To buy this House

[TherapyRocks]

Head vs. heart issue.

I’ve fallen in love with this house but it’s on the small side for me & two teenagers.

It’s at the bottom of my price range so the alternative is a big, four bedroom new build type with all modern bells & whistles.

I’m worried that this house will suit me down to the ground but will be too cramped / too much of a compromise for two growing kids.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/132915815#/?channel=RES_BUY

I love it, but would worry about whether you would get condensation on those windows, are they double glazed, as they don’t look like the are. Also I looked on street view and those dustbins lined up at the side from the next door terraces would put me off to be honest!

It’s not petty if they are there all summer and they stink !

I love it. Concerns for me would be

1. is there potential for a 2nd bathroom if so where
2. costs to heat. I bet it’s not well insulated
3. likelihood of the gorgeous outlook being developed. I think this is a concern for almost any rural outlooks tbh. Same where we live, we’ve learnt to accept it.

Yes definitely. But you can always get rid.

Your teenage children won’t be with you forever. Then what?

Much as I love a new build (I don't need character built into my home - we have quite enough character of our own) I think if you love this house you should go for it. As PP have said, your teenagers will be grown up and gone soon and you don't want to then be rattling around in a massive great new build (like DH and I are. ☹️).

I’d want more space but that’s just me. If location is great and you could maybe increase space up the way or out the back I would defo consider it, the house itself is lovely.

No garden and the fact the stairs Omar’s in the lounge make it difficult to heat and noisy

are*

Great analysis.

This was my main concern after going through the photos. It can be very beneficial to have the main living area nice and toasty in an old house with a poor energy rating.

I think it's lovely OP. How does the size compare to where you currently live? Do you know the overall sqm? I don't see it in the listing.

If it's at the bottom of your budget then you could put some of the saved money in to insulation and improving the energy efficiency.

Surely you could install a large garden studio or shed (if tight on budget) to deal with overflow storage. You could also build-in storage in other areas of the house as you go along?

You could put the TV into the study downstairs as the current sitting room is a glorified hallway and could be cold in the winter.

Despite the stove there's two doors off it and a stairway which will act as a chimney pulling the warm air out of the room.

OP, the EPC is really shameful. It'll cost a lot to heat. Probably due to all the single-glazed stained glass windows which will be leaking heat. The radiator in the fourth downstairs bedroom is extremely undersized and I can't see one in the kitchen, so if I were you and you have some spare cash left after you knock them back another £15-20k (it was reduced in June and still hasn't sold) I'd invest in secondary glazing and upsizing the radiators and possibly adding more. Also investigate whether it has any insulation at all.

I couldn't live in a house where you can't actually see through most of the windows. I like to be able to sit inside and look out. So it wouldn't be for me but I can see the attraction. I'm so over new-builds: cramped, tiny and identikit.

If the stove is going full blast for viewings and they've removed the wardrobes from the bedrooms, then the heat downstairs and wardrobe space might be the issues they are trying to cover up.

There is. OP hasn't posted just for fun. She started a thread because she had a dilemma. You telling me to grow up for pointing out someone restating her dilemma in a sarcastic way is just sad. I wonder if people are this discourteous in real life, or restrict their lack of manners to when they are online.

I'm obviously not engaging again after this answer as you are just looking to pick an argument with someone. I posted a question, a genuine question, the OP has answered. No problem at all. You've came on saying what was the point of this question, just looking for a little MN battle like I see so often on here. So yes, grow up and enjoy your day.

If you can afford to do the work I'd get an ensuite installed in Bedroom one (move the wardrobes). Separate bathroom facilities for you and the kids.

What do your kids think of it?

Is it a good location for all of you?

There's a window just under the roof - is there scope for a loft conversion?

I don't understand this. There could be 4 people living in that house. The bedrooms are big so there actually could also be more same sex siblings sharing a bedroom.

I thought that at first but the pitch of the roof is steep so there may not be adequate head height.

I'd go for it if the DCs like it too. With the additional budget the kitchen could be improved a lot and extra money spent on the right furnishings, lots of chests of drawers will vastly increase storage and sit in the nooks and I'd definitely spend money on thermal blinds and interlined curtains to keep it snug in winter. Single glazed windows would worry me, but if you're not up for secondary glazing, those really do make a difference. We had an EPC reduced to the lighting in some of the rooms, but in reality, we never use those lights anyway, we use table lamps and under cupboard lighting and never even switch the 16 inset ceiling lights on.

How busy is the road? I'd worry for my cat, who isn't used to fast cars, but if you don't have a cat that's not such a problem :)

Is there a shop in walking distance? Do you mind having to drive everywhere?

I've found that surprisingly it can be harder to go for walks in the countryside than in towns/villages because it's all A roads with no verge, and farmers' fields.

I ended up doing more driving and less walking than ever before!

Teach them to drive and take the house!

I personally wouldn’t buy it.

It’s way too small and pokey and that’s after it’s had everything tidied away and no people in it for the photos.

I would 100% go for space over quirkiness any day.

Could you negotiate with DC?
Offer a choice:

larger bedroom
or
[smaller bedroom plus room downstairs]

Arrangements to be flexible and re-negotiable as DC grow into adults.

Which DC would want which option?

I actually liked taxiing my teens around, though of course sometimes it was a pain. Sometimes you can even have conversations with them at the same time, which you can't when they are in their room playing Call of Duty