House vs Area

[Mammabee20]

Hi all I am just wondering if you lovely mumsnetters would be able to provide me with some advice. My DP bought a house with support from family last year when we found out we were expecting our DD. It is a four bed with loads of potential but it is in a questionable area, basically the front, sides and back are all council owned and we bought it for £140K. It has a detached garage, drive way, gardens to front and back and the previous owners built an annexe. It has the potential to build an extension to attach the garage and annexe to the house but we don’t know if we should just move to a nicer area instead of potentially wasting money on the property.

I mentioned that all the houses surrounding us are council owned because it means that there are not many properties being bought and sold so purchase prices are low... obviously if we were to do an extension we might end losing equity and money.

When I say the area is questionable we’ve only been there a year and so far we’ve had no trouble from anyone apart from a visit from the police because they had a report of suspicious behaviour and a smell of cannabis coming from the property. They looked around and concluded that there was nothing suspicious at the property or about us. The suspicious behaviour was that there was a black out blind fitted in the babies room but it looked like a dark room we’ve also had kids climb along the side of our fence to gain access to the local park.

Could people advise whether it would be unreasonable to stay and make this our dream house even though the area is questionable or move to a nicer area?

If you can afford to move, move. You probably couldn't add much value to the house you have so if it doesn't meet your needs, then yes, you do have the dilemma of whether you can afford to sink more money into it for little or no return, in the future.

If you wish to add value to a house, then add it to the house in the best area you can afford IMO.
Area would always trump the house, if I was looking to buy.

Good luck.

Do you LIKE the area? You said you've had no problems since you've lived there--but would you be happy living there longer-term?

We live in a council/private estate too (our house is privately owned, next door is private rental, opposite is council house, etc). I love the area and have never had a single problem. My parents live in a very very well to do area in the south east but have a nightmare next door neighbours who've made life hell for everyone on their otherwise quiet road for over 15 years now.

If you see where you live as a potential 'forever home' then I'd say go ahead and do the improvements you want to. It's not a waste if you live in the nicer property long term! However, if you think you'll be moving on soonish, hold tight with big plans, particularly if the property market is slow in your area. They might price you out of your location and make it harder to sell.

I would definitely move to a nicer area personally. Due to various circumstances I've had to move a lot and am always happier in a smaller place in a better area. By better I don't necessarily mean posh but less crime, less antisocial behaviour, better schools, better parks etc.

I think that living in a nice area becomes more important as children get older. You will have to think about catchment schools, nearby parks and other facilities and whether the street is safe enough that you'll feel comfortable letting your DC play out when they're older. When our first child was born we were living in a house we loved, but in an area that started off being a bit 'questionable' as you put it but then went quite rapidly downhill. We realised that as much as we loved the house, it wasn't an environment where we would want to raise our child and we didn't want her going to the underperforming local school so we moved. We decided on our ideal area and then found a 'fixer-upper' that was neglected but had potential so that we wouldn't have to compromise on space. One of the best decisions we ever made. It's taken a lot of work to get the house how we want it but we love where we live now. DH is away for work a lot but I feel completely safe, the neighborhood is so friendly and DC are at a wonderful school ten minutes walk away. In your position I would definitely move if you can.

Hi all! Thank you so much for your responses! Sorry I’ve not responded quicker, I am 28 weeks pregnant and I have got a DP who has been put out of action today with a sickness bug and I’ve been running around for him and our DD, Luckily they are both completely worth it 😌

The area is okay to a point, @mumofamenagerie.. we absolutely adore our neighbours, they are the kindest sweetest people you’d ever meet and hope to have living next door to you which is one reason why I am so sceptical about moving, they have owned their house for 65 years after they bought it from the council which makes me think the area is not too bad.

The issue is that they didn’t bring kids up in the area though and times have changed regarding schools in the area and the local park.. like @MinisterforCheekyFuckery pointed out we have too take the schools and local parks into consideration and a couple of weeks the local park which is a stones throw from the house was being guarded at every entrance by police (no idea why) so that makes me even more worried.

As for equity in the property.. it is not a massive issue if we decide to not do any work because the house is a 4 bed with enough room without doing an extension. There are 3 double bedrooms which is fine as we are only going to be having two children & the annexe is a great set up for my DP to do his hobby.

We kinda just wanted to extend for the sake of it and put some equity into a forever home but because there is no history of houses going higher than ours in our current area I don’t want to risk it. Ours went from £40K when it was bought from the council to £120K (the annexe was built so it increased its value) and then we bought it for £140K in 2018 (nothing had been done to improve it)- On rightmove it is already showing as the most expensive property on our street and there are only 4 listings because the rest of the properties are council owned.

I think i will take all of your advice and look into different areas and possibly find a nice project house which could do with some TLC and maybe buy a smaller property to extend.. might even start looking at 2 bed properties. so what if the DC share a room for a while, I did with my two DS’s growing up and I don’t think or I hope I am not the worse for it lol

Thank you so much for your wonderful advice x

It depends whether your priority is financial investment (in which case move) or the family forever home. If its the latter and you like where you live enough to stay, and it's more than you would get in a 'nicer area', then stay, do the work to make it the house you love, and don't worry about the money. In 20 years time, it'll have gone up anyway. Probably. And even if it doesn't, you'll have had the value of the extension from living in it.

I’d stay put for a few years, save, then buy a 3/4 bed in a better area.

Some advice an estate agent gave a friend of mine when she wanted to extend was to never have the most expensive house in an area as it would be difficult to sell. She ended up moving instead.

The term location, location, location is true for a very good reason.

Go with your gut, if you like the area and neighborhood and it has what you need stay. But If you have niggles listen. We have a lovely house and friends but our area just doesn't feel like home for us, next year we'll move to an area we both love because it feels right (and we can afford to).

We kinda just wanted to extend for the sake of it and put some equity into a forever home but because there is no history of houses going higher than ours in our current area I don’t want to risk it

If it’s your forever home then it doesn’t really matter what it’s worth. There is no point trying to add value just for the sake of it.

I get the feeling that really you want to move but are trying to convince yourself that you want to stay.

I wouldn't waste money on extending/major improvements, because you'll price it out of what anyone would pay in that area.
If you like your neighbours, and despite the reputation, you've not encountered any difficulties personally, I'd stay put for a few years, and pay off as much as you can from the mortgage, rather than spending it on unnecessary improvements that you don;t want or need.

I normally cross through a large garden square in an elegant part of bloomsbury on my journey to work - that was all fenced off and wall to wall police the other morning - not exclusive to parks near council estates :)