Would you buy this house?

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www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/122087813

Pros:

• Good commute location for both me (London) and dh (Oxford)


• Done up and easy to live in


• Good local school for future kids


• Nice road


• Good to get in on housing market now before everything goes pear shaped with recession etc predicted for autumn and inflation at 11% (and a lot of our assets are cash right now)


• V little selection on the market right now and this is the nicest modern house we’ve seen of this style

Cons:

• Done up cheaply when seen in real life


• Possibly over priced - everything v pricy right now. Other houses on this road recently sold for ~£600k and this is £695


• V boring house! We’re drawn to cute (but possibly impractical) cottages that are usually too expensive for our budget


• Possibly buying top of the market and stuck indefinitely if there is a crash soon?


• Its been done up/extended and is now the nicest house on the street so possibly hard to sell on for this location?


• Suburban location / look and would love more countryside


• Dont know local town and how friendly ppl are. Really want local friends.

There's not really anything to love or to dislike about it, it would suit me, although if the finish/fixtures are cheap that would annoying me every time I looked at them.

Personally, I don't think you can look at housing as an investment. Sometimes it turns out that way, which is a bonus, bit yiu need somewhere to live, that's what you're buying.

I think you could find something nicer if you were willing to move closer to Oxford than London for the price.

Twyford is very small - I’m not sure how much community stuff is there. I use the station but live in Wokingham - there’s a lot of development in Wokingham, have you looked there?

Depends what you want and where you're moving from. Twyford is really lovely, got some nice restaurants and shops, and Dinton Pastures on your doorstep, but If ease commute to both Oxford & London is your primary concern then I'd be looking at Caversham instead. It still has a villagey feel and you can walk to Reading station from some of the reasonably priced parts of lower Caversham in 20 minutes and get non stop trains to Oxford and Paddington.

I like it - you could make it less boring by adding a fireplace in the living room and more interesting decor in the bedrooms.
No idea about the price because I’m in the north where everything’s cheaper, but if you think it’s overpriced offer what you think it’s worth?
The kitchen area would sell it to me.

How long are you going to stay?

Also agree with this - closer to Oxford would be cheaper

Thanks so much WoodenClock, a good point. I guess worried that if we don’t buy now we’ll get priced out and end up with something worse even if on first viewing / feeling it doesn’t feel like where/how we’d choose to live if we could?

No. I don’t rate it, it’s very average and 1 bathroom is off putting.
Do you need to live in exactly that area? If not look for somewhere better value.

The decor is dull but then you would redecorate anyway.

I like it as a house, no idea about the area.

I'd second looking at Caversham, it's Reading which is good for Oxford and London plus loads of character houses.

To me that looks overpriced, it was £300k in 2014!

The rooms are tiny.

No, but I don't like open plan living.

I don't know what else is on offer, but having being looking at (much cheaper) 4 beds recently, my concerns would be
Windowless family room
Size of bed 3 and 4

I wouldn’t. Twyford is so dull and I don’t like it when kitchens are massively extended into the garden to make space for a pointless sofa at the expense of light in existing living areas. I agree with pp suggestion to look at Caversham.

It only has one bathroom and is small at only 110sq.m. ''No'' from me.

Thanks everyone, this is all incredibly helpful and am reading responses out to partner as we speak! Seems to be a collective meh / no?

No.

It's not that special.

I'm looking too but in a different area.

The market is so bad I'm looking at houses I'd never have considered that are way over priced.

So I'm stopping.

Going to carry on renting and wait it out for a house that I love.

Have you looked at Spencer’s Wood, lovely area and community.

I mean I don’t agree with looking at caversham other than it being near the main reading station if the commute is the most important.
caversham itself is just a busy main road. Incredibly busy during reading festival. Traffic is terrible. If you moved into the higher parts of caversham you get a nicer quieter street but still great for Oxford commute not so good if you need to go in the direction of reading.
the cafes etc in caversham are nice but you end up eating sat outside on a main road.

they are right though there isn’t much in twyford. A small high street with hairdresser a Costa an independent cafe and a couple if restaurants as well as a Waitrose.

woodley has easy access to earley winnersh triangle and twyford station but I’m not sure it’s on the up. I would say it’s maybe deblining despite having good schools and easy transport links.

I live in woodley and I like living here. My daughter is in yr 11 at local secondary school and I feel that she’s safe to be out with friends. We currently gave lots of parks and play parks. The shopping high street is a precinct with coffee shops restaurants charity shops chemists and banks. Has the bonus of not watching traffic when sat outside for a coffee but also it’s nothing special just a concrete shopping precinct.

good Schools and good commute really are the key. Fixtures and decor all have to get replaced in the long run anyway and looks aren’t as important as function.

one bathroom for a growing family is the only thing that really concerns me. Even on a good day that gets complicated. Have everyone down with the flu and it’s not fun.

could you see yourself staying there for 25 years? If housing prices do plummet, whatever house you buy might not be your first step on the property ladder, it may be where you raise your children.

2 of the bedrooms seem very small but other than that it seems neat and tidy and bland, but you could jazz it all up! Which way does the garden face? If north then bear in mind you are now viewing at the lightest part of the year.. only one bathroom for 4 beds as well, I'd expect an en suite and family bathroom maybe for that price but don't know this area at all so can't really comment on value I guess!

I'm honestly gobsmacked at the price (and I'm used to London prices). Surely you can get something better than that?

Why not go for three bedrooms as you don't have any children yet? You are in an incredible position for FTB with that kind of budget.

It’s nice but only one bathroom in a 4 bed house would really put me off, even if it does have a downstairs loo.

I’ve never been emotionally attached to a house. In fact after 2 years I’m ready to move on just had to stay put the last move due to children demanding we do. Bricks and mortar will be standing long after we are all dead and buried. Is it a financially good investment? I’m not just talking about if it will increase in value! Will you save money in rent? Do you need forced saving strategies? I did many years ago a big mortgage meant I had to divert that money rather than spending it on stuff.