Which house would you go for?

[meow1989]

Hello, we've sold our house today! Very excited and we got asking price for it which means our options are opened up a bit. We have a house we are very interested in, and the others we've looked at haven't compared, but tomorrow we will be viewing a property that we thought was our of our budget and may be a real contender. May I ask which you would go for if its an option? We currently live in a townhouse, 3 double bedrooms with 1 ensuite and small bathroom, large kitchen diner and a study with a new build sized garden. We are a family of 3 (me, dh and ds nearly 3) and currently not planning a second dc but aware that we may change our minds in future.

Option 1:
2010s built terraced, beautiful immediate area but no train station. Extended into the roof so no loft. 5 bedroom (2 on top floor so ds could have a bedroom and playroom now, changing to more of a den type room as he is older, though maybe he would feel a bit further away?) toilet also on this floor. Middle floor has 3 bedrooms, 2 doubles (just) and a single we would use as an office. Ensure to master and a small bathroom.
Downstairs has a kitchen diner albeit smaller than ours where we currently spend much of our time ( it's a kitchen diner come living room and playroom really). Bigger garden than ours plus a double garage. Slightly further on dh commute (about 10 mins onto an hour and a quarter on a good day). Would be sacrificing downstairs space for upstairs.

Option 2:
Pre 1940s semi, extended into garage and out back really beautifully. Busier Road but OK area with train station into London within 5 minutes walk. No garage but drive for 2-3 cars. Livingroom, dining room, playroom and utility plus a big kitchen diner spec'd out really nicely. 80 foot garden with an outbuilding that is a "proper room". Upstairs 3 beds, double, small double and a very small 3rd plus bathroom, no ensuite. Would be sacrificing upstairs space for downstairs. No difference to dh commute.

What would you do oh wise mumsnetters? The difference in price won't really affect our mortgage payments and schools are good in both locations.

Is there option with the second to go into the loft? A teenage den is a great asset, especially if their bedroom is small, so that could be the outbuilding, or diningroom depending on layout. Or do you need that space to be a home office? The diningroom may not be used much if you generally eat in the kitchen/diner. With the first the top floor will become your child's space, and believe me they will not feel too far away as a teen, but doubt it will work as a playroom now. You wouldn't want him to be two floors away from him and vice versa when this young. And if you have anothet child then that room is theirs, of course you have three beds in the middle floor to use.
Then theirs your husband's commute. If I understand it his commute becomes almost an hour and a half on 'a good day'? You don't say what the commute time is with the second property- is it significantly shorter being five minutes from the station? That would count quite alot for me.

The second house if you are able to convert the loft without sacrificing space for the stairs on the first floor.

Dh drives so the train station would be a leisure thing. The second house is a junction further down the motorway but will take the same time to get in as it does from our current house if that makes sense. The first would add about 10 mins on as it would be that much further from the current junction. Either are fine for my work as I'm local to the area.

I think loft space would be an option in terms of extension on the second, it'd be something we could enquire about - it'd probably stay 3 bed as we would use the smallest for the staircase but could make it 3 doubles instead. And whilst we would probably use the outbuilding as an office initially, once ds grows out of the play room we could swap the two, I do like the idea of a hideout we can ship the teenagers to!

I personally would have the second house.
The larger garden, outside room etc, is very versatile and could be used as office or guest room offering more privacy etc.
Upstairs space imo is overrated. It's downstairs that we spend most of our time in. Plus as children grow they will need less space for "stuff".
Also,for me, the benefit of having loft space would be more beneficial than a loft room which isn't actually needed at this point.

Hmm that's 3 for 3... I hope we like it when we view it! I am quite excited about the prospect of a garden that could fit a green house in!

Second house 100%

Option 1, could you convert the double garage into a room?

Option 2.

Option 2, as the build quality will probably be better, and as pp say, size of bedrooms doesn’t matter as much as downstairs and outdoor space.

Option 2. I've lived in similar to your current house and option 1. Unless you have very regular visitors I wouldn't bother with a spare bedroom but large downstairs living makes a difference to everyday life.

Option 2 - build quality better! And not sacrificing too much?

Option 2

Option 2. You don’t need all those bedrooms. We made a playroom on the top floor and our kids have never ever used it. They want to be downstairs where we are most of the time.

Option 2 for me depending how busy the road is.

I've lived on a busy road and it made me miserable.

We had a similar dilemma and went for Option 2. DD was 7/8 when we moved.

The playroom (converted garage) was a godsend in the awkward tween years - her friends could come in & play without disturbing us and we could be satisfied she was having fun without roaming the streets! Ours was large enough to have a sofa bed in for occasional visitors (and tween sleepovers), it also has its own shower and loo.

When she hit teen she begged and cajoled for the playroom to become her bedroom until we gave in (at 14) and now has a separate ‘pad’ that feels more grown up. When she leaves home and we get more old and infirm it will become our bedroom so we’ve been able to ‘futureproof’ as well.

Option 2

Option 2 as I prefer older houses with character.

But I also wouldn’t buy on a busy road because I have cats and always will. If you have no plans to have pets that could get run over on the busy road, option 2, hands down.

Actually, links to the properties would give you a more accurate answer, OP

Second house would be my pick (even if I was going on just the first sentence of each description), but it’s your preferences that matter.

2nd if the road isn't too busy. If it's a bus route that'd be a no for me. I'd rather have a bigger garden and fewer bedrooms, as long as my children didn't have to share. I'd also rather everyone slept on the same floor until the kids were much older.

1 less adjoining wall, plus a train station in 5 mins walk, plus a driveway to provide commuting options, plus a large garden, in addition to be well presented and laid out - as long as the road isn't too busy, option 2 is the no brainer from both a lifestyle and resale perspective.

Option 2 or something else entirely.

Option 1 just doesn’t sound like it would suit your family

Option 2, unless road is really busy.

Thanks for the input all. We looked at house 2 today and have just fallen in love with it. It's had huge interest though and they want above asking. We can afford this but I'm thinking we may not get it if someone beats us to it, going to chat to mortgage advisor tomorrow.

It has made us realise that as many of you have said, house 1 isn't as great a match for us as we initially thought (we had actually made an offer previously but was rejected) . At least we have a focus now if we don't get house 2.