Stuck in a house dilemma and going round in circles… help!

[getoutofmyhead]

We’re torn between two houses we genuinely love, and I cannot seem to land on a decision.
House A makes complete sense on paper. It’s near the countryside, close to school, with friends living literally across the road and a really strong community feel. The layout is practical and adaptable (ie could make it lovely and homely internally), and there’s potential to create an annexe that could generate additional income in future/ host visiting family. It’s also cheaper, which would give us far more financial breathing space. The city centre is a short bus ride or drive away. Thought it’s not pretty on the outside and never will be a beautiful period house. As someone who really cares about aesthetics, this niggles more than I’d like to admit.
House B is the opposite. It’s a lovely Victorian house with lots of character, walkable to the city centre and very much city living. However, it’s less practical day to day (lots of floors), and while still affordable, it would stretch us a bit more financially. Resale value is probably strongest on this one.
I keep swinging between the two. One feels sensible, supportive and future-proof. The other match better but comes with less flexibility.
Has anyone made such a choice? What I am missing to decide on the spot?
YABU – House A
YONBU – House B

House A . You can deal with the cosmetics of it as you live there.
House B . Pretty but impractical.

I know this because I lived in a beautiful Victorian home . Bloody freezing, too many stairs. Moved to a soulless new build , five years on it's been painted , planted and so easy to run .

Do you love the new built?

I believe to go with your gut but temper it by affordability. Of all my homes the two I've been happiest in I've known as soon as I walked in.

You sound like you've fallen for the Victorian one but how much will it stretch you financially? Might it stretch you so much you resent it?

I love my new build

the outside is still a bit plain but inside - let’s just say as you visit the neighbours you sharp realise we all have our own styles that make the same houses feel so different after such a short period of time

and it’s warm and cheap and in a great location

I laugh inside now at people liking the look of old houses and talking about their character

walkable to the city centre

Who is in your family? That one sounds better for young teenagers/adults.

With the house near the countryside, will you be having to give kids lifts all the time for them to be able to get anywhere? We are fairly central but still forever giving lifts as the buses aren't terribly reliable!

As an owner of an old property (1850s fisherman cottage) I say this kindly if property B already stretches you financially you cannot afford it.
Any works which needs doing cost a lot and we have to save triple the estimated cost as something else is always found.

Roof = 40k
Windows = 20k
Pointing/chimney = 10k
Rendering (depends on if it has this) = 20k

We are between 5-15k per room to insulate up to standards and decorate.

I absolutely love my house but accept its a money pit and have been here 12 years and still not had the funds to touch the kitchen!

Exactly what I did - would never go back to an older property now. I'd avoid Property B unless you've got strong DIY skills and a very deep renovations budget. Plus you can't put a price on community and having friends close by. Property A all the way.

we have two young kids. I can imagine being easy enough to reach town centre as they grow up. both house are 20mn walk apart from each other. so first one is 20mn from town centre, second one is 40mn walk (10mn ish bus ride).

Georgian townhouse dweller here. How many floors are you talking; 5?

When kids are older it is much nicer to have separate living areas/floors so you don’t disturb one another (quite useful when you don’t want to disturb toddlers too). Some of our neighbours have converted either top or basement floors to what is effectively a self-contained apt for their adult children to enable them to afford to live close to town.

Once children hit their teens don’t underestimate how brilliant it is to have them walk to school/friends/(bus)station rather than always begging for lifts.

I can’t see putting teens out of sight and sound as an advantage !

4 floors

We left our beautiful Edwardian villa.

Couldnt afford to heat it
Couldnt afford to do up the freezing stained glass windows.

etc etc.

It was freezing even in summer. Draughts would swirl round your knees all the time.

House A. You can change the exterior of a house, change window sizes etc lots of examples online of before and after.

And to be fair how much time will you be looking at the outside of the house compared to living inside the house? Choose the head option, practical, sensible and you can look into changing the outside.

boring house A … money will never grow on trees 😊

House A. It is incredible how much you can prettify the outside of a plain house with a good internal layout. Neighbours of ours bought the ugliest house in the street. First they added a big wooden porch with lighting and small trees. Then they went into the loft with pretty dormer windows. Finally, they had the house rendered and beautiful verdigris window frames installed. It is now the prettiest house on the street. They sold it and moved next door to a house that is the same ugly design as their original home was, and they are now prettifying that one too. Everyone loves them as they just keep improving the neighbourhood.

You have friends close, school close, plenty of space. These really matter. The cosmetics, you can change. Also, I was SO glad when I stopped living in classic Victorian terraces. they are a pita. Radiator on one wall and defunct fireplace on another with small alcoves either side so there is never the right place to put your furniture. People end up with sofas rammed against radiators or blocking second doors to the double reception. Houses with broad, plain walls make me so happy now..

I saw a house with an incredible internal layout but the outside was so ugly I dismissed it. someone else bought it and removed all the 1970s plastic cladding and put beautiful wood cladding up instead. It is now so pretty.

I did a facelift to a hideous brick bungalow. It now looks like a country cottage

100% house A and do something about the exterior. Unless it's listed you can make quite a difference.

https://mainstreetdesignbuild.com/blog/before-and-after-exterior-makeover-remodeling-ideas-blog/

How bad is it?

I would say house A. I had the same dilemma myself a few years ago. Even now I do have a small yearning for high ceilings and antique floorboards, but it is outweighed by how easy my modern house is to heat and maintain. For you, I would say a strong community and access to countryside is also worth so much.

I've found making a modern house beautiful is an interesting challenge. We've put new cladding on the outside, changed the windows and planted trees at the front. Inside we've done things like change internal doors. If you end up doing something like an annexe, you can try to make it architecturally interesting. We've done that with a kitchen extension. We gave it a vaulted ceiling and beautiful flooring to add interest to the house.

Have you done the period property thing before? Maybe it's an itch you want to scratch. My friend left one for a (v nice) 70s house and said she rather liked going modern.

Does the modern one have interesting architecture you can do things with? A round window, a bay, high ceilings etc? Some of that can't be added in, but if the bones are there you can add a lot.

Which location is better for your family? Which gives your future teenagers access to transport, shops, friends, school? Which is more conveniently located for daily living? Another note for the fact that separate floors give more independence and chance to escape from kid/teen noise. Personally, house B sounds better if you can afford it.

As someone who loves pretty period properties, I moved from a Georgian townhouse to a modern country house, because other than its age, it ticked all the boxes. The new house may not be anywhere near as pretty but it is has been the most practical house we have ever lived in and we have grown to love it. A much better layout for family life and two adults working from home, warmer, cheaper to run, no huge maintenance costs. Do not underestimate how much a bit of financial wriggle room will mean to you, either.

I will never not pick the Victorian! (much to my DH's grievance)

From what you say, and if you aren’t continuing to look then house A. Only and simply because it is more affordable. House B will cost more to run each month and the maintenance costs will also be higher.

however, will you always yearn for it and regret not buying it? Either every time you approach House A front door, and I’m 20years time when House B is worth so much more?

There are so many posy’s from people who have bought doer uppers, because they are quaint and quirky, only to discover that starting the renovations uncovers a host of expensive and unexpected extra issues.

You can make both the inside and outside of a house more attractive without too much expense and don’t underestimate the value of a well insulated property that doesn’t leak and isn’t cold.

Posy’s = posts.