What was your criteria for buying first home? And what compromises did you make?

[decisionschoices]

As the title of the thread says, what was your criteria for buying your first home and what compromises did you make?
In the areas we are looking to buy in, we are struggling with narrowing down our criteria. There are no houses that stand out that are affordable and we are struggling to work out what would make a house a good buy. We are FTBs planning to start a family soon. Thanks.

Good area, safe and enough space. I compromised in that my flat was right on the edge of the good area, the road was a bit busier than I would have liked (though not terrible), and it was a bus ride to work rather than walking distance to a tube. It was a lovely flat though and I was sad to leave. You just need to look at lots of places in your price range. If you hate all of them or they’re completely unliveable (like much too small) then you need to widen your area or up your budget. Remember though that everyone has to compromise somewhere.

We bought a wreck in a quiet area, we wanted to be in walking distance of work, close to family and near to shops and other amenities.
I wanted a garden but we ended up with a back yard and I wanted private parking and got on street parking instead.
We bought a 2 bed terrace that needed completely fixing up.
It was ok as a couple and when we had our first baby, by baby number 3 it was very tight, we sold up and bought our forever home.

We wanted character, really good location, large rooms, nice garden and parking space.
We had to compromise on:
We got everything except it only had on street parking but it was a quiet, wide road with plenty of space, the small garden was overlooked and though we made it as private as we could it, we never totally solved it.

First home was affordable and a house - that was it.
Compromises - area was rough, on street parking, old property with some damp. I loved it, it was all MINE!

Second house was again affordable, but much better area, walking distance to a train station & small city centre with pubs & restaurants. Compromises - shared parking, house was three storey, tiny kitchen.

Current home - better area again, still walking distance to station, potential to extend, character, good sized rooms.
Compromises: small garden, no rear access except through the house.

If you're looking to start a family, I'd advise thinking about space for two kids and their junk, some outdoor space and proximity to your support network. If you WFH, space for that too.
After that, parking or access to transport, somewhere you can walk with a buggy, access to local shops, access to schools.
I'd not count out a house on its appearance (or decor like my MIL did).

We bought a reasonably sized place in a bad area. I would not recommend doing this.

Given I bought in London alone on a small budget I had to compromise on basically everything that I would’ve chosen if money wasn’t an issue! I wanted a flat with period features that didn’t need work doing. My flat is much smaller than I’d ideally like and doesn’t have high ceilings or fireplaces but it’s got good quick transport to central London and a huge communal garden that no one else ever uses. Also has off street parking but I don’t drive, might be useful when I come to sell it. It’s mad reading other people’s must-haves that are basically not possible in London unless you’re a millionaire!

Our hard limits were: Off road parking, garage/outside storage, no layouts where the bathroom is attached to the kitchen. Garden, and not overlooked. Not on a busy road.

We compromised by buying a 70s property that had not been updated at all since it was built. We would have liked to have been somewhere with less neighbours / more out in the countryside, ideally.

I wanted a 2 bedroom (pre-DC, but I wasn't sure if/when we'd be able to buy a bigger place). After a few viewings it was clear that the 2 beds in our budget were cheap for a reason!
We bought a one bed with a garden on a nicer road instead.

I bought a mid terrace (wanted semi detached) about 1/4 mile outside where I really wanted to be (it was 100m outside my initial rightmove area!) that was an old lady house. On quite a busy road. But although it was a doer upper it had been well looked after and had good roof, central heating system, windows (loads of ex rental properties places had lots of broken window handles etc) and I gradually redid it whilst living in it, including turning the paved front into a driveway. I’d recommend looking for this type of place. Sometimes reminisce about the baby pink bathroom and woodpannelled kitchen! I thank the lady that ‘gave’ it to me (she died..not in the house) and hope she’s happy with what I’ve done. She had a good vibe.

Wanted a decent sized garden and got a tiny one but with a field (not ours, but accessible to play in) behind it. Wanted a drive and garage but have on street parking and a shed. The main criteria though was being able to walk to places - parks, playgroups, cafes, pub, shops, schools etc - and so we ended up in a small rural town instead of a pretty little village. I don’t regret it at all now my kids are older and can get everywhere they need to on foot. The right choice for us when I hear how much time others spend taxiing their offspring around!

First house was just that...... a first house.
It was a horrible house in a horrible area 20-miles from where I wanted to be but it was all I could afford and it got me on the property ladder.
Learnt lots about DIY, accepted that to see my friends I would have to travel and just got on with it while having practically no money for the first year.
3-years later I moved to a house that I was happy to call home. I had made a modest profit on rising house prices, managed to save a decent sum and had chipped away at my mortgage meaning I was well on my way.

My “compromise” was that I wanted to start the process of owning my own place rather than renting.

It needed to be in London, within 15 minutes walk of a tube station into the City. I was buying on my own, so no kids/partner to consider. The place was a pit, but it had really good bones. I spent my time making it my own.

I worry that SM makes people nowadays discount properties that are perfectly ok as a first home.

Your priorities should be: structurally sound, transport links, schools (if planning a family) and, probably, safety (not quite sure how else to word this).

The biggest “compromise” will be the decor/look of the place. No one needs an insta-ready home, your decor changes can happen over time.

Honestly first house the only requirements were that we could afford it and it was in an area we felt safe!

I wanted to buy in London and bought on my own so couldn't afford much. Because of my limited budget I considered loads of different areas except south of the river and looked at studios as well as one bed flats. Eventually found a purpose built flat in small block in good condition, but further from work and a tube station than I would have liked, but it was in a safe area. It didn't have central heating or plumbing for a washing machine so the first winter I froze and had to use the local launderette every weekend. After a year I was able to increase the mortgage in order to install gas CH and a washing machine, after that I thought I had died and gone to heaven, it was bliss.

I wanted a two bed in the hope of DCs at one point, we were in London and had very specific areas that suited us both for transport (and met our budget), high ceilings, good storage, no work needing some, a bath. Oddly enough in London the estate agent seemed to think the bath was an unrealistic requirement.

The compromise was size and decor. The flat we ended up buying had a very small second bedroom, low ceilings and limited storage. Everything in it was working but very tired. We lived there for 10 years and I adored it! The light was fantastic, the location amazing and the size meant when DS was born weo could tell everyone there was no space for large presents.

My parents definitely felt we should compromise on the 2 bedroom point and move if/when children appeared, but I'm really glad we didn't. The two beds gave us a buffer period when we were contemplating whether to stay in London or move North, while I think we would have ended up feeling forced to make the decision earlier if we were all in a 1 bed.

In terms of good buys generally look at school catchment areas. Even if it doesn't apply to you if there's an obviously desirable school in the area being in the catchment area will make selling easier.

I would love to show photos of my first home (a flat) when I first moved in. What I love now is looking back and seeing the changes I made over time. The greasy kitchen cupboards that took a week to get vaguely clean (replaced during my 19 years there). The carpet that had beetles. The walls where they’d painted around furniture. The bathroom that looked like a kid had built it.

I don’t live there anymore, but I have a lot of affection still for that place.

10 years, not 19 - fat finger typing!

Good area, high street in walking distance, garden, fireplace, not needing loads of work,

Still needs some work but it's liveable 15 years later.

Looking back, schools and parks but we just got lucky🤷‍♀️

Oh and near a specific rail line. But I had looked up the wrong route, (London) but by wonderful chance, the station nearer was the one I needed!!

Criteria - older house, garden, off road parking, well within budget
Compromises - moving from the South to the Midlands where houses were a lot cheaper, it didn't have central heating, wiring was very old-fashioned (round pin plugs!) and the worse one - outside loo (brrrrr! and the loo paper always felt damp)

We saved like crazy for a couple of years and then moved back home to the South and could afford a doer-upper.

It was in London. In 1980 (I know, sorry!) The trials of first-time buying haven't changed that much, though. We had no family money.

1. Affordable! That ruled out at least 98% of possibilities.
2. Gritty area with shops, great transport links and nearby green space. We reckoned this would guarantee 'up & coming' so increase in value.
3. Separate rooms.
4. An outside space.

We bought a cramped, but cleverly laid out, flat with a little back yard. It was an Edwardian conversion. The original features had all gone but it had high ceilings and a nice bay window. It was between Wandsworth and Clapham Commons, so we picked the area very well.

Compromises were the small size - the kitchen was 5 foot square; we made it work - and getting mugged regularly while waiting for Barnard Marcus to work their evil gentrification magic.

*I worry that SM makes people nowadays discount properties that are perfectly ok as a first home.

Your priorities should be: structurally sound, transport links, schools (if planning a family) and, probably, safety (not quite sure how else to word this).

The biggest “compromise” will be the decor/look of the place. No one needs an insta-ready home*

Very well said, @Furries.

Creating your home from the bones of what you could afford is one of the most rewarding things ever! It makes you love the place; you never forget.

@GarlicGrace - yes, that feeling of what you do over time, to make your first place a home, is so blooming rewarding.

Im in a different hone now. But I still remember the excitement of getting the keys to that place. And then the changes I, very gradually, made to it. I will definitely never forget it.

It's what you can afford and where you live and love.
We can't offord London lifestyle. Which most can't either. You have to live to your means. Which is awful really. Money Shoudnt hold back potential

My list was: a second bedroom (wanted to be able to rent it out to a lodger if I ever fell on hard times, and I think I'd also subconsciously already started down the road towards solo parenthood by choice), a kitchen that wasn't in the living room, a bath, somewhere I could put bookshelves, and the possibility of a cat. I don't have a car so was unbothered by parking but needed to be able to walk/get public transport fairly easily. I set my budget lower than what I could technically have borrowed and In hindsight I could have pushed a bit more without any problems, but I was being cautious. I did also rule out a number of areas that would have been in my budget but that I just didn't like for one reason or another.

What I ultimately bought was a massive 2-bed maisonette that was the upper two floors of a big Victorian house (with a share of the freehold). Just round the corner from the local high street and 15 minutes walk to the city centre. I also had the downstairs hallway/cupboard under the stairs (super handy when I did eventually have a baby as I could park the buggy in the hall), and the big rear yard was shared with downstairs. It was ludicrously cheap for two reasons - one, it was in a street that used to have the speedway at the end of the road and although that had since been built over with be houses, the prices hadn't quite caught up; and two, it didn't have central heating. The latter puts people off more than it warrants, really. I moved a few months ago to get a third bedroom, and I was sad to go, it was a lovely place.