Which House? Help me decide

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DC2 is due next month and our landlord is selling our house so we might have to be out mid August. We need to put an offer in on a house asap.

We have seen two houses. One is on for 135k <a class="break-all" href="//,www.propertynews.com/Property/Lisburn/FDPFDP5705/9-Oxford-Avenue/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">House one has four bedrooms and much more storage space. However it needs a lot of work, mostly decorative but likely to include rewiring. The other is on for 150k, House 2 its smaller, 3 bedrooms, but imaculately done up with a new extension with open plan living, dining, kitchen.

The cheaper house would definitely end up being more expensive in the long term but would always have the extra space. The more expensive house would be easier in the short term, especially with a new baby.

Any thoughts?

I can't see the first house.

Could you get it reworded before you move in? Is it otherwise liveable in?

Sorry, www.freddalzellandpartners.com/brochure.php?p=FDPFDP5705 . House one is definately liveable in although we may not be able to afford the rewiring before we moved in. Obviously if survey said it was essential we would just have to find the money somewhere.

What about location? Which is better? Closer to shops? To school? To work? Etc

Rewriting makes a big mess which is why I'd suggest doing it before you move in.

Is either road nicer/more convenient?
The second garden looks smaller, is it?

*rewiring even

Love the garden of house one which would be good with kids. You also have the opportunity to renovate the way you would like it when baby is a bit older.

That spiral staircase to bedrooms 3 & 4 would be a non-starter with small children - would you not have to replace with standard stairs? Is that even structurally feasible?

Both are very similar location wise, about 10-15 minutes walk to train station and with a local shop around the corner.

Both gardens are actually about the same size, house 2 is perhaps a tiny bit smaller ( it is much bigger than it looks in the photo though).

Was thinking with house one that both children could have the downstairs bedrooms and that the stairs would be fenced off and only used by us. As the bathroom is downstairs, I would want kids to be near that anyway.

House 1 for me, although I can see why you are tempted by the finishedness of house 2.
The bedrooms are a much better size in house 1 and the garden is better. The only thing that puts me off a bit is the spiral staircase, but it suppose there are ways around that while DC are little

Gosh what a lot of house you can get for £150k

Personally I'd have to redecorate quite a bit of house 2 and the garden is rubbish. that would make it too expensive considering. House 1 you could have a lot of fun making your own but will you have time with a new baby?

Gut reaction was house 1. Having seen pics/details, I'd definitely prefer house 2 myself.

House 1 if you are getting rid of the spiral stairs, they will be a major temptation to any small child, all mine could negotiate child gates by age two.
If not House 2 which looks lovely.

Thanks everyone! The more opinions the better. We have been serial movers over the last few years and are really hoping to stay in whatever house we buy for at least 10 years so trying very hard to make the best decision.

I would go for gas Central heating every time, so I wouldn't even consider house 1 with oil.

Never thought of the gas/oil thing! Most houses in Northern. Ireland are still oil so I suppose we just accept the hassle of it, but I agree gas would be much easier.

Both look great, esp for that budget. Do you like the open plan living of house 2? I think it looks lovely but I like to be able to close off TV/Xbox when my kids are in the living room. House 1 looks like it will be quite a lot of work but plenty of potential. Garden is lovely.

House 1. Absolute no-brainer.

House 2 has such unique decoration that it would have your teeth itching in no time and you'd end up with higher decoration costs or fighting your urge to redecorate for years and getting fed up. Whereas redoing house 1 will get it exactly to your taste with far less cost than the £15k saving you will make.

Garden of house 1 also exactly what you will need for next 10 years.

Can you live with their bedroom furniture on top floor? £50 quid says they won't be able to get it out and will have to leave it (another £50 says they will try to flog it to you first).

House 2 also has a separate living room as well as the open plan space so should still be able to shut off noisy kids! We have a second viewing of both on Monday before we need to make a decision so anyone got any suggestions of things to look for?

Good point about the furniture, i need to have a really good look at the space around that spiral staircase! If that furniture couldn't come out. I would be taking a sledge hammer to it pretty quickly!!!!

I'd go for the modern one, do you really want to start refurbishing a house with a baby in tow?.

We bought a newbuild, minimal work needed just decoration & furniture. Colleague bought an older house in need of work & is spending hundreds doing jobs, buying tools, stripping hideous paper etc.

It'll all come right in the end but its a lot of work.

House two looks like a proper family home. Not keen on the décor but it's up to date; you could live with it for five years and redecorate once DC are past the scribbling on walls stage.

Depends so much on what you want your life to be like over the next few years. I'd hate to live in a house that needed work while DC are tiny, as they take up so much energy. I'd have none left for the house. But some people thrive on it.

Personal taste, but house 1 doesn't feel like a gem that needs love to me. It's not a stunning house, and even after all that work, you'd still be living in an indifferent bungalow, whereas house 2 is warmer and easier to live in right from the start.

I notice neither has a bath, just shower rooms. Is that very common where you are?

Before looking at pictures I would have said house 1. But then I clicked on your links and house 2 wins it. Beautifully done, you can move in and enjoy your new DC and family life without having to worry and if you ever got bored by the colour schemes (which I love, but it's obviously personal taste), you could do it at a later point. House 1 just needs far too much doing and the staircase would be a no-no with two small DC. It would cost far too much to bring it up to a good standard.

You say the house 2's garden is bigger in real? I actually like the brick rectangle, the children could ride around in their bikes / rollerskates / scooters. I would have loved that as a kid.