Which would you choose and why?

[housechoicechoices]

I wrote out a long post about our situation and the pros and cons of each house and MN ate it. So ask any questions but it boils down to which of these would you pick and why if one of you worked in Tring and the other in Princes Risborough, family of 4, kids age 2 and 4?

House 1: (note it's not clear from photos but it needs new bathroom and kitchen immediately, amongst other immediate fixes totalling about £50k of work, as things are nowhere near in the state they look in pics)
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/134351762#/?channel=RES_BUY

House 2: (note the "garden" backs onto a car park and people park directly on the other side of the house too) https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/136843892#/?channel=RES_BUY

House 3: (note it's in a village over the county boundary) https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/136456286#/?channel=RES_BUY

We need at least 2 double bedrooms, ideally 3 rooms. A garden would be preferable. Parking essential. Feel free to suggest others we might not have considered if you know the area.

If you can afford the refurb costs. House 1. Bigger than the other 2 and it could be lovely once it’s done. I’d discount house 2, it feels tiny and the garden is pretty much useless.

Number 1 definitely. Bigger, nice views, light and airy. And SO much potential to have it exactly as you want it.

Heart says 3, head says 1.

Check out the modern auction bit on house 1. You may get tied into paying fees to put down an offer/have one accepted.
Is 1 affordable with the renovation work? Is it mortgagable, as you day the kitchen and bathroom need immediate attention?

Number one is in an auction. There are quite substantial buyers costs. You have to have all finance and paperwork done to bid. It will cost as much as the others before a refurb. I think three is the best option.

1 if you can afford it.

2 is small with tiny astroturfed courtyard

3 - I love little cottages but they feel poky at times with 2 adults, and if you have children, they can be difficult. I also hate open tread stairs, and would avoid a front door opening into living room if possible, as so much dust and dirt comes in. I used to live in a very quaint similar cottage and it took me twice as long to keep clean as a larger cottage with a hallway. This would be my second choice though.

What's your budget?

Number one is a money pit.

Number two, I would have to stalk the car park at different times during day and night to see and hear what goes on.

Number three I don't think is the right one for a young family.

I couldn’t bear to spend a single night in number 1. I’d go with 3.

1 if you can definitely afford refurb costs plus extra for bits that come up. House has loads of potential and you can work on it for years.

I wouldn't buy other 2, I'd wait a bit.

Looking at the sold prices and space House 1 makes more sense even with the additional investment.

House 2 - the situation would put me off and possibly future buyers if you sell later.

House 3 - cute but small, it used to be a village who hated ‘outsiders’ I’m going back quite a few years now, maybe it’s improved now.

Out of the three I would go for No.3. The first one looks like a real money pit. I would imagine you’d find all sorts wrong with that. No. 2 looks very hemmed in. No. 3 looks very homely, with a lovely outlook.

Tell us how you really feel!!! :'D

@Cherrycola29k I've got bad vibes about number one.

It does need a lot of updating but there is something about it that puts me right off it.

Heart says 3.

1 is for sale by modern auction, so look that up if not familiar with it. This is from the details

This property is offered through Modern Method of Auction. Should you view, offer or bid your data will be shared with the Auctioneer, iamsold Limited. This method requires both parties to complete the transaction within 56 days, allowing buyers to proceed with mortgage finance (subject to lending criteria, affordability and survey).

The buyer is required to sign a reservation agreement and make payment of a non-refundable Reservation Fee of 4.2% of the purchase price including VAT, subject to a minimum of £6,000.00 including VAT. This fee is paid in addition to purchase price and will be considered as part of the chargeable consideration for the property in the calculation for stamp duty liability. Buyers will be required to complete an identification process with iamsold and provide proof of how the purchase would be funded.

2 just feels tiny and even outside feels hemmed in.

Thank you so much everyone. We're viewing number 3 this afternoon, viewed the other two (and walked around the areas extensively). Budget is £350k at the outside but I'd very much like to be under this so we don't resent paying our mortgage if rates rise even more than they have. My heart says number 3 but it's a bit out of town and DC1 would need to change school (he starts in September and IDK if there will be spaces so soon after the big allocations process), I can just really see the little ones playing in that garden (especially if we rip that shed out and let it go a bit wild, perfect for little explorers).

House 1 has an additional £14k of auction costs that neither me nor the seller will see, but which also adds onto the stamp duty liability, which pushes it up to £364k, so with that and the added money for refurbishment, it would be a seriously hard stretch to afford to do the work and would probably take us years to sort it properly due to needing to save up. With house 1 having no upstairs bathroom, it's going to lose the third bedroom to move the bathroom upstairs, so that doesn't give us three rooms anyway. I am 99% sure the square footage includes the condemned conservatory that needs demolishing.

Thoughts on house 2 are that the garden is bigger than a flat balcony, and big enough to put a playhouse in. We could rip out the silly ensuite and move the wall a bit to turn it into a small third bedroom. However, while we were viewing it, some idiot in a Range Rover came and double parked over the back of our "allocated parking" in our second parking spot (which is behind the first one), blocking the owners in. I feel like with it backing onto a small car park it's going to be constant parking drama, which massively puts me off.

House 3 has that little garden room off the kitchen which we thought could be turned into a temporary bedroom if needed until we could afford to upsize to something bigger.

@Cherrycola29k honestly after viewing house 1, DH and me felt exactly the same way even though logically it does seem by far the best investment. The pictures don't convey the smell at all.

Maybe we need to sit it out until something better comes up.

Would you consider Aylesbury?

I would pick 3, but that because I wouldn’t like the side of my house to be on the edge of the road like 1, and I don’t like the look of what house 2 backs onto.

Would you consider Aylesbury? You should get a lot more for your money there.

(I used to know this area well but haven't lived there for a long time).

Sorry, took me so long to post my comment I hadn't seen yours!

It's the same for me!

@justaweeone @Mooserp yeah we've spotted a couple in Aylesbury, we are seriously considering viewing them, but on houses with a decent finish, the prices aren't that much lower for the square footage.

We did like this one in Aylesbury and plan to view it next:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/135162473#/floorplan?activePlan=1&channel=RES_BUY

I'm hoping it's not non-standard construction or any similar potential pitfalls.

The big complication is that DH needs to be within close commuting distance of his work and DC1's school, as my work hours mean I can't physically get back from work in time even for the end of the after school club so we need a very short walk to the bus stop and a short bus ride as DH doesn't drive atm (he's working on it), so big parts of Aylesbury will be no good.

Aston Clinton would be ideal but there's not a lot in our price range atm.

2 or 3, just not 1. House 1 looks like it will be an absolute nightmare and gives me bad vibes all round. Given all three of these houses are the same price, there is absolutely no way I’d pay the same for that house where you could easily sink a further £50k or more as the others you’ve shown. Also, I know plenty of people do it, myself included, but getting major things done like the kitchen or bathroom with young kids is hell on Earth.

2 is smaller, but it’s nicely done and looks cozy. It depends if you are planning more children or if you think you’ll outgrow this house in the near future.

3 looks nice and is bigger, but like you say is further out than you want. But it is a viable option!

1 would be my choice if you can afford the refurb. But the added auction costs might make it unrealistic.

I don't like the open plan downstairs of number 2, believe me, open plan is a nightmare with young children. However if that didn't bother you I would be looking at costs of getting rid of the en suite to give you 3 bedrooms and possibly the cost of separating the kitchen area.

Number 3 I think you would struggle with only 2 bedrooms.