House or location - help us choose pls

[Magnoliabakery]

Looking for experiences please from anyone who’s been a similar situation.

We currently live 20 mins away from our kid’s schools and are deciding between two properties we love, for different reasons.

property 1- 20 year old property,

pros: lovely 50ft mature south facing garden, really nice cul de sac, en suite, downstairs toilet, main bathroom, utility for 2 appliances, good condition & cared for by current owners, 10-15 mins walk from school or 3 min drive.Garage conversion already done. Driveway for 2/3 cars side by side

cons: has just enough space for now but bedroom 4 would feel small over time for DC3 , study/playroom would be combined (we both WFH part of the week, so need office space), we could afford to refit a
kitchen diner with space for existing American fridge freezer, but would need to wait at least 2years to finance it, & there may be an option to do a loft conversion but no neighbours on that side of road/same house type have done so …… also no garage for storage

property 2- new build

pros: also in a nice part of town (5 mins drive from property 1), can select everything as at start of build phase, 50ft south facing non-landscaped garden, nice plot on tree lined road, large en suite plus dressing area, 3additional bedrooms, plus study, plus playroom/spare room space, energy efficient, garage, 2 bathrooms in addition to En suite plus downstairs ’lootility’, 5 min drive to school, already had the kitchen diner we prefer

cons - lootility would need to be reconfigured to accommodate our 2 appliances, can’t realistically walk to school (would be 30mins walk), could have big fridge in house but wouldn’t ‘fit’ with the styling of the kitchen, would be restricted to the kitchens available with developer which are fine but not my 100% first choices, don’t know the neighbours as all new, developer advises ‘they’re like minded’

both houses are equidistant to amenities etc

have you been ina similar situation before choosing between a new build and a liveable but still a ‘project’ house

Moving will significant up our budget so we really want to be sure we can stay out for at least 7-10 years.

The kids are mid teen, tween and early years.

thanks in advance for you help!

House A. By the time your youngest desperately needs a bigger bedroom, the oldest will probably have moved out.

Plus, being able to walk to schools - massive bonus. Does that include secondary school?

House A.

1

Thanks @Cascais @NancyDrooo @RoseMartha we did consider this too & I suppose that if push cane to shove and all kids are living at home in 7-10 years, the second reception could be used for one of the girls bedrooms and then study upstairs in the box room…

also wondering how we would cope without a garage as we have one at the moment 🤔

House 1. Can you rent a garage or storage of you really need it? Could you put a small wooden office in the garden if you need it? Being able to walk to school trumps space. Also could you consider a different fridge it seems crazy to spend lots of money to reconfigure a kitchen for an appliance?

Good luck with the decision.

I wouldnt be buying a house around my specific appliance if that makes sense!

50ft gardens sound big enough for a nice home office out building.

Being able to walk to school has been a massive help in my life so I lean to house A.

House A kids don't tend to use a play room IMHO. Will the teen be going to Uni? In my previous house I had the downstairs front reception room as I gave the two big bedrooms to my teens and the smaller room became a study, it was completely redundant as we had a dining table in the kitchen. Worked brilliantly for me.

You mention schools... Private or will potentially be in different catchments?

I think you need to not think so much about your current appliances they are very cheap compared to the price of the house. How close to secondary/primary. No garage I would find really tricky unless you can put large shed in garden for bikes and stuff. To be honest neither seem perfect for your requirements. Home office important building one in the garden is £££

Thanks @Coffeesnob11 @Onionpatch @TangoWhiskyAlphaTango
walking to school would be a nice thing to have the choice to do.

garden has a lovely acer tree which provides shade & privacy & it’s the middle of the back of the garden so may end up sacrificing that for an outdoor office

good idea re. Renting storage… 🤔

The need for the appliances is more because of how we eat (lots of fresh food in fridge & different allergies so several versions of everything ) & re. the laundry, the kids do a lot of clubs so it’s always on, so do really need separate washer and dryer - all of which house 1 would give us….

Maybe I’m attracted by the ease of the new build & extra bedroom space

all kids could walk 20-25 mins to their secondary schools or take the bus. Many of their friends live on development 1

Option 1. While having everything new and shiny sounds great, you will tire of the distance to the school very quickly.

1. Location is everything. Living near friends too also incredibly important, particularly for older teens. Having friends in walking distance will save you many school runs.

House 1 without a doubt. Sounds much better overall and there will be ways to create space in time. Btw we had a new kitchen with Wickes when money was tight a few years ago and they did a 2yr interest free finance thing.

@Imogensmumma yes! We currently drive 20-25 mins to school which is an absolute nightmare, so maybe the 6 min drive doesn’t feel so bad to me… but having the option to walk would be a bonus

Location if house 1 is really nice. It’s a great street and one of the smaller 4 beds so we know we could add value and not hit ceiling price.

house 2 has basically everything we want space wise and more so the kids could entertain/have play dates without it in inconveniencing one of us working…

@Heronwatcher thanks! Good tip! If I’m honest, my ‘future kitchen’ Pinterest board is a lot more exciting than the developers options 🤭 and when we fitted a kitchen in our current house, we got exactly what we wanted & it’s really special & works perfectly for our family - would be lovely to do that again With more space and stepping onto a beautiful garden x

Will you actually walk to school? I.e does the time there and back fit with work etc?
I love being able to walk but I see people who live five minutes away in cars so you have to think about which category you are in.

Agree with not centering a search on appliances. My tumble dryer went into the shed when couldn't fit it in new layout. It's actually far better in there but I mostly line dry even in winter so it's usually just finishing off and I'm walking past it anyway (though is only few steps from back door). You can also stack them.

If you need fridge space, I've seen clever things done with two built in fridge freezers side by side with the doors hung on opposite sides. Less intrusive but gives the same type of room you are used to.

A home office shared with playroom is probably fine as you will likely use it at different times.

The garage would be my biggest concern and you'd need to really look at where you can gain the storage for your paint, tools, bikes etc without spoiling the garden.

Overall, if you will genuinely walk to school, house one, if not probably 2

House 1.

only factor which might change my mind that you haven’t mentioned is access to public transport for the DC as they get older and want to go out with friends

@Magnoliabakery Do you need a garage for a car or as an extra storage space. If it is the latter is there room for a shed in the garden?

As children get older they have less stuff so a bigger room is not always necessary. Although I know there is a trend for children to have double beds when they get older. Luckily mine haven't asked for them as there isn't room but I do understand many teens have them.

House 1, I would never consider a new build though, for a number of reasons.

Thanks all! These are such helpful considerations. Hubby is really enjoying your comments 😏🤓 all the things we’ve been considering too. @Calmdown14 we definitely wouldn’t walk all the time due to the time for the return journey and starting work etc.

hubby had thrown in a 3 Rd option (if we can negotiate the price)

so, House 3

Pros: same development as house 1, even closer to school, also 4 bed, has a separate study and conservatory, double garage, utility which is fine until renovation. driveway for 2 cars side, mature garden, good sized bedroom 2&3

cons: needs a reconfiguration to ground floor to create kitchen diner as they’re not currently next to one another (floor plan attached), all bathrooms outdated and need changing plus covered in wall paper so will take a lot of time/money to modernise

we’ve loved house 3 for years tbh and would be the top of our budget but maybe would give the best of both houses once modernised?

@Rainbowqueeen public transport options the same for both houses, very important consideration!!

Go with the bigger house. Having enough space is the most important consideration for me.
That doesn't necessarily mean the new build as new builds often have tiny rooms.

Okay it's 3 for me then. Buy for the long term.

You can live with dated bathrooms quite a while as long as they are functional.
The layout looks fine but could be great. I'd put a big lootility where the study is (ensuite is above so plumbing should be okay) and knock right through to give amazing family space.

Not sure where you'd put the study then but there's loads of space to play with. Conservatory if it has a proper roof?

Or if garage is attached, hive off a bit for utility and keep study where it is.

Wallpaper can be changed. For kids rooms, you can always paint over it as a quick fix. It's sometimes good not to have rooms that are too perfect. Less stress about what they decide to put on walls! Although if the house is quite new probably good plaster underneath. Ours is old and removing wallpaper means losing the surface of the wall in the process!

@Calmdown14 all good options! Annoyingly, garage isn’t attached and would need a lot of work to get the layout we want.

i hear you re. wallpaper. It is garish though 🙈