First time buyers in your late 30s, 40s in expensive locations - what did you compromise on?

[HolyParc]

If you were in a position to buy your first home in your late 30s or 40s with DC, what did you go for? We live near London and prices are very expensive, compromised on property and got a flat rather than a house further out.

We bought in zone 1 London as FTBs in our 30s - fortunate to have a hefty deposit and high salaries by then, but of course it doesn't go far in London. We didn't compromise on location but it was a 2 bed flat, annoyingly open plan, with no outside space. No parking either, but that wasn't an issue for us as we don't have a car. It needed no work at all, we lived there for 10 years and we just did a bit of painting and put in wooden floors. And we were 6 min walk to the tube, plus numerous other transport links.

We were 45 (me) and H 41. 5 years ago. Live in a maisonette- block of 4 - in the most expensive area of our town. Moved here for the school.

We have off road parking in front of the flat which is just for us as well as a pretty big private garden. It is a very pretty place but only 2 bedrooms. The bedrooms are spacious though as it's ex council.

2 DDs share. That is the compromise I guess - and that it is a small place.

Location was key. We can walk / bike into town or walk onto amazing countryside.

We bought our first property in our early 40s with 2 DC aged 5&8.

We were renting a 2 bed HA flat in z2, and moved a whole four stops along the tube line to buy a total wreck of a terraced house with no parking and a small garden. We compromised on everything- staying in London was important to us (still is), but whilst I like where we are I think I would rather have bought a flat in our original z2 location. It’s been 5 years and it’s only 15 mins away, but I still miss our old area and hope to move back there at some point.

Having said all that, buying the house was a good financial decision (scary interest rates notwithstanding) and we converted the loft so we have enough space now we’re hitting the teenage years.

Buying in London with kids means more than one or two compromises IME unless you have an enormous budget.

We went for interior space over garden. 4 bed house curbside on a main road with no garden. We do live opposite a park though... but still with young kids its not always been ideal. We certainly couldn't have afforded a house this size with a garden here tho.

Medium house with a small garden and private school / mortgage overpayments instead of the large house with large garden we could have easily afforded.

I think nearly everyone compromises when making a house purchase. We've just bought our 3rd and final house (late 30's) and the compromise was the condition because I know thats something we can change over time. Previous compromises have been location, lack of character and significantly overlooked.

Mid 30s - 2DC.

Spent my 20s dreaming of a lovely detached, rural cottage bursting with character.

Reality - We live in our dream location (Lake District) but the houses prices are extortionate. So we bought a tiny terraced cottage.

We've comprised size for amazing schools, stunning village & even managed to bag parking, plus small garden which is a rarity here.

It's cosy with the kids but works with clever storage etc. Plus, it will be perfect for the two of us when they fly the nest.

Our mortgage is a quarter of what we originally planned & it cost considerably less to renovate because it's tiny!

Location. We wanted to stay in our area (Zone 3 London), but moved out to Zone 5. It has actually turned out better for me and one of my DC as we're close to work/school. Our house is also very old fashioned inside, but structurally sound.

@CouldIHaveThatInEnglishPlease it's not ideal but I shared a bedroom with my sister at various points throughout my childhood / teen years. Shared 6-10 (she was born when I was 6), own room 10-14, shared again 14-17 (we moved a lot!). If it's any comfort, it's not something I think about at all now.

I'm not in a city but need 4 bedrooms minimum (preferably 5 so one can be an at home office although it would only need to be a small room) and 2 reception rooms.

Willing to compromise on gardens, parking, size of kitchen and being detached.

I would like these things but a detached 4/5 bed house with gardens and off road parking your looking at £500,000+ most likely. Where as a 3 bed terrace with conversion/extension to add another room or 2, with small back yard and on street parking is more like £90,000-£110,000.

I figured no matter where we move it will need work as we plan to make it our forever home and most houses for sale are seemingly all 'grey' and 'hun' which is not our style at all.

I treat every house even if its just been redecorated as if a granny has lived there since the 60s and it needs a full referb.

One of my siblings, in-laws & friend has just bought in London.

They all went for houses a bit further out eg z4/5 as opposed to a flat closer in. They all wanted gardens & were conscious that as buying so late, stamp duty & higher price it's harder to build equity & as flat prices in many parts of London has stagnated they may be stuck in a flat longer than they would want. They do all have option of hybrid working though.

I FTB'ed mid 20s, but the next decade seemed to pass in the blink of an eye, traded up in late 30s when it was starting to feel a bit 'now or never'.

I suppose I did something like the following:

Didn't compromise

local schools
potential for extension

Compromised a bit

floorspace
near public transport
condition
garden
nice area

Compromised a lot
parking
terraced vs semi or detached etc

Didn't compromise on location (short walk to the city centre, the train station and work) or space (4 bed semi with big bedrooms, walk-in wardrobes, a loft, a garage, big garden).

I was prepared to compromise on the garden to be close to the city centre, but so glad we have both.

Compromise was that it's not a cool or "pretty" house. Was built in the early 2000s and was just a boring new build then. There are some nice Victorian semis and terraces round here, but we would have been maxing out our finances, and we didn't want that. Or we'd have had to go for 3 bedrooms rather than 4.

Other compromise is that there's lots of road noise. But our front door isn't on the main road (it's at the end of the garden), so it doesn't bother me much. It's the flip side of great bus/train connections, for me. It bothers DH a bit more, I think, he'd like something quieter.

We bought an ex local authority house - estate built for MoD staff in 1950s. Well built, big garden, good sized rooms and already extended, great location. Not as pretty or coming with the snob value of some of the chocolate box cottages around but certainly better value for money and always sell like hot cakes. It needed a new kitchen which we had done straight away but other than that it was just stuff we had done over the last 15+ years.

on reflection, i compromised a lot on garden. staying at my mother's house recently i was struck by how many options even a couple of extra metres each way gives the kids especially in terms of play space. but, yeah, it was a trade-off.

we bought in one of the cheapest aka 'ungentrified' areas of London out in zone 4 but that meant we got a 3-bed victorian terrace with a garden instead of, perhaps, a 2-bed flat in a nicer area of zone 2/3.

it has been great to have the space (inside and out) but sometimes the grotty area and lack of nicer shops/restaurants is frustrating. but the area has positives too, like transport links and green spaces.

and we have great neighbours on a quiet street which is priceless in London/cities in my opinion! the thought of spending £1m to be in a nicer part of town and ending up with noisy neighbours is my worst nightmare...

Not exactly a FTB but a FTB again after divorce, so my first own house, mid 40s. I went for the exact location I wanted (well, within my budget) and the compromise is I have a lodger to help pay the mortgage and the DC (same sex) share a room. Over time I hope to extend (current a standard 1930s 3 bed semi) into the loft.

I would go all out for area and what the schools are like.

living in a flat is hard with kids, so overall I would relocate to a fab area with fab schools, commute until got a job nearer to home. Go for a market town with a great vibe.

We were going to get the larger house in an area we weren’t sure of - commute wise, schools, things to do

in the end we stuck to our no1 area (a SW London suburb) but compromised on the no. Of bedrooms (3 rather than 4 with potential for loft conversion), and how done up it was (separate kitchen/dining room rather than kitchen diner- but can do it up)

pro is that I feel really happy about the area/schools/commute and most other things. Garden is good too.

con - js we now want to do kitchen and loft but with limited budget. So not sure!