Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addie Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Friends of mine were interested in those flats over 30 years ago, they ended up in a flat in Abbey View because they couldn't stop shagging and she popped out three kids. Trust me, having three kids does not mean you are having sex all the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boghead ranter Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Trust me, having three kids does not mean you are having sex all the time. This Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Archer (Raconteur) Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 I was single when I had it, no kids though! If I had kept it, I would have been more or less mortgage free Would you have bought your shopping from Asda online just for the shits and giggles as the boy pops next door to bring you your stuff? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Archer (Raconteur) Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Trust me, having three kids does not mean you are having sex all the time. This pair went at it like rabbits so yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillonearth Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Usually named after some sort of flower or hill e.g. Primrose Circle or Nevis Wynd. Any streets, old or new, named after Provosts should be avoided at all costs. They're big on trees too - loads of Beech Closes and so on. When we were moving to our place (stone-built, 1930s vintage), I remember my missus telling me some daft bint she worked with was hitting out with "Oh, you could have got a new one for less than that - ours was much less than that and it's got five bedrooms" conveniently ignoring that fact that you can't turn around in four of the bedrooms and it's in one of those soulless newbuild commuter coops that seem to spring up these days wherever there's a railway station. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedgecutter Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 They're big on trees too - loads of Beech Closes and so on. The Willows, The Rowans... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shotgun Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Years ago, I bought a shitty new build flat on an estate where the developers had imaginatively given every street the same name, only differentiating between them by "avenue", "close", "court" etc. In those pre-mobile phone days, getting deliveries was a nightmare. Taking a day off work and sitting at home all day, just to be told "The driver says nobody answered the door." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Archer (Raconteur) Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 The Willows, The Rowans... I think you'll find that they had issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RH33 Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 The Willows, The Rowans... Im So popular I've lots streets names after me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KiwiDB Posted July 12, 2015 Share Posted July 12, 2015 Think the old adage comes into play here, you get what you pay for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aufc Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 The issue is aberdeen, especially when we bought house about 10 months ago, was that the market was ridiculous. As first time buyers, we wanted to buy somewhere old with a bit of character but our budget (which i imagine was a lot higher yhan 90% of other first tome buyers) did not buy a lot for that in aberdeen at the time. We couldnt be arsed buying and then moving again in a few years. Houses were going for 30-40% above asking price, sometimes higher. Did not even consider new build until we passed our estate. Fixed price. Everything included (although meant we had to sell a heep of stuff). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milton75 Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 I have one of them. Solidly built is an understatement. I was one of the first users of homeplugs (networking using the power cables in the house) as the wifi couldn't penetrate the walls. Also you heat the vast space at the tops of the rooms first - you'll find that out when you're decorating the ceilings. Finally, there are secrets lying behind every wall space and under the floors as there are generations of pipes and wires lying undocumented I have the same issues. There are definite cons to the older buildings; some of the hassle with old wiring... getting rid of draughts, etc. But that said, I like high ceilings and big windows. We had to admit defeat on the old sash and case windows, sadly. Just too rickety. Got double-glazed ones that look nearly the same instead, but i felt guilty. We did get a pile of free Green Deal money back for changing the windows and boiler though - I highly recommend that anyone who needs these done (or cavity wall insulation, or loft insulation) gets on this. Make sure it's Green Deal, not Green Homes. They are different schemes... one you get actual cash back, the other was some spurious scheme regarding future energy bills. And yes, new houses are not built to last like older ones. As I said, I would have no problem in moving to an ex-council house, but the missus has her heart set on one of the new builds in Loanhead. Kick her in the pie? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the jambo-rocker Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Completely agree on the walls being too thin for these new builds. If I could have a pound for every time I've envisaged cracking my brother's head open with his xbox controller for playing it into the late hours, I'd have paid for most of the flat by now. Great for summer because you pay f**k all in heat, but you certainly can get shafted in the winter. I think if I ever did to take the plunge purchase something like it, the first thing I'd consider is trying insulate the walls, noise and/or sound, it's all relative. Also try find something that has some kind of garden where you can enjoy the sun on the rare occasion it shows itself. I can't tell you how much I miss sitting in my back garden in the sun, even if the occasion only applies for two weeks of the year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aufc Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Completely agree on the walls being too thin for these new builds. If I could have a pound for every time I've envisaged cracking my brother's head open with his xbox controller for playing it into the late hours, I'd have paid for most of the flat by now. Great for summer because you pay f**k all in heat, but you certainly can get shafted in the winter. I think if I ever did to take the plunge purchase something like it, the first thing I'd consider is trying insulate the walls, noise and/or sound, it's all relative. Also try find something that has some kind of garden where you can enjoy the sun on the rare occasion it shows itself. I can't tell you how much I miss sitting in my back garden in the sun, even if the occasion only applies for two weeks of the year. Luckily my garden gets sun from 9am -6pm. Shame its in aberdeen and thus the sun never shines. Had it for 10 months and managed to sit out once Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedgecutter Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Think the old adage comes into play here, you get what you pay for. When I was house hunting, all the new builds seemed to be roughly the same (or higher) price as the older builds but with the older having the same number of bedrooms (but larger) and being much more solidly built. Therefore I can only disagree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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