Should we hold out for the ‘perfect’ house

[cooperbug]

Should I be 100% sure that the house we are buying is the perfect one for us? Or does the perfect house even exist?

We have had an offer accepted on a house we really like and have sold ours. We are at the stage where we need to instruct solicitors but I still have slight reservations about it.

There are so many things we love about the house and wouldn’t need to change much. It’s just such a big commitment and I’m feeling a bit anxious about it.

Has anybody bought a house they felt wasn’t quite right for them and then it all turned out ok?

There’s nearly always a compromise with a house depends how big though?

I read on here, compromise on the things you can change and I think that pretty good advice.

What are your reservations about it? Are there other houses in the area, in your budget, that overcome that without causing a worse compromise? Or is the unease about the cost?

When we bought last time, my husband had reservations about the work involved and wanted a newer house. I preferred the one we went for as it was in a more convenient location. My husband wanted to back out of it. We didn't and I don't regret the choice in the sense that the location has made life so much easier, but I do wish we hadn't had to do the extra work, which more than five years later isn't complete. My husband for whom convenience of location was less of an issue would still have preferred we had made a different choice. That said overall he is glad we moved.

I moved 3 years ago into a house that had a smaller garden than I wanted, but was the right size, detached, in excellent school catchment etc.
I'm still addicted to Rightmove, and a "better" house hasn't come up in all that time. So whilst my house isn't perfect I could have waited 3 years plus for one that was.

What are you worried about? Did you have reservations when you bought your first home?

It has a decked yard and not a garden. For the price we are paying it would typically buy you a garden in this area.

The size of the outdoor space can’t be changed however it could be made to feel more like a garden by adding pots, planters, hanging baskets.

I just don’t know if it’s too much of a compromise to take. The house itself we love

If you have any how old are your dc? How much do they use the garden? Is it the sort of size you could take the rat nest decking out and put some lawn in? There are always comprises it just depends how important they are to you.

Do you use a garden a lot? How big is the decked area? It is quite a bit compromise, it depends how much you use a garden really.

Did exactly the same. We ended up with a compromise we both like. Dh wanted a v specific location, I wanted garden and not too huge a mortgage.

We’ve ended up with a big house, great location but smaller garden than I wanted.

I’m going to pack as much as possible into the garden, and also relish the fact it’ll look great without my spending every weekend working on it. I had a back yard before that looked absolutely beautiful with pots, climbers and raised beds. It can be done.

There’s a bit of me wishes I’d not been so conservative with how much we wanted to spend...on the other hand that means we can afford the renovations and still pay off mortgage relatively quickly.

Other houses have come up but like a PP there’d have been compromises with them too.

Just to add the garden is the compromise in our purchase, I think it's only about 80m2 which isn't much bigger than our current house (house itself is doubling so it's not very proportionate!) but I only need room for a nice seating area and eating area and it's not very overlooked, we are near open spaces for the kids to kick a ball. So it's a compromise I'm happy with, but it would be too small for a gardener!

This is the outdoor space

To be fair, that looks like a lot of outdoor space is lost though an extension/garage conversion.

How old are your DC? Do you really need the outside space?

That doesn't look too bad with the bifold doors open it will feel more spacious. Personally I would get rid of the decking too.

I think you could make it 'feel' more garden like with some planters and climbing plants; however, I don't think it is particularly kid friendly. I'd also be concerned about re-sale, as the house looks like it would appeal to families, but the lack of outdoor space would be a deal breaker for me with kids. Covid has made me desire more green space, rather than less.

It looks like a lovely house though, so I can understand your predicament.

I've seen that house on here before, did you link it somewhere op? I dislike the deck and the grey fence, I think with golden gravel and a load of different pots and plants it could be nice but is it a family house? Which way does it face? It looks overlooked, how bad is it at the back?

We have a small courtyard garden but it's been beautifully done (not by us), has big trees around it, is south facing and not overlooked. It also is fine for the type of house, you would never buy this house and expect anything bigger.

I'm wary of anything that affects resale. And before I get jumped on I don't mean resale to profit but if you need to or want to move on, I'd worry that garden would make for a difficult sale. Having bought a house with compromises which make it difficult to sell I'm speaking from experience here.

That looks like a big extension. Are the houses with gardens just without the extension so smaller inside so that there’s a patch of grass at the back? Or do they have actual much larger gardens?

They've done the ubiquitous family room / bifold extension and lost the garden.
If you're thinking of buying a home with garden and doing the same extension you'll be in the same position.
I'd definitely have to rip the decking up, I wouldn't want to provide a rat hotel

I always wanted a big garden but the reality is a lot of work and with a large f amily that is hard to fit in so now I would be happy to sacrifice a large outdoor space for a bigger house . As long as there is room to sit outside and you can make it pretty it wouldn't bother me. In fact I would see it as a plus though I would need green spaces near by for kids to run about in if i had young kids .

I'm getting deja vu has this been shown before? I'm now wondering if I'm replying in the same way I did last time!

It does look quite small, it doesn't help all the grey makes it less garden like. But it depends what you do in the garden, it's still a nice space to eat and sit, it's just quite enclosed.

Can you find out where they got their fire pit table

You could easily put a lawn in that with a few toys etc. Or some shrubs and paving. The garden would be much bigger without the extension, but then the house would be smaller. It does look very clinical but that obviously works for the current owners. It will probably look bigger if you change the decking.

How on earth did that pass planning? It seems very close to boundaries and totally contrary to the general rule of no more 50% of outside space - unless it has a crazily long drive!

Yes I have posted before, still going over it!

We both work full time, have no time for gardening at the moment. It currently takes my husband 3 hours at a weekend to do our front and back which are very green.

Hanging baskets and plant pots will be enough for us. Two big parks within walking distance.I’m not keen on all the grey decking to be honest either.

We have two children 3 and 5 years old. My eldest precedes first be indoors (we need to encourage him into our garden most of the time). My youngest loves being outdoors but is constantly in and out. We like the idea of the bi folds so they can do that and open the space a bit.

It’s south east facing

If you don't have time for gardening isn't this is a win win?

@cooperbug it's really important to remember what works for you, it's easy to get bogged down in other people's expectations, but if you genuinely believe it can work for you then don't doubt your reasons based on other people's desires.

That said ensure you aren't tying too hard to convince yourself because you want the house and it's worth reflecting resale might be slightly more difficult, if it's a long term purchase I wouldn't worry about that too much. I use about 15% of our garden currently, I just sit on the patio! Much of the garden is sloped which is useless and requires mowing!

I think I would like a bigger garden for children. A lot of my childhood was spent in the garden.

If you don't have a lot of time then an area of grass with some shrubs and some pots/hanging baskets would suffice.

For that garden, I would rip up the decking and get rid of garden chairs to give the kids more space.

We looked at a lot of houses and decided what our non-negotiable things were, what we would like and what didn't matter. Our house wasn't perfect but it was a good choice. I don't think you get everything you want unless you have unlimited funds.