Which House Would You Buy?

[Independant]

DP and I have sold our house and currently looking for our next (potentially forever) home.

We have one DS who is 2 in January and would like to star TTC this time next year.

We’ve got two houses that we are both interested in. Both houses we both really like but DP prefers one and I prefer the other (typical!)

House A - DP prefers this house:

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/107852696#/?channel=RES_BUY

Great semi-rural location
3 good size bedrooms
Large garden and great dog walks on the doorstep
Great schools nearby
Close enough to both sets of parents
Still within reach of friends
Will need a second car to get to work

House B (the house I prefer)

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/115529915#/?channel=RES_BUY

20k cheaper
Looks more appealing / pretty
Detached
Garage
3 bedrooms (but one is a box room)
Big garden
Not as great location
Still within catchment of great schools
Parents / friends still relatively close by
Would need second car
Needs a bit of cosmetic work (old person has lived in it)

We feel we could live in either house. We just can’t choose?!

Which one would you pick and why? Maybe you think of something we haven’t considered?

@Delectable we are based East Midlands. No idea on average wage but I am £32k nhs manager and DP is £26k lorry driver (both full time).

We have a lot of equity in our current house otherwise we’d not be able to afford to move at the moment x

@ReviewingTheSituation very interesting and valid point. I have no idea. I will definitely look into this. There is no door at top or bottom of the stairs to the loft room.

House A

House A, it's ready to go and has great sized rooms. That's one awesome garden too.

I prefer house A, as much as the second is detached it's just awkward and with kids I always think a countryside location is ideal.

I think the first house is a great layout for a young family and the larger bedrooms will be a boon once the kids are a bit older/ for visiting friends/ family. Can see the appeal visually of 1 but the room shapes/ proportions are less family friendly.

[quote Independant]@bravotango I think if house A was the £20k cheaper house we would go for that one purely because of the location

We live in a 3 storey house currently and sleep in the top floor bedroom so we are used to hot summers and colder winters :)

@Callisto1 I appreciate your points, thank you. I hadn’t thought about the issue with separate dining room etc. The box room is a big thumbs down on house B. It is very pokey. Fine for a baby / toddler room but if I was a teen I’d hate a bedroom that small.

The decking in House A is listed in the advert as needing repair, but DP is good at DIY and we’d probably rip it up straight away tbh.[/quote]
But b is £20k cheaper, which would go a long way towards a loft conversion.

B is the better house, much more potential.

Only you can say on location.

House B.

I wouldn’t want to live in Kimberley, tbh. Newthorpe is much nicer.

B hands down. It looks much nicer and that extra cash can be used to knock through the kitchen living room and make the dining room the living room.

It's also has a utility room which is a must for me.

You can always go up into the loft with 2 as well when you can afford it.

There's more room to move and develop house two

Definitely house B. It's detached, cheaper and just much nicer overall. House A doesn't look very nice unfortunately.

I like the first one because it has bags of character. It's beautiful and I like semi rural. I can't believe the price!

I like House A - great potential with garden and loads of space.

That loft conversion cannot be legal surely if there's no door? I certainly don't see how it can be a bedroom, so really it's a 2 bed house and for that it's way overpriced. As someone who bought a house with an illegal loft conversion, don't do it.
You won't need the 3rd bedroom for a while and maybe that gives you time to save up for a conversion on the detached.

House B - much nicer house and garden and still room to grow

Having looked at both houses again, I'd agree with the other posters that suggested you could knock through from kitchen into living room to make big family eating/living space in house B. The old dining room could be the adults living room without any kids toys!! I would really love one of those...
You are saving £20k so could you afford this short term?

Realistically if you stick to your DC age gap plan. Then the box room in house B won't be a problem for a while. By then do you think you could afford a loft conversion? Is it possible in house B?

As an afterthought I would check very thoroughly if the nice field view from house A is likely to remain. Are there absolutely no plans to build any more housing in that semi rural setting!

House B because I had similar. Baby went in box room until 2, then both shared the other room until 8/9 at which point we extended. Much more potential but no idea of the area so can’t take that into account

Also I can't shake the feeling that things in house A have been done on the cheap and without much care. I really dislike the conservatory and it would always bother me. The loft conversion without door is also a bad sign. I would be weary that some nasty surprises are lurking in there once you have a closer look.

Detached every day over semi. You’re a long way off needing three large bedrooms, in a few years I’d be looking at a loft conversion.

Second one for me. Has much more long term potential (although don't know area to judge on that).
Personally I wouldn't like kids on different floors though it sounds like you have that now? As they are out of cots and need wee in the night etc, I wouldn't want them coming down stairs alone.
What is the loft like in property two? Any potential for conversion in 10 years time when the single bedroom starts to become an issue?
The second one is about as good as you can make it now. If your husband is handy you could really improve the other. Although it's a bit dated, it all looks clean and in good repair so liveable

Thank you so much everyone. Lots of food for thought.

Thank you to those who mentioned house A potential dodgy loft conversion - Definitely made me think twice!

I like the idea of having large kitchen / family room in house B and the current dining room being used as an adults only (I.e no toys!) living room.

Hard to think about where baby would go when baby doesn’t actually exist yet , but potential for room sharing I suppose if we HAD to. We could definitely look into a loft conversion or potentially extending on the second floor (above the downstairs extension - if that’s even possible?!) in the future.

We are very likely at some point in the future coming into some inheritance from DPs side, so money etc doesn’t concern me greatly in terms of being able to afford a loft conversion or something similar.

The more I look at house A, the more I worry that things may not be as lovely as it seems I.e. the loft conversion now I’m aware it is potentially dodgy!

I meant first one is as improved as far as can be.... and agree with others that it doesn't look particularly well done.
The open plan conservatory would put me off and I thought loft conversions required fire doors

I'd go with house B

The space in kitchen a looks poorly planned. The table in the way between oven and sink - would be a nightmare with pans of hot water and small children around. Also the table is squashed right up against the unit - it doesn't look like a big enough space to comfortably use.

The ceilings in the loft room look really low - might be ok for a toddler - but would a strapping teenager be bumping their head? Also lack of door on the loft room would ring alarm bells about building regs - what other corners have been cut?

Also, I would now always pick a detached house - just from noise/privacy point of view.

@Calmdown14 both nice areas. House A is more rural and actually looks over what we believe is our friends farm. House B is more estate-y but still nice.

We are going back for second viewing on house B on Tuesday to look at loft as couldn’t get in the first time (no chain and estate agent has the keys.. no vendor showing us round). I wouldn’t know what to look for to say the loft is compatible with a conversion..? I’m so useless at these things! X

Definitely B. More character and you could do a loft conversion. And it's detached.

I think house A. It appears a bit more unique to me.