Have we picked the wrong house?

[Burnout101]

We're FTB and just had an offer accepted on a house yesterday but I'm having worries about it now. We don't have a huge budget so we always knew we'd have to compromise on the house in some way, it's not going to be our forever house, but worried we compromised too much/in the wrong ways.

The house is a really good size for our budget but it's small rooms and more of them iykwim rather than fewer big open rooms, I was thinking this suited us better but has anyone gone for small rooms and grown to dislike it later on? Due to where supporting walls are etc I don't think we'll be able to open up the rooms without major cost so we'd definitely be living with the smaller rooms for some time.

Also the house is great but it's got no parking and is on a busy street with yellow lines outside the house and on street parking very nearby but on one side only so we'll always be parking outside someone else's house (no resident bays/restrictions though) - is this liveable or a mistake to go for?

Not sure I'm having buyer's remorse but definitely buyer's wobbles .

The parking would put me off.

do you have children? planning to have children? would you be able to afford anywhere with some parking?

Unfortunately only you will know the answer. There is a reason why you offered on this house and not one of the others. What are the other houses you have seen like?

I personally would not buy a house without off street parking and it was pretty much the only thing we said we would not compromise on. But it doesn't bother others. What are the things you will not compromise on and does the house tick those boxes?

No parking would be a definite no for me im afraid.

Parking would be a deal breaker for me I'm afraid

No, we're on the slightly older side for FTB, have an older teenager and definitely no plans for any more children. Our teen is dead set against starting to learn to drive and public transport is pretty good around where we'll be moving so hopefully won't disadvantage her too much. We're hoping by getting on the ladder asap then in 5-10 years we could afford something a bit better with a drive etc.

I think it’s sometimes more practical to have separate rooms, particularly if you have children.

The parking will probably be annoying, but if everything else about the house and location is what you want, and it’s in your budget, then it might be something you’ll have to get used to. Is there always available parking along the street when you have visited?

Ok, sounds like it's going to be a bigger deal than I was thinking. Basically if we go for somewhere with parking we'll have to compromise massively on the size of the house because we need to go for something very cheap due to what we can afford/deposit.

I would pull out and wait, it is a very expensive mistake to make.

I quite like separate rooms. Appreciate my sitting room

The parking would out me off straight away!!!! You could be carrying your heavy shipping up and down the street when you are unloading xxx

Do you use your car all the time? Commuting, shopping, other regular trips etc? If so, then it might be a compromise but if you walk/use public transport a fair bit then the parking is a non issue.

Do you actually know what it costs to open up a load bearing wall? It isn’t that costly (better do that then overpay for another house).

My main concern with the house would be the busy road, really.

The parking would probably put me off mainly due to carrying shopping to the house, I lived in a flat and had to carry shopping a long way to the top floor, which I've vowed never to do again.

Lots of smaller rooms rather than open plan I thought would put me off, but with a teenager (we have 2) we've actually found that now we need an extra reception room for them, so we are converting the garage for the kids. The rest of our downstairs will be open plan next year, but the kids really need their own space (and I need a room for when DP is watching sky sports!)

If you have a teenager, separate rooms are much better than open plan. If you can park nearby, it's no problem. I've never lived anywhere with parking and wouldn't consider it an issue. Unless you live in a very cheap part of the country, it sounds as if you have good value for a first time buyer.

We had off street parking like that in our first house and lived there for 6 years. It was a bit annoying sometimes if we had to drive around looking for a space but as you say, you usually do have to compromise somewhere. Our house was walking distance to the station and the high street which was more important to me. Now we have a bigger budget we can have both (but have still made some compromises!) you just need to work out what's most important to you right now.

I would usually get online delivery of grocery shopping so that was never an issue for me.

The rooms are fine. The parking isn’t. Even if you don’t mind, you’ve said you would sell again in 5 years, so avoid something that would make the house harder to offload.

I had on street parking in my old house, with one child. It was fine and didn't bother us at all. We now have 3 kids and a drive: it's an essential for me now.

We have a big open plan downstairs and I hate it. I wish we had more smaller rooms.

Since our toddlers grew into a teen and tween I have become a big fan of walls and doors! Though TBF quite a lot of that is about separating the children - music practice Vs TV watching Vs homework.

Of course the parking would be a deal-breaker for some - but obviously that is why this house is in your budget. I have to say the yellow lines sound concerning. Do neighbours have ORP and could you perhaps convert your front garden area? Where do everyone's cars go? I would be happier if there was parking outside each house or some other way of seeing that there are nominally enough parking spaces to go round.

Something smaller but with better parking might be easier to sell on, unless you can add ORP yourselves. But ultimately do buy for yourselves, not the market, because this will be your home.

We've opted for a house that is less open plan and more rooms, it's more practical for us (although does have a kitchen diner).

No parking would be a deal breaker for us though, we have 2 cars we heavily rely on.

The parking would only be an issue for me with kids- but then again you have to wonder about selling it on without parking. No option to drop the curb and create parking?

The parking would be a deal breaker for me too.

Agree that more rooms is best with a teenager - gives everyone a bit more privacy - but the parking would put me off. It would also potentially make your house harder to sell on.

I would say some parking is essential, either at the front or at the rear. As others have said, it will put off most other buyers with young families and could become difficult to sell in the future.

Just because you offered then doesn’t mean you understood the whole picture. There are lots of things over time that crop up when you buy a house and think, “I wish I had thought of that at the time.”

It’s never too late to change your mind.

I have only lived in place with on street parking, or small car parks that might as well be on street parking, so it’s not a deal breaker for me. I was quite surprised to learn that about 2/3rds of UK houses have a driveway because it’s certainly not the case here (southwest London/Surrey area) buying a house with a driveway could easily be an extra £80-£100,000 - if you’re somewhere like me this might just have to be the compromise. A driveway is a dream for when we’re ‘proper grownups’. But if you’re somewhere where a drive wouldn’t be such a difference it might be worth waiting for?

I wouldn’t worry about the lots of rooms, especially with a teen it might actually be helpful to be able to space out