Stuck in a house dilemma and going round in circles… help!

House A

You willspend your life living in the house not outside looking at it!

Almost everyone in London is in a Victorian or Edwardian home, it’s fine. Don’t be put off by horror stories, most of the time they’re just houses. Saying that, your house A option does sound good.

House A. Don't underestimate a house where you leave something on a higher floor and need to go back and forth especially over four floors.

A and ditch the annex idea and give it a facelift so you get your kerb appeal.

If the two houses swapped locations, would you still be torn?

I ask because I’m trying to work out if the appeal of the Victorian one is more about the location or the period/kerb appeal.

I'm currently looking for a new home, hopefully being bought out by exH and there are new builds available that are affordable and in the village I want that would be fine, but I am worried they are soulless.

But it would be really easy and practical, so trying to figure out if I follow my head with the easy new build, or keep looking for a prettier, older house. Its hard!

I'd like the more practical house A, in house B's location. So maybe neither of these. But really the location is the biggest question - where and how do you want to live? I bought the house a short drive or bus ride away from the city, and am now planning to move more centrally as it's never felt right and has been annoying. But your situation may be entirely different.

House B. I wouldn't even consider House A.

As PPs have said, a few floors can actually work better as kids get older.

A, unless it means you're going to be driving teenagers everywhere in which case B.

I've lived in pretty houses, in doer-uppers, have built my own, and am now in a boring sensible choice. The others are lovely when you have plenty of money and more living space than you need, but for practical child rearing there's nothing like an ugly sensible choice.

House A or neither. If you really hate how it looks then don’t buy it, but minor aesthetic issues can generally be overcome/got used to. An impractical house will always be impractical.

Posy’s = posts.

There are so many posy’s from people who have bought doer uppers, because they are quaint and quirky, only to discover that starting the renovations uncovers a host of expensive and unexpected extra issues.

You can make both the inside and outside of a house more attractive without too much expense and don’t underestimate the value of a well insulated property that doesn’t leak and isn’t cold.

From what you say, and if you aren’t continuing to look then house A. Only and simply because it is more affordable. House B will cost more to run each month and the maintenance costs will also be higher.

however, will you always yearn for it and regret not buying it? Either every time you approach House A front door, and I’m 20years time when House B is worth so much more?

I will never not pick the Victorian! (much to my DH's grievance)

As someone who loves pretty period properties, I moved from a Georgian townhouse to a modern country house, because other than its age, it ticked all the boxes. The new house may not be anywhere near as pretty but it is has been the most practical house we have ever lived in and we have grown to love it. A much better layout for family life and two adults working from home, warmer, cheaper to run, no huge maintenance costs. Do not underestimate how much a bit of financial wriggle room will mean to you, either.

Which location is better for your family? Which gives your future teenagers access to transport, shops, friends, school? Which is more conveniently located for daily living? Another note for the fact that separate floors give more independence and chance to escape from kid/teen noise. Personally, house B sounds better if you can afford it.

Have you done the period property thing before? Maybe it's an itch you want to scratch. My friend left one for a (v nice) 70s house and said she rather liked going modern.

Does the modern one have interesting architecture you can do things with? A round window, a bay, high ceilings etc? Some of that can't be added in, but if the bones are there you can add a lot.

I would say house A. I had the same dilemma myself a few years ago. Even now I do have a small yearning for high ceilings and antique floorboards, but it is outweighed by how easy my modern house is to heat and maintain. For you, I would say a strong community and access to countryside is also worth so much.

I've found making a modern house beautiful is an interesting challenge. We've put new cladding on the outside, changed the windows and planted trees at the front. Inside we've done things like change internal doors. If you end up doing something like an annexe, you can try to make it architecturally interesting. We've done that with a kitchen extension. We gave it a vaulted ceiling and beautiful flooring to add interest to the house.

100% house A and do something about the exterior. Unless it's listed you can make quite a difference.

https://mainstreetdesignbuild.com/blog/before-and-after-exterior-makeover-remodeling-ideas-blog/

How bad is it?

I did a facelift to a hideous brick bungalow. It now looks like a country cottage

House A. It is incredible how much you can prettify the outside of a plain house with a good internal layout. Neighbours of ours bought the ugliest house in the street. First they added a big wooden porch with lighting and small trees. Then they went into the loft with pretty dormer windows. Finally, they had the house rendered and beautiful verdigris window frames installed. It is now the prettiest house on the street. They sold it and moved next door to a house that is the same ugly design as their original home was, and they are now prettifying that one too. Everyone loves them as they just keep improving the neighbourhood.

You have friends close, school close, plenty of space. These really matter. The cosmetics, you can change. Also, I was SO glad when I stopped living in classic Victorian terraces. they are a pita. Radiator on one wall and defunct fireplace on another with small alcoves either side so there is never the right place to put your furniture. People end up with sofas rammed against radiators or blocking second doors to the double reception. Houses with broad, plain walls make me so happy now..

I saw a house with an incredible internal layout but the outside was so ugly I dismissed it. someone else bought it and removed all the 1970s plastic cladding and put beautiful wood cladding up instead. It is now so pretty.

boring house A … money will never grow on trees 😊

House A. You can change the exterior of a house, change window sizes etc lots of examples online of before and after.

And to be fair how much time will you be looking at the outside of the house compared to living inside the house? Choose the head option, practical, sensible and you can look into changing the outside.

We left our beautiful Edwardian villa.

Couldnt afford to heat it
Couldnt afford to do up the freezing stained glass windows.

etc etc.

It was freezing even in summer. Draughts would swirl round your knees all the time.