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Original poster

Which house would you go for? (Priorities)

67 replies

Catnipdelight · 06/02/2022 22:35

House 1: 3 beds, south facing garden, gorgeously "done", no real storage space and 2 shower rooms (no family bathroom). Conservatory, kitchen/diner and (small) living room.

House 2: 4 beds, fair amount bigger, north facing garden, 3 bathrooms (1 wet room, 1 shower room and 1 family bathroom). Big kitchen, dining room and big living room.

I very much like both but one worries me more than the other in terms of making a commitment to live there.

Advice welcomed! We are a couple with a baby due in June Smile

OP posts:
steppemum · 07/02/2022 08:56

Our garden is long and thin and runs east west.

Our patio by the kitchen sits in hot sun until the shadow of the house covers it at about 2 pm.
We spent all summer putting up shade umbrellas so we can sit and eat out. In the evening, we eat out in the shade and lovely weather, it is perfect.

The flower beds that run down the garden have equal problems, one if all south and too hot, the other side is north and in the shade. But both are full of happy plants.

When kids were little it was perfect having shade on a hot day. So I think it really depends on if you are going to miss sitting in the sun.

Can you visit in the evening on a sunny day, so you can see if there is sun at the end of the garden?

Becuase apart from the garden, house 2 sounds 100% better than house 1

Bedsheets4knickers · 07/02/2022 09:00

Yep house 2 for sure . We have a north facing garden we get lots of sun .

ShallWeTalkAboutBruno · 07/02/2022 09:06

House 2. We have a north facing garden and 3 young kids… in our south facing garden we couldn’t spend much time outside in the summer with the children due to the blazing sun. Since we moved they’re out there so much more.

ShallWeTalkAboutBruno · 07/02/2022 09:07

Oh and we put a patio at the end of the garden to catch the evening sun, so once the kids are in bed er can sit out with a glass of wine. Win win!

Andacherryonthetop · 07/02/2022 09:15

House 2. You will definitely need the bath and storage space with a baby on the way! We have a north facing garden. In the summer it has the sun from 8.30am-7.30pm in June. The sun just moves around it, there’s always a section in shade and a section in sun which has been helpful with young children who I don’t want to get sunburnt.

hivemindneeded · 07/02/2022 09:18

Definitely house 2.
No storage is a nightmare. No bath is miserable. And 'done'now means 'dated' when you get to sell it on. So it will be a smaller , dated house with no storage.
Grow into the bigger space and take time decorating it the way you want it.

Thewindwhispers · 07/02/2022 09:20

I’ve had a borrh facing garden before, it was 80ft long and the last 40ft was always in sun. But that was a small house and the garden sloped up. You need to think about where shade comes from and how high the house is. I’d never go for a north facing courtyard garden on a 3 storey house but a 60-100ft garden on a 2 storey house would be fine…

House 2 for me, it’s painful to leave a house you love when it gets too small.

Twizbe · 07/02/2022 09:22

House 2. More long term and scope to grow with you

We have a smallish north east facing garden. We get beautiful sun in the morning and from our kitchen see the most gorgeous sun rises.

It is shady in the afternoon which is great with the kids. We have large sliding doors and in the summer the cooler shade means our house isn't baking during the day.

Totalwasteofpaper · 07/02/2022 09:23

House 2.

We are north west facing but our garden is long /big. Honestly it’s fine and things grow.
we are v pale and burn easily Blush so have two patios / tables and chairs as the shade is very welcome in summer!

DavetheCat2001 · 07/02/2022 09:36

House 2 definitely

lobsteroll · 07/02/2022 09:53

I wouldn't buy a north facing garden (again) we're currently moving out of a house with one, and that is one of the main reasons. It's bloody miserable in the winter.

The first house doesn't sound right either though. If I were you I'd keep looking.

tentative3 · 07/02/2022 11:35

House 2 all day long. We all have our own quirks around deal breakers so I'm not throwing shade (excuse the pun) on the people for whom it is one, but I'm another who is a bit nonplussed by the obsession on here with avoiding north facing gardens. I will caveat that will saying that I can see that in a small/courtyard garden it could be a factor - how big is the garden OP?

We are on our second north facing garden, having had a south facing courtyard garden in between. The garden is big enough and the orientation of the other properties around it such that there is plenty of sun and light most of the year. Admittedly I don't recall much over Christmas but we are starting to get patches of morning sun coming down the sides of the house now and obviously will only get more as the year goes on.

I like that there are shady places to sit and that the kitchen stays cool but I'm not a sunbather at all, I never sit out in direct sun. If our summers are set to get warmer I don't know whether you'd want a really sunny garden, but that depends on you. With a child you will need some shade.

Beyond that, the bigger house and potential to make it your own would sell it to me. There's scope to grow into it but it sounds like it has good bones with the number of bathrooms etc.

nomoneytree · 07/02/2022 11:43

My garden is north facing but we get loads

YellowDots · 07/02/2022 13:18

What about parking?

Original poster
Catnipdelight · 07/02/2022 20:14

@YellowDots

What about parking?
Both have drives for 2 cars thankfully!
OP posts:
Original poster
Catnipdelight · 07/02/2022 20:16

@tentative3

House 2 all day long. We all have our own quirks around deal breakers so I'm not throwing shade (excuse the pun) on the people for whom it is one, but I'm another who is a bit nonplussed by the obsession on here with avoiding north facing gardens. I will caveat that will saying that I can see that in a small/courtyard garden it could be a factor - how big is the garden OP?

We are on our second north facing garden, having had a south facing courtyard garden in between. The garden is big enough and the orientation of the other properties around it such that there is plenty of sun and light most of the year. Admittedly I don't recall much over Christmas but we are starting to get patches of morning sun coming down the sides of the house now and obviously will only get more as the year goes on.

I like that there are shady places to sit and that the kitchen stays cool but I'm not a sunbather at all, I never sit out in direct sun. If our summers are set to get warmer I don't know whether you'd want a really sunny garden, but that depends on you. With a child you will need some shade.

Beyond that, the bigger house and potential to make it your own would sell it to me. There's scope to grow into it but it sounds like it has good bones with the number of bathrooms etc.

It's probably around 35-40ft. Hopefully that might be just enough to get a reliable patch at the end of the garden!
OP posts:
lordloveadog · 07/02/2022 20:17

If schools, areas equal, then 2. No brainer really.

Does either have noisy road? Or road/school route you'd be worried about kids walking along?

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