Buying a heritage house

By Alex Brooks

Heritage houses are “affairs of the heart” that ensnare passionate home owners, according to Bob Moore, an architect who specialises in older houses.

“The whole idea is that heritage buildings are something you have for a while and pass on and that somehow touches people,” he says.
“It’s not like one of those houses you just build and knock down – there is something about walking on floorboards that are 100 years old or being in a room where a family lived in the 1800s.”
Ray White Concord-Cabarita agent Dean Kalos says buyers are passionate about older style houses simply because they have become so rare.
“They are a classic and like a classic piece of furniture or a classic car, the design stands the test of time,” he says.
“And all real estate is supply and demand, so when supply becomes low, demand becomes high.”
And you don’t have to be a millionaire to own a slice of history, with plenty of affordable houses in and around Sydney to satisfy anyone who hankers after grace, beauty and charm of yesteryear.

WHERE TO LOOK

Sydney and its surrounds have an array of Victorian and Edwardian era architecture, as well as a range of Federation, post-Federation and a small selection of 1950s houses.
“You can read the types of houses as a story of settlement of the city,” says Moore.
He says there are grand Victorian and Federation houses dotted throughout Sydney, often along train lines in suburbs such as Eastwood and Denistone in the north-west, Arncliffe in the south and inner western suburbs such as Dulwich Hill, Hurlstone Park and Burwood and Strathfield.
National Trust’s conservation director Jacqui Goddard says the detailing and rich timber craftsmanship in large Federation and Edwardian homes make them the most appealing historic properties.
“And that would be followed closely by the appeal of a Victorian terrace in Paddington or Balmain,” she says.
Goddard says early settlements such as Parramatta and Hunter Valley towns like Morpeth offer some amazingly affordable heritage property.
An East Maitland property Orange Grove, a restored 1886 Victorian weatherboard cottage on the cover of today’s Domain, is on the market through Robinson Property for $415,000.
Tony Cant Real Estate director Andrew Cant says older style homes around Morpeth, Maitland and outer-lying lower Hunter Valley villages such as Paterson start as cheaply as the high $100,000s and go up to more than $1 million.
Lorn House, an 1830 Georgian homestead in Maitland, sold last year for $820,000 but there are regular sales of restored Federation houses around Lorn and Bolwarra starting in the mid-$400,000 price bracket.
In the Blue Mountains, there is also a range of 1900s weatherboard houses with prices starting in the $300,000s.
Geoff Wellstead, the former proprietor of the Imperial Hotel at Mount Victoria, is selling his sandstone 1897 postmasters residence in the heritage town for $550,000.
“Those older properties are far more attractive than new buildings – they are unique and different and often have a story of their own,” he says.

SYDNEY OFFERINGS.

The suburbs around Parramatta – which was one of NSW’s first settlements - offer Victorian, Federation and post-war cottages and houses from prices starting in the low $300,000 price bracket.
Parramatta Mayor Julia Finn says Sydneysiders under-estimate the vast numbers of affordable heritage property around Parramatta, which is now a quick train trip to the CBD.
“We have something like nearly 1000 heritage-listed properties around here – there really are some lovely houses from workers cottages right up to grand Georgian houses,” she says.
“And a lot of the workers cottages were built a lot better than the stuff around Surry Hills because they were trying to lure the workers out here.”
Inner Western suburbs like Burwood, Strathfield and Croydon offer restored Federation and post-Federation homes but prices for something unrenovated would start in the high $700,000s or mid-$800,000s, according to Kalos.
Bob Moore suggests looking for simple older-style houses such as Victorian worker’s terraces or weatherboard cottages in former industrial areas.
“The low entry point stuff is usually very simple and that’s probably easier than buying something more elaborate and detailed that is a complete basketcase and needs a lot of work,” he says.
Raine & Horne Balmain agent Danny Cobden says buyers looking in the $600,000 to $800,000 price range could pick up a renovated two-bedroom terrace or an unrenovated three-bedder in the now-gentrified workers suburb of Balmain or Rozelle.
Suburbs like Alexandria, Redfern, Erskineville. Leichhardt and Newtown also offer a mix of renovated and unrenovated Victorian terraces and semis starting in the mid-$400,000s.
Goddard says suburbs that have been unfashionable or hard-to-get-to often offer some of the best examples of period architecture.
“Places like Wahroonga and Mosman are obvious as having great examples of Edwardian homes with wonderful detailing, but there are suburbs which were created at a similar time but weren’t really as popular,” she says.
Southern suburbs such as Arncliffe and Bexley, which have been “off the real estate radar”, have the odd preserved example of Edwardian architecture.

THE DEMAND

National Trust properties for sale website director Jenny Quint says the appeal of historic properties is growing as more and more people appreciate the craftsmanship that just isn’t in modern houses.
The website – which exclusively features older style houses – has grown in the 10 years it has been operating, and Quint says it can attract up to 1000 hits a day.
Agents like Andrew Cant say the appeal of older-style houses has grown in the last 10 to 15 years as project homes encircle older suburbs and people see how unattractive they look.
“I think the popularity of those old houses is partly because modern Australian project home architecture is so uninspiring – in fact, most of those homes are just designed by builders to be as cheap as possible,” he says.
Moore says the range of historic houses across Sydney appeals to different buyers, with some favouring Victorian and others hankering after the clean lines of 1950s architecture.
“There is really only one rule for owning an historic house, and that’s to learn about its history before you do anything to it,” he says.
Moore says owning an older property is about more than just uncovering boarded up fireplaces or installing some cast iron lace on a verandah.
“The best way to wreck a house is not to understand it – you need to find out its story, find old photographs and then go from there,” he says.
And most real estate agents agree, warning that unsympathetic renovations will do more to destroy an historic home’s value than anything else.
L.J. Hooker’s Geoff Smith says the best renovations adapt the house to modern living standards.
“You can still have modern finishes in a Federation style home, in fact that’s what is most in demand –charm and character with the modern appliances and a family room and kitchen that opens up to the back garden,” he says.
Kalos agrees, saying the “sky’s the limit” for the value that can be added to a rare historic property that is renovated to cater for modern lifestyles.

THE HUMBLE HISTORIC HOUSE

Parramatta mayor Julia Finn loves the charm, beauty and craftsmanship in her Federation-era weatherboard house at Rosehill.
“But I can’t stand the ugly stamped concrete driveway, or the pool fence out the front – basically all the things that have been done to it to ‘renovate’ it in the past,” she says.
Ms Finn’s house is in a conservation area, which means the entire subdivision is in a specially zoned area ensuring the streetscape and character of the area remain as in tact as possible.
She paid around $500,000 for the property in 2004, leaving behind her renovated heritage-listed cottage in Granville.
“A lot of people are surprised by the numbers of historic houses we have around here – it’s quite beautiful,” she says.
“The Georgian stuff is my favourite, but that costs a bomb to buy.”
Ms Finn has already stained and polished her floorboards, put up ornate cornices and installed authentic fireplaces from an antique shop in her house.
“I’d like to do a lot more, but it’s all about time and money,” she says.
“All I’ve had a chance to do is rip out some of the tacky repro stuff that was here and put in some French Doors out the back.”

THE RESTORED HISTORIC HOUSE

When Gloria and Philip Jenkyn moved in to their 1894 sandstone house at Hunters Hill 20 years ago, they had no idea of the renovation journey they were about to embark upon.
“I think I spent about $300,000 renovating the place, which was a lot more than I intended to,” Mr Jenkyn says.
“We bought the place back then for $320,000 and the renovations took place over a long period of time but there is no doubt that we added value.”
The Jenkyns have extended and restored the original seven-room cottage, installing gas lighting, Victorian paint colours and the original slate roof.
“I can truly say, that restoring a heritage property is not for everyone but if you want to live in a house you will truly love and take pride in, then you have gained in all respects,” Philip says.
He recommends paying respected heritage advisers for their opinions before doing any renovations or alterations.
“It might cost you $5000 for the advice, but it might save you from spending $250,000 on inappropriate renovations that could destroy the value of your house,” he says.
Philip describes his home as “friendly and messy – not a museum piece”, with a modern rear extension to accommodate a modern kitchen and living spaces.
“From the front, it looks pretty much as it did back in 1894,” he says. “It’s certainly not the grandest house in the street, but it has a rarity and a great position that make it very valuable.”