Did you compromise on anything when buying your house?

[Amillioncupsoftea]

We have started to look at places. Did you draw up a list of absolute essential features that you needed in a house or flat? And did you stick to that?

For example, we would really love outside space, and would have said it was essential. But the more I go through the adverts the more I realise that maybe our budget won't stretch, but a real non-negotiable is that we feel safe in the area.

Did you end up compromising on anything or did you hold out/ keep saving/ wait until you could get your ideal home?

My must haves were a garden and off road parking and certain location. I compromised on bathroom size and bedroom size, and location ended up being somewhere I hadn’t intended which has worked out very well

I do wish I had a bigger bathroom and bedrooms but it was the best decision as I love my garden and can park on my drive - rather than anywhere (previous terrace on busy street)

Compromised on space

Yes, size.

We live in a modestly sized barn conversion with a small garden, but it’s in a superb rural location, on the edge of one of the nicest villages in Leicestershire. Our budget would have bought us a 5 bed detached on a suburban estate in Leicester or Nottingham, but it’s a privilege to be able to live in such a beautiful place, so no regrets.

I compromised on area, as in moved to an area I wasnt that familiar with but no further from work/city centre than a more desirable area. Turns out the area i bought in is very family friendly, people dont move often, all but one house out of more than 100 are privately owned and not let out so I feel quite lucky. Plus my house was about 70K less than what I would have got in the postcode i rented in.

I compromised on social life nearby. To see friends family or do anything exciting I have to travel. But it had everything else.

Our priorities were nice area/catchment, commuting distance of specific cites, good size garden which isn't overlooked, decent dining room or kitchen diner, 3 beds and house had to be detached if new build (due to paper thin walls). On the "nice to have" list was a nice view and parking.

We ended up with a terraced "character" property. It's got most of the things on our list except the 3rd bedroom, so it does mean we'd have to move or extend at some stage. No driveway or garage but we're so rural parking isn't a problem. Walls are very soundproof and there's no overlooking at either the front or the back so we've actually got more privacy/peace and quiet than we'd have had in a detached house on a built up estate.
We definitely paid a premium for the views and sacrificed size, but the joy I get from just looking out of the window or stepping out of the front door is worth it.

Our priorities were good area a big garden and a house that needed no major work whatsoever which we got. I wasn’t massively keen on the kitchen cupboards or bathroom suite but they were quite new. We replaced a few years later. We were at a stage in our careers where we wanted as little disruption as possible.

Dh wanted land, I wanted a big old house with lots of character. Neither of us were willing to compromise on the area. It took us 3 years and more money but we finally found our dream home. Funnily enough it’s a newer house, circa 20 years old, but built in a conservation area so extremely well done and full of character. There is no garage, but it ticks every other box and we have more than enough space to add that on.

My most favourite house was on a cul de sac because I wanted DS to be safe in the street. It was a small terrace so I compromised on size.

The next was about the area and I wrongly assumed that decent people lived there.

Now I'm looking for a detached bungalow in a decent area and I will compromise on size and a small garden.

House buying is all about compromise.

The one thing we haven’t compromised on is location - wanted to be walking distance to the town centre and public transport so as the children grow up, they can be independent and we don’t have to drive them everywhere. The teenager can now manage her own social life and loves it.

Also saleability was high on our list as it took us nearly a year to sell our last house. This one is in a highly desirable location so we won’t have to go through that stress again if we ever want to move.

We did compromise on a few things - no parking and didn’t get a detached house, but the house is larger than we were looking for, and we have been able to extend too. Don’t regret it at all.

We compromised on location, we went from a 2 bed terraced in town with a small garden and no parking to a 3 bed semi, 250ft garden, drive way for 2 cars, huge kitchen extension, utility room, extra downstairs shower room BUT we live a 45min walk away from school rather than 10minute and an hour from town rather than 5mins so completely reliant on a car.

So yes, compromised on location. Although it's a dead end road that leads onto fields and bridleways, so it's a lovely place it means we have to rely on the car