Gorgeous Georgian house - on a roundabout

[DressedToDepress]

Hi all. Am so torn about putting an offer on this house. I've fallen in love with it and am trying to convince myself the negatives aren't SO bad but DH isn't convinced.

Positives: It's SO PRETTY. More than big enough for our growing family, way bigger than we could normally afford. Has all the quirky period features we love in buildings, plus great sized rooms, layout etc. Nice size garden, excellent location for schools, amenities etc. Did I mention it's pretty?!

Negatives: It's on a small but very busy roundabout. Parking is a space rented in the pub car park opposite, £50 a month. No real back garden to speak of so nowhere to relax outside away from traffic noise. Single glazing and no way of changing that because it's Grade 2 listed. Very old building which is lovely but possibly a money pit? Needs some work doing, poor condition windows / possibly roof, bit of plastering.

We have one toddler and a dog.

What do you think: www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-90118949.html

Blimey, no parking, busy road/roundabout, family home with no garden and opposite a pub. It would need to be very cheap/much better than anything else I could afford.

It is very pretty though. Is the location otherwise good, ie apart from the immediate downsides basically where you want to be?

It would be the pub and the road that put me off most, not particularly the roundabout. I can see why you love the actual house though.

Can see why you're torn - it's very seductive. The parking is extortionate though - that would put me off more than the roundabout.

Lovely house but the traffic noise would drive you mad, dashing across the busy road holding toddler and shopping would be a nightmare, the fumes from cars is not healthy to live beside, Windows would always be filthy (lived next to a busy road as a teen 30 years ago when traffic wasn’t as bad as now and windows needed weekly washing) and the garden is not big enough for a child and dog to run about in.

@Alloverthegrapevine you're right. It's a very nice family friendly pub, not a rowdy boozer, but still... and yes, the parking cost is eye watering. We don't have to use it, but the alternative is trying to find a space further up the road which is a bit of a walk. Trying to wrangle dog / toddler / shopping from the car on a rainy winter's day wouldn't be fun...

I think it's hideous! It's not even pretty. Poky, dark rooms, horrible galley kitchen. It's depressing. Imagine what it will be like in the winter when it's peeing down with rain, dark and you're stuck indoors listening to the traffic thunder past. You must be mad!

I thought you meant actually in the middle of a roundabout! Not by the side of a mini-roundabout. So I don’t actually think it’s that bad, location wise.
Obviously, you’ll know the area.
How loud was traffic noise from inside the house?
Can you get secondary glazing in grade 2 houses?
How near is the pub? (That would actually be a bonus for me, but I can understand why it be off putting for others)
The garden/s aren’t huge. But you have outside space, front and back.
I think it looks gorgeous Op.

@FatherBrownsBicycle yes, the idea of washing dust and grime off all those little panes of glass each week isn't very appealing. And you're right about the health downsides too.

Immediately I am wondering about the practicality of having the car parked across a busy road with a toddler. If you’re carrying shopping and trying to hold on to them and carrying shopping on a rainy day, hmm not so attractive.

Also the pub, is it nice or a dive? How much noise will there be from there and the road? I lived next to a big roundabout on the ring road and sirens, police helicopter and traffic was constant.

The pub might not always be a pub. What if it shuts and gets converted into a house? Where would you park then?

The house sounds like a money pit. Sorry, I know it’s pretty but your heart is needing to be overruled by your head on this one. The outdoor space doesn’t seem that great in the photos?

And all the things that you’re thinking might put you off, if you try and sell will put off buyers.

I wouldn’t, to be honest. Sorry @DressedToDepress! Find a more practical house and make it pretty - much cheaper and less stressful especially with a toddler!

How busy is the road? It doesn't look that busy

Lack of outside space is a deal breaker with a toddler and dog, especially during these times.

@Daisydoesnt haha! Each to their own. We live in a Victorian terrace at the mo so am used to the galley kitchen. The rooms have lovely high ceilings and are quite light and airy really. But I don't like vast open-plan modern homes, I'm drawn to poky and dark anyway!

It’s gorgeous but I think I’d go for one of these instead

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-94791191.html
Absolutely the garden on this one. Especially for toddler and dog. You can get away with chucking a ball for the dog and sending DC to play outside whilst you stay in your Jimjams on the rare occasion you feel like utter shite and are really poorly.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-95127263.html
This one much the same although closer to the 4 bed as there is a loft room.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-80218270.html
This is much cheaper. But not sure.

The house you’ve put up is Gorgeous thoguh but no garden, no parking, busy roundabout would really be a no.

It's beautiful, completely understand how you have fallen in love with it. I could cope with the small garden (what's that patio, is it in a sun trap?) but the noise of cars slowing down and speeding up after the roundabout would be unbearable, plus fumes plus no car park space (what if the pub closes and they build more flats? Plus £50 a week )

Also what if we have a second wave, and another lockdown, and you’re stuck in your gardenless house for 22 hours a day.

Or in the depths of winter when the pub has closed/changed hands and you can’t park for shit, and you’ve got to cross the way with a weekly shop and small D.C.?

I think the lack of a garden, (especially as you have a dog), the lack of parking, (making several trips to carry bags of shopping over from the pub) and the main road would get very old quite quickly.

I can see it is beautiful but would prioritise practicality I’ve beauty in this case

It certainly has kerb appeal.

However I would never buy a terraced house with no rear access. Also:

No to the lack of garden.

No to no downstairs loo.

No to the kitchen.

It’s good space wise inside but that’s about it. It’s not the prettiest house I have ever seen and the parking and road would be a firm no for me.

It would also be a nightmare to sell on if/when you decide to move.

OVer beauty in this case
And go for a more modern 4 bed house that has a drive or parking outside and a garden that you can use

The middle house of boomclaps is an option I'd consider. The cheaper one backs onto an industrial estate.

I think it's lovely and would buy it in a heartbeat, but I don't have small children. If I did I'd go for something more practical where you can park outside the house and have more garden.

It's gorgeous.

What outdoor spaces are near by? We have a similar sized garden and I normally take the kids to the park for a proper run about because our garden is a bit small (plus multi levelled). You'd always need to make sure the gate was secure before letting your child/dog out which would stress me too because of the possibility of people being careless (post/deliveries etc).

We bought because I fell in love (big old house by the sea) but whilst I adore our house, it has had some interesting challenges. I think you both need to be on board for houses like that.

I'd be so tempted though.

The video tour of the back is quite shocking, with a. Kid and a dog I would not be interested in that at all. And parking across the road and trying to lug shopping etc, or in the rain or bad weather, no I couldn’t do it.

If I was older, didn’t drive, maybe, but with a young child and a dog I think the negatives will vastly outweigh the positives very quickly.

I think it's a lovely house but part of the garden by the cliff isn't accessible which is a waste of money.

Don't do it.
No parking and not much of a garden would be a deal breaker for me.
Plus the roundabout.

I love Mumsnet. Thank you for all giving me a healthy dose of sanity.

I think it's what I knew deep down but didn't want to admit!

How much time do you really spend admiring the front of your own house, after all...?

Will keep looking.

Thanks so much @Boomclaps for those links - we do love the look of the cheapest one on there - the river at the back! The ducks! We did view the next most expensive one yesterday but it was a really odd layout and needed a lot of work. Still, it shows there are more practical period houses on offer in the area!