Blame

Final Thoughts: First nobody had much to say on active ventilation of cavities. And what was said was not encouraging. Given that if it was viable somebody would be doing it, I will take that as a strong No No. Second I must thank Ian for mentioning suspended timber construction to the ground floors. I had not thought about the costs of replacing all that potentially rotted wood, or the practicality of checking in advance for an auctioned property. That in itself means I will not bid on a properly that lacks a visible ventilation path under the building and above street level. The example showed a property with only one ventilation brick and that level to the street. It is as likely to be an entrance for water. Finally I think you all should worry a bit about the "property developer" mindset. Maximise the number of bedrooms & bathrooms, optimise the use of every square inch. Usually a profitable approach but it is based on the assumption that people will take cramped living and pay well for it because they can't afford more. A more general philosophy is that people will pay what they can afford - and if they can afford more, they will. So when housing is cheap more must be offered. Something must stand out - space, location, insulation, underfloor heating, whatever. As example of this mindset take ProDave's comment: "Polishing a t**d springs to mind". It just shows a lack of imagination. The area might lack elegance but it is close to good schools, supermarkets and well paid work. If that is matched to a property offering lots of easily heated internal space per inhabitant then you have something in demand and of limited supply. Check out the local availability of properties with 3-5 good sized bedrooms that haven't been extended beyond all good sense. I have. Rare and sold fast.

JSHarris, ProDave Well sometimes life doesn't go quite to plan. My daughter was about 3 months to finishing her Masters in engineering but she was getting headaches, so she went an opticians. It went rather downhill from there but maybe she will finish it now just a year late. She even got to keep half her sight and though most of her hair fell out its beginning to grow back. Half blind engineers can be a bit of a drag on the market too so its all about what she can get. Anyway, as I pointed out, she ain't going to be driving and the local busses are a bit limiting . Hence the need to look at town properties such as they are. Must say there are a very few more modern properties within a brisk if cold and wet walk. In the end that will probably be the vote but I aim to cover all options. Anyway to answer the question "Why would anyone live there" it would be because it's ether that and a toe hold into a well paying career or quite likely the doll.

Ferdinand I have research the area and one thing I am sure about is breaking houses into flats is a mistake. The reverse would be good. That may be against conventional wisdom but flats are going for as little as £10,000. And for evidence: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/find.html?locationIdentifier=USERDEFINEDAREA^{"polylines"%3A"atoiIfrxRbGmkCpZc}Eh_%40kb%40zf%40mc%40xx%40}Ud`%40lBfI`\|e%40dPhq%40am%40hfAevBtdHjC}`En`GkxBd`Fi[tt%40oYbPqy%40vVi~CpVkjAi_%40"}&minBedrooms=6&maxPrice=120000&sortType=6 Its all about the history. The railway and shipyards created a huge building frenzy in the late 19th century with the inevitable result. The town is full of decaying narrow 2 up and 2 down terraces built to a budget. Most have since been extended with bathrooms and rabbit hutch kitchens but they simply don't make good family homes. Then came the demise of the British ship building industry and the population fell. Right now those properties have the value of their renovations and that is it. Difficult to rent them whole and in good order for £90pcm. You can imagine how picky renters can be for flats. There is still work for some building nuclear submarines but that is well paid skilled work. My guess is most of them commute in by car from the new suburbs. If my daughter gets her provisional offer of a job there then she would too - only she will never drive and the bus services are minimal. The town's future appears based on the Government's belief that atomic bombs make a better world - and that us citizens are happy to pay for the delivery by submarine. Not convinced myself but the council's apparent plan to slowly bulldoze the lot and replace with car parks sort of appeals. So my take on the property would if anything be to drop it down to the original 4 bedrooms, and think of it as good for perhaps 3 sharing with the lure of loads of personal space. The single bathroom being the limiting factor. I also see not a lot of profit in maximising internal space so lots of thick budget internal insulation is my thought.

Cool. Still nice to have alternatives in case the permission falls through - you don't get a lot of time to ask with auctioned property.

Good solution - but not sure I would get permission for a street house. That pebbled paint is everywhere but not spotted others with insulation poking into the public sidewalk. It would be for my daughter who has eye problems and thus will never drive. Everything has to be an easy walk away and that probably means town house flush to the street.

JSHarris - Um Newbie here. What is EWI?

This is the sort of thing I am looking at. https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-54945384.html Worth over £ 100,000 in good nick but would it eat £60,000 and still be hungry?

Onoff - good to know. Must say I ain't spotting a lot of evidence of damp courses in the photos. That might be why. But could they be mounted on engineering bricks instead?

Ian -- Trapdoor - wow now that's a useful bit of info. Thanks. I'm Looking at Barrow in Furness. For now, only over the net. Difficult to spot anything that hasn't being repetitively extended. Counted 6 on one property like some sea creature repetitively outgrowing its shell. The council there has great Aerial maps. On the whole I think extensions reduce the value. But then I figure the 12 foot wide 2 up n 2 down are not salvageable as family homes.

Ian I am usually seeing air bricks but from the photos they often look above the level of the floor. Single thin doorstep to street. My gut reaction is just avoid... but sometimes its an awful lot of internal space for the price.

JSHarris. Thanks for the welcome. Stone would be nice but what I am seeing is brick. I did figure on the cooling air condensation problem. Can that be solved by sensors and controls so that its only on when condensation won't happen and ether nobody is in the house or when cooling isn't a bad hing?

Ian. Well yes. Does that mean that a terraced Victorian house with a ground floor practically flush to the pavement won't have any otherwise soluble problems?

I'm sure this has ether been done to death, or there is a good reason why it can't be done at all. Problem is I can't find anything on the net. Anyway, I have been search for a cheap northern England property. No plan to buy for at least a year, but I figure on learning the pitfalls now. So what I have discovered is a lot of cold soggy houses going cheap. By the looks most with solid walls and ground floors far too close to the ground. So, Suppose I bought a big one, covered the inside walls with battens in a maze pattern, mounted insulated plasterboard on the batons and forced air through the maze to keep the walls dry? Not that I would buy one openly covered in mould but I can imagine all sorts of temporary fixes that won't show themselves till the ink is dry on the contract. I can also worry about insulation blocking drying to the inside (especially as the outside is likely sealed with paint). I'm more thinking that if I'm mounting insulation it ain't going to cost more to arrange the battens as a maze just in case. For that matter how expensive can a few fans be?