Smaller house nice location vs bigger house less nice location

[SpaSushi]

Just that really. Me and 2 children under 10 ( boy and girl).

Im viewing two properties this weekend , and trying to have an idea in advance of my preference in case i need to make an offer quickly.

Both on for same price .

House A: bigger, move in now, 3 bedroom, with potential to improve ( when i can afford) through reconfiguration of internal space and later on extension/renovation etc. but location is a 'just OK' suburb of a small town ( ie not either the desirable or bad parts)

House B: smaller, 2 bedroom but potential to add a wall internally to make 3 bedroom; potential to improve ( when i can afford) later on with extension but still wont be size of house A. Location is nice part of desirable village .

What would you go for- size or location?

[Maverick66]

Location, location, location, the day you buy is the day you sell.

[jeanzbeanz]

Location every time.

[SuperLoudPoppingAction]

Do you see yourself selling in the future?

My location suits me but I don't plan to sell. I couldn't have coped with children sharing rooms - tried for a v long time and it's so much better now they have their own space.

[faeriequeen]

Size. If it's not a bad location I'd go with the house that suits you best. As the kids grow you will need all the space you can get. Plus, areas change. Our area used to be quite ordinary but is now super desirable.

[SpaSushi]

Will i sell in future? I don't know. Im downsizing as it is post-divorce.

The less nice location is a 60s(?) estate- I'm not sure it will become more desirable. The nicer part of the town is north, this is south. They've built a bunch of new homes nearby too.

The nicer location is a lovely village, its surrounded by big expensive houses. Seems to be someone sold their garden off in the 80s to build this pair of semi-detached. I worry about space and when i might afford an extension - if ever...

[sundowners]

So currently kids would have to share a room in house B? Is it a large room?
Having lived in a small 2 bedroom in literally 1 of the most desirable parts of London- I'd still say size over location- unless location is completely grubby/depressing/high criminal. But if its still pretty just not overly buzzy- I'd go for bigger house with 2 kids, definitely. When you are cooped up in small house even in lovely location, it can start to drive you mad...

[DownUdderer]

Personally I’m house hunting at the moment and I’ve been looking online for six months to get my head around the options for my family. I’ve slowly come to the idea that I want a place to live for more than ten years, minimum, so I’m focusing now on the maximum rooms I can find, I have a fairly set idea of room size. Basically I want lots of bedrooms and bigish rooms, and I want a garden. I’m willing to look further afield to find these things. My kids are loud as f$&k and I’m hoping they can be outside way more than now and they won’t be falling over each other inside.

So if I was you I’d choose the bigger property.

[DownUdderer]

I’m currently in a tiny place and it’s driving us nuts!

[Donotbequotingmeinbold]

I'd go for the bigger property as long as its location suits you and it is a nice safe area. If you don't have enough room you will want to move again.

[SpaSushi]

house A location - you don't really know what the neighbourhood is like til you live there. The primary school its in the catchment of is the "worst" in the town if that says anything. ( my kids dont need to move schools )

Kids could share in House B, but as its a large room with a small study next to it i think knocking through and putting a new stud wall would give two ok sized rooms and i could do that straightaway. But there are eaves involved so i need to see if that will work when i view. Living space would be smaller than House A.

House B has a better secondary catchment too...

[dogzdinner]

How easy is it to get to their school from each house?

[dogzdinner]

And also how close to the good secondary?

I moved to be close to DC's school, rather than a nicer location and it changed my life!

[maymai]

House B, location and good school!

[sundowners]

When you say B has smaller living space- by how much? What does it provide? I.e. open pan kitchen/diner? Snug Living room? Utility?

[UnimaginativeUsername]

I’m in the process of buying after the end of a relationship too. I’ve gone for location over size (and right at the top of my budget too). That said, my eldest is 18 now so I’m not likely to need to expand the house to accommodate a growing family.

The house my ex and I are selling is very big but the location is not as good, and that did have an effect on desirability. So I decided not to compromise on location this time: schools, transport links, amenities, desirability all matter.

[tkband3]

House B, if you can make the bedrooms work. Location and good school would do it for me.

[WeAreGerbil]

I'd go for location over size, though also as a lone parent having some sort of sense of community around me would be important, and also having potential friends around for DC.

[SpaSushi]

Distance to school will be approx same from each house- but further than currently- i want to keep school same for now, one less upheaval.

Living space- house a has large living room and largish ( but odd shaped) kitchen dinner. Possibility to knock through to adjoining garage to make a study /utility/better kitchen/diner etc. Also possibility of creating 4th bdr upstairs- all of this is future budget depending

House b is a chalet bungalow, so living space is a large living room next to separate kitchen ( could open up) plus an ok sized conservatory.

[sundowners]

Def house A for me.

[SpaSushi]

Secondary- house b in good catchment transport by buses. House A many people do get into that school from there, also buses, but its out of catchment.

[pallisers]

location so house B

[Miladamermalada]

House A, the area is OK, your kids are going to grow and you'll need that space.
You won't think about the location of house B once you get in A. You will think about the space house A had though.

[ajandjjmum]

House B

[Shiftymake]

School catchment has priority here, I moved us last year to ensure that we were well away from a needing improvement school into an area with good/excellent schools. My dc is going to one of these schools next term and I am a lot less worried! Stud walls are a good solution, and you can always move to a bigger house when the kids are older and you get more for your money from your current house.

[bzzbeebzz]

Location every time.

And before you know it your kids will have flown the nest and you won’t need masses of space but living in a nice area will still be of value.

However it’s a personal decision and everyone has different priorities...as you can see from this thread