A new vs old debate...

[StatisticallyChallenged]

We've just gone under offer with our current house, a period property in the middle of Edinburgh which we love but we want more space, a garden etc and a bit of a change so we're looking at 2 houses and can't decide what to buy!

We have 2 kids, 10 and 20 months (a total tornado of a child). I work full time, and we run our own business too. We've now basically got a choice of 2 houses...

1. older bungalow, same floor area, big (1/2 acre plot) garden. Has loads of potential, but we'd want to extend the kitchen (60k quote), bathroom needs replaced, every wall needs stripped and likely skimmed, and I'm suspecting we'll end up needing to replace electrics to some extent. I think a lot of DIY has been done so who knows what we'd turn up.

It would need the work done straight away not in a few years time. Garden would probably need professional help to get it decent - lots of huge overgrown trees. On at offers over 455, Home report value 470 but they've had 50 viewings and likely to go to closing soon so may need to bid high to get it.

Site has huge fence and trees round it so no neighbour chat, but it backs on to a road which is likely to get busier due to new builds nearby so trees are needed for noise. Oldest DD hates it.

2. new build a stones throw from the project. Complete - we could be in within 6 weeks. Same square footage pretty much, smaller but nice garden, very light, good sized rooms. Met the neighbours looking around, seem nice. Edge of development so you have neighbours either side but nobody behind so feels quite open, nice views from garden. Priced at 515, I haven't tried to negotiate yet. Oldest DD loves it.

I'm really torn so thought I'd ask some strangers! We've always fancied doing a project but I'm just not sure now is the time and we'd have to live in it while it's done as we have cats so rental is out. And I'm worried about DD - this is already a big change for her and I'm concerned she's not going to settle as well if we're doing a building project in a house she doesn't like. But it has bags of potential.

We choose a project, purely because at the time it was our only option for staying in the area we loved. I don't regret buying it but I'll be honest, it is a total pain in the arse. Reckon it'll be 5 years before we've finished. I dream of lovely 'good to go' new builds because I'm sick of having to cost up yet another DIY job....

I think that I’d go for the new house. I love the idea of a massive garden and making a house exactly how I want it. But in reality I have no DIY skills, I’m crap at making decisions and so find choosing kitchens bathrooms paint colours etc really time consuming, and my favourite thing to do at the weekend is simply hanging out with my kids, not spending time stripping wallpaper. So although I feel new builds ‘aren’t me’ , I’d probably accept that it was the better choice for us as a family.

I think it's hard for anyone to say as it's so personal, I'd never take the project house, the idea of a project fills me with dread- I don't even have the patience to build houses on the sims I always move into the ready made and furnished ones haha! I'm not very creative and I always regret my colour choices etc, I'd rather it be picked for me. I love new builds, the new build sounds perfect to me particularly as you have young children and moving further away you'll want more time to spend with people than building (I assume!). I like estate living and don't yearn for a massive garden. If a project will be a hobby great, if not it just seems a lot of extra effort for the same lifestyle end goal? I suppose it depends on if you want to make money too, houses are homes not investments for me so while I want them to increase I'm not looking to make huge profit. (I'm more ambitious in other areas of my life I promise ha!)

The adding value element is bothering DH a bit - we've done very well on this place and I don't think we'd gain much on a new build especially in the next few years.

That said, I think we could end up hitting the ceiling price for the bungalow/project; it could be a lovely place in a nice garden but it will still be a 4/5 bedroom house at the end of the day.

I think you should carry on looking, it sounds like neither is ideally suited. Are there no houses on the market that would be a smaller more manageable project that you could do over time?

@StatisticallyChallenged how long do you plan to be there? Have you worked out how much the cost of the works would be and what you think the bungalow would be worth finished

We moved into a project with a toddler, she's been totally fine. Currently in an extended 'mid build' state due to lockdown but builder is back this week. We had to move out for 4 weeks at one point but luckily it coincided with family having an extended holiday so we had their house!

I'd say with that 1/2 an acre, it's not contest! The road might bother me though, is it a main road already? How far from the house is the road?

I could (in fact did) do a built with the eldest as a toddler. The little one - I'm not sure. She is the most adventurous child I have ever met (and I run a childcare business!). She climbs EVERYTHING. No fear whatsoever.

It is an A road (although a small Scottish A road, not a dual carriageway). You can currently only really hear it in the garden at the edge where there's fence but no trees. However, the new building side (over the road) is getting a new entry road built from that side, and there's another new development plot further up too so it is expected that traffic will increase. I think the garden is maybe 15m from the road, house about 35ish?

How long will we be there? Who knows, but even the new build will be twice the size of our current house so it will be a while before we feel cramped again.

There's very little else on the market - we've seen the majority. There's one nice ex newbuild which is massive but it's overpriced I think. One ex newbuild showhome which was stunning but has a big boundary issue. Not a lot else.

If it’s only these two houses available I think I would take the new build.

Whilst 1/2 acre lands sounds idyllic, it has to be maintained and secured. All this costs money (fencing isn’t cheap and just lopping a tree can cost £100s). Not to mention the mental strain of having to find and organise trades. If you work and have a toddler how will you find the time to look after the land as well as renovate?

Whilst the “adding value” aspect of the project would appeal and may be more financially savvy, you can’t really put a price on family time and your own quality of life.

I would buy the new house now and enjoy the family whilst they’re still young, then look to potentially do a renovation project later in life when you have more time.

Having lived in a project, personally I'd never do it again. It never got completely done, If the new build is really spacious, I'd go for it. I've only seen tiny new builds so can't imagine what a spacious one is like.

Just been out and spend over an hour looking round the new place. It is a good size - 2400 sq ft. Our whole downstairs living space right now would fit in the open plan kitchen diner

Go for the project. And if you’re not the highest bidder that’s the end of that.

Unfortunately going for the project would lose us the new build as they've not even announced the closing date yet; last one and there's another party interested but they prefer us as the other wants to part ex whilst we're already sold.

I think, after spending a lot of time in it, we're veering towards the new house. We've had a huge amount of stress recently, we thought covid would kill our business, my work has been crazy...I'm just not sure I can mentally face doing a project. And big DD really hates it. I had a long talk with her and she said she'd rather stay here than move to the project house despite it being way bigger.

We actually went round with a tape measure and planned out where stuff could go which helped a lot, it's hard to visualise empty spaces whereas project house is fully furnished so much clearer from that perspective.

I think if there’s doubts, sometimes it’s better to walk away. I’m sure once you’re in your new house relaxing & not stressing about a big project you’ll feel better. And there are always more houses & projects in the future when the time is better for you. Good luck OP

New house sound like the sensible choice for your family at the moment. You can always sell and take on a project house in a few years' time when your DD is a bit less of a tornado!

The project house could be lovely. But I think the simpler option is better for now. It won't be a white box for long, that's for certain! After visiting it again yesterday I spent most of last night planning how we'd use it and how to style it and I can really see how it could be now. And I woke up this morning and realised I hadn't even thought about project house.

I think it will also cost us a lot more to live in the bungalow over the next few years in addition to the cost of doing it up - higher mortgage, higher utilities, garden maintenance, lots of windows which will probably need replaced...plus whatever diy gems I can't see! I think the next house will be a project, but for now time family life matters more.

I would go for the new house. Even though I like "older properties" with character. But 2 children (one being a toddler), a full time job (childcare business, so a lot of work) means that you already have a lot on your plate. A project - especially one that involves so much work that needs to be done sooner rather than later - means that there will be very very little time to spend with the family and the children, do things that are not related to the house project, and they will get to live on a building site for months and even years possibly. The project might be your thing, chances are it's not theirs, and your older child already says she hates it. I don't even mention the money involved here and the time you will need to maintain the garden. I live in Scotland to, and I know exactly how high the prices can go when it gets to sealed bids - easily 20-25% extra or even more.

In your place, I would go for the new build now, and move to a "project house" when the children are much older. At this time, family time is more important than a big house with a big garden that both need a lot of work, time and money to put into.

Project is offers over £455k and likely to go to a close. So would cost nearer £490k. Add £60k for extension & kitchen, £550k. Add another £15k for new bathrooms, flooring, plastering, electrics, insulation etc. So £565k. Even if it goes for survey value, that’s still £545k (and not a big spend for doing all the work).

The new build isn’t likely to increase in value beyond normal market changes, the cottage may well.

The big garden sounds great, and personally I would never ever want a new build, but you have the cost difference and immediate practicality.

Having done a decent amount of work to our current home there's no way we would bring everything except the kitchen in at £15k with the prices of trades around here, and we wouldn't have the time or energy to DIY much so it would be significantly more I think. I also think it will be over £490 on closing; I'd be very surprised if it's under £500k. We were on for O/O £450 and went for £505k, and that was doing a mini closing date with just two parties. Given the number of interested parties in this place it could go way over.

We can realistically spend about £575ish after stamp duty - we'd be perilously close to running out of money and being stuck in a half done house. If we'd got in earlier and been able to just submit an offer at close to valuation it might be very different.

This thread has been really useful though, as it did help to clarify things. The more I answered questions, the more the reality/practicality sank in.

We made a very similar decision recently and ended up going for the house that needed barely anything done to it. I loved the idea of the project, but it just wasnt the right time for us.

Just do some digging in the building company for the houses and see if you can talk to anyone that moved in. A well known company has built some expensive houses near us. They look lovely and surprising have space around them....but the quality is terrible. Everything is cheap and bottom quality. Ie the roof lights are not Velux and higher chances of leaking. Concrete used for the floor had quick drying compound in so they have all cracked badly....floor coverings couldn't be laid they were so bad.

The advantage of a new house is that it is new...if you are going to have years if hassle it might not be such a good bet