Help me choose my new home!

[egdehsdrawkcab]

I could post links but it might out me! But which would you choose?

1. a substantial Victorian terraced property (5beds), oodles of charm and character, needs some updating but wonderful spaces (even if it doesn't flow brilliantly). Two bathrooms but no downstairs w/c. Has space to put one in mind. Has big cellar that could be great playroom. Road is okay, a little busy and parking can be tricky.

2. smaller detached Victorian 'villa' type property (3beds) that is in a very pretty and desirable street. Easy parking. Modernised and extended kitchen/dining thing at rear. Could potentially do the loft one day (most on the street have done this). One bathroom but has downstairs w/c and separate utility.

We have two young DC, so both would be big enough. They are both the same price. Both near to school and our local station.

Decision made. Hope you are very happy there.

Congratulations! I'm really pleased for you :)

It seemed obvious to me that this is the house that makes you happy!

I love the post upthread about hobbies that take up space. Do your family have any of these? If not now is a good time to create some! (Well, after the decorating perhaps...)

Do you know about this website btw? Loads of procrastination good tips for decoration www.houzz.co.uk

Update: negotiations continue - we are 2% short of the price they hoped to achieve...... grrrrrr.

I'd go for no. 1 just because of the extra space. Also, if the houses you are looking at are in the same areas as the one you have posted, St Margaret's is better for schools than Kingston.

2 I could t deal with both attached neighbours or parking issues

It's only one attached Neighbour at house 1, it's end of terrace and has side access to garden....

Good luck with the negotiations OP. We live in a 5 bed Victorian terrace similarish to the first one, in North London, and we use all the space with only one DC! We use one bed as a dressing room and the other two as study and guest room (MIL visits a lot).
You mention parking wardens, but you’d be able to get a residents’ permit wouldn’t you, so wardens would not be relevant?
We have in street parking, permit only from 11 to 1 every week day to stop people parking for the day and using the nearby station to commute. We rarely have to park more than 2 cars away from outside our house.

NB you mentioned double glazing, do make sure you budget carefully if you want to get it put in quickly as it’s pretty pricy to double glaze period sash windows.

Thanks Jessie - have you done your sash windows? What are we talking for two large bays?

I am Voting house one.

because I basically did the exact same thing a few years ago.

The two things I said I would not give on in my search were off street parking and an ensuite. Then as I looked I realised the location mattered much more. I have neither and am very very happy.
Use Ocado for shopping and walk lots more.

If your house is laid out like our victorian semi we converted the hall from front door to kitchen to a downstairs loo on one end and a pantry on the kitchen end.

I'm totally onboard with house 1.... just need to secure it!

We decided not to double glaze our bays and just to have the wooden sashes overhauled because noise was not such a big deal for us. I never had the full (three window) bay priced up for double glazing but did get a price to double glaze a single window at the back, which was smaller than any window in the bay. Came in at over a grand. That was for nice wood frame though, am presuming that you’d want something in keeping with the period style. A lot of the houses in our street have had UPC double glazing put in at some point in the eighties or nineties and it’s really nasty. However maybe there are better looking non-wood options out there now.

Came on to say house 1! The parking might be annoying, but it's not like house 2 comes with a garage or driveway. And being on the end of the terrace will make a huge difference re sound! Fingers crossed - I hope you get it!

They accepted our offer 😀🥂

Congratulations!

Yay! Congratulations!

Congratulations

I was going to say house 2 because I couldn't handle having 2 sets of joined neighbours but EOT is fine!

Exciting!

I was going to say 1 so yay!

1. parking + detached.

MikeUniformMike maybe read the thread?!

Proof IMO that the people going on about parking haven't read the thread, don't know the house is in London, that the OP hardly uses the car or now that she's put an offer in on the 1st house!!!!

I hadn't read the full thread. If OP has put in an offer for house 1 (or something very similar) and doesn't need parking, then that's great.
I much preferred the 2nd though.
I hope it goes through ok and that they'll be very happy in their new home.
If only I could afford it...

Thanks everyone for all your input, and the congrats! Now, grandplans, I'm off to houzz.....

Congratulations!
I love house 1.

Any way you could use the side of house space for parking?

MikeUniformMike sorry, reading back my post it sounds harsher than I meant it!

It's a nice dream isn't it! We could never afford to move back to London now we've left! Happy for the OP :)

egdehsdrawkcab enjoy! I love houzz :)