'Nicer' location or bigger house?

[feelingverygrateful]

DH and I currently live in a small 3 bed on estate A. It's a typical new build estate commutable to London. Fairly diverse mix of people, mix of owned houses and social housing, a few shops and lots of play parks. We enjoy living here, have a good bunch of friends and it feels pretty safe. It is walking distance to a train station that goes straight into central London (important as DH will commute a few times a week when his office opens up again).

We want a bigger property as we plan to have children and also have a fair few pets. A lovely 5 bed (shall call it house 2) has come up for sale on estate A, a stones throw from our current house.

However, estate B is a 10 minute drive away and is beautiful. We have friends on this estate as well but not as many. Houses come at a premium here because the estate is smaller and more established and doesn't have any social housing. A lovely 4 bed (House 2) has come up for sale in our budget. It's smaller in every way compared to House 1, apart from it has a nice fenced front garden and a bigger back garden (more scope for extension etc). It's not as modern as House 1 and things like bathrooms and kitchen will probably need updating the next 5-7 years. Also DH would have to drive to the train station.

I really had no desire to live on estate B, I like diversity and we are happy on the less fancy estate A. But I cannot get house 2 out of my head! It has kerb appeal in bucket loads, the location is beautiful and quiet and it has more potential for extension if we felt we need it.

We don't really need a 5 bed house, but it gives us lots of flexibility with regards to having a room for the animals and a great size study for DH as well as a playroom for future children.

So what would you go for, House 1 or House 2?

Normally I would go for location every time but you sound like you are happy where you live currently and if you add children into the mix then space becomes more important. I would choose House 1.

Bit confusing as you seem to have called both house 2.

Aargh sorry, house on estate A is house 1. House on estate B is house 2.

I think you know you want house 2. I would go with your gut, house 2. You can always extend later if you need more space, whereas you can't move a house's location.

Are they the same price? Can you compare price per sqft or Sqm?

My husband and I are function over decor? How about the layouts of the rooms.

Are your pets likely to be indoor caged animals or animals that will enjoy garden space?

I would always go for location over property size

@Tartan333 I think the problem is both estate A and B have location pros. Estate A is walking distance to the train station and has most of our local friends which I think is important when children are involved. It also has much better play parks. But estate B has a field of cows at the end of the road and does feel 'nicer'. But it is less diverse (ethnically and socio-economically). The diversity is an issue because our children will be adopted and are likely to be from a different ethnic group to us. I don't want the to grow up in a white middle class bubble.

@MartinJD1976 my heart definitely seems to be with house 2!

@Didicat they are exactly the same price, so house 2 is more expensive per sqft although the bigger front and back gardens might even it out a bit. Downstairs layout is very similar but all rooms in house 1 are bigger and the kitchen unit layout is far superior (18-20 cabinets compared to 12 ish). House 1 also has better storage generally. We have rats (caged) and rabbits (free roam in a room with a hard surface). Looking to use the dining rooms for this in each house. This is easier in house 1 as there is more scope to use other rooms as a study/playroom.

But estate B has a field of cows at the end of the road and does feel 'nicer
That could get bought and built on so your nice view is gone .

Having gone through the years of school/6th Form and now 2nd child off to University , I'd say go for the option where these are nearer .
Getting the train to work, getting DC t school and clubs, swimming, sports , friends over after school etc, so much easier if its nearer.

Is there scope to extend your current house ?

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House 1 definitely. You are happy in estate A so why not stay there and make your life easier. Plus your kids have friends there as do you. No need to move to estate B where you know less people and need to drive to the train. And they could extend the estate and ruin how it is now.

Sorry, you have friends there....just seen you havent got kids yet! Skim reading!

Shat about school catchment areas? If you want children in the future, I would do some research and seriously consider primary and secondary schools, even at this stage.

What about schools, that should say

Agree with pp. I would go with the one with the better school catchment. But if both schooling options are equal, then house 1. If you are happy where you are and you already have friends locally, then you aren't really moving to a worse area so go with the bigger house.

We live on a nice estate
The one 5 mins drive away is nicer - more open so more green, decent views, School nearby

We went for our estate because the houses are bigger and the kids have a room each v sharing in the better estate (smaller house)

So I would say it depends how many kids you want - 2/3 kids either house would work

Sounds like B is the nicer keen appeal house and you could extend and add value and would be a better investment

I'm on my phone so it's difficult to reply to people specifically.

Interesting point about the cow field, I think it's unlikely it will be bought and built on but worth considering. The cow field isn't the only reason, it's generally a quieter area, no houses opposite etc.

Schools aren't too much of a concern because as our children will be adopted they get priority at any school we choose. It's likely that none of the schools in catchment on estate A or B will be suitable. We already have a few on our list that we think will be suitable.

Friends is a good point, we will have to rebuild our support network somewhat if we moved to estate B. Here we have many friends within walking distance and a strong community.

Bigger house on the estate you love. The grass isn't always greener op.

From what you have said, all the positives are on your current estate, apart from it isnt as picturesque a location.

I was you 13 years ago and went with what you have as house 1 and have regretted it ever since, house 2 has always been my regret and Ive grown to hate my location.

My house is going on the market. Well supposed to be, Covid pay reduction is going to cause mortgage issues.

My friend lived in location 2 and extended the house, they sold last year with a huge profit. But actually had a charmed life, lovely dog walks, quiet. My location can be noisy with some asb because it’s larger, more families.

Location 1 is a bit more anonymous though which I do like, location 2 everybody knows every and their business which is a minus for me.

If house 2 is only 10 minutes away, why couldn't oh still walk to the station?

When you say house 1 is generally bigger, by how much. What storage does house 2 offer?

What's the age difference of the two houses? This could make a substantial difference regarding noise that you hear from next door.

Likewise how much smaller is the garden on house 1? You often view garden sizes very differently post children!

Have other houses extended near house 2?

What about schools?

@GreenTulips it's interesting to hear your experience. @FAQs and yours as well! Looks like it could go either way.

@SoloMummy it's a good 10 minute drive, walking would be half an hour if not longer. It's not walkable. He could cycle, but it's just not as convenient as the current location.

House 1 is a new build (as in the last 5 or 6 years) and has things like a built in cupboard in the hallway, storage in the bathrooms etc. Every room is bigger so more capacity to include storage solutions (particularly in the bathrooms).

House 2 is a 90's/00's house. Kitchen and bathrooms look quite reminiscent of those times although perfectly usable and pleasant to look at. But certainly not as modern.

House 1 the garden is very small, smaller than our current garden(!!), no idea what the builders were thinking. We think that's why the house is in our price range. There are lots of play parks nearby so it's not a major problem, but certainly a consideration.

Houses near house 2 have extended.

However, the more I think about it the more the location of house 1 is putting me off. It seems to have quite a lot of smaller houses/flats around it which just aren't as well kept. There are houses either side of the road and the road is very narrow in places, so although there is room for 3 cars on the drive it's just quite a faff if we have more than 1 set of visitors. It's just quite busy and the potential for anti-social behaviour concerns us. We are lucky with the location of our current house (no houses opposite, pretty quiet road without much through traffic).

So....enter house 3! House 3 is 20k more than house 1 and 2, on estate A, almost exactly the same as house 1 in terms of size although layout is better. It is in a much more pleasant location on the estate. It's on it's own little road with just 1 other house, better parking, much quieter, opposite a nature reserve. But is it worth more than a smaller house on estate B?! We think we could get it for just over our budget, and our budget isn't set in stone to be honest.

I'd go for location. Buy 2 - it s the better investment.
There is a possibility you would regret going for number 1, but would never regret number 2.

@Twisique schools we aren't too concerned about. Our children will be adopted and get priority at any school we want them to go to. There is the potential for no 'normal' school to be appropriate. There are a few mainstream but more specialist schools in the local area that are less than 20 minutes away from all the areas we are looking in (although our favourite school is much closer to estate B than estate A!)

House 3 sounds like a good compromise.

One thing is if you’re looking to have a few pets, a larger garden is better esp with children you could create pockets of areas for children, play equipment etc and an area for the pets depending on what you are getting.

We have play parks but teenagers do tend to hang around and the parks are at times damaged and closed off for weeks at a time, it’s actually an ok area, lots of large 3 story 5 bed new builds, down to apartments and coach houses, parking is an issue. We just have issues your house 2 area it sounds like wouldn’t have. Dog poo and parking is the favourite Facebook topic.

But it’s equally important for children to have friends, esp adopted children who want to feel part of a family and community (I’m speaking from experience)

@FAQs it sounds like you live on a very similar estate to us! House 3 has a much larger garden than house 1, which is a huge pro. However DH is concerned about the cost. We are very risk adverse financially, especially as we are adopting and need to prepare ourselves for the fact one of us may have to stay at home and not work, or work very part time.

It might be that house 2 is the compromise, cheaper than house 3, smaller than house 1 and 3 so costs less to run but has the option to extend if we feel the need in the future.