Another one asking: which house would you choose?

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Both are recent new-builds on the same estate, very nearly the same layout, both are starter homes.

House 1: £190k, South facing garden and living room, no utility room, no in-built storage cupboard upstairs, slightly smaller footprint, loft is boarded for storage.

House 2: £195k, North facing garden and living room, utility room and storage upstairs, slightly larger footprint, loft not boarded.

Both are so similar and have different advantages and disadvantages. I want storage space, particularly downstairs…. but then I also want sunlight. Thoughts?

Loft in property 1 might be boarded but is it actually suitable for storage? Many new builds lofts aren't.

I’d go for the south facing garden

Is the living space at the front or the rear?

No 2! Storage and utility every time.
Summers are getting hotter you'll be glad of the shade

north Facing garden may not be a deal breaker. Depends on what is surrounding it for shadows and how long the garden is. Can you schedule a viewing at the time you most want to sit in the garden to see how much is in shade?

House with utility room gets my vote.

No.1 every time. I hated the sunny days when my garden was like a grey graveyard & could hear neighbours playing in the sun!

Assuming the loft can be boarded by you and used I would choose 2. The utility and extra storage would matter more than the direction of the garden to me.

Hmm thanks, yes I’m not sure about suitability for storage in the boarded loft. I assumed so, but need to check that.

In both houses the living room is the main living space, in house 1 the double doors lead straight out into the south facing garden and sunlight pours into the room. In house 2 the double doors lead out to an enclosed patio, then you go up steps to the garden. It means that despite being north facing the garden is higher so does get a bit more sun, but very little light comes through the window.

I was leaning towards house 1, but the lack of storage really is a pain. I have been to view once but I think I need to go back and see it a second time.

Definitely house 1. I've got a south facing garden and it's too hot to sort out in it for most of the day.

Your description has made me lean towatds house 1 now! Personally i try to avoid any house that has the garden higher the house as I worry about heavy rain and flooding after seeing some friends stung badly with a garden that sloped down to the house. Probably a bit paranoid, but I always want the house to be on the highest part of land.

Ultimately if you get a better feeling from one then that'd probably the one to go for as you'll feel happier with your choice.

South facing garden for me.

After your update, house 1.

I'd go for house 2. The extra space will be worth a lot more over time, especially the utility. Also, lofts are really easy to board if you are only planning to store things there.

I'd have said house 2 originally because North facing gardens are fine in my experience and the utility and extra storage is a bonus... but not if the living space will always be dark due to the raised garden.

Seconded.

I literally won’t look at a house where the main living space and garden isn’t south facing. So house 1 for me.

I'd go for House 2 but then I'm not fussed about gardens/south-facingness. Others have that as a must. So it entirely comes down to how you feel about it.