Torn between 2 houses...

[Whichhouseisbest]

We are currently torn between 2 houses. Both are listed for the same price. Both similar sizes and layouts (apart from house 1 has a utility room and conservatory extra)

House 1
Pros- has a conservatory, utility room, quite nicely decorated inside, the location is near the school we would send dd to, quite a private garden
Cons- is on quite a narrow road, dh is worried parking could be difficult. No driveway but has room to put one in, doesn't look as 'naice' as the other one

House 2-
Pros- I just love the look of it, it is up a quiet cul de sac, 5 mins away from shops, a lake with a park. Huge garden, loads of room to extend
Cons- Needs central heating putting in,a bit of wiring, bathroom and kitchen quite dated, new fireplace putting in,a bit of plastering. School a bit further away (possibly walking distance still). If I were buying it, I would want a conservatory plus new kitchen and bathroom.

House 1 is the winner on paper for sure. But I can imagine living in House 2 more. Argh how do you decide??

It would be most important to me, I meant. If house 2 meant potentially ending up at a shit school then you'd sacrifice a bigger garden for that... so do some research on your council website on past catchment distances and actual measured distance from school.

No idea why you got a hard time about posting links before, people do it all the time, there’s nothing for a seller to be furious about. So, post away.

House two. Narrow road plus lots of other nice things about H2.

Oh about the schools, they are 2 different schools. House 1 is 0.1 miles from a c of e school. House 2 about 0.5 miles from a 'normal' school (but down a main road so not great for walking). Both rated good by ofsted.

I have the links if anyone wants them PM'ing and is willing to offer their thoughts?

And is 0.5 miles safely within catchment? (DS's school has a 0.4mile catchment this year that we were on the edge of, but we are in a city). Ignore Ofsted, what do people say about them?

Well that is the nearest school, the next one is 0.8 miles away so I would imagine that is the one he would go to.

Personal opinion but from experience conservatories too cold in winter too hot in summer you would be better building on another proper room x

If it's in a city, don't assume nearest means you are in catchment. Some areas are black holes for schools and aren't in catchment for nearest schools. A friend of mine has a school 5 mins walk away but it was out of catchment by less than 100m as it was oversubscribed, so was given the closest undersubscribed school a 20 min drive away. Worth checking on the council website (again, if it's in a densely populated area!)

But anyway - get on a local fb group and ask local parents for feedback on both schools. Ofsted is not a very useful indication of which would best suit your LO but would be one of the most important factors in my choice in your shoes.

Ime imagine where you would put your Christmas tree!! Always been happy in a house where the tree looked great!!

Justonemorepancake Thanks for that, I have looked on my councils website, I am a bit confused to be honest.
He would definitely get in at both schools according to the information there. However, the house with the school that is further away looks like not many people applied. Does this mean the school isn't good or just that the other is in a more build up area (so more children nearby).
I will follow your advice and join some fb groups.
Very interesting though, thanks. My eldest went to our local brilliant school so I have never really thought about catchment areas to be honest!

Is the house 2 school undersubscribed then? Best bet is to ask local parents. Maybe do a tour at them if you can wrangle it? I didn't think about schools at all when we bought. We got very lucky thankfully but I can't believe I didn't look into it!

Arggghhh all this adult business is stressful!

How do houses in the same cul de sac as house 2 compare for sold prices, particularly if they have been done?

I'd go for house 1 if I was sure I could put in a drive and drop the curb without it be difficult to enter and exit when other people were parked on the road.

House 2. Definitely!

We had the exact same issue 20 years ago when we bought this house. We went for house 2. It was a state.

It was a long slog and we 'finished' it 5 years ago. Homes are organic though and you change as you go, you have to live there too. DH got to love it as much as I do over the years and everything we've done, we've done to suit us when we could afford it. I absolutely love our house.

Actually, just reading this has given me a warm feeling about all we've done. It's bloody hard and I can remember sitting in the kitchen (with no ceiling) and crying. But it was so worth it.