Well knock me down with a feather

[Rhubarbgarden]

Mr Rhubarb liked the house we viewed today. Very much so, in fact. He liked the high ceilings and the light-filled rooms, and the presence of all the original fireplaces and some nice floorboards and parquet got him all enthusiastic. Who would have thought it? For the first time, he didn't come home saying 'nah, our house is better'.

It was all a bit chaotic because baby Rhubarb was crying the whole time and small Rhubarb was running around and making escape bids, and being all shouty and high maintenance, so we are going to go back for a second viewing on Wednesday when small Rhubarb will be farmed out.

That is all. Sorry very self indulgent thread but I am so at this turn of events I needed to share!

did renovate. Not did do renovate

I still think that house is lovely and (even with the work) doesn't look ridiculous for the area? The good bits about Surrey - leafy but easy into London.

Just found this in my search area - if you have a bit left over I wouldn't mind it.... www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-29292211.html

Wow. Just wow.

That seems cheap (because clearly a million pounds is cheap ) but you know what I mean!

How fantastic is that little gem! I'm loving the house hunt you 2 are on!

Oreo. Please don't think I have £1m! I have my regular search and a special Rhubarb one!! :)

It's beautiful!

It's the sort of house DP and I would drive past or see in a film and say "some c*nt lives there".

Not in a nasty sense but in a sense of wishing we could live there.

Hope you get it and it all works out. I'd love to see before and after pics.

wow.That's gorgeous. Best of luck.

Wow, RC that is a stunner. I wish we could move to Cheshire!

Fuck.

You wait two years, then two houses come along at once...

So we viewed the Godalming house for a second time this afternoon. We also decided to view one in Brighton while we were at it; a house we were half interested in a while ago, which has come back on the market at a much reduced price. We thought we should just have a quick look, because it's in a great location, near the station, and has a large-ish (for Brighton) garden. We thought we'd just be ruling it out though, because although it's Georgian it didn't look especially pretty and the interior looked quite dark and uninspiring in the photos.

We loved it. The vendors should sack their estate agents, quite frankly, because it is SO much nicer in the flesh than in the photos. Loads of lovely original features that don't appear in any photos. And I just love Brighton. For me, it's like coming home.

Then on to Godalming. Loved the house all over again.

So what to do?? I can't believe that after all this time, two houses are suddenly in the frame at the same time. Pros and cons to both. But I'd be very happy with either!

Aherm. Link please!

What does MrR have to say about them both?

And does the brighton one have a lake?

Would need a link.

What's the commute like from both? Schools?

I'll decide for you. Link the other one.

But glad you ruled out Woking, being constantly gridlocked in traffic must be very wearing however leafy.

Okay. But you'll look at it and go 'ooh no'. I promise you the photos are rubbish. I would have dismissed it out of hand if I didn't already know that the location is great and how rare it is to find a garden that size on central Brighton. It actually has huge windows; the vendors just seem to keep the curtains closed and have a fondness for nets, even though it isn't particularly overlooked. There are a number of beautiful stained glass windows, original fireplaces and carved wooden door mantle things (god knows what you call them!).

Yep DH really liked it too. And even though it's 15 mins longer commute, he says he would rather be in Brighton than Godalming as it has better restaurants and more to do on a weekend.

So this is the link: Brighton

Do your worst...

I can't open the link!

Oh pants.

try again

also on with this agent

No lake. But the sea is pretty close

I live on the coast, sea beats lakes here too .

So.. I like it. I think on details alone it doesn't light my fire but keeping in mind what you have said I think there is alot of potential.

I'm thinking it needs new kitchen and bathroom. New flooring throughout laminate floors in that house, they should be shot. The doorways have been filled in to put cheap modern doors in which will need to be changed. The outside needs some work. new/restore windows etc. So you will have another chunk of money to add to the asking price.

I would also have a good look to see if corners have been cut. That kitchen is cheap, the laminate is cheap, the doors are cheap....have they maintained the house well? Or are all of these cheap additions (I mean cheap in context to the price of the house) a sign of corner cutting?

The Godalming house is a money pit. But will be amazing when finished. Question is how much is that going to cost? If you can get it around 1 mil, will say 4/450k be enough to restore it to the level you want? Also have to factor in that there may well be developers chasing this house to split it up.

I would sit down and do the sums, with DH and see what you will be looking at. Other than that who knows!! .

I don't know the areas, as an outsider I would think brighton would be better for a young mum and the DC, but your DH will have to think through the commute etc.

The Godalming house looks better to me. Cheaper - even when you've spent a fair bit on it and beautiful.

There have already been 5 offers on Godalming, the highest is already over the asking price so I suspect it could romp away and end up in sealed bids. I do worry that costs could get out of control.

The Brighton one also needs big money spending on it, it has been let go and needs a new roof, damp sorting out, total redecoration inside and out and like you say, new floors, kitchen and bathrooms as all are indeed cheap and nasty. Some window frames may need replacing too. However, unlike the Godalming house it is liveable, so we wouldn't have to do everything straight away and could live there while work was being done.

I agree Brighton is a better place for a young mum. Shame I'm an old haggard one! Ha!

Ooh, that IS a nice house.

My heart is still with the Godalming one, though.

From reading what you have written, I think you prefer the Brighton house .

Now long term what is the situation with schools/access to activities/your work etc? I'm presuming Brighton can tick all of those boxes too.

Having bought a neglected large Victorian house which had been a multi-let, I think the Brighton house is a better bet, if the location is ok for commuting.

It does need some work, esp the outside, but as you say it it livable as it is and you could do the work bit by bit, once you get a feel for the house.

The Brighton one may be more practical but the Godalming one is absolutely gorgeous. I think my heart is with that one too.

I think I prefer the Godalming house, but Brighton as a location is always going to win it for me. I had given up on finding a house there that's close to the station for commuting, with a big enough garden and architecturally acceptable to DH.

Schools-wise, secondaries are fine; there are very good private schools there. I'd rather they went to a state primary and this is more difficult; the house is not close enough to any of them for it to be safe to assume they'd get a place. They could easily end up being allocated a place at a bad one that is a long way away because it's the only one with spaces. But I need to do more research on this.

Work-wise, I can work anywhere but DH needs London and he is weighing up that commute.

Pannacotta it's very telling that you think that when you have the experience of a similar property!

We have some big decisions to make.