Which house?

[blinkineckmum]

A: top of our budget and need approx £30k of work. Lots of outdoor space for the 3 kids. 4 bedoms, one bathroom plus w/c, integral garage and converted loft. 30min walk from town but lovely location. Parking for 4 cars.

B: similar price but no urgent work though possibly needs a new boiler. 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, utility, small office. Loft space but not converted. Only a front garden and a small yard. One patking space. Centre of town.

[AvoidingDM]

May be neither house is right for you.
Maybe stay put enjoy your baby and a stress free period and start looking again in a years time.

Moving house with a tiny baby is hard work. I did it with my first.

[blinkineckmum]

Sadly not. We were struck with some bad news. The valuation on our property came back ridiculously low. The buyers still want it, so they're trying to appeal, but we're stuck in the meantime. And baby is due next month! But I am assured that there have been no more viewings on A. I really hope we can sort out the valuation.

[AvoidingDM]

Any update?

[blinkineckmum]

Yes I know. We'll have to get a mortgage valuation and if it doesn't pass we'll lower our offer. Other houses on the street sold at £30k more than we're offering but this one needs work so I think we'll be just about ok.

[GrowThroughWhatYouGoThrough]

Are you getting a mortgage on A as the mortgage lender may not lend you the money if the survey dosent come back that the property is worth it

[blinkineckmum]

Thank you all. I'll let you know how it goes!

[BubblesBuddy]

I am always wary of 4 bed family houses with a small yard. That wouldn’t be sought after around here, Victorian or not. It just wouldn’t be considered to be a family house with limited outside space. I think you are right to go with A.

[Viviene]

Ohhh I came here to say option A. House should never be about money only and space for kids to play outside is priceless and trumps being in the town center. You can tell the kids to go play outside and do stuff from where you see them, if you have to go to the park that's a whole trip.

[Sengah]

@avoidingDM you play hardball and I like your style - might have to seek out your counsel if I ever get lucky with finding a place.

[blinkineckmum]

We've come to a decision and will be raising our offer on A slightly tomorrow! Fingers crossed.

[AvoidingDM]

Any luck with A accepting the offer?

[blinkineckmum]

Yes, my husband's quite keen on that idea but nothing suitable at the mo.

[AvoidingDM]

Another option is to look at 3 bedrooms with room for an extension.

Good luck

[blinkineckmum]

There are parks but no brilliant ones that end of town. It's closer to the shops.

[OutyMcOutface]

What is in the centre of town? Any parks?

[AvoidingDM]

I would tell phone A as soon as EA opens that you are going to withdraw your offer at 10.30am if he doesn't accept.
And then get your offer in on B.

[blinkineckmum]

Thanks. We've been looking for 3 months and properties like B tend to sell within days! The vendor of A is just stubborn about £! I think DH is keen on B but I am not so sure.

[Sengah]

Yes that does sound a bit risky but I have no experience of that so can't really advise. Is it worth asking if there are any other conditions that would make him consider your offer - e.g. Moving in a certain timeframe, or is it all about the £? Also, just another thought on B, say you decided to take the risk and wait for A to see sense, how frequently do properties like B come along? You don't know for sure it will sell asap, and there may be more like it...? Good luck with making your decision.

[blinkineckmum]

You're right. We have reached stalemate with the vendors of A. We have offered our max and he has been advised to accept as it's not worth more, we are proceedable, amd no-one else is offering. The only advice we've been given is to offer a bit more then ger the price knocked down at survey. But that feels too risky to me.

[Sengah]

It doesn't really sound like you have much choice if A wants more and your offer is already at the top of your budget... but if you can wait it out, I'd go with A; the cleaning won't cost £30k and so bigger jobs can wait til you've saved a bit - a big garden when children are small feels really valuable - unless B has a big park or similar around the corner? I'd also check out school situation for A asap.

[blinkineckmum]

Sorry. To be clear, we have 2 dc and another due next month! They are both near good schools but the schools near A are so good they may be oversubscribed for this September.
B doesn't have many options for storage bar the loft and utility. I wonder where we'd keep all the stuff we currently have in our 3 sheds? Also, in each the loft would probably be used as an art studio.

[blinkineckmum]

The asking price is much too high. We've offered below. The EA said if we raised our offer it probably wouldn't be worth any more on the mortgage valuation anyway.
The house is filthy. Old carpets, yellow walls... it has a filthy old avocado bathroom that is 3 rooms currently: w/c, shower, bath. So it urgently needs a professional clean, painting, new carpets and a new bathroom. After that we can take out time converting the garage, knocking through the kitchen + dining room and fitting a new kitchen-diner... new windows at some point.
It's got great dimensions and great outdoor space (cul-de-sac) opposite a canal and playing fields... It could be lovely!

[OVienna]

A. It sounds like you could outgrow B. Is A more of a forever home?

[BackforGood]

School catchments would make a difference to me with (almost) 4 small dc. If they are 1/2 hour away from each other then presumably different schools ?

[AvoidingDM]

What sort of work is needing done to A?

If it's kitchen/ bathroom / windows etc could you live with it until you've saved enough to do it?

Does the asking price truely reflect the condition and the need to do work?