To ask your thoughts on this house?

[marniemoonie]

www.onthemarket.com/details/6810758/

Budget is 400k, it's 20k below that. Gorgeous area with brilliant primary and secondary. The next LA over has grammar schools which I really like the idea of and despite different LEA they take kids from this village. DH would be commuting into Manchester and we are moving from London. I've been look at this house and have absolutley fallen in love. I love the quirkiness and almost European look on the outside. The inside is a little dated but we will have 20k to sort that out. However DH isn't keen. He describes it as looking "odd" an since we are moving to a village he desires a more "cottagey" home away from a new build estate and adores this:

www.onthemarket.com/details/6772165/

It's a lot cheaper but also we'd be sacrificng an extra bedroom. We have 2 DD's 1 DS and baby boy on way so it's probably be 2 DC's in each room eventually. And also my choice house looks a lot more spacious. I'd just like to hear an outside perspective on it. We're still early on so haven't looked at many houses but focusing on these 2 for now as which ever we prefer will also set the stage for future ones to look at that are similar. TIA

Dh choice too small
I like your choice. The extra bedroom is needed and it looks really nice with the balcony.
Babies don’t stay small, in five years you will wish you had chosen a house with more space.

Def think your choice is best. Lovely garden with studio. Lots of space. Utility room is so useful and everyone has a bedroom. Looks like a nice area too

Your dhs choice is bonkers due to your family size. I don’t like the house you’ve chosen either. I much prefer the ones from Itavilli.

The first one looks nice inside but the balcony is pointless as you are in full view of your neighbours if you use it and you've got very little privacy in the lounge because of it. I don't like the second bedroom being downstairs with no other bedrooms, I'd make it into an office and then use the garden room for something much nicer.

I don't like the one on Higher Lane, it's dark inside and the windows are too small. I'd expected character but it doesn't really have any.

The Cadishead one is nice apart from the lack of the garden and the indoor hottub but at least that would go with them.

Stanley and Lindi Avenue are both lovely, Bretland Drive is hideous - no garden and those tiles and the lack of windows in the kitchen (or a bad photo?) and the lack of any other photos plus the lack of privacy in the paved yard.

DH really did fall in love with Lymm

I'm quite keen on Idris Elba but I have no illusions about my chances of moving in

Seriously with 4 DC and a limit on you rbudget you need to focus on what is practical. Small but pretty is not practical. The town house is a bit boring but its more practical for a large family whilst being in the desired area.

A pretty little 2 up 2 down cottage loses its atraction very quickly when you have 4DC all growing in different ways and trying to share the space.

The first one is almost identical to one I used to rent in Oxford. Definitely a cookie cutter house. I imagine you could find the same house in any town in the country. No personality to it whatsoever, imho. Mind, they sell for about three times the price around here.

I can just imagine the few sunny-enough days, everyone out on their balconies, desperately trying not to notice everyone else.

The other 360 days of the year it's a useless bit of space.

(Also, judging from pic 18, this house's balcony is at best East facing, worst, North.)

I like your choice, although I’m not sure I’d choose to live in a terraced house with four children! I’d be too conscious of any noise they would make.

But I do like the size of the house, and the layout wouldn’t bother me. It would be great as your kids grow into teenagers - they could take over the ground floor! My kids would have loved that.

Your DHs choice is just too small, I can’t imagine having four children in that sized house, with a large family I think space is a priority over character, especially as they grow.

I really like your husbands choice of house, but obviously too small for your family, It would just suit me fine, just me and my three cats !!
But I don't mean it to be that small. I am just envious of someone going to live in Cheshire. I am from Cheshire, but live in Hertfordshire now, and would love to go back to my roots, but sadly it's not on the cards now. Hope you will find your dream place eventually.!!

Definitely the first one with 4 kids. The second one looks way too small.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-80091194.html

In one of the areas PP mentioned.

I don't know the area but what about these 2.Both bigger and in your budget.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-79257395.html
Huge bedrooms!

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-61388940.html
Won't win any beauty awards, but nice clean spaces.

Neither!

The layout of the first house is too inconvenient, I want my kitchen and living room on the ground floor. The second house is too small. But given it is£100k below budget, that’s not surprising. Spend your full £400k and try to find something more suitable.

With a 6 person family you really need to prioritise space, unless you want to be moving again soon. Also factor in public transport unless you want to be a DC taxi until they're 17.

DH grew up in London and is very keen to give Cheshire village life a go while still be able to get to his new job in Manchester. Lymm is mostly newbuilds nowadays so ones that are an older style/cottage (which he wants) are very expensive and out of our budget. So if we insist on Lymm it's very much choosing between a 4 bed which will likely have to be a new build type or go for DH's idea and likely sacrifice on bedroom and space.

NW2SW There are bus stops in Lymm which go into Warrington or Altrincham in the other direction. So I'm hoping in a few years when DD's are teens (DS only 2) they will be able to get to town no trouble.

This link house is a 10 minute drive away form Lymm in Woolston and it has 5 bedrooms, meaning each of your children can have their own room. I'm not sure what schools you were looking at but its in the catchment area of Kings Academy High. I think that the house you like is a little unpractical because of the kitchen's location, and the house your husband likes is too small. all the best x

Second house looks nice but is on main road and too small for six!

First house is nice but too close to neighbours!

Your dh can’t have everything he wants. It doesn’t work. Your children’s needs come first. As you can afford it, space is the priority, not some chocolate box fantasy. If your dh wanted that twee house then you should have had less kids. That’s not possible so he needs to grow up.

The second one from Buzz is even in Lymm. The one from MrsL is great too. Why on earth would you buy a terraced property with no garden when you can buy a whole house with a garden for your kids to play in.

Please check that HS2 will not be going near to a property in Lym. This will affect the value, should you want to sell in the future. But, then again it may not happen......

The balcony on the first one would be a waste. You’d never use it.

I also agree that it looks odd.

The second one is beautiful.

I don't like the first one at all, just not my cup of tea.

Love the second one, but it's too small for you. I wouldn't go for either of them.

I don't like the two floor gap between the bedrooms in house 1 but otherwise prefer it to house 2. With two older teenagers it would be fine for me but in your situation with 4 young DC I'd keep looking.

Think you need to forget about Lymm- what's the attraction anyway- apart from the fact footballers live there?

You don't need to be in catchment area to get in to a grammar school- if you live outside of catchment your kids will just need a higher mark.

You're very lucky, they're both lovely in different ways!