To ask if it’s better to buy the worst house in the best street or the best house in the worst street?

[BluntLilacGuide]

I’m currently house hunting and I’ve come across two very different options. One is a not-so-great house in a highly desirable area, and the other is a beautiful, well-maintained home but in a not-so-great area. I’ve heard the phrase ‘buy the worst house in the best street’ so many times, but does that always make sense?

AIBU to wonder whether it’s better to invest in the location even if the house needs a lot of work, or to go for the nicer house in a less desirable area? Would love to hear your thoughts or experiences on this kind of decision.

Best street.

Only word of caution would be to ask is area improving at all? Or any investment/improvement planned?

Where we live loads of people were put off by electricity pylons. However shortly after we moved in there was massive investment in the area and all the pylons were removed.

There has been other infrastructure improvements in the area too improving lots of things that have lifted the area in value.

@ViciousCurrentBun we rent- but same here- the 'estate' opposite our rented house is being renovated and was £6 million I believe - ours is a late Victorian stone built 3 bed semi plus garage conversion - there are 3 huge and amazing houses in our street , plus the 'estate' and 5 'normal ' houses - consequently it's very civilised

Living in a great area on a lovely street even if house needs work can lift your spirits every time

When I met my H he lived in a rented basement flat in a grand house in a lovely bit of Hampstead- flat was grim as hell but somehow I didn't really notice because I loved pottering round the area !!

We moved from an amazing house in a not great area to a house that needed loads of work in a lovely area. Best thing we did. We did up the house and ended up selling for a ridiculous profit (we bought when house prices were really low and sold when they shot up, we didn't intend to sell it, it was going to be a long term investment) and bought a lovely house in the nice area.
We actually drove past out old house yesterday and agreed we were glad we moved as the area is really grim compared to where we are now

Worst house in best street

Worst house best area. You can always improve on the house

Best Street, always. It's not called 'Location, Location, Location' for no reason! A bad house can almost always be made better, the location is what counts.

Absolutely the best street!

This.............

Definitely worst house on the best street. We moved from a great house on a reasonable street, to a worse house on a better plot on the best street.

I have zero regrets. Our street is safe, the neighbours are lovely, there are almost no cars passing during the days, we're still close to everything including schools. We're hoping to extend soon and turn it into more of a dream house, but in the meantime, the peace of mind that comes from a good location is worth it.

Always the best street

My kids have been brought up with the mantra of worst house/best street. You can always sell a house in a good area.

A friend's in laws bought a fabulous property in a not-so-good part of town. They regret it so much. They have a lovely home, but they're verging on depressed about the area they live in.

I'm house hunting at the moment.
Definitely location, location, location.
However, house type is important too (terraced v semi-detached v detached) as you can't change that.
Plot size, also, because you can extend a house but not the plot.
I'd buy a house that needs work in a good location but only if I could afford to do the work.
Also, I have primary age kids so I don't want to have to do huge amounts of disruptive work, I don't mind redoing kitchen/bathroom, redecorating, even doing a loft conversion, but gutting the whole house, doing a full rewire/replaster, and/or a big extension project ... probably not.

It really depends what Location means to you.

I mean, we bought this house because it was in walking distance of school, work and friends; close to amenities. It wasn't the worst in the best and it's certainly not the best in the worst, but it works for us as the house has everything we need in terms of space and garden as well.

To be clear, we're in a deprived area in the NW, former council estate that is mostly families. It's quiet and we've not had any trouble, but it's close to a couple of 'bad' areas.

If we wanted a better area we wouldn't have got the space we needed and would likely have had to compromise on garden/garage/parking or whatever.

Location every time!!!

Definitely location. You can't move a house but you can change it, even if it takes a while.

Totally depends on your budget, how much work the house needs doing, that you are prepared or can do decorating/building/renovating and the circumstances.
I am in a similar position, I’ve bought (potentially) a great house decor garden size, perfect for what I need at the moment (not my forever home) but it’s not in the best area according to some people. I could have bought an absolute pit of a house in a more affluent area, but it was too much work with the potential to become a money pit, which could have outdone the market value at the end. I needed to move quickly with my pets, so just weigh up budget, time frame, how long you intend of living there. If you have to think about it too much, it’s not the right house.

Several people have mentioned an important fact- if it's not what you think is a medium/ long term purchase with the time and cash and patience to do it up over a longer period, then no matter how great the area you may have to be happy in what you find a sub par house and maybe sell before you make it a great deal better - it depends if the area makes up for that. I know several times I've looked at half done up houses in areas like this where people clearly ran out of time, cash, patience or relationship