Which house?

[TinnedTom]

Wise people of mumsnet please help me with a dilemma. Which house would you go for?

For context, living there would be me, DH and our one year old. The commute to our offices is roughly the same from both.

House 1
1930s semi in a residential area
15 min walk to a small high street
4 beds including a loft conversion with en-suite bathroom
Driveway for two cars
Decent size west facing garden
Overall in reasonable condition although would look to replace kitchen/bathrooms in next 5 years if finances allow
In catchment area for several ‘good’ primary and secondary schools
12 large steps up to the front door

House 2
Edwardian terrace in a more ‘up and coming’ (slightly grotty but more buzzy) area
2 mins walk to big high street with several supermarkets/restaurants/cafes
4 beds and potential to add space with a loft conversion
No en-suite so only one bathroom
No off street parking but street parking is for residents Mon-Sat
Smaller north facing garden
Would need more work eg. Kitchen would need to be replaced as soon as we move in
In catchment area for two ‘outstanding’ primary schools and two ‘outstanding’ secondaries
£30k cheaper (and possible we’d have an offer accepted for slightly less)

House 1 as semi, and off street parking which if we end up with electric cars easier to charge. Schools change ratings so good is fine.

I’d go for the Edwardian house, although the other sounds nice too

school Wise both good and outstanding are fine

2 for me

Story didn’t say why. More character and I like the sound of the buzz area. The outstanding schools are a bonus, only downside is parking.

House one always for me - driveway is an absolute no brainer (think of all the CF parking threads on here!), as is multiple bathrooms. Grotty "up and coming" area sounds like my worst nightmare tbh.

I’d go Edwardian as I’m a sucker for period houses and love being in the centre of the action!

Definitely the first one, driveway and second bathroom plus west facing garden.
Im not convinced ‘outstanding’ schools are better than ‘good’ ones.

First one. Drive way, en-suite and west facing garden - sun from afternoon til sunset. A definite no no is a north facing garden and on street parking.

H2 sounds more my style but H1 feels like an easier and "safer" choice all round as a family.

This 👍🏻

I think this is exactly it. we prefer the area of house 2 and the period features (house 1 is not the most attractive) but house 1 is probably more practical.

Would the steps up to the front door of H1 put you off with a small child? I doubt we’ll get a buggy up them easily so it might have to live in the car.

House 2 as steps are a definite no.
Having a new kitchen is great and it's cheaper.

Do you have floor plans?

2 sounds nicer, but I would never have a north facing garden - that would be a deal breaker for me.

House 1 for the garden and the parking. On street parking gets old really quickly. You'll be thinking you wouldn't mind climbing up the steps when you have to park the car at the other end of the street in the rain with your shopping, the buggy and the baby.

No 2 I like old buildings. If you’re kids aren’t small parking a walk away is less of an issue. Can you squeeze a second loo somewhere?

House no 1. Parking on the street is something I would hate. Old houses may have their charm but also their problems. Area 2 may have more buzz but possibly more air pollution. Schools that are good are fine. The steps might be a minus but nothing is perfect. In this age of shopping deliveries from any of the big stores you still have access to any you want to shop from. You can move in and take your time renewing things with a lot less stress. Good luck with your move whatever you decide.

You won’t notice the steps once the kids are past 3yrs. I had to give my head a wobble nearly discounting a house for steps into the garden as it felt like such a huge thing when kids are 1-3yrs old but then it became such a non-issue as they got older. And definitely better than on street parking issues.

Definitely house one. It has far more upsides than downsides. A semi with its own drive is far better than a terrace with only permit parking. Thirties semis are generally very well built solid houses. We lived in one when our children were babies. It had seven steps at the front and six at the back but I managed the pram/pushchair.

House 1. Lack of own driveway and small north facing garden are both dealbreakers for me and 2 min from big high street sounds a little too close for my liking. Sounds like house 2 needs a good bit of work doing too which might cost you the guts of that 30k. Also I would ponder how an area that is a bit grotty now will fare in the looming recession.