What is worse? No side access or overlooked garden? (picture in the post)

[oreo2020]

Have a choice of two houses: a semi with a garage and bedroom on top of it - the garage is joined up to the neighbour's garage and the neighbour has an extension so it makes the houses joined up. The garden is not accessible from the back but I suppose you can carry stuff through the garage and utility room at the back.
Or,
A house with a side access but the house at the rear really close as in picture.
Otherwise both very similar houses.
Which one is worse ?

What on Earth is going on with house A over the porch? Shouldn’t there be a bedroom window there but they look like they’ve extended the roof down? Then a horrible flat roof extension which I bet is freezing in winter.

I don't see what everyone complains about re being overlooked. Surely the great majority of houses have houses behind them? You would have to be really rural to have no other houses near you?
House A does look ugly at the front though the road in general is not. A should be quieter. I would choose by which has the better interior.

Never intended to drip feed.. but given the helpful replies will share the floorplans too.
House A - upstairs need changing but possible for 2 bathrooms.

House B

I think you need to bite the bullet snd link to both houses.

House b has a much nicer layout.

Second. Fix fence and plant trees. Sorted. Side access is necessary to me.

Yep. The layout on house B is far better. Do you still feel drawn to house A oreo ?

House b is much nicer and the fence can be fixed, pergolas etc could help too.

I'd go with house B, fix the fence and plant a couple of birches at the end - screens and gives dappled shade without being overbearing.

With house A I would want to be reassured that the extension had sufficiently deep foundations and wasn't just plopped on top of a garage.

When/if you visit it would be interesting to check how sound travels through the walls (as they might not be double-skimmed).

I preferred "A's" location (tree-line roads are good for keeping temperature down in heatwaves).

If I were renting then I might take a punt on house A.

But if you're buying, I'd be really anxious about next door's weird extension. More anxious than if it were my own extension, because you can't even "just deal with it" if issues arise. My experience of kinda similar setups is that water will find a way in, I'd be willing to bet that the extension next door is damp, and that must eventually have a knock on impact on the property you're looking at.

Both houses look to have a nice amount of space though. The garden is definitely workable in property B, but it's impossible from an outside perspective to know just how much "less desirable" that road is. But I wouldn't take on that odd set-up of property A just because the neighbours had posher cars (but I probably would if property B is actually in a rough area!)

I also think you'd struggle more to sell A on than B.

Hmm, cant read total size in house A but the layout is awkward. Small kitchen and ridiculously huge utility. Ideally I guess you'd extend the kitchen into the utility but then your back access is through the kitchen. And it doesn't have straight through access - you have to turn corners which would be a real pain.

The inside of house B seems to be much better laid out.

I dont love either, but if pushed I'd go for b. A just doesn't look like it could be made to have any measure of curb appeal

It looks like A needs a huge amount of work to sort out that awful layout. Also, the access to the rear is currently through the garage and then the utility, which means that you're limited with changes you could make to the downstairs which still allows that through access.

I'd go for B.

The truth is, I had put an offer on house A 8 months ago. The chain got delayed and only just got complete now (and is still painfully slow) while the house prices in the area (a London suburb) have shot up since. It offers the biggest internal space I could find at the time, wonderful location (close to a 'posh' high street). Similar houses without above-the-garage extension are already above what I offered, and the ones gutted and with quality extensions are way way more expensive. Yes the house needs gutting but it could achieve an impressive 4 bed standard inside. The garden is beautiful.

If house A was put back on the market (if I pulled out) asking price would defo be tens of thousands more.

Tired of the non-progressing chain, I viewed house B yesterday and it ticked the boxes.. except the kerb appeal and privacy in the garden. Location is alright. Nothing special. Think this house will have ceiling value if it came to resell.

A

I'm on an end of terrace so overlooked but it doesn't really feel like it. There are trees and garages and sheds around that distract the eye and my neighbours don't tend to stand at an upstairs window staring at us.

Do you have any plans for a back extension or garden work? We need to replace 40m2 of decking at the back and the landscapers are planning to bring mini diggers to level it out with minimal effort.

Can you afford to gut house A?

If you can and the surveyor didn't query the substantial extension I would stick with it.

Location trumps a lot in my book (especially if you can afford to upgrade/renovate). Do not underestimate how great it is to nip round to local shops/eateries without the need for a car.

So "A" for me.

I think I recognise house A. That sloping roof down to the front door is original, lots of houses around here have them. That house is one of the postwar ones.

Yes house A is postwar 'Gower' style.
I can invest some into gutting. Flat roof replacement also.

Agree with everyone else, next door's awful extension will that one hard to sell. So ugly. How was that allowed? And lots of councils now don't allow extensions to the boundary. I think side access is desirable.

Just read more and realise next door's isn't an awful extension, yours would be. Just an unsympathetic filler.

Ok, if it's in London, and with the extra info, I'd def stick with house A. London market is different and not having a side access is so much more common I don't think it'd be a deal breaker when you come to sell, nor should it be with the location info. I also don't think the lack of curb appeal of house A would make it unsellable if the location is good enough - In London. I really do think you could do a lot with roses and other climbing plants to prettify them front. Also you have now got so far with house A, if you pulled out and went for house B there is no saying other issues would not come up and delay that one, delaying you even more.
Would love to know the area

No side access is worse. I wouldn’t buy a house with no side access.