Our family is me, DH and DS. Not planning any more DC. DS is 1 year old. Our top budget is currently around £425k although we might be able to afford more in the long run (especially if DH finds a job when DS goes to school - he is currently a SAHD).
Current house:
- 3 bedrooms, worth about £300k.
- Built about 15 years ago.
- Well-insulated (EPC B) but gets a bit too hot in the summer.
- In a slightly run-down area of town.
- 45 minutes' walk to my work, an hour's walk to town (neither me nor DH drive). I've tried getting the bus but as there is a walk each end it actually only saves about 5 minutes.
- Local schools require improvement. The infants normally has a good rating but has slipped down this year although is expected to go back up to good. The juniors school that it feeds into though still needs a lot of work although it used to be in special measures so it has improved.
- Crappy conservatory at the back. I think the house would be a lot nicer if we replaced the conservatory with an open-plan extension and that would turn it into a 4-bed house but we know that would cause a lot of mess and could be difficult as no rear access (and we'd need to remove the conservatory too as the foundations are probably too shallow). We've thought about insulating the conservatory roof but it's not well built (eg slugs come in through gaps in the walls when it rains 😱).
- DH has pointed out that we'd have to be careful doing major improvements as the ceiling price for the area is not very high. I'm disappointed that this means I can't make the house as nice as I want in the long-term.
- Private parking space outside (although as above neither of us drives right now. I medically cannot drive. DH might drive again one day).
- The worst thing is that it's a town house with a living room on the first floor which overlooks the council estate which is behind the house. Those building are unfortunately a bit ugly so it's not a nice view.
I'd quite like to move within the next couple of years, before DS starts schools. I am particularly keen on either:
Option A:
- Some houses about 10 minutes's walk away. Still not a great area generally, but they have overlook a wood at the front and a park behind so I think they are a bit special. Lovely views out of every window
- They are Victorian though so might be structural issues and cold in the winter. Current house is v low maintenance by comparison.
- Price about £350k at the moment.
- About 10 minutes closer to my work and town (30/50 minutes respectively).
- Same slightly crappy schools as current house though.
- Garages at the back (there is an access road for the garages in between the houses and the park).
- I suppose the area might eventually improve, especially if they reopen the train station 5 minutes' walk from these houses (15 mins' from current house) that closed in the 60s. MP and local council are talking about this, but have been discussing it for around a decade now.
Option B
- Nice "posher" area with good schools
- Only 20 minutes' walk to work, 30 minutes' to town.
- Prices are more expensive, generally £375k-500k depending on which road and house.
- Most houses are Victorian terraces so probably no private parking and more upkeep/heating bills.
- Probably wouldn't be able to afford a house in this area with views (there is one road with lovely views on one side but the houses are around £500k).
I feel I have definitely fallen out of love with our current house. I really liked the conservatory with views of the garden but we never use it now because it is too hot in the summer, too cold in the winter and too noisy when it rains. I don't think I would have bought the house if I'd realised we would have to be in the upstairs living room all the time. I like to sit and watch the birds at our bird feeder whilst the TV's on but all I can see from the living room upstairs is the roof of the house behind ours.
DH doesn't want to move. He did seem extremely keen on an Option A house and he convinced me to put an offer in even though I was nervous about the survey, but our offer was rejected in favour of some first time buyers and now DH says he doesn't want to live in an old house again. He doesn't seem keen to extend our current one either though.
My mum has told me that we should move and the sooner the better to get a better class of neighbours 🤷♀️ She is a bit of a snob but maybe she has a point. The council estate behind our house does usually smell strongly of weed and there are those laughing gas canisters left on a lot of roads nearby (although these seem to be common in many places nowadays). We are also just down the road from a large house which has about 90 residents, many of whom are recently released from prison. The owners was supposed to be rehabilitating but the council have taken funding off them for not doing a good job.
AIBU to want to move? If not, would you pick option A or option B.