Would you buy an upside down house?

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I'm about to put an offer in on an upside down house. Living space upstairs and bedrooms downstairs. Great views from upstairs. Access to garden from downstairs.
If I came to sell it, would it put people off?
I'm thinking of putting a balcony outside one of the upstairs rooms, so my mind is racing ahead!

Do you access the house onto the top floor or is the front door near the bedrooms?
An upside down house would probably put me off,but I can't put my finger on why!

I rented one once. Worked nicely. Access at front was upstairs, access at back downstairs, built on hill.
If you put a balcony with steps to garden then any problems are solved.

I'm about to complete on an upside down house. Was a bit concerned at first but now am really looking forward to moving in.

It has a large balcony that runs the full width of upstairs which is really nice and I can't wait to turn that into another cosy outside living space.

We also plan on doing a loft conversion. Turn it into two bedrooms with dormer Windows with little balconies.

My house is set on a hill though so strangely the very small back garden is upstairs too!

It wouldn't put me off

My grandparents had one. It was lovely. The views from the living room were of trees and gardens more than the other houses. It wouldn't put me off.

How near is the access door to the kitchen? Imagine coming in with 20 carrier bags of shopping and having to get them all to the kitchen. Not ideal if you have traipse through half the house to get there.

I'd worry about security, as I like to sleep with a window open but that would make it accessible.

It would put me off as my young children play a lot in the garden and I like to be fairly close when they are out there so for example, an upstairs kitchen (where I spend most of my time) would bother me.

If I didn't have children it would bother me less - but in Summer I might be a bit sad that the garden wasn't connected to the living space iyswim.

We spent a week in one (converted barn) and thought it was a great idea- you see the views from the rooms you're in during daylight hours.
It was built into a hill, so the downstairs bedrooms only had windows at the front and could have had issues with damp or seepage.... Not OUR problem, though!

It sounds like it isn't your problem either OP, if the garden is level with downstairs. I agree with the balcony/outside stairs idea, too.

hmm, it depends. I stayed in one once with great sea views and it made sense. But yes, you need to be able to access the garden from a living area I think.

I wouldn't but I'm a boring old fart traditionalist where houses are concerned.

A friend has a beautiful stable conversion which is upside down. Amazing views. Living space opens out through bifolds onto huge roof garden/terrace over the single storey section of the building. The bedrooms then are downstairs and are nice but feel odd next to the front door.

However, the major downside is having to carry shopping upstairs to the kitchen all the time. Nope.

It would be a shame not to use the living accommodation to take advantage of the views. I'm sure most people would get that once inside the house.

Our H/H is like that, built on a hill with fab views. The only thing I would check out is whether planning permission is needed for a balcony. We were only allowed juliette balconies.

I'm not keen, I don't really want to sleep on the ground floor with the windows open in summer, and I'd worry about the children doing so too, and I need my windows open in the summer!

However the same's true of any bungalow, and they sell for a premium.

It put me off, mainly because of the lack of access to garden from living space, and also because of lugging shopping etc upstairs when coming in. Oh, and guests traipsing past my bedroom.

Lots of upside down houses where I live (very hilly) so walk in at the top and then down and out to the garden.
They seem to be popular. We almost bought one. My only slight concern was the small children playing in the garden and the kitchen being a separate level but it wasn't enough to put me off buying we just lost out to someone else

Thanks so much for all your messages. The kitchen and living room can be accessed from the drive, so no problem with shopping etc. It's security in bedrooms that's a worry and access to the garden, although the balcony with stairs is a good idea.

I wouldn't, because I like my bedroom windows open at night, and it's too much of a security risk on the ground floor.
I know a lot of people wouldn't be bothered though. A lot of my neighbours never seem to open any windows at all.

I'm at a loss what to do. It's been on the market for almost a year, I'm a cash buyer, no chain as I'm just about to complete on mine, after having to sell following divorce.
Me and the kids are going into rented while we try to find somewhere.
I'm just wondering if the fact it's been on the market so long is because of the layout.

No it would put me off I don't like bedrooms downstairs for security reasons but also it would feel odd as I'm so used to a traditional layout. The resale of it would also put me off as I think it's a bit of a niche market.

If you are planning to stay long term it's about what works for your family, rather than ease of selling afterwards. Nothing's unsellable. You will hopefully be able to sell it, you just might not get as much as you wanted for it.

In terms of buying now, I'd be considering whether it might be a bit expensive - are other buyers avoiding it because they are taking more off the value for the upsidedownness than you are? As long as you don't overpay now, then a lower selling price further down the line should be ok.

It's like buying a house next to a railway line or under a major flight path. Yes it's a negative to many, but if you can live with that negative more happily than others, it means you get more house for your money - the same house without that flaw would be £££. The trick is to make sure you are not paying "unflawed house" price for the one with the issue. This is assuming it is an issue, which it might not be to everyone of course.

My auntie lives in an upside-down flat and it's beautiful. Wouldn't put me off at all. If you love it, go for it OP!

a friend of mine used to live in an upside down house - you would park on the driveway which was on the same level as the front door and then through the front door would be the "hallway" which had the usual rooms, kitchen, living room, bathroom and the views from the living room were amazing! He had a balcony on the front of the living room aswell.

Then from the kitchen he had steps which led down to the garden.
Then downstairs were all the bedrooms and another bathroom and then a utility room which had a door on which led to the garden so it worked very very well in his case and he had no issues selling.

I used to like staying over as the bedrooms were downstairs and away from any road noise it was very quiet.

I wouldn't be worried about it having been on the market very long as long as you've checked things such as schools and had a survey done + know the price is fair. Personally, I'd love an upside down house as long as it had views and a balcony (preferably with stairs into the garden).