Another ugly house but in the best location

[lockdownbreakdown]

We have just accepted an offer on our fugly 60s house and are looking for something to buy. We almost put an offer on a gorgeous country cottage 20mins away but changed our mind as the commute would have been murder. Now a house had come up on the same ugly 60s estate. Its detached ( ours is a semi) , can be extended and is bigger. The downsides are a tiered garden and road noise. We would be losing our peace and quiet and beautiful views. However, we have a cash buyer and the location is the best in town and its walking distance to the park and our sons school. It's not the period house of our dreams but the location is perfect. It's also below budget so we could extend straight away. I would appreciate any thoughts from anyone who has made a similar compromise?

Road noise and fugly house would be a deal breaker for me. I live with road noise at the moment and I hate it, always there, never a break.

To br clear the road noise isn't dreadful as its 200 metres from.said rd but you can hear it a bit if the windows are open. Said house is an 80s box so better looking than current house.

I think I could live with everything apart from the road noise. Are you sure that’s not a compromise too far? It’s not just the noise itself (that would drive me mad) but also the health issues living close to a busy road, especially for kids. TBH your current house sounds nicer! There are very few good properties on the market, could you let your sale go through and rent/ stay with friends? Just because something is in the “best” location doesn’t mean it’s the best for you.

We went ugly (1990 build) when we moved a couple of years ago because it had a great location and had 20% more sq ft than period properties in similar but marginally less favourable locations. Definitely no regrets - over the last 18 months we appreciated every inch of the extra space.

Also has a tiered garden, albeit the garden is pretty big and not overlooked so it wasn’t an issue for us.

Having previously had Victorian and Edwardian houses I don’t miss the extra maintenance and other compromises just to look at a nice exterior when we come home.

I’d do it but I’m always about the practical - the easier commute, good location, bigger house etc would seem like the right solution for now, and the opportunity to add value with an extension is a bonus too. The dreamy country cottage will come in time, but not now.

Oooh I live in a fugly house. It is the right size, location, had everything we wanted and no one wanted to buy it because its so ugly so the price was very reasonable too. It took me a while to fall in love with it after we moved but I feel so damn grateful for it during lockdown. I still feel nostalgic about our beautiful tiny house where the kids were born but I'm so glad we weren't stuck there over the last 18 months.

Location is always the most important thing. You can change everything about a house except where it is.
Our last house was chosen because we wanted to make our money go as far as possible but the location was poor- lacking public transport particularly. The house we're in now was chosen more for location than anything else, walking distance to town, primary schools, secondary schools and college. I'd go for what works for your life now and in the immediate future. I'm planning for a seaview cottage when the children leave home and we can downsize!

If you're intending to extend could you alter the fascade in anyway to make it more appealing?

Road noise isn’t great but ugly houses can be changed if you have any extra funds. Location and plot are big things for me

fugly is fine

road noise is not - consider carefully how much noise / does it impact when you sit in the garden etc.

You can always prettify the exterior . Planting helps a lot with prettification and thick hedges with muffling noise and filtering pollution.Evergreens are the way to go. Good solid walls or wooden fences help too. What's ugly,how near the road is it and and how big are the front ,rear and side gardens?

My house is so fugly that I took a sharp intake of breath when I first saw it on rightmove.

However, you don't see the outside from inside the house.

Location, stunning views and size have made it the house of my dreams. I fucking love it.

I couldn't live with road noise though.

We bought an ugly house out of desperation after months of trying to buy period properties and getting outbid by cash buyers. 14 years later I am so glad we did! Our 30s semi has really grown on me, we have a big, long garden, we can park on the drive, and the location is perfect for us and our teenage boys. A country cottage sounds lovely but will your DS thank you if he can't see friends without being driven to them? Your estate sounds good for families. The only thing that would be a deal-breaker for me would be road noise. Maybe something else on your estate will come up - have you tried leafleting on streets that would work for you?

Road noise would be a deal-breaker for me too

Thanks. I think you are right about the road noise. I now go to sleep listening to the wind and lambs bleating. I would be sad to miss that

See road noise is not a big deal to me. I grew up literally feet away from a busy 40mph dual carriageway way. I struggle to sleep without some sort of background noise. How much of a tiered garden is it? That’s the only thing that would bother me but as long as there’s space to sit/have bbq’s/hang washing out then it’s fine.

Road noise can't be fixed, and a tiered garden would be so far down my list of priorities to fix that it might as well be not fixable. So that's what you have to think about. Fugly is fine, my house is a fugly 70s build and that was very easy to come to terms with. Even now, 10 years in when we have a bit of cash going, fixing the fugly is way down the list of things to do.

WAY too many compromises. Road noise, fugly and tiered garden would all be close to dealbreakers, together it's a no!

Location is key for me. We live on a busy road but it is set back a bit and so although you can hear some noise, it’s not too bad. Ugly house wouldn’t bother me either. Once you shut your front door, surely it doesn’t matter as long as it’s lovely inside.
Now my children are teenagers I’m really grateful to live somewhere where they can easily walk to school, jump on a bus or meet friends by themselves. Because of that, I’d happily take road over remote.
Really is personal choice!

We live on quite a busy road in a dull semi with a rather urgh flat roof side extension.
BUT
Location perfect
It was cheaper than side roads surrounding us for much bigger property
Renewed the double glazing at the front = don’t hear any traffic noise unless front windows are open and it isn’t that bad even then

Go for location

Thanks everyone. I'm starting to agree that it's a compromise too far. It's so difficult to find anything in this market!

DO NOT BUY A HOUSE AFFECTED BY SERIOUS ROAD NOISE.

I have just sold my house which was situated on a main road. It was supposed to be 30mph, but as the road connected one town to another, and we lived between industrial estates, ordinary cars as well as articulated lorries used to tear down the rough tarmac at 40mph or more.

We were frequently woken up by the noise, and my DD who has SEN was terrified by the lorries, as she slept in the front room with us. I was so thankful to have got rid of that house quickly, and wouldn't make the same mistake again.

That wouldnt work for me.

Why bother moving? Would it not be easier just to extend the one you are in?

This is what i would be looking at in your shoes.

We have thought about extending but it's much more expensive than moving and our house would still be a semi not a detached.

I'm surprised it is more expensive even with stamp duty/solicitor/moving costs?

In that case I'd keep looking as the one ypu have found doesn't seem like a good upgrade.