To ask if there’s anyone with house buying experience who can tell me if I’m about to make a financial mistake?!

[Muusings]

I own a nicely done up home circa 1970s, 3/4 bed with full bathroom upstairs and also downstairs. Large driveway and lots of lawn area surrounding the house. Paid 440 for it 3 years ago. Lovely village location.

I desperately want to move into a new build the other side of the village. It’s not as quaint and is essentially a small housing estate. I would be getting 200sq ft more but much smaller garden and basically a parking space for a drive (so no real drive). Asking price is 510 and I’ve been told mine is now worth max 500. I could find the money to bridge the 10k difference (I know there’s also other cost involved in moving).

My main worry is that I am a lone parent and had dd by ivf. I know nobody wants to make financial mistakes but I feel a lot is riding on this. I would like dd to have her own en-suite and she would have this in the new home. I also selfishly don’t want to have to renovate this current home in any way and in a few years the roof will need doing and garden is in a bit of a state etc. I can’t face it. But… I have read new builds are not a good investment and of course this new home would be more crammed in etc. I feel really stressed about what to do. Anyone with any experience I would be grateful to hear. TIA

Don’t do it OP. Your 70s place will continue to rise in value at a much better rate than a new build. Websites like https://www.themodernhouse.com have popularised the properties, which younger generations see as period pieces in their own right. Also new build estates often extend over time (ask the agent and and a solicitor about this), thus devaluing the original part of the estate, which becomes a through road. I reckon if you are into newbuilds it’s easier to buy brand new with the builders warranty intact, is this brand new? I wouldn’t do this if I was in your position. Could you extend easily?

There'll be lots of opinions on what is a better house.

I wanted to say re the 'premium' thing - yes you do pay a premium to a certain extent, because everything is brand new. But you'd pay the same premium if an older house had just put in brand new kitchen & bathroom. The upside is there is no major reno work for years, and this is why they have the extra value and you get to benefit from spanking new kitchens etc which is fantastic, many people dream of new kitchens for years before they can afford to do the reno work. The downside is if you want to put your own stamp on a property by changing anything, you'll effectively be paying for that twice.

In terms of values - here's a concrete example. The house I'm in is 10 years old and I'm its 3rd owner. From land registry, it was £179k as a new build in 2014, £238k in 2018 and I paid £280k in 2023. Absolutely nothing has been done to the property in that 10 years except paint colours - original carpets, wallpapers, all fittings etc all the same. I'd say that the first owner did not come off badly! And it only matters if you want to sell early on, anything long term it'll totally even out.

All the best, trust your gut with how you want to live- only you can answer that.

We bought what we could afford and made it a home. Don't love the house but it’s functional. DC had their own floor and bathroom. They excelled in the state school and college of their choice and are now doing the degree they wanted to do.

What I am trying to say is financially this house wasn't the best investment but its functionality and location to good schools has enabled my DC to reach the goals they set themselves.

I have made loads of financial mistakes on property but there has always been an upside (we moved abroad and DC had to learn a new language and was schooled in this language til they were 9 their memory and recall is excellent and they were bilingual).

Just my perspective on my own life choices I am not giving you advice in what is best for you.

HI, OP -

It sounds like Bedroom 4 is either very small is off another Bedroom. Is that right?

If so could you not convert this to an en suite for DD? Perhaps even with a built in wardrobe if it is large.

Our home is much older than yours and the roof area is rather large. A few years ago we replaced about 60 roof tiles and a good deal of guttering for under £1000.

I appreciate that prices have increased a lot. I appreciate that you may yearn for a new build in a way that money does not address. But I think you could get the en suite and the sound roof without the stress, financial and otherwise, of the move, if that is really the issue.

Oh god i absolutely would not move to the new build.

Less garden, less parking etc for more money. No, no, no.

As PP has said, it's not an awful lot more space, and will be taken up by the en suite. If there's only two of you, a child using a 'family bathroom' doesnt seem that much of a hardship.
If you still have the floorplan for yours, take a look at the impact on actual living space, which rooms are large/smaller.

there is a premium on new homes.
Personally I'd leave it for a couple of years, see how the values settle, let someone else deal with the snagging - and indeed see how the new builds and the community around them are generally.
You'll probably that the prices of the two properties are closer by then.

You’re giving up a drive and a bigger garden for an en suite. Honestly, kids don’t need an en suite. It’s just one more messy space to clean. Your house now seems like a good investment relative to a new build and worth holding onto it given you likely bought at the height of COVID price wars.

I wouldn't buy a new build over any build from Victorian to Post war. The 70s was probably the last time homes had internal brick walls. These new build houses are a ticking time bomb and won't last 30 years. Stick dont twist even if it is shiner and newer.

Your current house with driveway and garden sounds much better. All houses need maintenance. Just spend some time finding a tradesman you trust.

My main concerns would be transport links. Will your daughter want lifts to town or nearest city etc? Do you want to be a taxi? If you're closer to a bus etc now then stay.

This doesn't make a lot of sense to me - why would you spend more on a house, plus stamp duty and moving costs, that's only a tiny bit bigger internally plus has less space externally?

And if there's just the two of you why do you both need en suites in the new house if there's a family bathroom, and why would this necessitate a move from a house where there are already the same number of bathrooms as there are people?

When you say you don't want to renovate, do you mean your current home needs e.g. new kitchen and bathroom, walls knocking through etc?