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Original poster

Detached versus semi-detached

24 replies

lumpasmelly · 05/10/2010 17:36

We are currently househunting in the home counties and DH has become obsessed with the need to buy a detached property - having come from central london I have never had anything against being semi detached and the its not like land prices are any cheaper out here! I have seen a fantastic property with a huge garden and all the space we need (though needs a lot of work) but DH refuses to even go and see it it as he feels that sinking a lot of time and money into a "semi" in this area is a waste of money as we would never get it back should we sell at some point in the future. Its not like its even an ordinary semi (i.e. in a row of similar houses) - its part of a large mansion house that is a completely unique property complete with its own private drive, backing onto woodland...loads of period features. Am I missing the point here or is he right that we should buy a smaller house on its own plot? (bearing in mind that in this part of the world we can't afford the same size of house if it is detached - and it would be difficult to find a smaller house on a decent plot that could be made bigger as all the land round here tends to be developed to the max).

OP posts:
sharbie · 05/10/2010 17:39

it is lovely being detached - i have a smaller house than before but it is so much worth it.i just like having less noise around you and my own space.

EdgarAllInPink · 05/10/2010 17:39

if you can afford detached, there is alot of benefit in it, and they tend to increase in value ahead of other property styles.

the main thing you have to bear in mind, is that in a deathed house, you will never have to wonder if your telly is on too loud, or whether your nxt doors can hear you yelling at your kids...(and the opposite too!)

Fimbo · 05/10/2010 17:41

It would depend I think, the house you have discribed sounds like it would be ok, presumably it has thick walls etc etc. We live in an old house that was a semi and we were stair to stair with our neighbour iywim, so no rooms were actually joined together apart from the bathroom, we heard the next door neighbours kids shrieking in the bathroom and running up and down the stairs, but could live with that. If it was a new build semi then I imagine them to be a lot noiser.

We current live in a detached but get a lot of street noise, which hacks me off. We had someone going off on their motorbike at the crack of dawn this morning, revving and revving which woke us all up.

kitsmummy · 05/10/2010 17:41

Oh he's talking rubbish, semis are just as popular as detached. I guess detached is ideal, but what i mean is there will be as many people out there who want a semi as there will be for those who want a detached.

I'd go for the larger semi (unless extending the detached is an option)

orienteerer · 05/10/2010 17:42

Slightly off the main point but just watch out for a large service charge if you go for a house that is part of divided up mansion.

Original poster
lumpasmelly · 05/10/2010 17:48

There is only one neighbour and the whole house is on a plot of around one and half acres....the gardens are separated by a huge hedge so you can't even see into each others gardens ...to tell the truth, technically you would probably be further away from your neighbour here than you would in some of the detached new builds in the area (which are all built so close to each other)....so its not a typical semi iyswim...but DS can't get past the fact that we would share a wall!!! He says that "when you spend this much money on a house, people expect to be detached"....grrrrr

OP posts:
Original poster
lumpasmelly · 05/10/2010 17:50

...oh, and no service charges as its freehold - we would just pay for the shared upkeep of the private road that leads to the house....(so not like the huge service charges I was used to when living in flats in london!)

OP posts:
nameymcnamechange · 05/10/2010 17:53

Heh heh!

Not so long ago I linked details of a 1930s semi detatched house for sale (admittedly in Barnes) with an asking price of £2,300,000. And that had found a buyer.

Is your dh a leetel bit snobby?

orienteerer · 05/10/2010 18:14

I'd love to live in a semi, sadly round here house prices are so high that we share 2 walls....townhouse for us, saves on heating costsGrin.

Original poster
lumpasmelly · 05/10/2010 18:24

Yes! ....and we're from up north so he is betraying our roots!!! Wink

OP posts:
EdgarAllInPink · 05/10/2010 18:28

ah namey i remember that one...no ordinary semi - they'd poshed up the interior and extended into the roof (still thought the offer rice must have been below £2.3mil) though i still agree with th OP's DH - if you're pushing the boat out, get a detached one.

bitzermaloney · 05/10/2010 19:09

We just had this issue. In our area for the same price it was a case of having either:

  1. Detached house, 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom with separate living room, dining room, small kitchen, large garden OR
  2. Semi, 4 bedrooms, with separate lounge, large kitchen diner, utility room, downstairs shower (bathroom upstairs) and massive garden.

We plumped for the semi - no contest really. From my POV, with kids it is handy to have as much space/many rooms as we can.

There is a definite one-upmanship value to a detached house, though. On the other hand, you're going to be living inside the thing, not walking round the outside admiring your walls. Bear in mind as well that not all detached houses are the same - plenty round here are technically detached but so close that if you had rotten neighbours they would be as much of a problem.

mintyfresh · 05/10/2010 20:08

We are link detached which is great when we are in the house as we have really noisy kids and so we don't have to worry too much! However we have a tiny, overlooked garden which is the payoff for being affordable!!

The house sounds lovely lumpasmelly - drag him along to see it!

orienteerer · 05/10/2010 20:16

Semi-Detached in Richmond

violethill · 05/10/2010 20:29

'There is only one neighbour and the whole house is on a plot of around one and half acres....the gardens are separated by a huge hedge so you can't even see into each others gardens ...to tell the truth, technically you would probably be further away from your neighbour here than you would in some of the detached new builds in the area (which are all built so close to each other)..'

  • I think this is the clincher. You're so right. What's the point in living in a detached house on a plot the size of a postage stamp? I've known people get obsessed with going for detached, and end up with more noise and neighbour problems than when they lived in a terrace or semi, simply because windows, gardens etc are practically on top of each other. A good, sizeable well built semi with solid walls and a big garden will give you far more of a sense of having space.
nameymcnamechange · 05/10/2010 21:34

Orienteerer
Oooooooh, you'd think for that asking price they'd have drawn back the curtains properly in the bedroom and ironed the duvet cover! And hidden the dumbells out of sight.

Pokey kitchen, too.

Mum72 · 05/10/2010 21:41

There are lots of pros to living detatched. Noise being the big bonus - make as much as you like and not hear anyone elses.

However, I am loving a massively reduced gas bills in our larger semi compared to the smaller detatched house we were in before this one.

diggingforvictory · 06/10/2010 18:38

lumpasmelly, the house sounds exactly like mine. We bought it for the same reasons - we couldn't have afforded the same size house on the same plot in such a good area.

There are a few downsides, but worth it in my opinion. Part of our drive is shared which can be annoying, but the shared part is much further away than the end of the entire close for a modern detatched house!

We can occasionally hear the neighbours through the walls, but only if we're being completely silent and they're being very noisy. Old houses tend to have much thicker walls.

When we bought our house it was described as "attached", not "semi", which is a more accurate description. An "attached wing of a period country house" sounds really upmarket so I can't see why your DH would have a problem with it! Go for it!

SparkyUK · 07/10/2010 13:37

Go for it. The semi- vs non seems like a very arbitrary aspect to base a decision to view or not. Especailly as the property you describe seems very un-ordinary in all other respects... I know I would certainly want a larger perioud property that was an, um, attached wing of a period house, than a smaller detached property that was as likely to have privacy issues anway :)

juicy12 · 07/10/2010 13:44

Depends on the property. When we lived in london, we were always in Victorian flat conversions and couldn't hear a thing cos the walls were so thick. Where we live now (Home Counties) we're in a semi built in the 50s and I can safely say I would never, ever, ever, buy a semi again. I can't stand being able to hear our neighbours (and theu're not even particularly noisy). I grew up in a detached and DH grew up in a semi. We are both agreed that we won't move until we can afford a detached house.

stillfrazzled · 07/10/2010 13:46

Only thing I would say is, we bought a semi and next door is rental.

It has just been let to four students.

I fantasise about detached houses, in the periods where I'm not fantasising about grisly fates for the noisy little feckers...

pressyourthumbs · 08/10/2010 21:23

what does link detached mean?

mintyfresh · 09/10/2010 21:38

Link detached is when house is joined to another by a garage.

cece · 09/10/2010 23:59

Having had noisy neighbours in the past . I would always choose a detatched house and would be extremely reluctant to move to another semi. Even if the house was smaller. Having said that I would be extremely unlikely to buy a new build too.

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