Compromises that turned out okay!

[Zafloraqueen]

Long time lurker first time poster! Me and DH brought a house last year as FTB we are mid thirties in age. Market was insane and after 10 years of expensive renting and 4 DC we knew our 10% deposit would spell compromise. 8 months in and I'm starting to realise that actually those compromises aren't as bad as I initially thought.

Compromise 1- Area. Classic case of renting in an area we couldn't afford to buy. We have moved a 15 minute drive away and although its not a million miles it is less desirable. However since moving I absolutely love my road it's alot quieter that I thought and I can't fault my neighbours one bit. It's a real sense of community.

Compromise 2 - North facing jungle garden blocked to the west - this was a massive one for DH especially as we moved in over winter. However after chopping down many many bushes and trees we noticed that the garden is actually over 100ft and alot of the bushes were on our side so from March onwards it's been lovely loads of sun very warm and we are out there until after 8pm in the sun since June. We have a long way to go to get it fully sorted and there are a few trees that are not ours that create shade but it was a nice surprise for us.

Compromise 3 - Buying a fixer upper - this was not intentional but again it was the market. The day we got the keys my heart sank as it needed loads doing to it. So far we have put in a central heating system, new windows and doors and done a partial rewire, it has totally changed the feel of the house. Upstairs plastering is due to take place soon so the bedrooms will become our haven whilst we tackle downstairs. We got lucky with good trades people and decent quotes. Plus a fixer upper allowed for a mortgage we can pay comfortably especially with the COL.

All in all I am pleasantly surprised with my house. It isn't our forever home and there are somethings we cannot change but whilst the kids are still young I'm happy with our home.

Anyone else felt the same about their homes?

What a lovely post!

I had similar with our garden being overgrown and leaving light. Don't remove all the trees because having some shade is a good thing. I've been planting new trees to get some shade and height back into our garden.

Also we are further from the local centre and transport than we wanted, but that comprise does mean no road noise. That peace is lovely, and many we could have a bigger garden. I just use a bike instead of the 20 minute walk.

Interesting thread!

Currently my one and only compromise was cost. We paid way too much but that's what the market dictated after months of looking and having to move in with family.

Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure this isn't a compromise that will turn out ok (incoming house price crash). But it is what it is.

Lovely thread. In ours it was the dark stairs and weird layout but ticked every other box. We took down one wall and removed some bushes. It's a completely different house

This is a really reassuring thread to read. @Zafloraqueen can I ask approximately what your budget is for your renovations? We are in a similar situation but haven't bought yet and I turned down what felt like my dream house in perfect location yesterday because it was a fixer upper and we don't have any spare cash that isn't going into our 10% deposit. But I have no idea what is a reasonable budget for this sort of thing and I don't know if I've made a mistake and maybe should have gone for it. It was energy rated F, a really old terrace, sounds like it would need similar renovations to yours I think, although I know nothing about these things so am only guessing.

Our compromise for our last move was location as there were no rentals in our previous location. It turned out really well as the schools were much better than expected and we like the area enough to be trying to buy here now.

Glad you have found this reassuring I was in abit of state when we got the keys. My knowledge was and still is very limited as I grew up in a new build social property and only rented flats. Central heating we went with british gas, 6k over 2 years which freed up funds for the windows and doors. This could probably be done cheaper but if I'm honest we weren't confident to shop around and took the easy option. All windows and doors to the back and sides were rotton and single glazed and also the porch barely seen us through winter, that came in at 9k which was out spare money. Electrics 1k and 2k for upstairs plastering including bathroom and that we have saved up from salaries since January . Garden a few hundred in tools and have done this ourselves over winter and spring taking waste to the tip in our car haha! We have a long way to go but having spoken to friends we are doing well and I am starting to see it come together. Next task is downstairs loo under the stairs and move the kitchen wall. No idea how much I'm looking at for that

Thank you so much. The garden is a huge tast. There is a huge tree at the bottom of the garden and have been quoted over 1k so we are leaving that one be for now lol we have split the garden into 2 sections so we can sit out there but it needs levelling off so the kids can play freely in the second half

Ours was the garden. We found exactly the house we wanted, in a location we loved, but the garden was north-west facing. I'd been a very keen gardener in the past, but had been living in a flat with no outdoor space (also a big compromise that turned out well), so was really keen to get growing again.

There was nothing in the garden except a few dead trees but I decided to see making something of it as a challenge. It's taken a few years and a lot of very hard work but now I love the garden and am so pleased we took the risk. It gets a lot more sun/light than we had expected - at this time of year the patio area is sometimes too hot and sunny in the early evening - and I've been able to grow so much more than I'd expected. I've not got it completely right yet - I still buy plants that don't like it - but I've got plenty that is now established and it's a lovely space to be in. The next step is to have the back of the house reconfigured so that we can enjoy the garden more from inside too.

I'm so glad we took the risk.

Same house would've cost us 30k less 2 years ago so that is hard to stomach at times especially when there is so much to do. But I am trying to think of the positives very difficult to do at times though lol

Yep downstairs layout is awful and tiny kitchen abit manky lol get upstairs done first and the fact I can sit outside in summer on a chair rather than a bush and now put the heating on winter makes all the different lol

Garden, it was smaller than I wanted. But location is amazing, house is solid, it was the right price (4 years ago!) and it didn't look like it needed that much renovation.

We've managed to claw back enough over grown garden for a greenhouse and I've turned the front garden into a cottage garden.

It needed a lot more work than we thought, new radiators and hot water tank, electrics etc. But it's turned out really well.

Still want to move at some point for more garden and less house!

This fills me with hope!! We have soooo much to do and the garden waste is a nightmare. During the summer holidays we are hiring a van for the weekend and just getting rid of it all. It can be depressing seeing everyone with immaculate gardens and ours is jumanji. But I am so shock how warm it gets and it's north east facing which was a massive compromise. Can I ask how high your fences are if you have them? DH wants to keep them at 6ft but I'm thinking 5ft for more light however with football mad children this may not be wise

My compromise was price, modernisation and a larger yard than I wanted.

But despite my home being dated (not in a good way) I absolutely love it. I walked in and loved it! I know it needs a lot doing to it but it has good bones and good electrics/plumbing.

The yard is too big for me really but it has mature shrubs and plants and with some work it's looking alot better. Not fancy, not designed but better and I'm pleased that I can find surprises in it every day. And you pay extra for land so I hope my home (not that I am ever leaving here) is worth more because of it.

With my most favorite house I compromised on size as I could only just about afford it. And I had 15 happy years there.

I wish everyone a happy home!

I love this thread! In the process of buying a house that needs a lot of work. But it's an almost perfect house for us so willing to put the work in even though we will have absolutely no money once we've sent over our deposit and paid the rest of the solicitors fees! We have 4 DC so a 4 bedroom house was essential but not many of those in our budget.

As soon as we get the keys we will have to get into debt to rewire the whole place and pay for carpets which is very scary😫

Yes, the heat has surprised me. Last summer I grew tomatoes, cucumbers and chillies - and the ones outside int he garden did just as well as the ones in my little greenhouse.

Our fences are 6ft I think. We have trees along the back of the garden (facing north-ish), and our adjoining neighbour has trees along the fence between us. They cut out most of the morning sun (rather than the fence). Even at 6ft that fence was not enough to stop the neighbours footballs coming over. Their DC (and DH) were football mad when younger and we'd get several balls over a day.

On the NW facing side of the garden there is open space behind/above the fence and that lets an awful lot of light in so I tend to grow things on the opposite side of the garden to that, which works well as it becomes a sun trap in the afternoons/evenings.

My wish list was, downstairs loo, four bedrooms and a south facing garden. I got 3 bedrooms, no downstairs loo and a north west facing garden. Been here best part of 30 years and love it. As PP have said the garden has some sun and some shade at all times, I might have to move my sun lounger but that’s all. There’s room to put in a downstairs loo, if a bit awkward, if we don’t get a bungalow.
What it did mean was that we had a much smaller mortgage so we’ve been able to live life to the full with plenty of holidays etc. compromise is good

Resurrecting this thread as I massively underestimated the upstairs plastering including the ceilings coming down!! Amazing plastering team but the mess was awful. All finished now so just the painting to do and new blinds then that's it. Garden still looking terrible, this weather has not helped one bit 😣

Our garden is much smaller than I would have liked, but a lot of that is due to the fact that we have a summer house which we've turned into a rumpus room for the kids. The extra garden would be nice, but instead we have a separate space we can send them rain or shine to work their crazies out where we can't hear them 😅 it was a compromise but tbh we couldn't turn down the house as it was perfect in (nearly) every other way.