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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Would you buy a house on a feeling?

76 replies

Tallkala · 22/03/2017 06:57

We've been house hunting for absolutely ages.

I don't know whether we are just very fussy, but nothing ticks all the boxes. We want enough space decent sized bedrooms, big garden, nice road, good schools. Yet we are on a budget!

We've viewed a house and I've fallen in love with it, but it's missing a few things.

I love the road it's on, it has gorgeous views from big windows, it's light and airy, I'm happy with the local schools. The owner is an elderly lady and she's lived there since it was new. I can imagine myself living there, imagine myself waking up looking out of the big bay window. I can imagine what we'd do decorating wise no how it would look. It just gives me good vibes, it feels like a happy house.

However, it's missing a few important things. The garden is absolutely tiny, and we have two dc. It really is tiny, you couldn't ever put a decent shed or a swing and slide. You could just about fit a small table and chairs and a tiny paddling pool in Summer. There's not even any side access to the garden and the only access to it from the house is through the garage! This could potentially be fixed by tuning half of the garage into a utility. The third bedroom is also very small.

It's a corner plot and the neighbours all have huge gardens so I'd have massive garden envy.

My kids love being outside and although there are parks nearby. They spend hours in the garden on nice days.

Not many come up on that street. We don't know what to do.

OP posts:
Tallkala · 22/03/2017 16:55

Just catching up with replies.

The third bedroom is 9" 6". Is that very small? You'd get a single bed and chest of drawers in and there's a built in cupboard which we would turn into a wardrobe.

The other bedrooms are 14x10 and 12x10.

Neighbours have extended on top of the garage so that's always a possibility, but we'd not have the money for quite a few years.

I think we want what doesn't exist for our budget. We definitely need Kirsty and Phil.

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Tallkala · 22/03/2017 17:01

The garden is at the back. It's kind of a triangular plot, so the front of the house has loads of space, loads of grass on the front, but then the back garden is one of the angles of the triangle. The garden just back onto other gardens.

The two bedrooms are next to each other so I guess you could take some off the bigger one.

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dowhatnow · 22/03/2017 17:14

It sounds as if there are possibilities op. The kids will soon be old enough to play in the front if there is loads of space there. How old is your youngest? You've got past the safe, enclosed garden stage at 8.

irregularegular · 22/03/2017 17:19

I think it makes a difference if the front garden is big - provided not on a busy road.

Tallkala · 22/03/2017 17:22

The youngest is 2. I think we would change that fence for a proper fence so it would be enclosed. We just feels it's very small. Though lots of people here saying it's not that small!

Hard to know what to think. Our garden now is twice the size and I thought that was small.

Between me and dh we are very fussy. He wants a large drive as he has a van and our cars. We want spacious rooms, a garage, but still on a nice road. We are not rich enough.

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sm40 · 22/03/2017 17:24

If it's got a big front garden use that! People might not be thinking about that so won't offer. I was imagining a much smaller back garden tbh. You'll work around it. And think how many garden days are in a year vs days spent in dream house.

Tallkala · 22/03/2017 17:26

There are ones come up like what we want but either on not very nice streets or needing a lot more work than we want to take on.

This house is overlooking a big green, really big and very scenic with nice trees and flowers. So there is space to get outside.

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HazelBite · 22/03/2017 17:30

I fell in love with a house that had two bedrooms, we had four children.
The situation of the house was just perfect, but there was no garage, no driveway, and DH thought I had gone mad.
We extended the house after we had been living there a while,and put up a temporary garage.
Years on we have the house we always wanted. We actually saw more "suitable" houses when searching but I didn't get the feeling.
Have your Dc's seen the house, what do they think?

Tallkala · 22/03/2017 17:35

Ds1 loves it, and he is very reluctant to move. I think he would miss our garden once he realised. He's out there until it's dark just kicking the ball around.

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MatildaTheCat · 22/03/2017 17:53

Is there a way you can fence in the large front garden safely and use it for play equipment? My friend lives on a very nice private estate and did this,mgreat big trampoline in the front garden for a few years. When the DC were small she would sit out there with them.

LadyMonicaBaddingham · 22/03/2017 17:55

We did. Trust me, it was a total hole, but it's a bloody nice house now

LadyMonicaBaddingham · 22/03/2017 17:55

We did. Trust me, it was a total hole, but it's a bloody nice house now

missymayhemsmum · 22/03/2017 18:53

If its a corner plot does it have a big front/side garden? We had one like that, turned the front garden into a flowery meadow with climbing frame and filled the side garden with a playhouse. Is it somewhere where your kids can play out in the street?

I'd trade a big garden on a busy street for a small garden on an estate where kids play out in a heartbeat (and have)

strugglingwithmaths · 22/03/2017 19:43

I'm living in London. I showed your "tiny" garden to DH and we laughed. Our house is marketed as "desirable London garden" and is about the same size......Smile

FeliciaJollygoodfellow · 22/03/2017 20:15

Yep I'm a city liver and not only is the garden twice the size of our concreted yard, but your tiny third bedroom is bigger than ours and we have four kids here most weekends!

You clearly don't have enough money for all your wants so you need to compromise. I don't mean that meanly, it's just true!

BlondeBecky1983 · 22/03/2017 20:32

I did! It was a complete state and I was advised against it by the man showing me around who said I needed a 'new build'. Been here 5 years now and still love it!

OhTheRoses · 22/03/2017 20:39

I have only ever bought homes on a feeling and with my heart. I bought buy to lets with my head. I have made more capital with my heart.

I can't open your pictures.

Nospringflower · 22/03/2017 20:53

Garden looks fine to me and you cant have everything so lovely road and good feel sounds good! Snap it up!

Tallkala · 22/03/2017 20:55

Felicia don't worry I know you are right! We keep joking that we need something a bit bigger for less money.

Couldn't really do much with the front garden for playing on because it's a steep slope the house is also in a conservation area so quite strict on what changes you can do. It all has to fit in with the appearance of the area.

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MoonlightandMusic · 22/03/2017 21:55

What's the actual size of the garden? Bit difficult to tell from the photos.

Also, as long as you have the ability to do some or all of the following at some point after buying (even if measured in several years), then sounds like you you go with your heart:

Convert the garage and the space over into more inside rooms (friend did this in stages by having all of the plans drawn up and then splitting the build - part one was knocking the garage and making sure the new foundations could cope with a two storey build and part two (top floor) went in about two years later.)
Attic conversion
Change the dining room window to garden access (as prev suggested)
Potentially also add garden access from the converted garage

Tallkala · 22/03/2017 22:13

I'm not too sure as I don't have the dimensions for the garden, but from what I saw I'd say about 9 feet by 6 feet, maybe a bit more.

There's actually a brick wall on the side where the camera is and dh reckons he could put a gate there if it was allowed.

We've got a second viewing booked now, it was raining last time so we didn't get to step outside to have a proper look.

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MoonlightandMusic · 22/03/2017 22:23

Ah, I was suspicious given your description vs the picture! That is slightly compact and bijou. Still usable though - particularly as you can use the garage as a store for the garden stuff, so no need for a shed.

It might also be worth asking for suggestions/book recommendations on the Gardening topic to give you some inspiration. If everything else in the house is what you want, or can be made into what you want, it would be a shame to miss out on the house because of the garden.

MoonlightandMusic · 22/03/2017 22:26

Oh, just to check, did you mean metres or feet? I'm guessing metres as it runs the width of the house? If so not that compact and bijou! Blush

Noel Kingsbury has a book called New Small Garden that might be of interest.

Tallkala · 22/03/2017 22:44

Sorry ignore me, it can't possibly be 9 feet because yes it runs the width of the house and garage. So going by the dimensions the garden must be at least 30 feet wide.

I do know my feet from my metres don't ask me what I was going on about Blush

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TheGaleanthropist · 22/03/2017 22:55

I wouldn't buy a house without that feeling.

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