Would you buy a house on an estate?

[ChampagneSorbet]

I'm interested in personal opinions on this please. House in question is on an estate of approx 60 houses built 20 years ago, although the houses all still look of a contemporary style.

The house itself ticks all our boxes in terms of size, good local schools, good transport links and in a quiet area. My hesitation around buying it, is that we will probably move on in around 5 years and I don't want to buy something that could be difficult to sell in the future.

I'm not from the UK but I think that estates can polarise opinion. Is that right? I've had a couple of comments along the lines of estates being not quite the done thing. I don't mind that much about others opinions of my personal choices but do want to buy a house that's easily saleable.

[pinkdelight]

A lot depends on the area. If there are new housing developments where people can buy a brand new house for a similar price as a 20-year-old house, then your resale potential is probably going to be affected. But if that were the case, presumably you'd be buying a new build instead. If there isn't much alternative and the house and area meet your needs, then it's fairly safe to say it'll meet another family's needs in the future. Yes some people have an aversion to estates of similar looking houses and would pay through the nose for period features etc, but many people are fine about newer builds and can see the practical benefits. Hopefully some investigations on Rightmove should enlighten you about resale patterns.

[ChampagneSorbet]

Thanks Pink. Good points.

[msfreud]

My first flat was on a small 1980s built estate. I bought at the top of the market and still sold for £35k profit (after costs) 5 years after buying it but this was a very up and coming area.

I would never live on an estate again as I find them lacking any character and rather depressing.

[17leftfeet]

The majority of my dd's friends live on estate that we overlook

Houses generally sell very quickly and are a premium price for our area

Personally the small overlooked gardens and issues around parking put me off

[ElephantsNeverForgive]

An older estate with off road parking, fenced front garden, usable back garden and decent sized rooms, perhaps.

A modern rabbit hutch, no way

[ChampagneSorbet]

Ah, ok. Thank you all.

[mumblechum1]

I wouldn't as I was brought up on a big brand new development in the seventies and it was just - soulless is the only word. As soon as I left home at 21 I bought a very old cottage as had always wanted to live in the complete opposite of an estate.

But lots of people obviously do like them.

[hiccupgirl]

As long as the estate has a reasonable reputation and the houses are solid then you shouldn't have a problem selling it on. But like anything with houses there will be people who don't like houses on estates.

I live in a sixties house in the middle of a huge sixties and seventies estate. I also grew up in a sixties house. I would much rather live here than on a busy road, a new build estate or in an old cottage that needed lots of upkeep. On the face the estate might appear quite soulless and not particularly pretty but we have lovely neighbours and the estate has a real community feel. You need to find out what the local view of the particular estate is to know how easy it would be to sell the house on.

[Cupacakethankooo]

I live on a relatively small estate, all houses built with different brick, we are in a corner plot with a large garden and as soon as we moved in we planted trees all around, we're not over looked anyway but now we have a totally private garden. We also have a large drive. I would like to live in a cottage though, I think after two new builds I've been there, done that.

[LynetteScavo]

It depends on the area. Some estates have a bad reputation, some have a very good reputation, and are very desirable.
Personally I'm not an estate person. I tried it once (on an estate very desired by others - I think I got a bit sucked in) and hated it.

[lecherrs]

Whilst we have children, I only look for houses on estates. They're ideal for young families. However, I agree with the comments about really new estates, which I personally don't like either.

When we bought our house, we rejected many "non estate" houses as there was nowhere for the children to play out. For me, we actively chose an estate (ours is 20 years old) because it is full of children, so they all play out in the street, they call for each other, the roads are winding with speed bumps built in, so cars don't have the chance to drive above 20mph. There's a play park all the kids go to, and every house has 2 car parking spaces (+ garage) on average, so there's not loads of cars on the road. In our village, children tend to play out in the roads from the end of year one.

I have barely seen my 10 and 7 year old this summer holidays. For us, the house is perfect because it is on an estate. Might not be the perfect house, but it is giving my children a perfect (1980s) childhood and I love the fact that the roads are safe enough for all the children to play out. I know lots of parents where I live feel the same way and we count ourselves as lucky that our children are able to have that kind of freedom in their childhoods.

So for as many people who won't like that kind of house, there will be others for whom it is perfect.

[MillyMollyMama]

The housing estates built 20 years ago in the big town near us are boxes though! If you go back before then, you might get space, but 20 years ago houses were crammed in and gardens were tiny. People like them though, so if there is a strong market for the houses then there is no problem. Also, 60 houses is a pretty small estate!

[ElephantsNeverForgive]

I was brought up on a small, about 20 houses, estate in a small rural town. It was brilliant when I lived there because there were 13 DCs at one point. Now I think there are non. Some moved to bigger houses, most of us just grew up and our parents stayed into retirement.

[Ragwort]

Totally depends on the estateunhelpful.

We live on an estate - around 100 houses, real mix of styles and families/couples/singles live here. Very good community feel, gardens aren't really over looked.

Have lived in all sorts of properties - a flat/country cottage/semi on a main road, large 'exexutive' individual style property - all were 'right' at the time and all have their pros and cons.

[ChampagneSorbet]

The house is a decent size and the garden is ok but it is overlooked. We have a driveway with two parking spaces and there is lots of off-street parking. There are quite a few children in the area and we've seen them playing outside on their scooters and bikes so it doesn't feel soulless. Probably will go with it. Appreciate everyone's thoughts.