WWYD - which house?

[iabvvu]

Background: second time buyer couple buying a home in south east, budget of around 550k. Criteria: 4 bed ideally detached but semi is ok, utility room or potential to add one, driveway, nice garden ideally south or west facing, happy to renovate as long as the space is ok (don't want to do big extensions etc)

House 1:
Semi, 4 big bedrooms, garage we could convert, big driveway, needs work (new floors and kitchen, bit of plastering), nice enough garden (west facing, not very overlooked), no side access, on a nice road in a slightly naff area.
On for 520k

House 2:
Detached, very pretty, 4 smaller bedrooms, garage we could convert, decent driveway, completely finished to a high standard (not exactly what we would choose but not far off), beautiful garden but east facing, on a nice road of a nice area. About 200sqft smaller overall
On for offers over 585k

House 1 might seem like the obvious option as it's cheaper and we could add value/our own stamp etc but the vendor is being a nightmare. We offered 517.5k nearly 3 weeks ago (he has only had offers of 500-510 in the past, been on for 3 months) and still haven't had an answer. Apparently 'it's not a no but it's not a yes' and he wants to find somewhere to buy before accepting and doesn't want to lose us as buyers. The agent has explained this isn't how it works but the answer hasn't changed. As mortgage rates are going up, we want to apply ASAP and secure a rate, so a week ago we offered 520k on the condition that he accepts TODAY (otherwise it goes back to 517.5k) and he still didn't accept. This is just telling me that this vendor isn't motivated to move at all and doesn't bode well for future dealings with him.
House 2 on the other hand has found somewhere to buy, had a buyer that pulled out on the day of exchange so they are very motivated to sell. If we offer on house 2 I don't want to mess them around so want it to be 100% the right decision.

I could see us being happy in either house but really don't know whether to keep pursuing house 1 (which we would objectively prefer) or drop hands and walk away. We've sort of already given an ultimatum and got nowhere. We get an update every couple of days saying 'he's been busy with work he needs until Wednesday' then its 'he's booked a viewing so will have an answer after the weekend', this just repeats without any progress. I'm exhausted with it all.

Sorry for the long post, was just hoping for an outsiders perspective! TIA

House 1 seems the better fit, but it sounds like you'll still be in the same position with the vendor in a few months and he'll continue to be a nightmare for the whole process.

We said we'd ideally want detached, but found a semi we liked. I honestly wish we'd never laid eyes on the place. The neighbour is a twat and is making our lives hell. We're now having to start a complaint via the council after only a year of being here, which means we won't be able to sell once we've renovated as we'd have to declare the huge list of issues we have with next door.

Personally I'd drop house 1 like a hot cake and go for house 2.

Hi OP, Hse 1 is the better option but you have a flaky vendor which is not great at all. Who’s to say when he will accept and he may even pull out and decide a move is not for him. There are too many what ifs with Hse 1 and you really don’t need the stress. Yes on the face of it Hse 2 is ticking all the boxes however like you said it is smaller & what if in a couple of years the family begins to outgrow the house. Will you start looking all over again? Is this next house purchase going to be your forever home if it is then either wait for the vendor of Hse 1 to make a decision or get back out there and start your search all over again.

House 2 100%. If you can afford it then it’s worth the extra to avoid the naff area, plus it doesn’t need work and it’s detached. The seller of house 1 sounds like a nightmare too. It would be an absolute no brainier for me.

I honestly think if you are struggling to decide neither house is right, I would carry on looking personally. And if you can afford detached in your budget, definitely buy detached.

We moved last year, looking at many properties, and eventually found the ideal one, we had quite a specific list of what we wanted, were downsizing. We didn’t even look at properties that weren’t detached, we have lived in detached properties for so long now, it’s great. Good luck.

@PissedOffNeighbour22 sorry you're going through all of that! The username definitely checks out. That's something we haven't really considered - it is a gamble, we have no idea what the neighbours are like.

@DutifulDaughterWifeMother very good points. This isn't our 'forever' home as such - probably 10 year home, we are only 24 so planning on having kids in 5 years or so (obviously can't plan these things too meticulously!) so I don't think we'd necessarily outgrow it before we were planning on moving anyway. It's a decent size, still over 1400sqft but we always manage to fill all the space we have! We are still looking anyway just in case the perfect house comes on but there's not much coming on the market here at the moment

I'd go house 2.

House 2 - don't underestimate the hassle of doing any sort of work even if it's not a big extension.
Wouldn't worry too much about the direction of the garden, it's more about the shadow cast by the house and trees in the garden. Ours is north facing and gets sun most of the day.
I think the biggest plus for me though is that it's in a nicer area. This would trump all of the other pluses of the first house.

@RandomQuest this is what I'm leaning towards at the moment. House 2 ticks enough boxes I know we'd be happy there

@Roselilly36 this is also something I've considered and we are still keeping an eye out. I feel a bit of urgency because of mortgage rates etc and we are going into a variable rate in November so want to move before then - although I know these things shouldn't be the deciding factor. I'm just worried about missing out on a good house and waiting around just for nothing else to come on the market any time soon

House 2, since house 1 is messing around. Maybe the extra cost of house two would be offset by the saving of not having to do so many renovations?

House 2- don't underestimate the impact of where the house is on your life.

We relocated a few years back. Our new house is smaller than our old one and the garden is half the size. However, we didn't know a single neighbour in our old street and it was on a through road. Lovely house, but no sense of community.

Our new house is the total opposite. In a small dead end road with the nicest neighbours going. I knew when we pulled into the road I wanted the house as I could see the care taken by the others of their front gardens etc. It's such a nice area, small walk to dd's school, park less than 1 min away etc.

We actually have friends who live outside the village as they opted for a bigger house for their money. After a few years of driving into the village multiple times a day they are now trying to move back.

House 2.

very much doubt you would be in house 1 anytime this year. Vendor sounds like a total nightmare. Could your stress levels cope with it??

I vote the detached. I was never that bothered about them until I moved to one and I couldn't go back now.

House 2. Save yourself the stress.
The vendor or House 1 could take a year to find a house judging by his behaviour.
Tell the agent you're walking away.

In your position, especially if it’s a relatively short term move, I’d Buy the detached. Extensions at the moment are a pain, getting any work done is difficult. House 1, if He’s a difficult seller he won’t change, and he’s probably been difficult with anyone who has ever done work on the house….

When you say smaller rooms, how small is the smallest bedroom in house 4?

I'd say house 1 is no go
House 2 needs careful consideration. How low would they go given how far through the process they have been once?

House 2. Better location and detached.
Or keep looking.
NOT house 1!

House 2 if they'll accept an offer closer to your 550k budget. I wouldn't touch 1 with a barge pole if that's how vendor is behaving from the off.

@iabvvu
The garden in the second house is east facing. Then it's definitely a no from me.
A sunny garden is a must for me.
During Lockdown it was great for us and dc to have.
In the past we lived in a house with an east facing garden - never again.

A "slightly naff area "- hmmmm - they do say location is key and buy the worst house in the nicest area rather than the best house in the not so nice area.

Perhaps wait for something more suitable. ?

Our east facing front garden gets sun all morning till about 2. Then sun in the evening again as it comes back round the house. It all depends on other buildings over shadowing it and long the garden is.

But people usually don't have a barbecue or even breakfast in the morning in the front garden. Many people don't like their dc playing in the front garden without constant supervision either @BadAtMaths2 and if your front garden faces east your back garden is probably west facing which is lovely too.

House 2, house 1 you could still be being messed around in 6 months time.

Neither?
i would definitely walk away from house 1, if he's messing about this much just accepting an offer then i dread to think how long it will take to actually complete the legal side of things!

House 2 no question. Forget house 1.

House 2, definitely. Location, location, location.

Thank you all for all your helpful advice! Apologies for radio silence - the plans have completely changed (as these things do). So we offered asking price 585k on the detached house (our affordability has increased since we started looking a few months ago). We were told that existing viewings were being honoured so we waited a few days to be told that the vendors had changed their minds and were staying put. Bizarrely it felt like a huge relief which says it all really, it clearly wasn't quite right for us. I convinced myself I liked it but I didn't get that instant feeling.

However since then a house has come up in a different but also good/slightly better location and we absolutely fell in love with it. It's the opposite of what we thought we wanted but as soon as we set foot inside it felt right so we offered asking price minutes after viewing - we're in a chain and there were other asking price chain-free offers but the vendor did our viewing and liked us so chose to accept our offer! Obviously not a done deal yet but seems like it might be a happy ending. Thanks again for all the input