Which plot? | Mumsnet

Brightskiesahead · 2021-01-12T21:02:57+00:00

Hi, I am divorcing shortly and will be buying a new build close to where I live now. I have 2 primary age DC. My budget is tight and these are my options but which house would you choose: Both houses are the same 3 bed design. House 1 - west facing garden, detached, 2 parking spaces and single garage. Close to busy road and adjacent to a lot of social/affordable housing. Overlooked on front. House 2 - east facing garden. Semi-detached. 2 parking spaces but no garage. Down a no through road and a short walk to park. Not overlooked at front or back. Smaller garden. Thoughts?!

ButwhereisMYcoffee · 12/01/2021 21:04

Exactly how close to the busy road is 1?

ButwhereisMYcoffee · 12/01/2021 21:07

Also it just depends on the social/affordable housing, I have cheerfully lived in or adjacent to social housing all my adult life (london), final move was to a gorgeous area but on the edge of a big estate. It turned out that pockets of this estate had serious violence and gangs issues, multiple fatal stabbings a year, I had my life threatened, being woken at night with anti social behaviour etc etc. Try and research the area.

FTMF30 · 12/01/2021 21:07

Will the garage just be useful to you for extra storage? If you're actually wanting to fir a decent sized car in there, you might be disappointed with a new build.

Original poster

Brightskiesahead · 12/01/2021 21:08

It's not facing it and approximately 15m away. There is a wide pavement, hedge, then a road in the development then the house.

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Original poster

Brightskiesahead · 12/01/2021 21:09

The garage would just be for storage. Kids bikes, tools etc.

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AliceinBunniland · 12/01/2021 21:09

Maybe neither is right for you if neither has everything you want.

I would want a detached house but not one that is overlooked and close to a main road.

Original poster

Brightskiesahead · 12/01/2021 21:10

@ButwhereisMYcoffee

Also it just depends on the social/affordable housing, I have cheerfully lived in or adjacent to social housing all my adult life (london), final move was to a gorgeous area but on the edge of a big estate. It turned out that pockets of this estate had serious violence and gangs issues, multiple fatal stabbings a year, I had my life threatened, being woken at night with anti social behaviour etc etc. Try and research the area.

That's my fear!! It's so hard to know. It's a new development. We live in a new development next door but the social housing is spread about and hasn't presented many problems. The area we live in is quiet, safe market town.

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wonderstuff · 12/01/2021 21:11

I'd go for 1, west facing garden and garage for me would make it a no-brainer.

Original poster

Brightskiesahead · 12/01/2021 21:11

@AliceinBunniland

Maybe neither is right for you if neither has everything you want.

I would want a detached house but not one that is overlooked and close to a main road.

True! But I can't afford what I want sadly! The house I'd love is £130k more and there isn't anything in between. It's a funny price range seemingly.

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Bluntness100 · 12/01/2021 21:13

Sorry to clarify you already live next door to the social/affordable housing area and habe had no issues?

If so then go for house one.

AliceinBunniland · 12/01/2021 21:14

You pay more with new builds though too OP. Maybe if you are not confined to this particular development you could get a detached house away from the main road etc.

AliceinBunniland · 12/01/2021 21:15

Another thing to consider is how long term you see yourself there. If it's not a forever home then I'd go for the one that works for your lifestyle which might be house 2.

minipie · 12/01/2021 21:16

Yes it depends on the degree of all these factors really- how noisy is the road, how much smaller is the garden etc.

I think on balance I’d probably go with the second house as I think quieter location, not overlooked and close to park would make for a nicer life. The first is possibly worth more “on paper” as it’s detached, has garage and W facing but the location makes a bigger difference to day to day life IMO.

Unless the garden is way smaller - not big enough to play in iyswim. Then I’d go for house 1.

TokyoSushi · 12/01/2021 21:20

This estate sounds like mine, there's a lot of both house 1 and house 2. I expect if house 1 is a 'cheaper' detached than those on better plots, it'll be for a reason. I'd personally go for the semi in the better area. The house 1's here end up being really hard to sell because they are a nice actual house, but they're in a far less desirable area of the estate.

GrowThroughWhatYouGoThrough · 12/01/2021 21:22

I'd go for the west facing garden personally

longtompot · 12/01/2021 21:36

My gut says house 1 for the fact you have young children and it having a west facing garden. It means more sun, when we get it, and they can play out more. The garage could be storage, or for future use for the kids as a playroom. Detached is another huge bonus, as with the many threads I've read on here with complaints of noise from neighbours as their kids are playing.
I'd have a walk around the area at different times and different days of the week and see what it's like. Try and go round there as late as you can to see if noise is an issue for either house.

Original poster

Brightskiesahead · 12/01/2021 22:09

Thanks everyone.

I live in and adjacent new build development. The one I'm looking at isn't built yet but the first houses will be released shortly and completed in 6 months time. So I can't gauge what the development will be like as it's a field currently!

I love the area as a whole. There isn't much housing stock on and the majority of the older properties are cheaper but need work. Not something I can afford. I'll be staying close to friends and school here. It's just which plot!

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QforCucumber · 12/01/2021 22:13

I'd go detached with garage every time, especially having a west facing garden. Semi with kids can be a nightmare or you may get nightmare noisy neighbours. The detached with the garage and bigger garden has more longevity

NotABeliever · 12/01/2021 22:30

@minipie

Yes it depends on the degree of all these factors really- how noisy is the road, how much smaller is the garden etc.

I think on balance I’d probably go with the second house as I think quieter location, not overlooked and close to park would make for a nicer life. The first is possibly worth more “on paper” as it’s detached, has garage and W facing but the location makes a bigger difference to day to day life IMO.

Unless the garden is way smaller - not big enough to play in iyswim. Then I’d go for house 1.

This ^

Rollercoaster1920 · 12/01/2021 22:33

Is it a main road or an estate road? If the latter (20mph probably) then I'd go for the detached house with west garden.

Original poster

Brightskiesahead · 13/01/2021 07:25

It's 15m from a main road. 30mph but everyone does 40mph!

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BikeRunSki · 13/01/2021 07:29

West facing garden and garage!

Clymene · 13/01/2021 07:57

I would go for detached every time if at all possible.

MyDucksArentInARow · 13/01/2021 08:11

House 1.

Detached with garage and West facing garden is much better. I would look at the mix of the affordable homes, you may find it is shared ownership. Anyone buying a house could be a nightmare neighbour, so I wouldn't look unfavourably on social housing as such. Also with affordable rent, the rates in new builds are often so high that they go to hard working families anyway, or those with disabilities that need the extra accommodations that are built into new builds. Trouble tenants don't tend to be rewarded with the shiny new houses.

I say this as someone who's recently moved from a shared ownership semi to another new build detached with garage. Other than one batty neighbour opposite (though she couldn't hurt a fly) we had 0 issues. We were lucky the semi was built well we never heard our attached neighbour- it would have driven me batty hearing noise through a wall like that. You're taking a gamble on the developer being good about the sound proofing, and you neighbours being nice even if they're private buyers too. You also don't want to waste square footage on storing stuff, not having a garage was a big motivator to move for us.

Wellthisismorethanabitgrim · 13/01/2021 08:29

Ooh this is tricky! My first instinct is to go for the detached for all the reasons others are saying, however on our new build estate, there has been a fair bit of anti social behaviour from the social housing part of the estate and people living nearby have been quite badly impacted (we have an estate FB page so everyone knows what goes on!) ...its a very small minority of 3 or 4 families behaving terribly but it's been pretty bad at times and its awful for all the people close by, regardless of whether they are in private or social housing. The culprits have been reported to the housing association frequently but nothing seems to get done.

The developer tried to tempt us into one of the houses in that part by offering a reduced price and lots of free upgrades and without wanting to sound snobby, on reflection I'm so glad we didn't. One of the houses in that row has been up for sale for months, whereas others on the estate same model and price are being snapped up as soon as they come on the market. You might get lucky OP and have no issues at all but I think it is something to consider. That said personally I would much prefer a detached so it could be worth the risk....and you could get nightmare neighbours in the semi, which could be worse! Tricky decision.