What compromise did you make when you bought your house?

[Napqueen1234]

House hunting and interested to see where you compromised. We live in a city suburb so outside space is a premium. We have two young kids. Found a BEAUTIFUL huge house which is perfect but the garden is small. Can fit a seating area BBQ swing set and a bit of (fake currently) grass but certainly not kick a ball about levels. Close to parks though. Otherwise for similar price a slightly ugly house needing a lot of updating but an enormous long garden. DH likes planting veg but the first has an enormous drive which we wouldn’t need so could put planters down each side for vegetables (south facing) but the the back wouldn’t be super sunny. We currently have a tiny yard we use very little so I’ve never experienced a big garden. Is it a compromise you’d make? We like in NW so have loooong autumn winters inside anywayb

Our compromise was the garden. The house is perfect and very big, but the garden is smaller than you'd expect for the size of house. However it is south facing, low maintenance, has enough space for playhouse, trampoline, table etc, enough space for playing but not for big climbing frames or anything like that. We aren't into gardening particularly and the house is near plenty of green space and playgrounds so we were OK with it. I do wonder if it will put people off if we ever want to sell though!

Obviously you have been seduced by the Edwardian house's features.
Been there, done it, although over the years I have been seduced by either house or garden.
My advice would be buy the house that works internally for your family as you spend more time in it than your garden.
As an aside though you cannot beat a large garden which actually offers privacy.
Currently living on my own and I now have a much smaller garden, for me it is easy to cope with. But my god I miss the privacy of not being able to see or hear the neighbours and see the backs of other houses.

I wouldn't compromise on garden size, it's something you cannot change, unlike the appearance of a house.

TINY downstairs bathroom. More of a cupboard with a toilet and sink.

Corner house onto a main road. Very nearly ruled it out but it was by far the best house we'd found for decent sized bedrooms, we were moving to give DC their own rooms so the fact none of them would get stuck in a tiny box room (DS1's is small but not ridiculously so) was a huge plus.

Compromised on the house for the location, view & large garden. Our house is detached and very private. The ideal would have been a nicer house on this very spot but they weren't available, as houses don't come on the market very often in our small town.

The house itself is a 60's bungalow with a kitchen extension. It's taken us ages to change it around a bit but we've gotten there. We've had to replumb the heating, moved some internal walls and doors, and renovated or moved 3 bathrooms.

I would be a bit dubious of living over 4 floors. That sounds a total ballache! Bungalow living is very convenient with kids. I think if I were you I'd go for the ugly house/big garden.

How young is young? Realistically, they won’t be interested in running about and playing in the garden past the age of 10 or 11 anyway (or you’d at least need a bloody huge garden and no neighbours for kids older than that to be kicking balls around.) When they’re teenagers, bedroom space and additional bathrooms are going to become far more important than a big garden.

I compromised on a lot - but I’m in London and not a millionaire, so that’s sort of just par for the course!

In a similar position to you I went for the character free house with the more usable garden. Both gardens about the same size, but the pretty house one had a steep slope and no access from the front so all gardening stuff would have had to be treked through the house. I am very happy with the decision as we spend loads of time in the garden even when the weather isn't so good. I could never be as happy with just a few pots. The house with no character is bigger, needed everything doing to it and stretched the budget, but same space in a 1930's semi would have been a six figure sum more.

We went smaller house for a bigger garden and driveway

Smaller bedroom than I would have liked. In return for many local shops and seven pubs within ten minute walking distance.

Are there allotments nearby? You could rent one of those to satisfy your gardening needs, the parks nearby for ball kicking, and then you can have your beautiful house with small garden.

My compromise was a nw facing garden and an area that had a bad rep when I was a teen. The garden gets much more sun than expected and the area is a lot better.

Our compromises - 1. on a busy road, but we're set back and up so don't see the traffic; 2. expensive to heat as original stained glass single glazed windows. It's beautiful though and I love it. Makes me smile every day.

The bathroom - very oldfashioned but still OK for a few years.

Our choice came down to a 4 bed in a okish school catchment, very near a dodgy area, or a 3 bed in a very good catchment. We chose the 3 bed. The lack of downstairs toilet will be annoying, but we can look at that. Also compromising by removing the bath to get a decent walk in shower.

My dc were into bike riding and sports clubs and from aged 7/8 played football etc with friends at the nearby park so barely used the garden after aged 5. We're very active and out so much that we don't want to spend hours maintaining a garden so we would never go for a big garden. I've been there and there is always something needing doing. I think people are blinkered by the sight of a big garden that looks perfect but forget all the expense and time that goes into it.

Compromised on location slightly. Just on the edge of a part of the city that is less nice. But for that we got the 1930s semi that I wanted, with the ubiquitous loft conversion, with a big garden that backs onto the park so isn't overlooked, with the garage my husband wanted for his bikes, with a large open plan kitchen/conservatory/playroom.

I bought the house I'd rented. The kitchen is tiny. But none of the other houses I saw ticked all the boxes, or were as nice as what I already had.

When you say the Edwardian house has huge long driveway you wouldn’t use, is that because you don’t have cars or is it just so big you wouldn’t need it all? Because if it’s not on a main road, or massively overlooked you could always turn part of it into a garden.

We wanted a double garage, house (especially kitchen) that needed no work and an en-suite to the master bedroom. We got none of those but loved the feel of our now house, it instantly felt like a home. We've been here 15 years - still no garage (no space) but we do have a log cabin, we immediately redid the kitchen - and likely to go for a major remodel in the next 18months or so and have put in an ensuite. We've also gained two DC in that time and the house is still perfect for our family. Best compromises we ever made!

Straight onto the pavement at the front. We nearly didn't view because of that.

We also don't have a great garden at the back as it's tiered going up a cliff (we live by the sea) but we have a couple of great parks and beaches very close by so it's not been an issue with young children. There is room for a playhouse &water table, chairs and a little greenhouse for growing vegetables/strawberries with them though.

We do have lovely high ceilings, a big sitting room on the first floor away from the quiet road with sea views, big bedrooms with sea views, a playroom, a massive garage and we aren't overlooked.

I’d go for the space in the house over the space in the garden. Over the year, you’ll spend more time in it than outside and parks nearby will be useful, as will your idea of planters on the drive.

We had a biggish garden when the kids were small and, although they did play in it, we could have managed with much smaller and it was a pain in the neck to keep up together.

This house has a manageable garden, but I would have been happy with smaller. We wanted to be near the sea, but we’re a couple of miles out. On the other hand, it’s minutes to get there and we don’t have to worry about damage from sea spray. The interior is just what we wanted.

We went for the large house in a good area with a huge garden.

It’s ugly though. Inside was awful and stank of cigarettes and dogs but thankfully we have renovated most of it bar a few bedrooms.
Outside is still hideous. It’s had some bad extensions and the driveway etc is falling apart. One day I’ll fix it though!

Loads. I'm a single parent so I had to be realistic about what I could afford. I've got a small garden, no driveway, not the best area. But I'm so pleased that I own now.

I compromised on space and no garage (but with off road parking) to get a house in a good position for public transport and amenities. It's easy to heat but the lack of space is a bit of a niggle.

Whole house needs renovating, we had storage heating for the first year and the bathroom is downstairs. It's a bigger house than we could have afforded otherwise, it's on a beautiful quiet cul de sac with big grassy areas in front and the front and back gardens are a great size. We decided the location and outside space was more important for us and we could live with the ugly decor and downstairs bathroom for a few years. If we hadn't have wanted the gardens it wouldn't have been my first choice though!

@TeaSoakedDisasterMagnet I think we could definitely do that. It’s a fairly quiet cul de sac type thing and we only have one car (unlikely to get another we would replace rather than have 2 if needed) so don’t need a massive drive! Would it help to see the links? Maybe outing but 🤷🏼‍♀️