Which house would you buy?

[Coconutree]

So the search continues.. which of these houses would you buy? Same area and same catchment.
House 1 is more walkable to town so that works bettee if ny ds gets in LSS.
House 2 is nearer ashlawn , bigger (i think), needs work but liveable till we can do the work

1: www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/126555341?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/127271165?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY

Are either you or DH good at DIY, or do you have family in trades? If yes house 2 a possibility. If not no. House 1 has poor flow and a tiny bedroom no one will want.

House 2 for me.
Heating that cathedral ceilinged lounge in house 1 would be hard.

I'd go for house 1 if you like the style. House 2 is quite dates and it would cost a lot more than the £40,000 price difference to bring it up to the same standard as house 1. I also think House 1 is on a nicer street. House 2 has a lot if quite new houses opposite and I think there's be a lot of comings and goings from there as there's more houses behind the one's facing House 2 and the entrance is directly oppositem

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/85403874

Wildcard, OP?

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/126117911

Was this the original one you were looking at? Did you decide against it?

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/126467015

Is this too far out of town?

House 1 is stunning.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/85403874
The layout is way too odd.. i dont see how it can be suited for families. Perhaps okay for those with older children..
This house has been repeatedly reduced, from 800k i think

As a relative local, but no child that age, what is the catchment school of house 1 if your son doesn't pass his 11+?

I've been there and if my DD's hadn't got into RHS, it would have been Bilton, which we weren't happy with. Years ago there wasn't much difference between AQS for the grammars and selective at Ashlawn. It's fine if it is Ashlawn and you''d get a space as I've only heard positive things about it.

Just looked and you'd be fine for Ashlawn with the first..

In which case out of the two house 1, as I wouldn't want to do the work required to house 2.

I would choose house 2. As others have said the upstairs ceilings would put me off, as would the huge kitchen/diner, I don’t like open plan at all. Plus, personally I think the front outside of house 1 is very ugly. I would far rather do my own decor than live with someone’s done up taste that I don’t like.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and analysis. Going to view house2 and hopefully have a rough quote from builder

I just typed out a long reply, and lost it.

Percival Rd gets very busy at certain times of the day (especially on school days) . Personally I'd go for house 2. Probably.

The people in house 1 are weirdly obsessed with bleach (photo6)

Definitely property two. It may need updating but it looks way more expensive structurally than property one.

It's a much better investment IMO. You'll just have to wait a while before you get it looking how you want, but it's perfectly livable in now.

House No 1 as there is far too much work that needs doing in House No 2. It only has one bathroom for a start and the kitchen needs ripping out as well as the conservatory. Would take a fair bit of money IMO unless you get it for £500K.

House 1 is all fur coat and no knickers. House 2 has huge potential, replace the kitchen and the bathroom and you could make any other changes at your leisure.

We bought a house that was similar in decor to house 2. Dark wood doors/skirting etc even dark panelling in the hall and stairs. We couldn't afford to do it all in one go, it probably took 7 or 8 years to get it how we wanted, DH did a lot of decorating/DIY including fitting the kitchen, himself. We didn't change the layout of what was already there but did have an extension. We did the kitchen first. The lounge was ugly for at least 5 years!😂 It depends how long you would intend to live there and how much you could put up with if you did it in stages.

Thanks all. I think the general consensus points towards house2 as being the better house once done.
As mentioned i have viewed house1 a few weeks back, i quite like the kitchen diner, it is huge but being too big is not a problem, being too small is. That road is fine, and wider than usual roads. There is higher passing traffic during certain times of the day but it is okay and nothing like other roads with a popular school where either side is full of parked cars. Anyway... dh is very tall and simply do not appreciate the restricted height on the first floor. This house at this price would have sold in days last year.

@Ticksallboxes just wondering how would you describe a house as more looking more expensive structurally? House1 is about 5 years old, has expensive bifold doors, floor in herringbone pattern, wood burners, etc

House 2.

Cosmetically just covering all that shiny orangey pine coloured woodwork with white paint for starters would transform it, then you could take your time to consider exactly how you'd like to do any imrovements.

The outbuilding and garage at the bottom of the garden would be an exciting project for me.

..