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Original poster

Do you live in your "perfect" house?

94 replies

JustAnotherCountryPumpkin · 12/09/2020 20:53

Not the dream house you'd buy if you won the lottery, but the most ideal house you can afford. I'd say mine is an 8/10. I keep thinking of moving, but realistically I think I would only be trading one thing for another. For example, my perfect house is detached, but I could only afford one of those if it was somewhere less pretty than my current street. Living somewhere less pretty than this would not be ideal to me. I really need to stop browsing Rightmove Blush

OP posts:
catnoir1 · 13/09/2020 08:58

My house is a 10. This is my perfect house.

YellowNotRed · 13/09/2020 09:04

No. Current house is 2/10 but it was a logical choice and we made a lot of money of it.

Next house is 7/10, it's the next step up and detached which is great, nice area, but doesn't have the outdoor space I want.

In another 3 years will have saved enough for the 10/10 house!

NewHouseNewMe · 13/09/2020 10:09

Like @jojosm2 my perfect house rarely comes up around here. When they do, there is a bidding war.

My current house was a 9/10 but is now about a 7/10. My tastes have evolved and I now value privacy and space over the actual house. We will see.

CurlyStrawsRock · 13/09/2020 10:32

@chukwe we moved from Grove Park into Kent in 2018! Do miss the cheaper zone 4 trains and our little house there will always have a special place in my heart even if it wasn't in the best part of GP!

SciFiScream · 13/09/2020 10:43

No. It's our forever house but it's not a perfect house. We're just a bit too big for it but once both DC move out it will be perfect. Although I'm anticipating they'll each be here for another 10 or 15 years!

Kitchen is tiny, we only have one bathroom with toilet inside the bathroom. One of the bedrooms is tiny (but if we were clever could fit a double bed) it suits adults with no toys better than a small child who needs play space and toy space!

We really need another toilet. Would love another "reception" room and a bedroom. There's space to extend but we'll never have the money for that. Location is fab. Town is fab. So I'd give our home a 7/10.

goldenlilliesdaffodillies · 13/09/2020 11:08

We rented our house 25 years ago. It was very ramshackle then and extremely old but I always loved it, wondering who lived there every time I drove past. When it came on the market unexpectedly, we went to have a look thinking we couldn't afford it. We were the only people to view it and put an offer in. It really felt like the house had been waiting for us for all those years. I dearly love our house.

BrieAndChilli · 13/09/2020 11:20

We rent so no not our perfect house as it’s a dump, need totally renovating.
We have some money for a deposit but with Covid, house prices, 85% LTV mortgages max and furlough it’s going to be a while before we can move and buy.
It’s would destroying to feel houses coming into the market that before Covid we could have afforded, and would have been able to buy with a 10% deposit and see them selling while we don’t have a chance!

boredboredboredboredbored · 13/09/2020 11:37

Yes!!! But I've just sold it as I'm relocating 😭😭😭 It was a complete wreck and my divorce house for me and my 2 dc. We've been so so happy here I'm gutted to leave the house but moving to a beautiful new area 40 miles away.

The one and only fault is the very very loud family who adjoin me, EVERYTHING is loud, kids, mother and father shagging, instruments, kids crying etc etc

isseywith4vampirecats · 13/09/2020 11:49

no house is perfect but im very happy with the house we have not far from town centre in a good area of our town, two bed semi (there are only two of us) with a garage and small but adequate garage best bit about it is due to finances last year we were able to buy it cash so no mortgage , will be perfect when we have finished the renovations

isseywith4vampirecats · 13/09/2020 11:49

thats adequate garden not garage lol

thelegohooverer · 13/09/2020 11:51

I’ve spent a lot of time looking at houses and haven’t been able to find one where we wouldn’t lose more than we’d gain.

I thought I had found “the one” but when I viewed it, realised it was a 1970s build in pretty poor condition, and at the upper end of our budget, so not a feasible buy.

I think I’d have to build from scratch to do any better. We could do work on ours, but my asd ds would not cope.

I’d like a great, ground floor level storage area for all the attic stuff, and I’d like to convert the attic. I’d like a larger kitchen to facilitate a better layout. But more than that, I’d like more green space, more sky and more trees so I’m loathe to extend into what garden we have.

It’s small stuff. So I suppose I’m about 8/10

notheragain4 · 13/09/2020 12:07

We are about to move to our near perfect house, the fact we don't yet live in it probably means I'm still in the honeymoon phase, will get greedy and want more ha! But seriously for me it ticks every box, detached, 4 beds, double garage, 2 reception rooms, office for me, the compromises are the garden is smaller than I'd like and it's not a dream kitchen, it's enough for a dining area and small sofa but would love one of those sprawling kitchens with big island and full dining and lounge area. But never dreamed we'd get a house like this for our family when falling pregnant young so feeling very grateful.

chromis · 13/09/2020 12:29

Yes, love my house, we moved in nearly 3 years ago and its vastly exceeded expectations.

Detached, quiet and nice neighbours, lovely view, friendly area, good dog walks and walking/cycling distance of a town.

On the downside the kitchen is dark brown and from 1995, and all the bathroom suites have floral patterns on them. But there's plenty of space and we're getting round redecorating gradually.

MrsAvocet · 13/09/2020 12:58

No, but its not far off. Location is great, its detached with a good sized garden and its more or less the right size. We've got a proper office downstairs which is key as DH WFH most of the time even pre Coronavirus and seperate living and dining rooms, plus enough bedrooms for every child to have their own. The kitchen is a bit too small though and I guess another bedroom so that nobody has to move if we have guests would be nice. And I would like something with a bit more character. Ours is only about 25 years old and its bit dull. I like old houses really. That said, when we bought this house we looked at loads of old, characterful properties like old farmhouses etc in the same price bracket and found nothing remotely in the same league in terms of useful living space. Plus of course there's upkeep. We've got friends in a beautiful period house a mile or two away from ours and all their money seems to go on the house as its always needing something. They rarely go on holiday etc. It is absolutely beautiful and everything in it is top notch, but personally I don't feel its worth it. Our house is utilitarian in comparison but its still very nice and we've been able to afford holidays, children's hobbies etc as well. So I suppose actually for what we need right now it is ideal. Its just not my dream home - I still look in the estate agents when we're passing!

SauvignonGrower · 13/09/2020 13:03

7/10 but the internal layout isn't quite right and it'd cost more money than we currently have to sort it. And until we do, it just gets really run down because we don't want to decorate before re-configuring it. Gah!

notangelinajolie · 13/09/2020 13:16

The most perfect teeny tiny 18th century cottage has, just gone up for sale nearby and DH called the estate agent to enquire about it - there are 10 viewings lined up for it already. They expect double that before the end of the day. We don't stand a chance 😢
It is the home of my dreams.

PushyMeez · 13/09/2020 13:17

No, we're very back and forth atm about whether to move. We know we won't stay here forever but for it to be a worthwhile move, we'd need to max out, and the uncertainty with the economy is making us very nervous and not sure what to do for the best!

Our current home was a good price, and we've hugely improved it so lots of equity. Love the spacious downstairs, the location, and the big drive. It's a very 'solid' family home and I do like it a lot. But it's lacking in kerb appeal and upstairs is a bit too small in the long term. It's just not the 'endgame' I've always wanted.

So I'd give it a good 7, which is making it hard to decide when to take the leap to the 9/10! There isn't a lot out there that I'd rather have (though I always know it when I see it, and then WISH I was proceedable! 🤦‍♀️)

Sarahbeans · 13/09/2020 14:18

I'd give my house a 7. I'm happy enough with it, but there's 3 main things I would change.

Currently the stairs are in the living room, and we have a porch rather than a hall. I'd like a small hallway with the stairs in.
If I had a bigger garden, I'd extend to the side behind the garage to give me more storage, but mainly a utility room.

My last house had an integral garage, we just have an attached garage to the side. If I could, I'd prefer an integral garage as it gives you bigger upstairs space and I could have an en-suite and make the box room bigger. It's too small.

But that's all I'd change. I like the basic layout. Love the location, like the look of the house and most of the rooms are a good size.

Lazypuppy · 13/09/2020 14:22

10/10 for us. 4 beds, detached, huge garden and in the area we wanted to stay. Its got room to extend if we wanted to make rooms bigger.

Unless something changes drastically we have no plans to move for the next 40years until we are in our 70s and may want to downsize.

7Days · 13/09/2020 14:28

Not 10/10 yet.
But great location and all the rooms are nice and spacious and a good size garden.
All we have to do is being it up to date from the 80's

PickAChew · 13/09/2020 14:42

We love it but it's an 8. We would have had to double our budget to do better. We could only afford this because it's a quirky house on a main road. More traditional houses, off the main road, are about 50% more for similar square footage and plot size.

Igglepigglesgrubbyblanket · 13/09/2020 14:47

Ours is close for me, but DH doesn't like it. Reasonable amount of space, bedroom for each of the kids and office each for me and DH. Backs onto a park, which I really like, nice bit of London near loads of stuff (5 -10 mins to zone 3 tube, cafés, restaurants, pubs, shops, friends) plenty going on in normal times. 40 min commute for me.
Downsides: no parking (I don't drive but DH does), garden is small, lots of noise (traffic, kids, drunk people, aeroplanes), London levels of crime, house is a terrace.

DH very keen to move to anywhere else and has almost persuaded me to swallow an insane commute in return for quiet, low crime, great garden on the edge of another city.

donnadenise · 13/09/2020 14:57

It ticks the boxes for my requirements when I moved in so I suppose it's the right house in that respect. It's not perfect though, it needs a lot of work doing to get it to a standard where it could be sold.

wegetthejobdone · 13/09/2020 17:05

Not at all, its a fairly ugly and unfashionable house, but if we are sensible it might be possible to pay off the mortgage by the time we are 45, certainly by 50. If we went for an 'ideal' house we would probably be committing to working full time until we are 70.

Baxdream · 13/09/2020 17:39

My perfect house would be the following:
Detached
1 large master suite with ensuite and dressing room
2 double rooms that are separated from master by stairs/landing etc
Lounge
Large kitchen diner
Study
Quiet cul de sac
Quiet location where you hear nothing- no roads etc

We're moving to very close to the above except there's an A Road not far and it's in a lovely but convenient location rather than a pretty village