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Which house? Pros and con list

16 replies

thelastmullercorner · 06/10/2020 12:25

Both similar sizes, all detached, all need fully decorating, though House A and C better condition (house B full of woodchip). House A and C 325k, House B 305K. A may negotiate, potentially C too though they've just reduced.

House A
Pros
In the area where we already live (love the area, great for children, loads to do).
Has a lovely back and front garden, and as it raised, both are really private.
Room to extend.
Good for my husbands work.
Ten minute walk from family.
Very good primary and secondary (baby currently a few months old, but looking forward!)
Kitchen and bathroom not our taste and would look to replace , but would work for a few years whilst we saved(though bathroom only has a shower, and would like a bath for baby)
Very slightly more room than the other house, and could potentially put a downstairs WC in the hall.
Area really good, but still friendly and diverse

Cons
Has about ten steep steps to get into the front garden
Has a shared drive with two others houses, and a garage that I would need to go through to get into the back garden without using the steps. No space to park in front of house. Would need to park one car in garage if had a visitor (currently only I drive).
Traffic can be bad for me to get to work (up to an hour, but I am used to it at this point!)
A couple of streets away from row of shops, with the odd bar and pub, so might get noise from them (though house has secondary glazing and I didn't hear anything whilst I visited, and I wouldn't have thought people would have used that street to walk through)
Next door have a garden bar, so I'm guessing that potentially could be noisy?

House B
Pros
Really good area (usually we don't look in this sort of area as we couldn't afford it!)
Close to really good primary
Cheaper than first by 20k, though A may have some wiggle room
Drive - space for lots of cars
Room to extend
Cul de sac, really quiet
Has a garden, not quite as big or nice, but secluded, and we could make it nice in time.

Cons
Would probably need to extend to have room for downstairs wc
Further from family (approx 15minute drive)
Husband further from work
Felt like didn't get good phone signal, but need to go back and check
Feel like we won't fit in the area, and area has less going on, but may be wrong as I don't live there already
Would likely need to move for secondary, though that would be in about 9 years.
Kitchen liveable, bathroom would need doing straight away really, but then could have bath straight away for baby

House C
Really good area
New kitchen (to my taste), boiler 5 years old, looks like only painting and new carpet needed really
Lovely back garden
Parking for one, two if put car in garage
Room to extend
Really good school

Cons
Bathroom has no bath, and I'd feel bad ripping it out as it's fairly new
No room to out in extra wc, would need to extend
Link detached with next door, and has a shared access path for bins (could maybe cause issues)
On a main road (though it is a 20 and has speed bumps)
Would need to move for high school
15 minutes from family
In a village, so might be harder for child as grows older?
Downstairs all open plan, so would need to put wall back in

If anyone had any thoughts I would hugely appreciate it! I am rubbish at decisions at the best of times, and have struggled more so since having our baby.

All are chain free apart from A where they are moving into an empty flat.

OP posts:
thelastmullercorner · 06/10/2020 12:26

Sorry I've just read that back and it's a very long read, apologies!

OP posts:
Purplewithred · 06/10/2020 12:30

C sounds like too much work; A - depends on how much of an issue those steps are, B - is DH happy to travel further, and can you go back and look at the area more carefully.

Links to the properties would help a lot.

Viviennemary · 06/10/2020 12:37

House A wouldn't be keen on steps and shared drive. Otherwise sounds lovely.

House B If you're worried you won t like the area that is a big red flag.

House C a few smaller issues. No bath is annoying. Why do people do this. Wouldn't worry too much about secondary school if your baby is only a few months old. There s probably a bus

I think I'd wait to see if anything else comes up. But house C is cheaper so you eill easier afford to extend. I think I'd wait.

AiryFairyMum · 06/10/2020 12:52

B - you can make it your own. Avoid any shared access and garden bars like the plague. Also, this has the best potential to make money if you sell.

sunshinesupermum · 06/10/2020 13:07

Definitely not A because of the shared drive as well as steep steps. Not sure any of these sound good enough tbh! Is this meant to be your forever home? If so C is obviously out as you will need to move. It depends on what you are prepared to compromise on. I'd always go for the location that suits best in most ways.

Jaxhog · 06/10/2020 13:14

B good for now and has more future potential. Good school too. Check phone signal though - other providers too.

Not A - shared drives are a nightmare
Not C - No bath and no WC. Fixable but a lot of faff.

ShyTown · 06/10/2020 13:23

Probably A for me because I wouldn’t be bothered by the major cons as we’ve never had off street parking in any of our houses and we lived for years in a city (not U.K.) where 99% of the housing stock has stairs up to the front door. B could have potential if you can come around to the area and DH doesn’t mind the commute but those are big IFs. I’d discount C mainly due to the main road but also if there’s nowhere to put a second loo without doing major building work.

Rafflesway · 06/10/2020 13:55

Sorry but I wouldn't settle for any of them.😟

Shared drives/access a big no no for me! Lack of bath would also.be a no. (We have a bath in the main bathroom and an enclosed shower in the en suite and use both daily so wouldn't be without either.) We have 2 loos but both are upstairs. We have been here 27 years and had a child with severe learning difficulties who was born shortly after moving in. Never caused an issue! (Have discussed the possibility of building one downstairs in our dotage but certainly not necessary at present.)

I would keep looking if I were you. Something else will turn up!

Annasgirl · 06/10/2020 14:37

I agree with the last poster - none of them sound like they are workable. And you seem to be looking across a large area so there should be more available. TBH at your budget, I would go for a Semi that has all the other boxes ticked - so great area; great garden; no steps; close to schools; downstairs loo etc.

I live in a semi in a very, very desirable area and I would not move to a lesser area for detached.

clary · 06/10/2020 15:20

Sorry Op.

Shared drive is a pain and a no no for me.
Ditto having to move again for secondary - realistically you'd have to be looking in just eight years' time. Better to move to somewhere in area A (good schools) without the shared drive.

I'd take a semi in the right area over a shared access. No bath or new kitchen is less of an issue IMO.

SuzieCarmichael · 06/10/2020 17:43

A: neighbours with garden bar would be an immediate red flag.

B: how much do you like / tolerate having building and decorating work done? If you don’t mind it then this would be the one I think.

C: depends how much of an essential a bath would be for you.

thelastmullercorner · 06/10/2020 22:57

Hi everyone, thank you so much for your replies!

With House B DH has said he is happy to travel more. The area is really good, technically better than where we are, I don't know if part of it is me worrying as I've always lived in the same postcode pretty much! We don't mind doing work to it

Definitely not our forever home, but we are struggling for space in this house and don't have a garden so feel we need to move really.

We were looking at detached's as I do night shifts - I might have a look at some more semi's though.

OP posts:
thehousefinder · 07/10/2020 13:35

Hmm this is tricky... I thought A then changed my mind to B again. I know it sounds obvious but ultimately you can't change the location / outlook / sun direction / shared drive but can change things about the property so... oh I don't know lol

SuperheroBirds · 07/10/2020 18:53

I’d go with B.

The shared access and drive with A sounds like a nightmare. With C, I wouldn’t feel comfortable being on a busy road, and the speed-bumps just mean that you have to go over them every day.

Saz12 · 07/10/2020 19:43

A doesn’t sound great - shared driveway, next door garden bar. Steps to door wouldn’t bother me much ch.

B&C you’d have to move for secondary school. So you should choose the one that you think will increase in value I suppose.

YouDidWHATNow · 07/10/2020 21:27

Just weighing in, I work nightshifts and live in a semi. My bedroom is on the outer wall, so not attached to the other house. It's fine, to be fair, I never ever hear my young family neighbours, even when I'm in the lounge that is adjoining their wall. Semi's get a lot of stick, and I suppose if you have rubbish cavity wall insulation it can be a problem, but for me it really has not featured as one at all. I get more stress from the birds chirping than my neighbours! So please don't discount them entirely. We also have a very large shared drive and we haven't bickered once haha, they even pop my bin out for me if I'm at work and bring it back! I appreciate I may just be lucky, but by going for a semi I have the area I want, and to be fair I couldn't ask for better neighbours

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