Is this house horrible? Birmingham/Kings Heath

[Ithc2023]

Hi,

We've recently accepted an offer on our house and are house hunting at the moment.

We're going to look at this house tomorrow

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/132182531#/?channel=RES_BUY

It's a bit unloved but we're quite excited about the house and my husband is willing to put some work in it

I sent the link to my parents and they both think that the house is horrible.

My mother thinks it's terrible that the house doesn't have a hallway.

My father thinks the same and he also said we should get a cat to keep away the rats (as he says the house is close to a canal in Birmingham).

What does mumsnet think?

Thanks xx

Just pointing out its potential, like many others have on this thread. I am not buying it, I don't even live in the UK.

Me too. I don’t that there is no hallway either.

There aren't any canals in King's Heath.

I had something similar and the previous owners had put in a stud wall to make a small hallway and it worked really well. I'll PM you the Rightmove link.

It sounds like the location is perfect so I'd ignore your family!

I would find the lack of a hallway awkward, but other than that, it is a pretty house.

Why are they snobs for not liking a property? I presume there are houses you don’t like either?

Two friends of mine don't have hall ways. They're happy with it. Personally it gives me the ick, don't know why. Perhaps because the hallway gives you space to take shoes and coats off, and somewhere to put them. When it snows or someone's stepped in dog poop, you'll be thankful for the buffer zone of the hall way.

It's what you like and need that matters. You could use the back reception room as the main lounge so that when people come through the front door, they won't interrupt what you're doing.
Having a 3rd floor bedroom means you'll have to sleep on a separate floor to one of the children unless they both share and you keep the top room for guests.

My friend lived in a house exactly like this but closer to Cotteridge. For them, the front room became the dining room/home office/entrance hall space rather than a living room. They enjoyed living in it - they're pretty solid houses.

It’s a standard terraced 2up-2down. Perfect starter home, where do your parents live? Buckingham Palace?

If I was buying in Kings Heath, I would probably prefer to be a little further off the High Street than that road if your budget allows. I used to live on a street off Valentine Road and it was very noisy.

The house you're is very close to the centre and Moseley is definitely walking distance (we walked all the time there), and there are lovely parks nearby for your little ones.

If KH wasn't so expensive we would have stayed, but we moved to Worcestershire for a 4 bed detached for less money than a 2/3 bed terrace in KH.
I'm slightly jealous 🤣

Similar here, I live in a house with a really tiny "hallway" (the width of a door square) and I hate it, not having ANYTHING to catch the dog shit on your buggy wheels before you go into the living room would be a nightmare. Also what the above poster said about the stairs, but you could possibly open them up.

I don't hate it but the kitchen would drive me mad, there's literally no useable worktop surface.
You could probably put a front porch on fairly easily if you wanted.

My DS lives in a similar house just down the road from this one. Never had any problems with rats and she’s been there for 30 years. Kings Heath is a pretty good area. Lots of parks and greenery close by.

Lived in a house like this as a child we used the back entrance not the front in fact most people used the back/side entrance its easier

No off-road parking would be the deal-breaker for me, and Victorian houses in general can be money sinks.

(Also it's a bit weird that they don't give any dimensions for the rooms on the floor plan.)

If that's the area you want, though, then you have to work with what's available.

We used to live in one of these many years ago more towards the leisure centre end off the Alcester Road South. I didn't like it at all. The parking was a nightmare and the layout of the house didn't work for our young family. I was glad when we moved.

We are further over now in the Brandwood/ Monyhull area which is much better for us. Kings Heath High Street is a 15-20 minute walk or 5 minute drive, same as Kings Norton. The homes and gardens are brighter and its easier to park.

The canal doesn't go near that house. It's runs down Warstock to Yardley Wood then towards Solihull Lodge.

There are going to be more LTNs installed in the side roads around the High Street, around where the house you are looking at is located.

I don't know the area at all, and would much prefer to have an entrance hall, but if it's a good price for the area then I would be excited about it too. I love the fireplaces and there are still some dado rails left - it's a shame the coving has all gone but it woukd be easy to restore. I would want to remodel the kitchen, possibly with a small extension to make it a bit more square, but the rest of the work is cosmetic really and you could restore it and make it really lovely with relatively little money and work. The garden is a reasonable size and again, you could make it really attractive without too much work - and I would get rid of the horrible decking and have a nice patio laid.

I'm not keen, but I also don't know what you get for your money in that area.

For a couple it would be ok, but it's not where I'd want to live with two small children.

The video tour is more illuminating than the photos I think. The kitchen is TINY, almost painfully so. The middle room is ok, but the front room is much tinier than it looks in the photos, and it would be difficult to put furniture in there and have it still navigable as a corridor room. And what would you do with your pram, scooters, bikes etc. Bringing any of them through to the gardens would be a nightmare (I'm not even sure you'd be able to get a bike through once they are past the toddler sizes).

All upstairs furniture would need to be flat packed and assembled upstairs. Getting a mattress up would be a nightmare navigating that bend.

Upstairs is ok, same for the weird divided bathroom. They work fine if they have separate entrances, but I can't see the point in the toilet at the end. Is that to give privacy to the person in the bath you've already had to walk past? Maybe it will help with 💩 smells, that's the only reason I can think of.

Not for me, sorry.

Sorry I don’t like it

Looking on Rightmove, there are much nicer houses for the same price? It looks like it would be a money pit, especially the outside.

lots for £290/£300k that are nicely finished, and ready to live in nicely

I like it! I've lived without a hallway and it didn't bother me. I think it could be really light with the right paint.

As for rats. I lived very close to a canal for years and only saw one. You just keep on top of food scraps and you'll be fine.

Your Dad doesn't know what he's talking about. There is no canal near there.

Saltrock123 doesn't know what she's talking about either. That's what you have to pay for that sort of house in an area where young families want to live.

Whereas - with unlimited budget - I would like a hall, this layout is very, very, very normal for terraced houses in all sorts of areas of the City. People worrying about coats - there is a big cupboard under the stairs where they all go. Not having a hall, means you have wider, better shaped rooms.

I think it is lovely OP.
As long as you are ready to get stuck in all the traffic because of the LTNs. I also think parking there is going to be a nightmare - for both of you, plus visitors when people come round - but balanced against that you can walk to the High Stree and to parks from there, and school when the time comes. There are LOADS of highly recommended little cafes and independent businesses there now.

We had a look at the house today and really liked it. We want to put an offer in.

My husband thinks we should go in at 270 k. Does anyone else think this is cheeky?

The estate agent mentioned to us on the phone that the owner consideres lowering it to offers over 280 k to attract more people.

I really like it, love the top bedroom and the bathroom. Great size garden too.