What do you think of this house?

[Lobas]

I am dying for a house in the country to do up. It has to be commutable to London and occasionally Oxford. I am really dreaming of a period house/cottage for dh and I. It would be mine and dh’s first home outside of London. And the place we would have our first baby.

Dh thinks it’s dark poky but I can really see making it into something special right out of a Neptune catalogue.

what do you think? I can admit in the past I have been drawn to some actually quite ugly cottages purely cause my heart takes over with the romance of it all.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/165225581#/?channel=RES_BUY

Gosh so much money for this house.. and probably as much to modernise it.. I wouldn’t , especially that you’ll find yourself very busy if you have a baby..

In the first picture, what’s the area on the right with the fence? I think there’s better houses you could find.

Thats exactly what I was thinking as well. No bathroom picture at all?

Plus it’s in Aylesbury. Which I’ve never liked, but also is not that convenient for Oxford.

Looks like a forest at the back. A high maintenance garden by the look of it. I like the house though, and you want a project, so go for it if you have enough money !

£700k for that. If I was paying that much I would expect to move in and
pur my feet up, not have to spend a fortune on a new kitchen etc.
No kerb appeal. Nothing.

The first photo nails it for me - it is far too close to the road.

I actually really love the house. Being close to the road would annoy me, as I'd rather my cottage was a bit more isolated and quiet.

TLDR - don't touch it with a barge pole: not your rural dream ... worse than a money pit b/c nothing will solve the fundamental awkwardness of this situation.

I like period properties. I have a Grade II house. Everything is antique, especially the boiler! How is this property heated? Flicking through the photos forensically, I see exactly one electric 'radiator' in what looks like a box room/second bedroom/study

Looking at this listing to pick faults, I'm struggling with the practicalities of this place (61 Worminghall Rd).
Where exactly is the front door? How does one access it? No stunning pic of this is, as MN says, a big red flag. The front door should be the grand gateway. Where does the post come? Where do Evri/Amazon leave the parcels? How do the hard-working delivery drivers find where to leave parcels? After searching, I've found the postbox flap in the kitchen door but how does the postie/delivery driver access that? There's no indication in the listing...
Is the 'main entrance' through the garage? Is the garage the only parking? - again, those are 'no' for me since most households will have at least 2 cars even if one/both are commuting. PPs mention pram access; I'm past those days myself but I agree: how does a pram come in/out of this property.
You will want to update the kitchen at least somewhat; can your budget stretch to that?
The back garden looks very rough. Will you have time/skills/energy to landscape or funds to hire help - at least intially, I think you'll need some extra hands to knock off the corners.
There are 4 bedrooms but only one bathroom/toilet! WORSE! There's no picture of the existing bathroom/toilet. That means they didn't dare show it lest you run away screaming. (perhaps I exaggerate but probably not).

Storage heaters or electric heaters = a definite no!

To dispel a few of the random comments made so far. My brother lives just around the corner from this house.
It's on the outskirts of the village of Oakley, on a pretty quiet road leading to the hamlet of Worminghall. It's nowhere near Aylesbury!
It's an easy commute to Oxford and is the most accessible side of the city.
Oakley is a thriving, lively village.

There's a pavement on the other side of the road, and it's just a few minutes walk to the centre of the village.
Delivery vehicles/postie etc will park right in front of the house on the road. There are no parking restrictions and the traffic is light, so will not cause an obstruction.

Having said that, it's an absolute money pit. If you have no experience of property renovation and a DH who doesn't like it from the off, then don't even consider it.

It’s not really a 4bed house when one bedroom is accessed through another IMO. There’s a lot of dead space, the hallway is huge and I wouldn’t buy it unless I could knock the wall down between the kitchen and lounge to make a large kitchen / diner.
the road would concern me, how busy is it?
it also needs another bathroom fitting in somewhere.

💯- hard agree!

I’m with your husband on this. Much as cottages can look idyllic from the outside I could not cope with the low ceilings, dark beams and small windows.

And I definitely wouldn’t throw anywhere near £700k at it!

Need money spent, but definitely not what I would call poky.

Just done a quick google and seems to be on a busy road, might be worth checking if true, that in it's self would put me off.

Worminghall Road in Aylesbury is considered a busy road, particularly in the village of Worminghall itself, due to significant traffic volume caused by new housing developments and its use as a cut-through to avoid other routes. This has led to congestion issues, with residents reporting problems with speeding and large numbers of heavy goods vehicles

Loads of potential but on a main road, wouldn't work for me, always had, and always will have cats.

^This!

I think it could be really gorgeous. It needs work but if the house is structurally sound, you could gradually do much of it yourself. I don’t know the area so have no idea whether it’s value for money.

The whole place needs redoing - would that put you off or is that what you’re up for? Comments about the bathroom not been shown are irrelevant- of course the OP will be reconfiguring the whole house and ripping out bathrooms and kitchen so doesn’t really matter the state they are in. There’ll be enough room to also add an en-suite.

If you have a big budget (and appetite) for the work. Go and see it and get a feel for some of the potential issues such as the road. There may be room
to create a driveway somewhere else. Move the front door etc.

But if she’s redoing the whole house - why does it matter that the rooms are awful.

I don’t think it needs that much work, what are people on about? It’s mostly cosmetic, apart from the kitchen - people really get scared by things like paint and a new bathroom, I don’t get it at all. It’s a great location - you can commute to both London and Oxford, and, contrary to what people seem to think here, it’s a great price - you won’t get much cheaper for a period house with a decent garden in the country that is commutable. But then I don’t understand how people can buy modern houses unless they have to.

It's not in Aylesbury.
It's Worminghall Road in Oakley, a village over 15 miles away from Aylesbury.
It's on a quiet B road leading to the hamlet of Worminghall, which isn't a rat run to anywhere.

Too close to the road. No bathroom picture is a massive red flag.

Off to google Neptune catalogue.

There are other properties with 4 bedrooms in the village for £250k less that are far better value