Buying upside down house

[Lanosajulas]

Hi all,

Wanted to get some views on buying an 'upside down' house. Its 3 floors with 2 bedrooms on the LG, 2 bedrooms (including master) on the G where you enter the house and living room, diner and kitchen on the 1st floor. The house is great in terms of space (3,200 sq.ft.) and location but can't get our heads around potential issues/worries. We have a 2 year old with another baby on the way. Potential worries for us:

1. Kids bedrooms will be on LG floor and ours will be on G floor - so not on same floor as young children. Not an issue when they get older

1. Access to the garden is via the 2 bedrooms on the LG floor i.e. the kids rooms. So no real access from the 'Living' spaces and potential security worry for the kids

1. Back garden is small as it has an outdoor pool. Another worry is that if the kids are in the Garden then cannot really monitor them if we were in the living space which is two floors up and potential worry with swimming pool accidents. Would need to be with them at all times they are in the back garden

Ideally would like the traditional layout but we would not get this size house close to the high street and underground station generally and this is a forced sale so could get at a good price.

Thoroughly confused - any insight from anyone massively helpful!

Thanks a lot

I think that layout plus young children plus a pool would be a step too far for me.

It sounds good for age 10 years + who can swim but with younger kids that's a lot of potential headaches and stress.

An upside down house wouldn't bother me and issues like the swimming pool could be sorted. However, this part of your post is an absolute dealbreaker for me

Access to the garden is via the 2 bedrooms on the LG floor i.e. the kids rooms. So no real access from the 'Living' spaces and potential security worry for the kids

It would be a massive pain and if you ever came to sell it would put off so many buyers.

Thanks Whinge and Lindy. Yes we see this house would be perfect for 10 years+ its the in-between stage that am worried about. I guess the way i see it is that this house would need a certain discount applied and would expect the same when we sell it. But absolutely right it will put off many buyers.

This sounds like a house for an older couple that needs guest rooms, not a family.

The lack of access from the living space would be a deal breaker for me - what do you do when you have guests round, lead them through the bedrooms? Also the security issue with the kids on the ground floor and direct access to the garden no way. Both in terms of potential break ins, and drowning.

I wouldn't be happy with doors to outside from my children's bedrooms.

The access via the LG bedrooms would be a deal breaker for me and whilst the kids are small I wouldn’t feel comfortable with them being in the LG at night when I’m on the top floor.

I do like upside down houses though. We have done near to where we live but they have two floors. Again access is via the bedrooms though.

Could you re-do it so that all bedrooms are on the ground floor and knock through the lower ground floor rooms to create a large living space?

Can you share a floor plan?

I don't think it's an issue being on a different floor to the kids, or them being on the LG. However, the no access to the garden except through bedrooms would be a real turn off for me.

Hi All,

Thanks for the replies.

@BridgetInHerBravery. I did think about making all the living space downstairs but because of layout, the LG floor only has windows to the rear so becomes a bit dark. The top floor i.e. 1st floor with the living spaces has windows all across and makes the living space fantastic so would kind of destroy that aspect if it were to be converted to bedrooms. I've got a floor plan but can't see how to attach is in this conversation. Any idea?

Why not make the room with access to the garden a play room? Put a sofa in there as well and you sit in there whilst they are playing outside

The kids could share the bedroom on the ground floor surely until they are older? Then you can review

It'll be a pig to sell on as it excludes most buying groups, I'd leave well alone.

That's definitely an idea. At first we thought for the first 6 months after 2nd child is born she will stay in our room and then wasnt sure if having a 6m old and 3yr old in the same bedroom would work but I guess its what you get them used to. And later on do the re-jigging. Good idea thanks!!

What happens if you have a BBQ or just want to sit outside during nap times or a summer evening (with or without guests). I know we don't get many warm evenings but it's nice to make use of them when you can.

We had a holiday let that was upside down - it worked brilliantly but there was downstairs corridor and access to the garden through that.

I lived in an upside down house for a while, we actually had a break-in through my bedroom (it had French doors to the garden). For this reason, I wouldn't ever put kids on the ground floor, and tbh I would never want kids sleeping on a different floor although I know lots of new build townhouses etc have that layout. At a minimum I'd be sleeping on the lower ground floor - even when they're older/teenagers, there is a risk if only of them sneaking out without you realising.

It gets you nice views but I didn't love the upside down layout and I was single and sharing with other twenty-somethings at the time. Constantly having to go up and down stairs if you've friends calling over, the postman calls, the doorbell rings, etc etc. And with kids, when they're a bit older and want to be in the garden, never being able to just send the out while you potter in the kitchen. Ten years is quite a long time to wait, esp since I'm not sure its as suitable for teenagers as you imagine. Personally I'd pass on it.

Put the children in one of the ground floor bedrooms for now. I wouldn't be comfortable re the potential ability for them to get outside/get near a pool while you're sleeping upstairs. Is it a stopgap house or a forever home?

I've lived in an upside down house and have had 3 kids grow up in it.

We made the ground floor a play room/friends room so I could be there when they were younger but there is no doubt I would have to plan what time take with me ie snacks or drinks etc. Eventually we put in a small fridge fir drinks and snacks including ice creams to save going up 2 flights of stairs. It was cooler in summer than the living room in the top floor and as they got older it gave them a private space 2 floors away from us.

I disagree it a house for older people due to the stairs. In your case I would be more worried about the pool than the layout.

I'd personally not want to live in a property where access to garden is via bedrooms and especially wouldn't like the thought of there being external doors on children's bedrooms. Would be a no from me unless you can rejig the floor plan a bit.

Even when they are teenagers - they aren't going to want you traipsing through their bedrooms to get through to the garden.

Can you make a corridor on the LG floor?

I don't think a townhouse with bedrooms on 2 floors is that much of an issue in London as it is quite common. Being upside down with garden access through the bedrooms will be more of an issue.

It might be worth talking to an architect to see if the light issues can be overcome and get quotes for the work to swap the floors around, and estimates from estate agents on the value after the work is done, if you can afford to do it. It could increase value, not just sellability.

The access from outside into the kids rooms would put me right off. I wouldn't want a potential burglar directly entering my children's bedroom.

If you can have one as a playroom that's a little better.

Are the rooms big enough that you could have one as a play room and one as your room and the two children share the upper bedroom?

I couldn’t sleep at night with that set up. Even if I was LG, I wouldn’t feel secure knowing there was access into my bedroom, def not for DC room.

Presumably the trade off are lovely views from the living space on the top floor? If so, then I would look at creating access to the garden via a corridor as opposed to the bedrooms, and installing a dumb waiter from the kitchen to the garden so you can eat and entertain there more easily.

I guess you can make a corridor on the LG floor - its just means you have to break-up a lot of fitted wardrobes etc and seems like a waste. Saying that I'm no architect and don't have great vision for these things so its probably better to take an architect with me or show them a floorplan.

Each floor is circa 1,000 sq.ft. so there is plenty of space but at the price I'm looking at I wont be able to make all those changes immediately as top end of our budget. Could always wait a few years and save up then do it. In the meantime the kids are smaller and can 'control' their access to areas.

Any idea how to post an image on this conversation thread so I can put up the floor plan in case anyone has ideas

When you post there should be a paper clip to click on and attach the plan

Would it be possible to have a balcony on top floor with stairs to garden?