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?

@shrugitoff yes sorry, garden in house B goes on forever and is gorgeous.

Thank you. Keeping fingers crossed!

Awww I'm so pleased you've gone for house B and really hope you get it. I just sold my late dad's house and he'd done exactly what you propose to do and stolen a bit of the master bedroom. For such a small amount of space, it really did make a lot of difference, as it allowed wardrobes along 1 wall of the box room. Regardless though, with house B you obviously still have the potential to go up as well in the future. Good luck and will have my fingers crossed

@CellophaneFlower thank you.
The vendors are 3 siblings who’s brother has just gone into care home and are using the house sale to fund his care it’s really pulled at my heart strings and we’ve put an offer in over asking price. Not going to find out til late Thursday / Friday as they have more viewings today and discussing offers tomorrow. I feel so nervous!

Oh no 😢 I'm assuming he lived there alone? As if the siblings lived there and are over 60 the house should be disregarded when taking care fees into consideration.

That's great you've managed to offer over. I'd always say to offer the max you'd be happy to pay (as long as it's worth it of course) and that way you have no regrets if you miss out as you know you've done all you can 👍

@CellophaneFlower yes he lived there alone, which makes me want to cry! The elderly really tug at my heart!

I am hopeful, but trying to be realistic. I am sure there will be buyers in a better position than us in terms of chain, but the EA said the vendors are looking for reliability (which we have a lot of!) so although we are at the top of our chain, I hope the extra we are offering and providing proof of funds tips us over the finish line. We are quite flexible in terms of when we complete, our buyers are the same so everyone in the chain happy to move as quickly or slowly as needed.

God I feel sick. These next 48h are going to drive me loopy! Lol x

Good call on house B! It looks like it has a really good vibe to it.

I had to look at the pics of house A again after the comments by other poster - but it looks awful. I can't see anything to like about it

Keep yourself busy, try to refrain from mentally moving in.... and don't look at the house anymore until you've heard! Hopefully your chain won't affect things as in their position I'm sure getting the best price is paramount.

Right choice

I hope you get it

Personally I don't think it's worth moving the wall of the box room: it will reduce the flexibility/straight wall stretches of your main bedroom. If you're TTC, it will make a great nursery and a baby doesn't need a large room. It also means that initially, if you want the new baby in with you, there is plenty of room until you're ready to move him or get into the nursery/box room.

You'd then have a good few years to make other plans to expand and allow you to get a good feel for what you think would work best in your new home.

🤞for you @Independant.
You sound so nice I do hope you get it.
I agree with prettybird. She puts it very succintly.
Live in the house before breaking through walls. By the time the dcs need a bigger room you can then consider your options.

What about this that went on the market today ?

Thank you everyone!
Just chased estate agent as they were meant to call me back to take my offer (not sure why I couldn’t just do it then and there when I initially rang..? My lack of experience in house buying I suppose but when we bought the house we are currently in we just rang up and submitted the offer lol!)

@hoomans will definitely take a look at that one! X

House B has had 13 offers and it’s gone to best and final. We’ve put in as much as we could afford, because we love the house, but it means we’d not have anything left from our equity to do any work and would need to save up. so if we aren’t picked it just wasn’t meant to be..! At least we know we did all we could.

The people viewing after us were two young builders

Fingers crossed for you.

House A would be my choice. House B has a long skinny sitting room with no real options for how to arrange furniture. The kitchen in House B is an awful shape. B needs at least £40,000 spent on it.

House A - (which already has an offer on it) has much better shaped rooms, a great garden, a good-sized, better shaped kitchen which would need replacing at some point but is much more liveable with than House B- and you could re-arrange the layout then to make the space work. You could do something with that conservatory- knock it down perhaps in the future which would give you extension options. Much nicer feel about House A.

I still think House C will be the one! You’ve just got to find it.

Sorry have just RTFT! I have changed my mind having read your later comments about House A. All that orangey tiled flooring would put me off as well.
I still don't like House B.
There will be something nicer for you- keep looking.

You've done the right thing, providing you have the means to save! Nothing worse than losing out and wishing you'd offered more. With any luck the builders have factored in all the changes they'll need to make to flip it and are hoping to get it on the cheap 🤞 Good luck!

@LuluBlakey1 house A was off the table as soon as we viewed. The loft conversion was tiny (really not much floor space at all due to roof height being so low!) and looked like everything that had been done to it had been done by an amateur.

House B is lovely and we both got a really great vibe. Living room isn’t skinny at all IRL but the box room really is just a box.

We are unlikely to get house B due to going to best and final offer yesterday (should find out today or tomorrow) but it’s had about 13 offers. We have a 1 in 13 chance though if I’m being positive! X

Just an update for those interested!

We’ve just had our offer accepted! We can’t believe it and feel so elated (and nervous.., such an adult life changing decision!) x

Congratulations, I wish you many happy years and memories in your new home. I bet the vendors chose you 😊

Oh wow! Congrats! Whoever said 13 wasn't lucky Hope everything goes smoothly and your new home is everything you want it to be and more

Excellent . I hope the survey stupid strange English system where you offer before before having a survey done doesn't throw up anything untoward

All the best in your forever home - and that you're in sooner rather than later

Congratulations! That's excellent news - it looks like a lovely family home and the garden's stupendous. I've checking the thread waiting to hear. I hope you and your family enjoy life to the full there.

Thank you everyone. We are thrilled. Currently celebrating with a bottle of wine and takeaway!

Now for the stress to really begin! X

Fantastic news, I’m so pleased for you. Congratulations it’s a beautiful looking house!