Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask for insights re this house?

131 replies

LookingForDreamHouse · 29/05/2011 11:23

After MNers' positive and insightful recommendations re MistressPloppys house options, may I indulge you one more time to please help me out here?

We are about to buy our first house and due to limited funds, we have 90% settled on this;

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/new-homes/property-31870139.html?premiumA=true

It's not a forever home. We are happy to live here for a few years until we are able to afford our dream home. It's a much better alternative to paying rent in excess of 2k a month.

I like it because its new, modern, and we have a blank canvass to decorate. There are young families there, a lovely playground, good schools and beautiful views of the golf course and equestrian center.

However, I am having second thoughts because I have not lived in a "development" before and I am worried about what the area may become 3 or 4 years down the line.

  • Is it a good investment?
  • Will the value be preserved in years to come?
  • Is there a risk of the development becoming like an "estate"?
  • Will it be quick to sell, years down the line, if we decide to move or find our forever home?

I would be very grateful if you could kindly offer pros and cons for this house.

Thank you.

OP posts:
goodmum123 · 29/05/2011 20:21

LOOKINGFORDREAMHOME,
your message and name says it all! I would not buy if i were you and especially as you are asking the question (I think you have doubts).

The reason I say this is because 7 years ago I bought a brand new house and was 'sold' a lifestyle. The development was in Loughborough but it was 250,000 even back then. It was a massive house, new, clean and I believed it would be the best thing ever. In fact it turned out to be absolutely awful.

Firstly, the children's park was built directly opposite my lounge 3 months after moving in, this attracted local drug users at night and teeneagers wuld often sit and shout with alcohol in their hands.

Also, new developments over a certain size HAVE to build some low cost accommodation which I did not have a problem with at all. I was told it would be fine and was to help teachers/ nurses 'get on the housing ladder'. In fact it ended up being people with ASBOs who were kicked off of council estates, i kid you not. These people would fight, scream at 2 am, and often the police were called. drug use in the area was rife and could be seen from my lounge as it was often done on the park and on the settee which was, at the time, in the front garden of one of these 'affordable houses'. (which was built across the road next to the park)

After 7months i literally almost had a breakdown and put the house on the market. It sold for 50,000 less than i paid for it but it was well worth the relief of never having to drivd down that road again.

I bought a 1950s house that needed doing up (still had original hygena kitchen in) but had a beautiful garden. I LOVED it there even though i knew i could not afford to do it up for years.

Sorry to go on but it is worth checking out what the future plans are and if in any doubt DO NOT BUY!

RantyMcRantpants · 29/05/2011 20:24

Just to tell you our experiances of living in a place and house like that. Those french doors in the bathroom look nice but are a nightmare. You can't have the window open just a tadge at night, it is either open or not. You can't have anything to close to the windows because they need to open so you loose a lot of space. Having those windows in a childs room is a nightmare, I can't have them open when the kids are home only when they they are out.

The parking is horrendous, trying to drive down the roads is like a slalom but there are so many sheds with bicycle hoops in that are unused because no one rides a bike.

There is no privacy because of the proximity of the other houses and in three years the police have been out so many times I have lost count because of neighbour disputes.

And that is just the tip of the iceburg.

RantyMcRantpants · 29/05/2011 20:24

Sorry bathroom should read as bedroom.

notcitrus · 29/05/2011 20:41

I used to commute to Mill Hill East, before they reduced the service to only being a shuttle from Finchley Central.
If you've got the money to live somewhere with better transport, do it.

Second house better location.

heliumballoons · 29/05/2011 20:45

Personally I like townhouses.

If it were me though with only 1 child and all the 3rd floor rooms being doubles I would use the master as a playroom. I know its ensuite but very handy when potty training your LO! and having loo on each floor.

Yes the whole kitchen/ lounge being on a different floor always made me go Hmm but there are loads of similar properties half the price on my new build estate and I find when I visit neighbours the kitchen/diner is perfect for guests and watching DC's in the garden.

wednesday13 · 29/05/2011 20:51

Someone said to us, you can change the house, but not the location. Find a street near a good school, near transport, not too busy or notorious for crime (have you any local friends who are in the police - they will know the best and worst roads). Unless you want an alternative lifestyle, find a normal looking, traditional family house and ideally one that's a bit tired looking so you can do it up as you have time/funds. It will probably be a semi and a bit smaller than you hope for.

Forget dreams, forever homes, fitted kitchens. You've a lot to invest, so invest it wisely.

I don't know the area but this sort of thing could be a good first time buy - it's already been snapped up.

Laquitar · 29/05/2011 20:59

I love the 2nd house and it would be 'for ever house' for me.

But still i don't get why some posters get angry with OP. She didn't moan or anything. So she has 500k for a now house and she might buy one for 800k in few years, so what? You didn't know there are people who have this money? I don't have near this budget but it doesn't bother me that OP does. I only get pissed off with OPs who have money and moan. She is not moaning so give the woman a break.

Ok i 'll breath now Grin

Pictish · 29/05/2011 21:02

I'm not angry with the OP at all!

Pictish · 29/05/2011 21:04

I'm just observing how relative everything is.....

BsshBossh · 29/05/2011 21:06

My tuppence-worth:

  • Hate new builds and developments - no soul, cramped environs, lousy parking
  • Like the second house as well as LynetteScarvo's linked house
  • Mill Hill East - not the best Tube stn
  • In a year or two you'll be applying to primary schools and this should determine your choice NOW - research schools and move into catchment areas well before you need to apply
sammich · 29/05/2011 21:10

id go for this one House or even this one House 2

Laquitar · 29/05/2011 21:11

It is Pictish, but we know that. I used to nanny in 2-3 million pounds houses in Kensington and Hamstead and then went for sleep in my 12th floor ex-council rented bedsit. Thats London Grin

KnobCheese · 29/05/2011 21:11

awful imo

bibbitybobbityhat · 29/05/2011 21:14

I'm v impressed that so many kind people are happy to offer their opinions.

You need to get with the programme and live in the real world for a moment imvho.

smileyfacestar · 29/05/2011 21:19

Ok, so you have loads to spend on a house. Which half a million pound property should I buy? What a dilemma.

FrottageCod · 29/05/2011 21:28

OP is the first house you linked on the old army site? If so, I used to live there about 15 years ago! Frith Manor primary school was fantastic at the time, public transport was very good, but I do recall that the flats on the base were sold to a housing association (near the road by the underground) and there were often police/ambulances around. Do some checking if you are serious about buying that property. There is a main road between the 'base' and the golf course, so the views you will see are over a main road. Motorway noise won't be a problem there as the wrong end of Mill Hill.

I'd second what others said, and if you have £500k to play with, look around. You could buy a fantastic house here in the country for that, and still be on the commuter route and into London inside an hour.

fairydoll · 29/05/2011 21:50

second house is muuuch better

FrottageCod · 29/05/2011 21:51

all in walking distance of your original house in Mill Hill well, maybe 20-30 min walk but nice areas

Original poster
LookingForDreamHouse · 29/05/2011 22:12

Wow!!!! Thank you Thank you Thank you!!! :)

I came to print out the responses for DP and I have all these responses!

House no 1 is off our list definitely! I was Shock at your vivid description goodmum123 and RantyMcRantpant (love the name). I have an over active imagination and I have already imagined the worst so now its a no go.

Thank you all, really....you don't know how much heartache and disappointment you have saved me from - making a bad choice I'd have regretted, by the look of things.

The main reason we settled for Mill Hill is because it's affordable and has more options than Hampstead (mostly flats/apartments - houses are way too pricey) and Hampstead Garden Suburb (the newer/modern houses are in the range of

OP posts:
SarfEasticated · 29/05/2011 22:19

I can't believe I have spent time looking at houses someone I don't know might buy, but I second what everyone else has said about schools. Go and look at primary schools now, or at least go to their summer fairs, and move within their catchment areas. It'll be the only thing that matters to you when your child is 4-11

onlion · 30/05/2011 08:51

We earn over 100K together and cant afford a house that much. i just assumed OP must have money from somewhere else...who cares. I just think its sad thats all her money will get her just becuase of the location. Isnt real estate loopy!

diddl · 30/05/2011 09:12

"I apologise if anyone was upset. I'm [shocked] But I really did need direction and as you can see,"

Seriously, you didn´t think you´d piss people off by talking about a "stop gap can only afford half a mill house"?

noddyholder · 30/05/2011 09:29

500k in London is not that much! My friend has just bought a house for660 and I was shocked as it is a bog standard terrace but near her work and schools etc.

activate · 30/05/2011 09:46

why the hell should people be pissed off that someone else needs to spend half a mill for a basic 3 bed house when they live in areas where it's a quarter of the price?

seriously some people think the world revolves around them

purepurple · 30/05/2011 09:51

I'm not pissed off that my 4 bed detached in a private cul-de-sac in a posh seaside town only cost £182,00 and not £600,000. Grin

Swipe left for the next trending thread