Which house should I go for?

[Greenfairydust]

There are two semis for sale at the moment in my budget on a small estate built in the late 90s I have had my eye on for a while & I don't know which one to go for.

This is a small but popular seaside town and there aren't a lot of properties on the market, especially in my limited budget (I am buying on my own), so although neither of them is perfect but they are in a very safe part of town close to sea, train and high street (all within walking distance).

House A: has been badly maintained by the current owner and recent tenants so would need complete bathroom refurbishment, new flooring, new boiler and repainting as bare minimum and probably more work. Don't know about the neighbours but noticed the house next door has a garden that is a bit of a mess to put it mildly although the house itself looks well maintained.

House B: decent condition throughout and decent maintenance but again would need full bathroom refurbishment/new flooring/painting as they look a bit tired but unlikely to be any other issues. Issue with this one is that the house next door is a holiday let (not airbnb). Tenants have lived in the house for a decade and told me that they have never had any issues with noise.

The rest of the estate is spotless and really pretty...I have spoken to another resident who has been there for 20 years and told me this was a lovely, quiet estate to live in general.

What would you do? consider one of the houses? if so, which one? should I go for the ''project'' or the better maintained house but take the risk of living to an apparently quiet holiday let?

Or should I give both of them a miss and hope something turns up?

My other option would be house C which is spacious, has well maintained houses and gardens on each side in a quiet location but is a bit further out on the outskirts of the town. I don't drive so it would mean a 25/30 minute minimum walk to high-street and train station or relying on buses which are not very frequent.

Seeing a couple more houses this week but they don't look too appealing. My mortgage in principle runs out in a month so I am feeling a bit of pressure...

My budget is small and I have to compromise somewhere, but I am at a loss as to what to do.

A, every time.

House B.

Depends on the price difference and your appetite for doing the work. Real do-er uppers tend to sell for a premium round here, something that’s liveable but tired may well be better value.

The general rule I have gone by is get the worst house in the most expensive street/ neighbourhood that you can afford. So a doer up er. I would say that would be A. But would depend on cost, I would hope A would be cheaper than B if needs more work. The only risk is what other problems would you uncover? But I guess if you had a very good building survey done that showed more problems than you anticipated you could re negotiate on price. I also like to have neighbours so would not be keen on an air BnB next door, that would pit me off B tbh.

Not C, the location would bother me without a car.

Without seeing any photos and based on the descriptions alone - House B looks like the one but if you can post links to the rightmove ads you can be better advised.
That said though. House A gives you even more of an opportunity to completely gut the place and put your own stamp on it - given the work required, you might be able to get it at a discount.

B

Thank you for all the comment so far.

I don't really want to post links because I moved to a new town partly to get away from an abusive relationship, so I am a bit concerned about sharing too much about my current location, just in case.

House A & B are actually on the market at a similar price. But A will definitely struggle to attract many people I think.

I only learned by accident that B was near a holiday let so other potential buyers will probably not be aware of it.

Have you got the money to do the work to house A? Sounds like b needs less money spent on it.

Id go house b. I wouldn't consider c, being so far away from everything will get very tedious.

On my own I think I’d go for B. Unless you are exceptionally handy, I’d prefer not to have to do too much to make it homely.

Also, without pics it’s hard to say what the messy garden means, but it sounds like you may be worried about the neighbours in A. How would they be if say a fence needed fixing? With a holiday let they are more likely to maintain the property. I realise there may be an issue with guests but they will never be staying long, whereas if next door in A could be a problem you might be stuck with them. That’s very judgemental though. They might just be crap gardeners.

A tip I heard was when viewing a house, knock next door and say you’re there to view the house. They will point you next door and you get a feel of what they are like.

I would pick B put of the 2

Deffo C. It's a better property all round by the sounds of it. Half-an-hour's walk isn't much. No one wants the hassle of holiday lets or tenants next door. Tenants rarely maintain the garden & it's not nice being next to that & ever changing neighbours.

Besides, you'll probably start driving at some point, then it won't matter

C- 20/30 min walk is a 5/10 min cycle and less as short drive.

B- no way

How often do you need to go to the station or shops? If it's every day, C sounds a bit of a drag. Carrying shopping home for half an hour after work and commuting is a pita. Do you have to consider schools or access to children's sports etc.?

If the choice is just A or B, i'd go B if doing it alone. I cannot imagine being able to do that kind of work by myself. Having fixed up a couple of houses, there's a huge amount of jobs that need 2 people to do them well. Unless you're really experienced, go for the more relaxed option and spend time getting to know your new town.

@KickAssAngel
I work from home most of the time so would commute to London only two or three times a month.

Shopping is not a massive issue as I usually get it delivered anyway.

It is just that I do some activities (sport and volunteering) and most of my socialising near the town's high st.

I could always get a bike...

@Mylaferret · Today 20:35
''Have you got the money to do the work to house A? Sounds like b needs less money spent on it.''

If I went for A I would offer much less than the asking price. But my concern is that the lack of maintenance must have led to quite a few issues beyond the cosmetic work needed, so it would be a big job. I am handy with decoration and gardening, but not so much with anything else.

If A and B cost the same, then I'd go for B. A might need a very large budget to get it up to standard.

if A was £20K cheaper and the work was going to be £20K, then I would go for A.

@parietal

That was my thinking: offer £20K less to cover the cost of the works because A is further away from the holiday let.

B, then A and C would be my last choice.

One of the things that makes a big difference to living a house, which money can’t change, is the aspect. Much as I love my house I do wish it was on the other side of the road so the sun came in the back rather than the front. Also due to how all the shadows etc work - my garden is in more shade than my neighbours.

What particularly concerns you about the holiday let? How big are the houses? What type of seaside resort is it? If it’s a huge stag/hen party destination and a massive house with loads of bedrooms then I can understand being reticent. If it’s just going to be small families for a week or two then I’d not be worried really, plus the house is their business so it’s in their interests to maintain it.

@Rosalindisafuckingnightmare

It is only a small 2 bed house with a small garden. According to the holiday let listing he owner does not accept parties/groups or children. Not a town used for stag/hen as far as I know either.

@Greenfairydust No parties, groups
or children?! Guess all you’ve got to worry about are sex noises then!

In all seriousness I’d save myself the aggro of doing work which is becoming increasingly expensive and go for house B.

@Rosalindisafuckingnightmare it is on the detached side (rather than the other semi) so unless they use the garden I think sex noises might not be too much of an issue :)