What do you think of this house?

[Stayingin2020]

Considering to buy a house similar to the below. Potentially maxing our budget. What are ppl thoughts. It's all very new (too new?) worried it will be difficult to sell if we do decide to move...what would you do? Buy old and do up or go fir something all new and ready to live in...

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/94450226#/

I’m not a fan of this style of house and often cladding does need to be maintained and monitored but if it is hardwood, it is a normal part of the seasoning and ageing process of the wood for it to ‘silver’. It is part of the beauty of hardwood cladding and doesn’t mean it is looking ropey or unloved. Lots of people specifically choose hardwoods and coatings without UV protection that will allow their wood to age to silver tones. Some people choose composite cladding instead (plastic basically) which requires no maintenance and looks the same forever.

Like others, the flat roof (leaks), the weird garden (tiny, bare, slippery decking), the shared access and the cold interior put me off.

Are you sure it's not a holiday park??

Picture 9 here: www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/91586864#/

I see it has been reduced to that price! The pics on this one give a better idea of where neighbours are and the size of the outside space (or rather lack of it) I hope the drainage is good - looks a bit hmmm,

I'd live there so much natural light. Mind you the giant windows all over might be a bit depressing in the winter months, also you'd need air con for the summer.

Just trying to imagine what the garden will look like once the decking gets mossy and slimy and starts to rot and the gabions are full of weeds and buddleias get a hold in them. And you pay all that money to look out of your upstairs windows into the bedrooms of the house 40ft behind — and they look back at you. It's style over substance, surely?

OP, buy one of the cheaper, nicer houses where you don't have to worry about the neighbours watching everything you do, and spend half the £200,000+ you'll save on doing it up a bit and the other half towards taxis and driving lessons and cars for the older children when they're ready to drive. You won't regret it nearly so much as you'll regret buying this house.

Yes @Xenia we know you're a lawyer. You don't have to shoehorn the fact into every post you make

Its overpriced for what it is... hardly any garden

Unless you have a horse I prefer the first link xenia did, its nearer to Sevenoaks station.

I'm sort of local to that area. www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/85505683#/ might be of interest?

Heavens No! - it looks like an industrial estate. Totally grim!

@SuitedandBooted I've just looked at the link you posted, and at the maps and streetview etc. That just puts you off even more. It's a horrible, horrible location for that kind of money.

My guess is that they will be used as "luxury rentals" for wealthy people moving to the UK to stay while they're looking for a proper house to buy. That isn't a proper house to buy.

Or for vair wealthy singletons in a house share, hence the ensuite bathrooms for all the bedrooms except one, which would be the storage room where they all put their crap that they move between house shares when Tarquin has got sick of Miles not wiping up his coke remnants off the coffee table.

For that amount of money I would want views, privacy and garden. Not for me

It’s all fur coat and no knickers. Apology for a garden, no bathroom for the fifth bedroom and the cladding is really bad news. It will get damp behind it and it will look like shit after a few years.

Reminds me of a wooden house on grand designs, beautiful when it was first built but the wood didn’t age well at all. Aside from that I’d be concerned about the fire safety aspect of wood cladding and I’d worry about the floor to ceiling windows. My family home had one and it was broken twice by us as children in accidents involving roller skates and a toy car.
The overhang of the first floor above part of the patio is just odd too, what is that space for? And the decking is a death trap with slabs at the bottom.
Would make a good air B and B

suitedandbooted's link also shows bed 5 marked as a study.

It will be difficult to sell as you can't mortgage a flat roof house!

@lollypop345

It will be difficult to sell as you can't mortgage a flat roof house!

I’m pretty sure you can.

Of course you can.

I think you can get a mortgage for a flat roof but it is classed (or used to be at any rate) as non standard construction so harder to get a mortgage on.

I like it good size rooms but garden is small although useable for entertaining so if you don't have young dc And not into gardening ( me) it would be fine

No.

Small plot and I don't think it will age well. The garden is good from and adult low maintenance POV but useless for children.

Lots of glass but no view .

On a development of identikit houses, so not in any way special or unique.

You're paying for the "newness" and it being on trend - which won't last. My bet is it won't hold its value in line with other properties over the years.

It very much reminds me of 1960's houses.

It's a lot of money for what it is and for the money I think you could do a lot better.

I'm not interested in gardening so that wouldn't bother me but it's not alot of land for that price and it's very overlooked. I really like the house though. I've always gone for older houses that I've modernised but after my last experience I want at least mid century next.

It's ugly from the outside, but the rooms are large bright and airy on the inside. Would like to see some trees, lawn and shrubs outside

I live in Kent and do feel this isn’t good value for money even if it is Sevenoaks.

I don’t mind the design at all and I am very open in my taste, I love Victorian period and modern homes on new builds (not all!) and live in a 1960s house we are renovating. I feel you might be paying for some interior design choices in the price (and not the stuff they’d leave behind either!) rather than the bricks and mortar.

To me a garden is massively important so if I was spending £1.5m I’d want some land to go with it.

@CurlyhairedAssassin

Or for vair wealthy singletons in a house share, hence the ensuite bathrooms for all the bedrooms except one, which would be the storage room where they all put their crap that they move between house shares when Tarquin has got sick of Miles not wiping up his coke remnants off the coffee table.

Except the one doesnt have any access to a loo The ensuite doors in 2 others mean that you can't get a kingsize bed in and walk around it.

I prefer traditional houses
This house looks soulless