Page 2 | Which house would you choose?

ValancyRedfern · 2022-04-18T12:40:14+00:00

DP and I have just started searching in earnest for a house for us and dd (9). We are probably not going to get either of these houses as there's no offer on our house yet, but I'd be interested in your opinion on which you prefer and why. DP and I have opposing views! [[https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/121658291#/?channel=RES_BUY]] [[https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/122040446#/?channel=RES_BUY]]

TangoWhiskyAlphaTango · 18/04/2022 14:33

Number 2 but that is a huge price difference. I would want to extend the kitchen to the side and knock the whole of it through.

Enzbear · 18/04/2022 14:34

Without looking at either, house 2 does look a lot more expensive. It blows the first one, which is lovely, away. Probably best to keep looking, you'll find something in the middle hopefully.

Qwill · 18/04/2022 14:36

I don’t really like either, but mostly due to the layout. First house I couldn’t do as the ceilings are too low. Having lived with a central staircase, I would not do it again as it limits options and I hate ground floor bathrooms, especially off the kitchen!

chesirecat99 · 18/04/2022 14:41

@ValancyRedfern

Do you think it's worth that much more though Enzbear? I feel it's a lot more to pay for a bigger garden and one less bedroom.

House 1 is effectively a 2 bedroom house. It's 2 floors up from the basement bedrooms to a bathroom/loo. It looks like the lower ground floor is totally underground with light wells for the windows rather than half above/below ground so the windows are above ground. You will probably need the lights on during daylight. Young families won't want to be separated from their DC by a floor at night, narrowing your market when you resell. Also the garden is disproportionately small for a house of that size/family home, which will devalue it.

Definitely house no 2.

Unless you only want/need a 2 bedroom house and are happy with a small garden? I would be comparing it price wise as somewhere between a 2 bedroom and 3 bedroom property.

DorritLittle · 18/04/2022 14:43

House 2. House 1 is on a rat run road. House 2 is more spacious, nicer garden, quieter road. And does it back onto a school? I like the decor of House 1 but you can put the right decor in anywhere.

That said, for that money I would want a garage.

Original poster

ValancyRedfern · 18/04/2022 14:44

Thanks everyone. Really interesting!
I love house 1. The one bathroom thing doesn't bother me at all. We only have 1 toilet now and there's only 3 of us. WE'd only be using the upstairs rooms as bedrooms and downstairs would be spare room and office or playroom. The main negative for me is the garden is smaller, and a garden is the main reason we're moving out of our flat.

House 2: DP loves but I think dining room is a corridor and why on earth does the kitchen have a toilet coming off it!?! It's such a shame there's no view to the garden from the kitchen. Even the other kitchen window looks into the weird not-quite-conservatory not directly outside. We could theoretical get rid of the utility/toilet and put in direct windows or bifolds out to the garden, but at that price all of our money would be tied up in the mortgage.

Neither are perfect but the location is and we're not confident of anything else coming up!

OP posts:

parietal · 18/04/2022 19:54

House 1 is tiny and the layout is not flexible- if you had 2 kids, one would have to sleep in the basement.

House 2 is much nicer

Hostaswordwoman · 19/04/2022 07:51

2
Garden and Bay windows.
But all depends on what you can afford.

LetHimHaveIt · 19/04/2022 07:54

@parietal

House 1 is tiny and the layout is not flexible- if you had 2 kids, one would have to sleep in the basement.

House 2 is much nicer

It's over twice the square footage of the average UK home.

"Tiny", for crying out loud 🙄

GreeboIsMySpiritAnimal · 19/04/2022 07:57

If I had to chose, house 1, purely because I couldn't stand the pokey kitchen in house 2 - I love cooking, and spend most of my time in the kitchen. But I agree the layout isn't great, and if you're going to have a bedroom in the basement, you need at least a loo down there.

Anniefrenchfry · 19/04/2022 08:03

House 2, it’s 200 grand more expensive for good reason and not just because it’s a semi v a terrace.

But that doesn’t mean house one isn’t very pretty, it is.

PurBal · 19/04/2022 08:06

Price aside I don’t think I’d buy either. Maybe house two if I had to choose.

Quartz2208 · 19/04/2022 08:13

House 2

Conservation area - this will have restrictions as to what you can and cant do

Shared drive - avoid

3 floors - can be difficult

Can you afford house 2 - they are priced accordingly I would say

DesignMyRoom · 19/04/2022 08:15

Without knowing the areas and what the actual roads are like- house 1.
More about 2 put me off (loo off kitchen, layout, less rooms, hardly any pics) and defo not worth so much more.

HalloHello · 19/04/2022 08:17

I can only see 1 house linked? Am I missing something?

Anniefrenchfry · 19/04/2022 08:25

There is a huge size differential in the properties too, with house one just under a thousand sq foot and house two1500 odds. And two bedrooms in the basement in house one. I’m surprised they managed to squeeze four bedrooms in house one.

JeffThePilot · 19/04/2022 08:25

I really don’t like house 1 at all, so it’d be house 2, but I’m not sure I’m crazy about that one either, though that could just be the prices are quite different to my part of the South!

Fizbosshoes · 19/04/2022 08:40

Without knowing anything about the area I would say house 2 , even though the layout is not great. (Is it in a more desirable area or closer to schools?) It looks like it would have potential to extend/re-configure, but as its a lot more expensive that might be irrelevant!!

Fizbosshoes · 19/04/2022 08:45

Ignore those questions just looked at the map and seen how close they are!

17caterpillars1mouse · 19/04/2022 08:54

I prefer the first

Nyfluff · 19/04/2022 08:57

House 2 for the rooms and garden, and it's not a terraced. House 2 could get a new kitchen later on, the bones look so much nicer.

Alwayscheerful · 19/04/2022 12:29

It really depends on your financial position . If house one requires a small mortgage, I would be inclined to overpay and set my sights on being mortgage free.
They are both nice houses , are they both in good condition? Does one house require
More expenditure?

WhereYouLeftIt · 19/04/2022 12:39

@ValancyRedfern

Thanks everyone. Really interesting! I love house 1. The one bathroom thing doesn't bother me at all. We only have 1 toilet now and there's only 3 of us. WE'd only be using the upstairs rooms as bedrooms and downstairs would be spare room and office or playroom. The main negative for me is the garden is smaller, and a garden is the main reason we're moving out of our flat.

House 2: DP loves but I think dining room is a corridor and why on earth does the kitchen have a toilet coming off it!?! It's such a shame there's no view to the garden from the kitchen. Even the other kitchen window looks into the weird not-quite-conservatory not directly outside. We could theoretical get rid of the utility/toilet and put in direct windows or bifolds out to the garden, but at that price all of our money would be tied up in the mortgage.

Neither are perfect but the location is and we're not confident of anything else coming up!

Re the downstairs toilet position, that's where my friend's layout differs. Where the "weird not-quite-conservatory" is on this house she had a brick-built utility room / toilet, and where the toilet is on this house, she had a conservatory (well, a scruffy glazed lean-to really). The wall between the kitchen and dining room was open on the other side of the room, so still lots of light coming in (as the window shown behind the dining table didn't exist, her utility was there).

If you were really set on house 2, you could consider switching things about like that. The foundations are already in place, the biggest job would be taking out the wall and putting an RSJ in to take the weight of the upper floor. Fairly straightforward. The dining room would still be light, and you'd have a view of the garden.

MsGoodenough · 19/04/2022 17:03

@Anniefrenchfry

There is a huge size differential in the properties too, with house one just under a thousand sq foot and house two1500 odds. And two bedrooms in the basement in house one. I’m surprised they managed to squeeze four bedrooms in house one.

The square footage doesn't include the basement. Overall the square footages are very similar, especially as the square footage for house 2 includes the cellar, which is just a store room.

Classicblunder · 19/04/2022 19:38

Given your family size, I think 1 is the right choice - it is a lot cheaper and you get an extra bedroom. The main downside is the downstairs bedroom thing but you won't be using those as bedrooms normally so I think that's fine.