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Original poster

Two houses for sale next door to one another

109 replies

PennyHasNoSurname · 10/09/2015 22:56

i cant decide which one I prefer!

Both same layout. Both have two receptions and a galley kitchen downstairs. Both have two double bedrooms, a single bedroom and a family bathroom. Both have boarded out lofts and easy access. Both have a large courtyard out the back.

House One:- workshop in the courtyard with garage doors for offstreet parking. Open fire in the front room. Sanded and waxed floorboards. Log burner in the second reception. No bath, just a shower (room for both). Pebble dash exterior. Dark brown upvc windows and doors.

Property Two:- no workshop so full sized cpurtyard. Garage doors across rear of courtyard. No pebbledash. No open fires or logburner. Carpeted throughput (except tiled kitchen and bath), shower over bath.

OP posts:
exLtEveDallas · 11/09/2015 07:26

I hate hate hate our woodburner. It's messy, smoky, doesn't give out as much heat as my mums gas fire and you'll need half the courtyard to store the wood and all the neighbourhood spiders will set up home there

I also find MILs wood floors more of a pain in the arse to keep clean than carpets.

So I'd say house 2

Twatters · 11/09/2015 07:41

House 1, you can just paint over the pebble dash, install a bath, if it has ch you wouldn't need to use the woodburner all the time,just when you fancy that cosy night in, having a work shop for storage is always handy, and as a pp they cost a lot to buy now. you can live with the Windows for a while , if you really don't like them they could be a long term save up to install new ones. It would probably cost the same if not less to install woodburns/ wooden floors and shed in H2

PurpleWithRed · 11/09/2015 07:48

Why is House 2 on at more than house 1? (oh, and a choice of 3-bed houses for under £200k, amazing, i'd have them both...)

BikeRunSki · 11/09/2015 07:53

1 - workshop for bikes!

Iagreewithmrsdevere · 11/09/2015 07:53

Veering off the subject, our new house is pebbledashed all over the INSIDE! Have to carry the DCs carefully down the stairs to avoid it otherwise their arms get scratched Shock And yes it is deffo pebbledash not Artex

UhtredOfBebbanburg · 11/09/2015 07:55

H2. I could not live in a house without a bath, I could not live in a house with pebble dash and I could not live in a house with brown windows. Floorboards and open fires are nice (we have them) but it's cheaper to take up a carpet than it is to buy one and there are downsides to floorboards which may become apparent after you live with them for a while. It's not clear from your post which house has the new boiler but that's a key consideration too. Boiler replacement can cost ££££

Verypissedoffwife · 11/09/2015 07:56

Definitely house 2 - surely it would be cheaper to install a wood burner and nice flooring than render over the pebble dash? We have a wood burner but my husband installed it so it wasn't that expensive.

Pebble dash is quite unpopular so I would have thought that house 2 would be a better investment.

Blu · 11/09/2015 07:56

Depends whether you WANT a wood burner / workshop. Or prefer space.

The dark brown upvc wondows sound a bit grim and will be £££ to replace - pebbledash can be painted white.

Are the houses 'mirror image' or do they both face the same way? How does sun come into the house and courtyard in each? if they are mirror image one will be much darker than the other.

WeirdCatLadySaysFuckOffJeffrey · 11/09/2015 07:56

Have you been round both houses? I always get a definite 'feeling' from a house, which felt better?

fuctifino · 11/09/2015 08:12
  1. I wouldn't entertain a house with brown upvc.
Lagoonablue · 11/09/2015 08:16

Brown windows are a bit horrid. I might go for 2 and add a wood burner later.

Chewbecca · 11/09/2015 08:16

You mention off street parking with H1, does H2 have it too?

Can't work out what the gardens like in each? Does h1 lack a garden?

Chewbecca · 11/09/2015 08:17

And what are H2's exterior walls like? Brick or rendered? If rendered there's a reasonable amount of upkeep.

Bakeoffcake · 11/09/2015 08:20

I was gong to say House 1 but just a warning about the brown window frames.

We moved into a cottage with oak framed windows which had been stained dark brownAngry. They made the house feel so dark inside. We painted the frames white (needing about 4 coats) and it made a huge difference. I'm sure there is a special paint you can use with pvc, so I would definitely look into that.

BasinHaircut · 11/09/2015 08:21

The brown windows externally wouldn't bother me. I've bought 2 houses with brown windows but at least these current ones are white on the inside! Brown was really tricky when decorating because if you chose a different shade of wood it looked a bit weird, but it was too dark to go the same.

Last house was pebble dash but really poorly done and painted over, which looks shit IMO. That bothered me the whole time we lived there, but as it was only a 5 year house we never did anything about it. If the pebble dash is bare and an ok colour/matches the windows then that would be ok.

But getting a bath installed could end up costing ££ if you end up having to re-do the whole bathroom, and I would HAVE to have a bath. But if you say there is room for them separate but H2 has a shower over bath then I'd probably change that anyway so both bathrooms would need to be changed.

H1 sounds lovely but I really don't think I could live with floorboards, and a wood burner doesn't interest me at all.

Workshop - depends on how much of the garden it takes up and whether I'd use it or just fill it with crap. If the latter it's a waste of space, especially in a small space such as a courtyard.

Kitchen is important to me, what are they like?

Konserve · 11/09/2015 08:23

were in a similar situation.
viewed both a second time and then send a short questionaire to the vendors.

then offered based on the answers.

PacificDogwood · 11/09/2015 08:25

Oh gawd, H1, no question!
Nought wrong with pebbledash, not the most stylish of options, but does not require much upkeep and you won't see it from the inside. You could consider having it removed in years to come.
Brown uPVC is marginally less horrid than white IMO.
I am not at all bothered about having a bath Grin

cittigirl · 11/09/2015 08:26

Can you post pics?

Original poster
PennyHasNoSurname · 11/09/2015 08:38

Ill post links, as long as if this outs me you me. And if either of the houses are owned by a MNer then sorry!

OP posts:
Original poster
PennyHasNoSurname · 11/09/2015 08:40

House One

OP posts:
Original poster
PennyHasNoSurname · 11/09/2015 08:41

Hpuse Two

OP posts:
Chewbecca · 11/09/2015 08:46

May be just better pics but the brick front house looks much better in the pics, more loved and well cared for. The pebble dashed house looks a little tired. Both kitchens would like an upgrade in the next few years.

Bakeoffcake · 11/09/2015 08:47

Having liked at the pictures I now prefer house 2. It's just looks a much nicer house inside and out- much more character. It does have a fireplace and wooden flooring, if the fireplace is blocked up it should be very easy to open up.

Verypissedoffwife · 11/09/2015 08:47

Definitely house 2. Looks ten times better from the outside.

Bakeoffcake · 11/09/2015 08:47

Looked