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.

House n3 is the only one with 1 bathroom only whereas the other two have one downstairs and one upstairs!

How did I miss that on the floor plans!!?

ok so you’ve not got visitors traipsing through your bedroom. I really would try and avoid it unless it was one I loved.

guildford is lovely and well connected so I can see the attraction and it does sound like it will suit you. I was just thinking some parts of Hampshire (thinking fleet and that trainline??) it might stretch that budget without compromising too much . It obviously depends on where your commuting too.

that said I’d gladly live in any of those houses and in guildford and I think your colleague is talking rubbish. Of course we would all like a big house on a lovely town centre doorstep, especially when you’re talking half a million pounds. It doesn’t work like that though does it.

But you still have a position where the occupant(s) of the bedroom at the front have to walk all the way downstairs and through the kitchen if they need the toilet during the night, for example. That would get annoying very quickly.

It's not ideal, and not at that price. I know it's hard, but I wouldn't let a house being "well presented" and tastefully decorated blind you to its practicalities.

Most people want to be able to walk easily from a bedroom (which is usually upstairs) to a bathroom on the same floor.

House 3 has sliced the bedroom to make the bathroom access. It makes for a narrow room.
You could do the same if required in the others but it spoils the bedroom.

I like number one the best.

Lots of people don't like the bathroom issue but in areas with lots of terraced housing stock this is common.

Would your daughter ger more from a big bedroom and having to walk downstairs for the bathroom or having a tiny bedroom and non shared bathroom access?

I would go with number one. I hate front doors that open into the living room especially in the winter. Number one has two bathrooms so no issue with somebody needing the loo in the night.

They're all well presented. 2 is sold STC.

3 has the advantage of an upstairs bathroom not accessed via a bedroom, but has a smaller second bedroom as a result. I'm not keen on the through room downstairs in that house or the exposed staircase in the middle of the living room.

You wouldn't be able to add value to any of them if that was important to you - the costs of a loft conversion are unlikely to be recouped and proper access to the loft would likely impact the first floor bedroom space. If it's what you can afford, it's what you can afford. Imho they are expensive small houses due to their locations.

How old is your daughter? You might want to look on the other side of the train station if she'll need secondary school any time soon.

Also, do you or your husband work from home at all? Would a third bedroom be useful for office space?

I wouldn’t consider a house where a bathroom entrance was through the bedroom but other than that they all look nice and well looked after

Obviously a very expensive area, 2 bed is fine if you’re not planning more than 1 child. I’ve lived in terraces without off street parking before and it’s mostly been fine. Better if permit required to stop non residents using it.

location and access to schools and shops etc would be very important to me.

DD is only 4 so will need to be close to nurseries and then good primaries.
Easy access to the train station is vital for us so wouldn't move too far from there.

Yes, they are small expensive houses @WeAreTheHeroes , but this is the case with most commuter towns in Surrey unfortunately.

They’re all lovely, but I like number 1 best.

I don't think a loft conversion would be a great idea in a house of that size. To meet current regulations, you would loose a sognificant portion of the first floor and not gain a huge amount upstairs.

If you have to be near London, have you considered various parts of London that are not as expensive?

I just searched in a 1 mile area near me and something like this looks promising (still effectively a two bed since a tiny bedroom downstairs is silly but the loft could be a useful office or dressing room):

I think they are lovely characterful houses.

However, unless you are all able to be fairly minimalist I’d find them too small storage and living space wise, particularly when DD gets older and wants friends round etc. The third one (Queens Road) would be a definite no for me as, although it solves the bathroom problem, the living space is 100% open plan there’s nowhere to get away from each other. The other two would also be less than ideal bathroom wise - if I was DD I wouldn’t want to have my bathroom downstairs particularly as I got into the teenage years and maybe didn’t feel comfortable (or had sleepover guests who didn’t feel comfortable) going through the living areas post shower etc.

In this case I’d probably reluctantly sacrifice the character to get some more space.

@Sd352 thank you, but we don't really want to move to that part of London, we like Surrey :)

@Londonder What do you like about Guildford and what are your commuting requirements? People may be able to suggest alternate areas to consider.

I wouldn’t consider Guildford if you can’t drive it will limit what you can do. Big supermarkets all require a car or if you live near them then you are far from the station.

Charlottesville area has access to better state schools if I recall. The houses in your OP are near Sandford which always used to be impossible to get into.

one other thing to be aware of on those dead end roads off recreation road is taxis won’t drive down there and food deliveries can be complicated

I definitely would, I love the first one. It's got two bathrooms so it doesn't really matter that one is through the bedroom.

They're quite close to London Road Station so I'd check what the parking situation is like as otherwise you could find people park on your road to commute in to town

If it was me, I’d go for house number 3 for the space and I mean you could look to get planning permission for a small drive?

None of the houses on street view have drives so unlikely that PP would be given

I grew up in Guildford, have spent the past few years in London and am now moving back to the area. If you need train links to London but (slightly) more affordable houses I would encourage you to look at Ash Vale or Farnborough. Not too far from Guildford either so you could still spend time in the town!