To choose heart over head when buying a house?

[VeryWeirdBarbie]

It's just DH and me and we're moving house - trying to choose between two good options. We're in our 50s and DH is about to retire. I'll still be working.

House 1 is a small modern 3 bedroom detached in a nice estate with its own private drive. It's on at £350k and needs about £30k of work. It's a practical house - it has a garage, it's near a small park for walking the dog, great neighbourhood, lots of shops nearby. It's an estate mostly full of young families. The house is maybe a bit boring but also quiet and calm and very practical.

House 2 is a slightly larger 3 bedroom but is less quiet and private. It's a Victorian end terraced with a residents parking scheme and no front garden so people would be walking right past the living room window. It's on a cul de sac and there's a pub with live music a couple of streets away. It's also a great convenient neighbourhood with lots of shops but younger - lots of renters in their 20s live on the street.There always seem to be parking spots available.

The thing we love about house 2 is that it's right by the canal (not the towpath side). There's a lovely extension with big windows over the canal and a pretty canalside garden, and views of the canal from many other windows. Pretty canal boats pass by. It has a shed but no garage. It's on at £300k and probably needs £10k of work.

So do we choose house 1 (head) or house 2 (heart)? We'd be cash buyers for either, but house 2 would leave us with money spare for lots of nice holidays. House 1 would mean tightening our belts a little bit.

Which would you choose please?
YABU = buy House 1 don't buy an impractical house, that would be stressful
YANBU = but House 2 it would be more interesting and charming and you only live once

I'd look at other houses because neither sounds right. Number 1 doesn't grab you and number 2 would probably drive you mad with renting neighbours in their 20s, street parking and people walking past your living room window.

Are you in a rush to move because if not, I'd bide your time and wait for other properties to come on the market.

House 2! But I live in a Victorian end terrace that I love so I may be biased.

I've already mentally moved into house number two.... house number one sounds safe and boring, do that in 20 years.

YOLO

I’d go with my heart

If the canal floods, where does the runoff go?

House one sounds uninspiring and a bit depressing. I say follow your heart and go with the lovely charming canal side property.

I often get persuaded to go with my head... And then regret it!!

Definitely go with your heart, you'll forgive the inconveniences.

The first house sounds a bit dull tbh. The second sounds wonderful!

Neither. You don’t love 1 and house 2 has too many drawbacks. Keep looking.

Detached.
No brainer.

Always do what sets your heart on fire

What's the pub like? Is it a locals only dive bar, loud youngsters place or somewhere that you would go? If the third option, then I'd see it as a plus point myself.

I like the sound of no. 2 and more money left for holidays. But I would buy no.1. For me, the privacy and practicality would win.

The pub looks really nice and friendly. We're planning on going this Friday night when they'll have live music on. In the name of research, of course!

If you like the pub then surely the decision is made

Neither house, keep looking until you find one that covers both head and heart, to some degree.

Option 1 for me, just because I lived near a canal and house got flood. We were only rented but it really put it me off buying near a river/canal.

100% house 2 for me. Felt sooo uninspired reading your description of house 1.

We faced a similar choice and opted for the charming, quirky period house rather than the sensible one. No regrets whatsoever!

If you do go for the canal house - check very very carefully who is responsible for the canal bank along you garden. It might be you responsible for its maintenance or it could be canal and river trust. Either way, if it collapses, it could be a) expensive to repair or b) unlikely to be repaired quickly and your garden (if that collapses too) unlikely to be reinstated to the standard before collapse, so could land you with a bill to repair your own garden. Canals are not getting the funding they have in previous years, so preventative maintenance is a thing of the past, it’s all about reacting to emergencies now. Plus repairs often aren’t done prettily or well - fancy an edging of sandbags being bashed by passing boats? Canals develop slow leaks which often aren’t repaired until there is a major breach decades later - is the house very near the edge - for damp issues?

Parking near canals can be bad in summer, might be great now but would it annoy you for 6 months if you struggle to get parking or find a boaters car dumped for several weeks on the road?

having said that, I would write a list of pros and cons for each, and ponder for a day or two and see if my heart still sang louder than my head.

I wouldn’t buy a house near a canal. We have a canal in my town and my friend lives on an estate backing onto the canal and they get rats!!!

Also the lovely canal boats aren’t all lovely. Granted some are. But where we are there’s been issues with thefts, noise and rubbish.

We also used to have a Victorian terrace… and I was terrified every time it rained! So much damp we were constantly repairing stuff. Period properties are lovely but so much maintenance.

Edit: also wanted to comment on the RPZ my parents used to live on a road with one which was fine but you have to be confident at parallel parking! (Which for me was a nightmare every time I visited… theirs was on a hill as well though).

Neither. Keep looking.

Thanks again for all the comments. @Alphabet1spaghetti2 I hadn't even considered that the failure of the bank could be our responsibility- that's quite worrying!

We definitely want to pursue one of these 2 houses. I've been stalking rightmove for over 6 months now and these are the only houses we've really liked. I need to play for time and think some more.

I’ve lived in a very charming and picturesque house in a very charming and picturesque village. Our front door opened into the footpath / pavement which was raised above the road and the Green. We had a 60 cm flower bed in front of the two downstairs windows.

we used to pull the blinds down during the day in the Summer because we got so fed up with people goggling in the windows. Last straw was when someone knocked on the door and asked to use our toilet ‘ as there wasn’t a public one’.

That was in the early Nineties. I don’t think public behaviour has greatly improved since then.

If your DH is planning to retire and write novels, house number 2 has the soul and atmosphere required.
In terms of age, you’re only in your 50s!!!! Hopefully a good 25 left.
And you could have a little rowing boat moored there…
Sounds idyllic!!

I've got a paddleboard already and going out on the canal with it is definitely part of the (potential) plan.