The ultimate Compromise: which house would you choose?

[Greenlife1]

We live in a village which is quite pricey and very few properties come on the market (in our price range!!)

I really want to stay detached and I really want a good size garden. I also want 4 bedrooms, a pretty street near the school and fairly up to date fittings! Having realised I need to compromise I am willing to sacrifice some of those things and go for a 3 bed (if I have to!), not be on the prettiest street in the village and be open to the place needing work.....it is the garden that I don’t really want to compromise on and also being detached.

But I keep thinking maybe I’m being unrealistic, maybe I need to compromise more?! We are running out of time afterall!

So with this in mind would you go for a good size semi with a large garden that needs updating/ layout rejig or a smaller property with a smaller garden but detached and potential to extend into the garage?!

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/122247017#/?channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/123954737#/?channel=RES_BUY

In dont know the area but I'd go bungalow

Presumably loft extension can be done in the future?

Agree with others. It’s never promising when the first image is not the front view of the house.

Detached is worth so much and a semi will always be a semi. The bungalow is so so much nicer. Surely it has bags of space to go into the loft and create a master suite, while still leaving plenty of loft space. I’m not even a fan on a bungalow but that’s much nicer.

Bungalow 100%. Wouldn't even consider the other one they are in different leagues

Another vote for the bungalow. The layout of the semi is awful - ill thought through extensions and rooms that don't really work. The bungalow looks and feels so much better from just the photos. Yes it needs some updating, but it's a lovely house.

Them not being built nowadays is a reason not to buy it if OP and her family don’t have mobility issues imo, and absolutely not to extend into the loft. There is such a shortage of bungalows for people who actually need to be on one level.

The first house would make me want to cry every time I arrived home. It looks so awful from the front.

I agree we need more one level bungalows built.

Hoeever, people buying them to live in is FINE.

I do see my arse over developers buying them all (pushing up the price), developing them & pricing them out of the market!

but the OP buying one for her family to live in, is not an issue

@Greenlife1 location is important, it's really the only thing you can't change. If you'd be happy, really happy, with the location then it's an absolute no brainer.

the garden might be bigger in h1, but it's a characterless rectangle which would take £££ to make it nice. H2 I'm not sure if it's actually a smaller garden or just more divided up, which, with kids , is actually no bad thing. Keeps the balls out of the flower garden!!

you might not be thinking so far ahead... but, for me, I could live with the bungalow for now, once the people have taken their stuff and I've then de-fluffed it!! Then gradually do it up, knowing that it's going to be my home for a long long time, so I can do exactly what I want without considering the affect it would have on the sale price! Knowing that by the time I come to sell (if ever) the bedroom/kitchen would be due for an update anyway.

h2 excites me, H1 depresses me 🤷🏻‍♀️

let us know what you decide to do!!

100% the bungalow! We live in an expensive tourist area and all.we could afford was
A bungalow like the one you show in a town nearby
Or
An ex council semi in the most beautiful of villages.
You can hear thro our walls in a house v like no 1 option.
Ie hear a sneeze.
We will always worry about the neigboirs or have to move to the town to get detatched.
Id go for the bungalow without a doubt.

Thank you all, I really appreciate your replies, they have been so helpful.

@Chaoslatte @JuneJubilee I can appreciate bungalows may be few and far between in some places. We have the reverse issue here as bungalows are everywhere with the elderly and infirm tending to be healthy and wealthy and residing in the bigger, family style homes...

The points made about living in a semi are a good reminder as we have not lived in one for a number of years. Flashback to drunken neighbours crooning to boy zone at silly o’clock on a regular basis at our last place. Equally I don’t want to feel guilty if we have an impromptu gathering (three kids deep and here’s hoping!)

location is good for both properties. Although semi comes out a bit on top as it’s a wee bit closer to the school and shops etc (but I’m talking minutes in single figures, nothing major.) Bungalow makes up for it in that its a much more attractive road.

Love the idea of a dormer master suite when pennies allow.

The garden at the semi is glorious. Seeing bunga in a couple hours, from my point of view i would put an offer in tonight. My husband however thinks bungalows are for old people so needs a bit more persuasion!

Bungalow but there isn't really a dining area.The kitchen island looks a bit useless and in the way and they have a dining table squashed into the living room (photo 10). I'd also want to know what's going on with the solar panels - who owns them/the roof etc?

The second one without hesitation. Anything not to have attached neighbours. But then having looked at the links, the garden is not small (to me!), there's so much scope to expand and make it your own, you've said it's a nicer street.

If DH is allergic to bungalows, get him to watch a couple of C4 progs to see the potential.

House 2 hands down. It’s lovely
compromises are hard and but it’s a no brainer for me between those 2 houses, the garden doesn’t look tiny in the second one either

Everyone here going for the bungalow should show your DH that the resale would be easier on that option, should you decide to move later. Also the better location, you can do what you like to the semi but the road isn't as good and it's never going to be detached.

Defo bungalow over the other but have to admit neither is giving me that gooey feeling. If I were you I would keep on looking.

The bungalow, but only if the solar panels are owned, not on a roof lease.
DD2 has recently bought a house with some solar panels - it’s a 30s semi with less roof than the bungalow and I can’t remember how many panels she’s got but they’re making a huge difference to electricity consumption!
Actual ownership was the deal-breaker though.

The garden of house one is lovely but I much prefer the bungalow. I wonder if you'd be able to rejig the two bedrooms and turn them into three single bedrooms? You'd need to have a new window installed, but it might be the cheaper option which could be done for now until you can afford to do the dormer bedroom extension. Also, could you take down the wall between the kitchen and dining room and put up a new one to make the living room separate? I think that would make a nicer kitchen diner

I don't know the area, or what your budget is, but I saw this one www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/84764169#/?channel=RES_BUY

Detached every time

It looks like they are the only 2 houses for sale in your village with any significant garden.

Definitely would not go from a detached to a semi. I live In a semi-detached house after living over 20 years in a detached (parent’s house) to house bought with fiancé then husband (due to budget). Found it obviously noisier, as the walls are quite thin. However, find it quieter now because our neighbours moved elsewhere, & their son lives there now, & he works shift work etc.

We have no plans to move in the near future, but if we did it would be to a detached house, or bungalow with a private garden, & without the need to go through the living room to get to kitchen (which is a slight pain in the neck as husband now works from home 3 days a week from kitchen/diner table).

The detached property.

I live in a semi, but it is a 170 year old stone cottage with a metre of granite between us and next door. I would still prefer detached for the garden privacy, but I would never live in a semi like the one you've linked, you'd hear everything from next door.

The bungalow is lovely, & the garden looks gorgeous.

Property 2, it's better by a country mile and I wouldn't describe it as a small garden at all.

Property 1, looks really boring and lacklustre.

They're both good options. Both are sizeable. I'm no help, just jealous! I'd not get those options at that price where I'm looking. Not SE England BTW. SE Wales, albeit not a cheap part.

I much prefer the second property. Although I personally wouldn’t buy a bungalow until I have mobility issues. But it is much nicer than the first which I think could take a lot of money to make it look appealing.

definitely the second one!

The two aren't really comparable; the bungalow is 100x better in every way.