Please help me decide which house to choose!

[Destinationendoftether]

Have tied myself up in knots and really need some outside opinions!

We currently in a market a town, we are settled here and don't want to make any big changes location wise. We now have a buyer for our house and have found two very different properties which we could proceed on.
They are so different though it's proving impossible for me in particular to decide, please help!

Have broken it down into a brief pros and cons for each house.

House 1

Pros-
Beautiful early victorian well maintained period features .
Quirky but practical in terms of meeting family needs, ie nice sized secure garden, plenty of parking.
Well within DC1's current outstanding rated primary school which means DC2 will be virtually guaranteed a place.
We plan to stay long to and this house is near enough to town and amenities that out DC's won't have to rely on buses/lifts when they are older to get about.
Less work needed
These vendors highly committed to selling

Cons

Semi detached
Smaller by. 1000sq feet !!
Not in the stunning location of house two
Not much scope to enlarge/improve
Not as private
Garden smaller

House two

Pros

Stunning semi rural hamlet location
Huge house (2500sq feet)
Very large plot (1/3 acre)
Could live in it happily from day one but also huge potential to enlarge or improve/redesign as and when finances permitted

Cons

Out of DC1 catchment for school and due to over subscripts this means DC2wil almost vainly have to go to local very small (tiny!) primary, this makes me nervous.....
This vendor vey laid back and I sense will dictate the pace (or change their minds perhaps??)
Running costs will be quite a bit higher
Looking to the future the children would not be as independent due to rural location

If anyone has faced a similar dilemma or has any thoughts please share them as I am stuck

[sittinginthesun]

I think you have to go with your gut feeling. Did you get a tingly feeling walking round either house.

I get the feeling you prefer house 1 (which would be my choice).

[Destinationendoftether]

Hi sitting thanks so much for the reply...

That's the thing, both houses got me but for different reasons!

The location of two is just amazing and what I always fantasised about growing up, I was picturing the DC's with a veritable menagerie in the garden! The house is enormous (way beyond what I thought we could afford) but certainly lacks any of the character of number one.

The first is perfect in terms of practicality, doing what's best for DC2s schooling and is a beautiful interesting home, impossible not to like it.

Sigh!

[WhispersOfWickedness]

I'm going to be cheeky and ask if you've got links to them?

[ixos]

I think house 1. Def.

[lazydog]

Without a doubt it'd be house #2 for me, although I can see why it's a hard choice. My opinion is swayed by previous bad neighbours... Because of what we went through I would never choose to live in an attached property, again, if I could afford detached... We've gone to the opposite extreme and now have a property with 8 acres of land (not in the UK - got it for the same price that we sold our 3 bed semi ) and we love the space and privacy. It's true, being a taxi driver for the kids social lives gets a bit tedious, but our location more than outweighs any inconvenience, for me. A tiny primary school wouldn't (doesn't!) worry me, either, but what's the situation like for secondary school entry?

[Teds77]

Check the entry criteria for DC1's school. Most state (primary and secondary) will allocate to siblings before they allocate on distance. Of course you'd still have to deal with a longer school run but if you were prepared to do that/you were confident DC2 would go to DC1's current school, would that influence your decision?

[purplewithred]

if you plan to stay trough teenage years house 1 so they and you can have some independence.

no links?

[Shattereddreams]

House 1. For the kids.

I grew up in House 2. It was amazing when at primary school, freedom and outdoor life. A pain in the bum once at secondary with social life, ability to get part time job, seeing friends and even getting to school in bad weather as bus didn't run.

[FlatCapAndAWhippet]

House no 1.

I too grew up in house no 2 until the age of about 14 which is when we moved to house no 1, for exactly the reasons that shattered says.

[georgedawes]

House 1 if you want to stay for a while - teenagers want to see their friends a lot!

[WynkenBlynkenandNod]

I would have said house 2 a few years ago but now mine are older, House 1. It depends on your future plans.

[Ragwort]

House 1 - exactly the same reasons as Shattered and others. House 2 (or similar) is for when your children have left home

[HousewifeFromHeaven]

Linkys!!!

[Destinationendoftether]

Just wanted to pop back on the thread to thank everyone who replied!

Was kicking myself as should have added links, was a it worried about doing so as will out myself with regards my nickname/who I am! If I am ever in this position again. Will NC before

Well we have decided to go for house one, closes for its practicality for us all as a family, it has a special feeling too which I think has helped to sway us.

Still live house two and like I said to DP it is still my 'fantasy' but just not right for us right now.

Posting on here was really really helpful so thanks again for all the replies.

[FlatCapAndAWhippet]

Good luck destination, hope it's lovey for you all. :)