Which house should I buy?

[TomHaverford]

Having a tricky time deciding between houses so any thoughts are very welcome..

House 1:
Nice looking from the outside but very dated inside so needs lots of work including large rear extension.
Decent sized garden
Lovely area, very close to shops, station and good schools
Are is quite built up, lots or terraces

House 2:
Old beautiful listed farmhouse
completely refurbished and ready to move in to
good schools near by but likely a 1/2 hour school run on foot or 14 min drive
Sits on one acre block
5 mins drive to the station, 45 mins walk so not feasible
living space about 3xs the size of house 1
very rural feeling, would have to drive most places

About us:
1 DC, i need to drive to work anyway but DH would have to drive instead of public transport currently. I prefer the rural dream but DH is panicked by lack of proximity to a station. The houses are roughly the same price, 1st option works out more expensive once all the work has been done, 2nd option would need contingency set aside for listed repairs.

One feels like the sensible option, the farm house feels like the home of my heart......

It's such a tough one
Think you are not able to have the correct view of what house 2 will be like after the new builds, you are only able to see it as it is now, does that make sense?

SIL says that she thinks House 2 is the nicer house and would prefer to live there. As far as DH is concerned, a 50 minute commute is actually an improvement so he'd prefer that.

As for vendors of house 1 stringing us along - dh has spoken to lawyers and said that if we go with that house we exchange contracts early and settle on a latest possible completion date with an option in the contract to enforce it (basically register the contract against the title). That would put us in a position to enforce the contract if they decided to withdraw at the last possible moment.

100% house 2. Follow your heart, I listened to my head when we bought our current house and I still dream about the one that I let slip away.

Oh ok, I thought it was an hour and 45 mins...

That's very different then.

Personally I would go for the family friendly location, and I have known a few families who have gone for more remote and beautiful, then changed their minds especially when the children are a little older and they are driving them everywhere.

But it sounds like you really, really want the beautiful farmhouse so maybe you should just go for it.

Or could you wait and save rural and beautiful for when the children have left home?

House 1 sounds much more practical. You'd be adding £800 a month to your living costs versus having a few months disruption for a short time. And that figure doesn't even include the extra cost of ongoing maintenance.

House two with a second car for me. It sounds amazing.

I thought your DH said it was an hour and 45 commute. If you think with your head it is house 1. You've had lots of reasoned arguments for and against. But I'm bored of this now. Do hat YOU want.

I read it that the sums and costs are flexible as a second car is inevitable in the longer term anyway. Therefore the additional monthly cost of House 2 is in the region of £200. It's all there, but is mixed up with accessibility to free rail travel, proximity of stations and driving as an alternative. If Mr Tom H did have the second car, then his commute would be a 50 minute drive.

It's a massive decision because of the two contrasting options.
Don't underestimate the longing for more space once you become effectively a family of five if you do have another child or more. Don't underestimate the costs of maintaining a bigger house with single glazing, especially when it has a listing.

@Tom Haverford have you checked the listing? is it the whole house or just some aspects of it? We once lived in a Grade 2 listed house, it had been completely gutted and renovated by a builder. It had replacement wooden sash windows which were double glazed. The drainpipes, guttering and other rainwater goods all had to be specially made though to replicate the originals and were apparently very costly indeed.

Just incase anyone was interested (and because I like to know the outcome of a thread..), we chose house 2 and had our offer accepted on it today so very exciting!

We went to visit both again and just felt it was so beautiful and special that we should take a risk to have a shot at the dream.

Thanks for coming back to update us. It's nice to know what people decide
Fingers crossed it all goes through smoothly for you.

Congratulations - hope you'll all be very happy in your new home. Sometimes going with your heart really is the best option.

can we see details now???

Congratulations OP, my heart was with house 2 too, so I hope everything goes well for you. Do keep us updated won't you and DON'T STRESS too much.

Well done, OP.

Sounds lovely.

Congratulations! And thankyou for coming back and letting us know. Hope all goes well and moving day isn't too far away.

Good for you! Sounds gorgeous! Hope it all goes smoothly.