Help me and DH choose which property to make an offer on!

[TornLikeNatalieImbruglia]

DH and I are trying to find a new place to live as we’re currently in a crappy 1-bed flat in East London which we are fed up with for too many reasons to list and we want to start a family.

We’re looking at Leigh on Sea in Essex as it’s a really lovely little town, not too far from our families, good schools and good transport links to London for work.

Our budget isn’t great- £250k at the most as I’m on a FTC so lenders won’t use my salary for a mortgage application so we’re going on DHs alone.

We’ve viewed God knows how many places over the last few weeks and have identified two front runners-

The Maisonette

£250k
629 sq. ft.

Pros:

• 3 bedrooms
• Really nicely set out and decorated if you ignore the tacky crap like the glittery toilet seat so wouldn’t really need anything doing to it
• Lovely little private garden which would need minimal maintenance
• Off-road parking round the back
• 15 minutes walk to train station
• Share of freehold, no ground rent or service charge

Cons:

• It’s a maisonette, so it comes with downstairs neighbours and all the potential problems that could entail
• There’s fuck all storage- a tiny little built in shed under the outside steps and a very shallow cupboard. No loft as it's a flat roof.
• There’s nowhere to eat- no dining area or any real space for one or even a table, presumably the current owners eat off their laps
• The wall in the living room has been built to frame a tv that’s 4x the size of ours so we’d have to deal with that
• It’s on a busy main road

The House

£240k
575 sq. ft.

Pros:

• It’s an actual house.
• Tonnes of storage- attic, cupboard under the stairs, airing/boiler cupboard, a shed in the garden and a garage
• Nice little garden, has a fish pond with apparently some pretty expensive fish in it
• On a quiet cul-de-sac, no through traffic
• 5 minutes walk from one of my best friends’ house (although that’s more of a pro for me than DH!)
• It’s £10k cheaper than the maisonette and the vendor said he’d be prepared to wiggle a bit on the price because...

Cons

• The garden is a bit of a state because the vendor has two dogs which just tear it up, and the patio is very uneven and would probably need to be re-laid
• It’s got a good 20 years of wear and tear and would need redecorating
• The bedrooms are pretty small, not room for much more than a bed and a wardrobe in either
• Internal bathroom with no windows which could mean damp issues
• Current owner has drilled through the wall to run a power cable to the shed where he has the tumble drier (!) which would have me worried about spiders and other creepy crawlies
• 25 minute walk to the train station

Realistically, we’re only going to live in our next home for maybe 4 years max, to allow time for me to get a permanent job and get a few periods of mat leave out of the way and then hopefully we can get somewhere better using both our salaries.

How would you feel if you had to live there long term rather than just for four years. Things change and I'd only buy a place I'd be happy with long term even if that wasn't the plan.

I’m not a local, so I’d check out the comments re the area from those people first.

Then I’d go to a mortgage broker who will arrange a mortgage based on both your wages. You can always spend less if you want to.

I would never buy a maisonette if I could afford a house in a safe area. Maisonettes are just full of problem. As is having a share in a freehold...you have to get others to agree to work being done. It’s a nightmare.

Be wary of moving out of London too. Many of us who have done it, really regret it. When you’re there you just want out, but once you’re out it’s so different. Of course some people are happy to have made the move. Personally, I’d rent your London flat out and rent elsewhere...well, only if you win it of course 🤣. If you don’t own it I’d definitely keep renting for a while, try LOS out...

I don’t want to move out of London at all but DH is adamant that he does, and with our budget even if we went with Help to Buy we could only afford to live in really crappy areas. We can’t rent out our current place as it’s shared ownership.

My current FTC ends in December and I’ve nothing lined up after it (yet) so no mortgage lenders are going to touch me!

Much prefer the house.

The mansionette sounds easier to sell. The reality is that both properties are so ridiculously small that they wouldn’t be appealing to families you you would be looking to sell to young people. Storage is less important than distance to town/train station/desirability of the area.

You may think that but the maisonette has been on the market several months and had the asking price reduced at least once. The house went on the market on Saturday and they had an offer this afternoon. They’re honouring mine and DHs viewing tomorrow so we can decide whether to offer before they decide whether/whom to accept as we have fewer links in the chain than the person who offered. The end terrace house two doors down went on the market last Wednesday and accepted an offer yesterday (Monday) afternoon.

House

My dh once lived in one of those flats and it was too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter...

You've made me all nostalgic, OP. I grew up a couple of roads away from the maisonette! Haven't been back in years.

I prefer the area that the maisonette is in, but the flat roof would concern me ..

House definitely, possibility to add value thru extension at back or up into loft which could be a third bedroom if you u need it. Is 25 mins to train station doable 5 days a week ? Convenience v profit

Neither sound good IMO. maisonette best of the two but may not keep its value. House sounds way too far from station, unless you plan to have two cars after DC, which is expensive. (Fishpond is a big drawback given that you’re planning DC).

How long is the train journey to London? And what is your commute like from the station once you arrive in London?

Two people commuting into London after DC is very HARD IME. I do it and know a lot of women who have stopped WoH or moved to much lower paid, worse local jobs because of the strain. Their husbands work long hours and won’t make any compromises in their working life, so get promoted etc. For me, DH pulling his weight on parenting (including affecting his work pattern) along with me was a condition of moving out of London. Luckily he was and remains on board, but even sharing the parenting and domestics two people doing a 90 min commute each way to work is hard to sustain.

You mention that you don’t have a permnaney contract, and the possibility of “several” maternity leaves / DC: commuting gets harder with each DC. And childcare costs etc higher. The financial/career risks of the move are much more likely to affect you personally than your H unless you’re the higer earner with the more secure job.

Should you have DC would your H be willing to make changes in his working life (limiting hours and travel - eg to be back before most childcare closes at 6pm and with train times you often need to to leave work at 4pm) to enable you BOTH to WoH and commute to the higher paid London jobs?

Hello fellow L-O-S mumsnetters 👋🏻
OP if you're taking schools into consideration for yourself or for sell on value I would double check the primary catchment of both. Pretty sure house is Darlinghurst- bad reputation and Ofsted, imagine Maisonette is Westleigh or Hadleigh? Just a thought.
Personally I think you can do better than either property- prices are dropping. I'd wait if you can.