House 1 or 2...need to decide today

[Eastie77Returns]

We've had a bit of a nightmare after the vendor of the property we originally had an offer accepted on couldn't find an onward purchase so restarted our search. Have now had offers accepted on two properties (offer on House 1 originally not accepted but EA just came back and said they want to accept now - a day after we offered on House 2)

House 1:

• 3 bed with driveway, lovely quiet street, next to beautiful woodland area, 15mins walk from tube/overground and a school suitable for DC.
• Probate property but apparently that is all resolved. However house is still full of all of the deceased owner's furniture and his children live 200 miles away.
• One bathroom that currently doesn't have a shower but it is big enough to install one.
• 1930s style which I love.
• Worried the vendors might be a bit flaky. EA seems chaotic and have had different versions of why they came back to our offer.

House 2:

• 3 bed with driveway and 2 bathrooms. Downstairs one is nicely tucked away with a shower room. Upstairs one spacious.
• Not such a nice street (but nice enough). Garden is bigger but backs onto a development of new build houses.
• Longer walk to tube and DC school. 10 minute walk from the beautiful woodland area.
• Vacant, no onward chain. Vendors clearly ready, house cleared out and they have already bought somewhere. £30k more than House 1. Lovely EA, family run and very friendly professional service.

Leaning towards House 2 as practically it is better and I can't bear the thought of being messed about again but it is not the 1930s style I've been hankering over for so long and I'm worried about noise from the development behind. The extra £30k is doable but a stretch.

WWYD?

House 1
You can make it your own, in a spot you'll love. Better by far long term

House 1. You will be living there a long time, the niceness of the house 2 EA is irrelevant.

I think I'll be going against the grain here but I'd go house 2.

I've bought three times, always from a vendor with no onward purchase. Friends remark that we make moving house look easy (they have some real nightmare stories to tell) and I'm pretty sure this is why.

I guess if you're REALLY invested in making the other house your own then it could be a better bet long term but for me it wouldn't be worth the stress and hassle. Plus it's really difficult to get even minor building/renovation work done right now due to increased cost and demand.

Don't buy a house because you like the estate agent selling it!

House 1 sounds better to me. I really wouldn't worry about minor issues like a shower or some furniture.

Last summer, I was looking for a new house and getting desperate as everything decent was being snapped up immediately. Really wanted a Victorian or Edwardian semi. Couldn't get one, so ended up with a 1960s semi instead. And the 1960s has great potential, I can see that, and it's in a good location with a lovely garden.... but it's a 1960s semi and it isn't what I wanted. And I don't see myself every really feeling settled here because I am always looking wistfully at older houses.

*I mean "the 1960s house has potential"

House 1 - as a rule you want the worst house house on the nicest street. It sounds like there is room to improve the house and it's location next to a woodland will always be great for you to live in and appealing to future buyers if you sell. Ditto to to school and transport distance.

I'm with you on the 1930s appeal too!

House 1. Its quieter and its closer to transport. That means even when your DC leaves school it will still be a good location for you.

Also it's cheaper and you may be able to spend that 30k on a tiny loo under the stairs.

House 1. None of the problems are insurmountable and it sounds like your heart lies with this one. It also sounds like the home for every stage of life.

Also if all you really have to do is put in bathroom fittings then there shouldn't be the same delay as there would be if you were looking for an independent builder (which I agree is impossible). You could go to B&Q or similar and get it done fairly efficiently.

House 1, sounds a better location and things like bathrooms/showers can be changed where lovely woodland v's housing estate can't be.

House 1.

If you go for the probate house, make sure it really is all resolved! DD and SIL are still waiting to exchange & complete on their new house, as the house at the top of the chain is probate, and although they were assured it was all complete, it turned out there was an issue that still had to be resolved - means they will probably miss the stamp-duty discount by a few days, which is annoying, as they had their offer accepted in March!

House 1, ignore the house being full of stuff, they have to give you vacant possession so all the stuff has to be cleared out of the house and there are specialist firms of house clearers who can do this. Just make sure the property is empty before you exchange contracts.

House 1 all the way. And I don't think it's all that worrying that it's a probate sale - if the family are too far away to organise clearing it themselves, there are dozens of specialist house clearance firms out there that will have it emptied before you can blink!

Location better and you can always improve the house - you can't improve the location.

house 1. location, location, location! it's the thing you can't change.

House 1 but transport is everything for me (and teens!).

Another vote for house 1, location and street are persuasive. Worth the hassle!

House 1!

House 1. Bonus that it's cheaper as it would still be my pick if it was the more expensive of the two.

Don't they say buy the worse house on the best street ? You can always do up a house to make it your dream , but you can't move it.

House 1, probably.

There are 2 things I would consider though.

How easy will it be to find another property you like in the same area if the sale falls through?

How much will it cost to do any necessary renovations/decorating (to make it work for you, not just essential work) for each house and will the work increase the value?

House 1 definitely for me.

Thank you all, seems unanimous then:). My heart def lies with House 1. I was just worried about the probate issue mentioned by @RustyBear. The deceased owner apparently has multiple children all living scattered around the North and I just want to be sure there are no legal issues pending or drama over the house clearance.

The other thing playing on my mind is whilst the woodland is gorgeous I wondered if it is ever a hub for anti-social behaviour. The large forest close to where we are currently renting is periodically host to illegal raves etc. However I do think this area is different and I can't see anything online.

Honestly, I know I'm ridiculous to get invested over a nice EA. They've just been so friendly and helpful whilst the EA of House 1 is high street chain and they have not been great to deal with so far!

House 1. I wouldn't worry about probate and you know the issues with the furniture so providing you can budget for clearance that's the worst case scenario. Most purchases don't go smoothly, but it's worth it for a better location

House 1 sounds lovely. If you don't go for it, you'll always be wondering if you'd made a mistake, especially if the housing estate behind house 2 is noisy for example.