Is it madness to consider buying a house by a river?

[sparkleymummy]

Both in safety terms (DS1 is 2 DS2 is 8 mths) and in flooding and therefore cost of insurance terms?

In fact, if you don't buy it, I will.

It has a walk in pantry.
Blimey.
Cannot understand why the first floor has a bathroom that size - would make a better bedroom IMO. But beautiful though.....

No No No - Its mine! (maybe)

Not liking the idea of rats though.

That bathroom must have been a bedroom originally I would imagine. DH says a house that expensive should have more than 4 bedrooms (not that we need more than four bedrooms) but then it has the coach house too for guests.

We don't have rats if that's any help.

Here's my house in this picture.

We had pest control in regularly to check the rat bait but even that didn't stop the odd (dead) rat appearing in the garden and they used to scuttle about at night .

blimey beaulocks! If that happened here I'd be moving out instantly I tell you!

Wow; it's really lovely. Says it's got a cast iron range in the family room-lovely. And sounds near Newark and Notts for the HUGE antique fair so you can stuff it with lovely period furniture (if that's your thing). I would be very twitchy abdout young kids playing near a river though. Depends if you can do sonething safe with fencing though you don't want to spoil the look of the garden. Would be a shame to not be able to let them run around the garden without you having to watch them the whole time. Any other gorgeous Georgian mansions nearby without river frontage? Would be cheaper and safer! Sorry to put a downer on it; I can't see from the photos whether or not you could make it child safe or not.

Which one is it? It looks far too nice for rats! I've never even heard of Godmanchester. Where is it?

It's the one that's red on the bottom and white on the top. Cambridgeshire.

Sorry - messages got crossed there whislt I was comforting a teething baby - that Godmanchester one was directed at Flowery.
We're actually struggling to find much in the area Peasoup. Not good when we've sold our house and will need to move out shortly.

We also really like this house but its next to a really really really big grotty estate. www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-19067441.rsp?pa_n=1&tr_t=buy

FloweryBB-is that really your house? Bloody gorgeous too! Checked out your profile to see if you were joking (house just looks so grand!!) and all I could find is a REALLY nice photo of a Kings Charles Spanial! Great photo (I'm a photographer and a dog lover- anyone going to Crufts? Thread hijack!))
I did live by the canal got rats.

Apologies if anyone lives on the really really really big grotty estate in question.

Hmmmm, dilema.

We'll all be round for tea now Flowery!

Actually, knowing what you do and now knowing where you live I'm wondering whether we might have something in common. I shall pursue it no further though and let you retain a little privacy.

Second one lovely too, but TBH, the wow factor of the river would peversely make me keener, despite the downsides related to the river IYSWIM.
It just seems so much more fun, and I love the idea of the coach house for guests.
The plus of the second one is the cellar. We converted our cellar to a utility room and loo. You wouldn't need to do that so could do what my BIL did, and convert it to a cinema!

Oh I love property porn (while feeling pissed off at the ridiculous house prices here).

Blimey. Are you the Queen? Beautiful house. would worry a bit about the flooding possibility, definitely check with Environmental agency...

well, the Queen does live near a river ... however she's got her alternative residences in Scotland and Norfolk to go to if the Thames Barrier fails.

Bet Buck House has rats.

Surely they would be water rats though? Which are obviously entirely different, having starred in Wind in the Willows and thus earned a place in my affections.

Unfortunately ruty am not the queen. Am having to go back to work for very demanding law firm and work all the hours god sends and mortgage ourselves pretty much to the hilt to afford it. But this move is hopefully to our "forever house" so we're willing to stretch ourselves.

Unfortunately we can't actually go that high. They would have to take an offer for us to afford it.

Plus DH still wants us to move into rented and see what the market does over the next year.

If we are going to buy though he agrees this is the nicest house and the best option.

I was only teasing. Just jealous. It is such a beautiful house!

good time to make a lower offer too...

Did know you were teasing Ruty. Din't mean to sound uppity

Do you think "Guide Price" means they won't take offers lower than £875. If so this whole thread could have been a complete waste of time!