The old house A or house B dilemma!

[cedricsneer]

We are trying to move into a coastal town that seems to have about one house per year coming on the market - currently living with parents 30 minutes away and very keen to settle down. We have sold, and have a mortgage in principle. We have 3 kids and hoping for a 4th - moved primarily for more space. I'd love other's thoughts on my options please!

House A:
Belongs to an elderly couple - it was on the market briefly, they took it off but liked us and want to sell it to us.
We have agreed a price at the top of our budget
They need to find something in another town where nothing much comes up before they will sell - they have been looking for 4 months and nothing suitable has come up (I know as we have become "friends-ish" and she emails me the possibles - has been to see anything even vaguely ok - her husband is difficult)
The house is 3,700sq ft
Detached with a drive
10 years old
5 beds/2 receptions/4 bathrooms/large kitchen
Very close to the beach/children's golf course
Very quiet dead end road
Lovely layout
25 minute walk to school
Doesn't need much other than decorating done to it
Huge detached garage
Nice garden if a little featureless
Worried that elderly owners may loose heart in searching and stay put

House B
2,300sq ft
Victorian semi detached
5 bedrooms/2 bathrooms/1 reception/ large kitchen
About 25% cheaper than house A - much smaller mortgage (both mortgages are pretty affordable)
Lovely garden
Much more urban/further from beach
10 minute walk to school
Nicely decorated, nicer kitchen and lovely layout
Possibly potential to extend
Coming on the market - will go to sealed bids, so could potentially offer more than it's worth/ lose it anyway

I think you can probably guess where my heart is, but I'd love some opinions.

Sorry, lose heart, not loose heart

Please can we have links.

Is House B big enough? Or are you just desperate to move out?

With potentially 6 people in the house, and only 2 bathrooms and 1 reception, I would expect: two separate toilets apart from the 2 bathrooms (avoids arguments), and big enough bedrooms that kids can hang out there with friends etc as there is only one reception.

They both sound lovely.
The big problem with house A is that it might never proceed... As you have become friendly with the owner maybe now is the time for a frank discussion (with mention of house B) - if it seems like they are likely to back out then you have your answer.

Thank you. They are both lovely. As neither is on the market, I don't have links I'm afraid - the added complication being that I have to keep my images of them in my head...

I think house A owners have every intention of moving. The problem is that I can't account for them just losing heart/health deteriorating etc. We have had the frank chat and they are desperate to move to something smaller in the other town. The market is dead up here unfortunately.

I am worried too that we are just desperate to move and that is clouding my judgement. I have gone between feeling panicky that we will never find anything and will lose our mortgage offer, to relaxed knowing it will happen eventually.

I have been watching the market for 6 months and these are the only 2 properties which have been vaguely suitable

I'd go with B,
A sounds like she wants to move, but he's not that bothered and paying it lip service letting her view houses. If you wait for them you will probably be waiting for a very long time. They could sell to a sure thing (you) and move to the town they want to live in and rent while they look. So they aren't motivated.

House A sounds a better long term buy - but the uncertainty of not knowing whether the owners will ever proceed would probably make me bid on B.

I know it's naughty but could you bid on both and then (if you get it) pull out of B if the owners of house A do actually find something they want to move to and seem to be committed to moving? From what you've said of the market, the owners of house B would be very able to find new buyers within days.

P.S. Is there any land for sale at all? It might be quicker to buy a plot and have your own house built .

(Only partly joking).

Go with B. We loved a house owned by an elderly lady who understood in her head she needed to move, had pressure from her adult DCs to move, but in her heart wasn't ready to go. She took it off the market, put it back on, but in the meantime, but we didn't have time for faffing and had seen something else (which we ended up not buying but buying a 3rd house after I found out I was pregnant and suddenly we couldn't afford to do the work to either of the other two wrecks!). Anyway, we'd been living in our new house for over 2 years before she finally sold and moved out.

Go for house B, a 10 minute walk to school when you have 4 DCs will be a lot better bet. Chances of one of htem being sick at any one time is highly likely, a 10 minute walk means a high chance of school friends walking past your door on the way to school to collect non-sick child for you. Being that close to the school means highly likely when they are old enough to go round to friends houses without you that they will have friends close by. And in house A, being that close to the beach means you'll be hosting every sodding sunny day in the school holiday with a kitchen covered in sand!

If you live really close to the beach, and don't have residents parking or double yellows on your road, then it will get really parked up on nice days.

I'm guessing house B have gone up into the loft? It seems a bit lacking in reception rooms for the size of it (unless it is a really big kitchen/eating/family room type thing).

3700sq ft is pretty enormous though! Being on a dead end road is great for the kids especially.

thanks all for your thoughts. this is going to be our (horrible term) forever home so I am nervous of making a mistake. old lady from house A has emailed to say that she wants to offer on a cottage and may do so but her husband is dragging his feet. the one they are looking at seemed totally unsuitable, so I am encouraged that they are even considering it.

I think my heart is not really in house b, although it is lovely. house a made me reevaluate what I wanted, and being on the outskirts it has much more of a rural, "beachy" feel. but I am nervous about missing out on B

We found a lovely house. Our offer was accepted. Owners were looking. Then silence.....
After nine months the estate agent couldn't get them to answer his calls.
Basically he wanted to move, she didn't.
That was 1996. They are still there!

A

Tricky one, could you perhaps say to the owner of house A that you are going to have to start looking at other options and have house B in mind, it could help to flush out whether they are ever seriously going to sell it to you.

I just don't think they will move until they find something that suits them- and fair enough really. Honestly, nothing suitable (for disabled people) has come up where they want to buy. She does seem to think that this latest cottage may come off (judging by today's email) and talks about her house being the house for me...

It's a bit like an dysfunctional relationship. I read into every email, jump when they arrive and my friends have told me that she is stringing me along.

Btw, this is Scotland, so if they formally accept an offer it will go through quickly.