Which of these houses would you buy?

[AWombWithoutARoof]

Have had an offer accepted on House A, survey results show penetrating damp, asbestos in outbuildings and woodworm. It's in need of complete redecoration, but I viewed it with a builder who didn't think there was anything major (patches of damp are small).

It's walkable to DD's primary school where she starts in September, it's a roomy 1930s semi with a long back garden. Also walkable to 2 good mates with kids the same age as DD.

House B is 10 years old, on an estate of very nicely designed houses (not your typical new build box). It has the same amount of space, but a smaller garden. It's not decorated to my taste at all, but nothing needs doing, from what I can see. Not made offer or done survey, this is a last minute consideration.

It's 1.7 miles from the school, so would need to drive DD to school. Same distance to friends, although the estate is very child-friendly, lots of bikes left outside front doors etc. so I'm sure we'd meet more people, as would DD.

DP is worried that with House A it will take us years to get it finished, as we'll be paying a higher mortgage than we are now and money will be tight. I'm by nature more optimistic, and love doing up houses, so that doesn't bother me as much. We'd also of course be adding more value to House A, but can see that House B would be much more of a known quantity and therefore less stressful.

Which would you pick?

ALL gardens are shady in NI, on account of there being no sun. Ever.

Good tip treacle. Whereabouts are you?

Having previously been undecided and possible veering to B I dream of no more renovations

after seeing the estate house B I would definitely opt for A.

I'm in Co Antrim. Have PMd you.

Have you done the list of pros and cons for each property?

Specifically what redecorating/work would you absolutely HAVE to do on house A? What work is then just "want" to do in comparison on House A? Keeping in mind that you've already said House B is not decorated to your taste at all, so you know you'll be doing a fair bit of redecorating there.

Work we would NEED to do on House A:

survey has flagged up as urgent (I know you can sometimes take these things with a pinch of salt): treating woodworm, sorting out penetrating damp.
wipe condensation mould off all rooms and restick paper where appropriate
repair crack in front door panel
investigate where damp staining in kitchen is coming from
get curtains or blinds for approx 3 rooms

Things I'd like to do as a priority:
change oil heating to gas
put in wood burner before the winter
decorate at least the living room, kitchen and two bedrooms
make gardne useable

Things I'd love to do but will have to wait
replace the kitchen, current layout isn't good
refloor the bathroom and redecorate it
redecorate remaining rooms
get rid of very large asbestos roofed garage and replace with something safer (frame is already rotting, survey suggests taking it down too)

House A. You will be going 2,500 school runs over the next 7 years.

House B you will want to change the kitchen anyway, all houses cost money to maintain.

Get some builder quotes and be realistic. Grow your own veg and keep hens in house A and you will be saving 1000 a year on food. Probably about the same saving made on school run or second car costs. That's 14,000 in 7 years.

Deffo sell your rental ASAP, and remember if things get tough you can also have lodgers in your house, or if the garden is big you can build an annexe for rental. If this is a second home for tax purposes you will also be losing out so calculate that in.

But the priority should be friends and schools nearby.

I'd prefer B. The photos are a bit grim tbh but
having lived in numerous locations, an area with bikes left out and kids playing is worth its weight in gold.

Do you know if you're friends plan to move in a couple yrs ? i know its a bit nosy, but them being close is one of the reasons for property A, and if you knew they would be moving in 1-2 yrs time would you still be as keen on the house?

Not sure if I'd go for either of them. House A sounds as if it's got a lot of problems and you can be sure it will take a lot more money to do up than you estimate. You don't sound very keen on house B. A house C might come along that suits you better.

X posted OP. Have you looked into the green deal? Or whatever is called now? You could get a lot of work done on that, including extras which might cover the damp treatment. Nothing to pay as it comes out of your heating bill.

But yes, check out whether this is somewhere your friends will be long term.

Green Deal isn't available where the OP is sadly.

House B. we lived in a 1930's semi with damp and couldn't get rid of it despite spending thousands! Moved to a modern estate, but nice, like. difference in kids lives now they're that bit older is great - they can get out to play in the street with friends and not be worried about busy road like our previous house.

I would never buy a house with an asbestos problem...

House C

Very dubious taste in tiling, and not in quite such a nice area, but this one would be walkable to the school.

www.propertynews.com/Property/Bangor/IPE670199/7-Beverley-Drive/274607522/

The woodworm may not be a current infestation. Have you had a specialist survey to check? Likewise the damp may be easily fixed.

Specialist survey is booked. It's not listed on the survey as current, just 'evidence of infestation'.

I would never buy a house with an asbestos problem...

The house doesn't have an asbestos problem, it's an out building. I thought only a certain type of asbestos was dangerous and only if it's dusty (poor condition or drilled into for example).

I would be dubious about a house with asbestos actually in it and have second thoughts, or I'd get a specialist survey.

Often the building surveys are worst case scenario type things and specialist surveys can show that it's not as bad as first thought.

Modern estates have no soul IMO, each house is like the next and so on, I would go for an older one every time even though it is more work. You can change the inside but you cna't change the location

House C has no specific repair work? Just the cosmetic stuff like the tile work (which to be honest could be replaced when you get around to it) ?

It's cheaper than House B, isn't it. And walkable for school run a definite plus. Something to consider if you're not sure about taking on House A's repairs.

Yep, the asbestos in House A is definitely the garage and the boiler house. The survey describes it as "the outbuildings are thought to contain asbestos".

It's only a problem if you want to move it, break it up, or dispose of it.

Hmm - I think you'd spend the additional 20k getting House A into the standard that you want. Question is, how long it will take to get that cash together in say 5k increments so that you can upgrade the house.

House A - if your offer has been accepted then I would simply say that the survey has brought back some issues, and you'd like to get some quotes to repair before proceeding. Get your builder to put his money where his mouth is with a fixed price quote to sort out the woodworm, the damp and install a new boiler and all the gubbins [radiator thermostats etc] that comes with doing that. Then decide if you can still afford it

House B - lots of benefits to the type of development you have described. I grew up in one in the Republic and had a largely idylic childhood with hordes of friends on my doorstep. No through road meant that we would spend hours playing on the street/common grass area without any issue from a very young age. I wouldn't have given a cobblers for authentic period detail as a child. not much of it around in the 70's/80's Ireland to be fair though
Now that I've seen the link though - I think you could spend a fair whack on it too. The kitchen has hardly any units for a family, you'll have to carpet it. Is there any grass or is it all decked. I'd look for a different B before deciding on A or B not helpful sorry.

House C - fully tiled ground floor in Northern Ireland? I couldn't think of anything chillier. Brrr. There's no mention of underfloor heating on the spec.

In your shoes, with young children and a local economy coming out recession but with huge negative equity everywhere I would play the smart card and be very careful with my costings. Ultimately you have a home at the moment, you could wait a little longer if you had to.

If your current house will be tenanted, what would happen if you had a void period of 3 months, or worse still someone who had to be evicted. Would it cripple you both financially? You could spend years living in a damp cold house A before affording to do it up.

Oh my goodness!! My friend lives on that estate. Can I change my mind? I would live on that estate every day of the week . What that link doesn't show is the absolutely perfect location - you literally go down a path between houses and you are on the beach. Clean, white sand, a little walk along the beach to the village. It depends whether you'd make use of that but seriously, when we went to stay there for a weekend I fell in love with the place - drinking wine on the balcony overlooking the sea. It was so restful / peaceful. If its a choice between spending your weekends and funds doing DIY on the 1930s semi, or enjoying the beach and the little fish & chip shop just down the beach, I know which I'd choose !

Thanks for that long reply, much appreciated.

Agree that lots of things in House B are fugly.

We shouldn't have a problem renting our house, rental properties are in huge demand in our area, this has been confirmed by three letting agencies. Our rent will cover the mortgage, and I'm keeping a contingency fund separate to the doing-up-a-house fund to cover any voids. This is a newly refurbed house, so, whilst I know you can't guarantee nothing will go wrong, I know the boiler etc are all new and in good nick.

House C, I think taking up the paving in the garden and the floor tiling can be expensive, You either go over the top of it, or taking it up could cost quite a bit. It's not that easy. You need to know what you can live with. If you can live with House A being in a mess for a few years, but then lovely, then go for it. If you can't, for B or C.