Did you compromise for a house based on great location and if so- what did you sacrifice and did you regret it?

[mummabubs]

DH and I have found a property that is literally in our dream location- a popular village where properties don't come up very often and certainly not within our budget. There are things we definitely like about the house (good size south facing garden), but we would definitely be making some sacrifices in ways that the house is less ideal, namely size of kitchen and one of the bedrooms and there is parking for the property but it's located further down the road.

Whilst we umm and ahh about how much location location location really is the biggest factor I was wondering if anyone else here made some compromises on the house they bought to get in their dream location - if so what were the sacrifices you made and do you regret it? Thanks all!

@Grimbelina Agreed. The parking is not ideal and I'm definitely not going to pretend that it isn't, but as you say a small walk (20 seconds from the front door) isn't bad. For me the main thing is having guaranteed parking in a village with small roads! DH looked at some houses in the city centre where we currently live and it's all no parking, permits etc. I had that set up in Oxford for a year when I lived there and hated both the idea of having to pay for the privilege of parking but not even being able to guarantee a space within a 10 minute walk of my front door. We now have 2 children and a dog so I'm even more fixed to have guaranteed parking!

Have made a big compromise on parking and garden, for space and location (opposite park and woodland) and finish/quality of maintenance. Couldn't find it all, and walking to a parking space isn't the worst hardship in the age of supermarket deliveries. In a popular spot so when I do sell again, I'm hoping it won't be too tricky, even in a depressed market. Nice houses in less desirable places felt a bit more of a gamble in that respect?

Yes, we bought a small house (though still 4 beds) on a decent road in the expensive London Zone 2 area we'd lived in for 10 years at that point. Sacrifices are tiny garden (just a courtyard really) and a railway line right behind.

10 years later we are still here, love our road and the community; do I wish the house were a meter wider? Yes. Do I wish we had a bigger garden? Yes. Do I wish we didn't live next to a railway line? Yes. BUT are we moving? No. If we had a £400k windfall tomorrow we would probably move to a 1m wider house a couple of streets away with a bigger garden and no bloody trains but for us the compromise(s) continue to be worth it.

FWIW much bemusement at the people saying no to your prospective house because of the parking. Not being able to park outside your house is the norm in London and everyone just deals with it.

I would only really compromise on things that can be changed on the long-term, for example, I'd move to a smaller house than I'd ideally like, if there was space to extend on a few years.

I hated it when we lived somewhere that we couldn't park outside our house, and weren't able to do anything about it. Luckily that place was only rented, so it wasn't too much drama moving on. That's something I wouldn't be prepared to compromise on, though only you know how much it will affect you.

Yes we compromised.

I wanted a garden facing kitchen diner and ended up with dining room and kitchen that can't be knocked through and. I garden access.

I don't regret it because the location could not get any better and I've made it as good as it can get.

We sacrificed off street parking and an at least medium-sized garden to stay on the same street we lived before that's near the tube and high street - I see that as fair play off. Bigger gardens and off-street parking do tend only to come with being further from shops and tube around here.

I wanted a family bathroom upstairs, a downstairs cloakroom and an en-suite for DH and me. I got a downstairs family bathroom and an en-suite fo DH and me.

I live on a busy road and have no parking and a small garden but have a good-sized house within walking distance to everything I need on a day-to-day basis. There is also a train station and a bus stop a few minutes away.

I think everyone compromises on something when they buy a house. What you have to do is figure out where YOUR priorities lie.

For example, when we bought out house, we had a 4-year-old and a baby. In our old (rented) house we had on-street parking, which was a nightmare when I had both DC with me and had been shopping and couldn't find a parking space within easy reach of our front door. So our #1 priority was a driveway/private parking space. We also wanted a decent-sized garden/plot. The house was less important as we weren't buying in a conservation area and therefore knew we could make alterations.

We comprised on the house, we wanted a kitchen diner, but instead have a tiny galley kitchen and small living dining room which I don’t like at all. But the location is wonderful for us at the moment and it’s made such a positive difference to my well-being being around more green spaces.

I bought on a lovely road close to the station, high street and good schools. Compromise is being on the worst bit of said lovely road as we're close to the train line, plus smallish garden as house has arguably been over-extended. However, in return we got a spacious house that ticked most of our boxes. If the house didn't have the compromises it has, it would have been out of our price range. I don't know anyone who hasn't had to compromise on something. However, I actually think people in general are more likely to compromise on size / size of rooms rather than things like being close to a main road or railway. So I think I'm probably an outlier I'm that respect.

Yup ! 5 years ago we bought our first house and based it mostly off location . The house itself was (is) a massive fixer upper but a decent size . We never could have bought such a big house in such a great location if it wasn’t for this. I did kinda regret it at first because that was 5 years ago and we are only now getting the whole house renovated . It’s costing a complete fortune but we are in a good place financially to do it . It’s going to take a year ( but hopefully less) to get all the work done I hope it’s my dream home after all this 😬!

I think I'm the opposite of everyone we compromised on location for the perfect house and I don't regret it for a second

I compromised on a busy road to be walking distance to school. Inside you are really not aware of it at all and in the garden it is still not intrusive. I'm selling now and the road was the number one reason viewers discounted it, but frankly I have no regrets at all.
The house I'm buying (i am under offer with above mentioned house) is much smaller than I hoped but it is five minutes to tube and shops. It is extendable a bit and that's the first thing I will do. Still small, but frankly I have been spoilt up to now with large rooms and 3m plus ceilings!

We had the choice of a great road, with ok house and tiny garden.

Or good house with ace garden and a scruffier road.

The garden and space have been brilliant with kids especially the last year or so.

Yes!

The compromise was space (smaller than we wanted), decor (it was an old lady's pretty much untouched for about 30 years) and budget (it was everything to the £ that we had).

That was 11 years ago. Made really tiny changes as budget allowed, knocked down the wall between kitchen & dining room about 3 years in, and then did a large rear extension (have a large kitchen diner now and 4th bedroom with ensuite) about 4 years ago.

Don't regret it for a second. It was hard work living with really dated decor / someone else's curtains etc for 5 or 6 years, the peach bathroom suite (!!) and probably meant we were less likely to invite people around in the early days - I was a bit ashamed of the house if I'm honest. BUT, it gave us a life as a family that we love, amazing neighbours, we can all walk to school / work, have a real sense of community and financially its worked out really well for us too. And now, after the extension, its a lovely house.

Sorry I took my eye off mumsnet and didn't think so many people would share their experiences! Thank you all so much and I've read every reply. This house is in a conservation area, but so many houses in the village have been granted planning for anything from extending to full on rebuilds that I'm confident we'd get planning permission. We'd have to make changes slowly, especially if we offer and the vendors won't reduce at all. I'm also a little cautious about how long it would take to sell if we ever needed to given the parking quirk.

At this stage of life with the age my kids are I couldn't give up parking on my property. I also couldn't give up a utility room now that I've had one (previous house didn't have one and wasn't an issue at all but now I'm used to having it no way would I buy a place with out one again)

Yes definitely. Good location, nice village with excellent road links.
Good points about our home: large south facing garden, off road parking which fits 3 cars.
Bad points: on a busy B road, small semi with 3 bed and 1 bathroom, ugly 70s exterior.

It’s interesting because “location, location” to me doesn’t just mean, is the location good in terms of the street/ village/ postcode that I like?

It also means, is the location away from things I don’t want like busy/ noisy roads, schools (!) or petrol stations, local tip, noisy farmyards (that’s a personal dislike right there), rivers, or eyesores like really unkempt gardens / houses. To me, the being “away from” location stuff is just as important as the “want to be near” location stuff.

@Daisydoesnt yes I agree, I think that's why I find it odd the "location" debate is so black and white on MN when it's such a nuanced topic. I think there's a difference between practical locations vs postcode snobbery. I tied myself up in knots the last few years because we were living in a more expensive location, a "naice" place MN loves, and we decided to move to a town MN hates to double our square footage, it isn't pretty but it's cheap (so won't be as successful an investment I assume) but practically it has excellent schools, hour from london, great amenities, countryside on our doorstep and the immediate location is great as it's the nicest part of town, no busy roads, private parking etc etc. But I still find myself feeling like I need to defend myself for choosing house over location because we didn't pick our perfect village/town, but really our immediate location would tick most people's boxes on a practical level.

Compromised on lack of utility room, semi rather than detached and on a main road. Also a bit shabby. The perfect house, here, would have cost more than twice as much.

We could never compromise on parking, though. We have a 40' drive and a garage, but the drive is too narrow to get anything wider than an original Mini into the garage :o

I could have bought a mansion nearby but then wouldn’t have had access to good schools, so I chose an area with much smaller houses and an outstanding catchment area. Within my area my particular street is considered the best - the house isn’t small but it’s not the largest we can afford.

I'd take the view that all the minus points can be rectified with a little time and cash.
Parking - if you can make the space level and do so, it will massive increase buyer appeal should you have to sell.