Would you buy any of these houses?

[Londonder]

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/135201092#/?channel=RES_BUY

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/131038952#/?channel=RES_BUY

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/133608242#/?channel=RES_BUY

Just curious to see what people think of these - I am a FTB and relatively new to the UK, for me these look lovely and space wise OK as I'd be just DH, DD and I.

I like them all. The lack of parking would be an issue for me. I appreciate with this period properties you don’t always get them

@VegetablesFightingToReclaimTheAubergieneEmoji with this budget in Surrey it's very rare to have private parking unfortunately :(
Would be great to have but definitely not a must have for us.

They all look lovely to me.

I’d choose on proximity to facilities and schools.

Main bathrooms off a bedroom would be an issue for me. I know it’s how you get a downstairs bathroom upstairs in a Victorian. It just causes privacy issues for someone.

My colleague is telling me these are not family homes as only 2 bed - but we only have 1 DD and not planning more kids (although I know never say never), seems crazy to get a bigger house we like less just to get an extra room we don't technically need?

thats rubbish, when they were built they would house huge families!! Of course they are family homes, they are beautiful small family homes.

are you dead set on that area? Wouldn’t take a big move from the area to stretch that budget.

It's the bathroom issue as pointed out by the previous poster.

I would only consider house 3 as the bathroom off bedroom would be a deal breaker for me in the other 2.

I agree with this. I wouldn't buy a house where the only access to the main bathroom was through a bedroom. On that basis, house 3 is the best, even though it has a smaller second bedroom.

I don't know how easy it would be to move a wall in house 1 or 2 to achieve a layout more like house 3.

They're all lovely. I'd go for the Sycamore Road one as you could use the basement room as an office for home working, or a TV den for your daughter when she's a teenager

I love Guildford and period properties so I think they all look great!

Re the parking - I’ve never had off street parking so it wouldn’t be a big deal for me and agree you’re very unlikely to get it with that budget for a house in Guildford. However, if you are planning on running a car then I’d visit at various different times to see what the parking situation is actually like. Parking a few doors down is to be expected but if you would regularly have to go several streets away then that would be a huge pain.

I would choose the last one as the bathroom is accessible directly not through bedroom… its a complete pain to have access via bedroom..
houses absolutely fine style wise loads like that near me with families living in..

The reason they're not family homes isn't the size, it's the access to the bathroom. Who is going to be the poor sod who has people traipsing through their bedroom to bath/shower? And what about when DD is a teenager?

I haven't looked at the pictures of the houses as went to view the location. Both (first and third) are really good locations. You can walk to Guildford Town Centre very easily, get on the A3 easily, are near Stoke Park, the big leisure centre (spectrum) and walking distance to the train station (in fact you can walk to two train stations) with direct routes into London. Both of these seem to have residential parking at the front.

The second house is showing as STC so I did not look at that.

In addition to the location to the Town Centre you have so much surrounding countryside to explore in the South Downs/Surrey hills for walking, cycling, dog walking etc. Either options are really good ones I think and the "right" side of town.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/136259183#/?channel=RES_BUY

this one has a nicer layout. Door at the front, hallway and separate bathroom. Granted it’s not as well presented as the other ones, the space seems better (although I’ve not checked room sizes)

If budget allows then you could also consider a loft conversion to solve the bathroom issue. You’d end up with 3 beds, 2 bathrooms that way. I know you don’t need the 3 beds but another loo is always handy and I wouldn’t want the only bathroom to be off a bedroom, so I’d rule out house 1 on that basis unless you have extension plans.

I have no advice , am awful at house hunting and been looking for months, years really!
Only thing I would say is I know someone who moved into 2 bed house as a couple (no kids - yet) 2 yrs ago and they're already feeling like they need more room.
However if money is likely to be an issue with high interest rates and with possible recession ahead (who knows though) not over extending financially is possibly more important. Just some thoughts!

Also, the first one (Linden Road) has two bathrooms (downstairs shower room). So the person in bedroom 2 can at least go downstairs and have a shower etc. The third house only has one main family bathroom. I would go for no 1 (as the second one is STC at the minute)

Have you considered the Charlotteville part of Guildford. Still really easy for the town centre but (IMHO) I think its the nicer side of town. Not necessarily this house but this area.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/135982391#/?channel=RES_BUY

Oops sorry missed that part of the floorplan house 1 does have an additional downstairs bathroom. You could still move it up into the loft and extend the kitchen though- then you’d have quite a spacious house!

That’s a pretty house with a lovely garden.
the downstairs bathroom would be preferable to me than a bedroom one.
at least visitors are traipsing through a bedroom.

And me! Same with interconnecting bedrooms.

We downsized to a rural cottage that was converted from an agricultural building 100+ years ago and at that point it had three bedrooms, two of which were interconnected (the facilities were outside).

During the 1990s a previous owner had lost the middle bedroom to make a huge shower room but in avoiding the interconnected bathroom scenario had consequently created a weird layout.

Of the properties in question only house 3 would appeal to me.

They're all lovely and I love the fact you can stroll into Guildford with all its shops/pubs/restaurants. Also near the spectrum/lido/station.

Thanks all for your comments, very useful and interesting!
House n1 and n2 do have a small bathroom downstairs though. Not ideal but the main bathroom accessible via bedroom isn't the only option, DD (once much older) and potential guests can use the one downstairs if needed, although appreciate a bit more difficult for DD as she'd have to go downstairs.

We are used to living in a 2 bed flat, I have personally lived in a flat all my life being from outside of the UK so 80sqm ish for a family of 3 doesn't seem that small to me, especially as he'd also have a garden.

I want to get somewhere we like but also don't want to overstretch for some of the reasons mentioned above.

Guildford is not the only place I'd consider but definitely the furthest away from London we'd go as we both commute and need frequent trains. I also don't drive so need to be close to the station and ideally town.

@VegetablesFightingToReclaimTheAubergieneEmoji but house n1 and n2 also have a bathroom downstairs!