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Original poster

Which house would you buy?

16 replies

Anotherloafofbread · 17/08/2023 08:14

So there are two houses for sale on the same estate and we're not sure which to go for. Which would you buy?

House 1 - Link detached, 3 bedrooms, internal garage, needs new kitchen, bathroom and a bit of updating, possibly a new roof guessing by the amount of houses with scaffolding up. 1200sf. £445k

House 2 - Detached, 3 bedrooms but one downstairs, internal garage, brand newly renovated with amazing bathroom with new roof, electrics, heating etc. 1100sf. £475k

OP posts:
BrightLightTonight · 17/08/2023 08:18

It’s going to cost you £80k to do bathroom, kitchen and roof. So house 1 will cost £535k. If you can afford that, and that doesn’t put the house outside it’s maximum value I would go for house 1

FloofCloud · 17/08/2023 08:25

House 2
House 1 very costly and only link detached so never as good as 2

ReviewingTheSituation · 17/08/2023 08:26

What will you be using the 3rd bedroom for? And is there a downstairs bathroom?
If it's an office/spare, I'd be less concerned about the downstairs bedroom. If it's in regular use as a bedroom it would appeal much less. And is there less living space if there's a bedroom downstairs? Only 2 bedrooms upstairs suggests quite a small downstairs.

I'd go with the one with 3 BR upstairs. If the survey says it needs a new roof then you can negotiate. How old is the house? Houses on estates aren't usually old enough to need new roofs. Scaffolding could be for nee guttering/fascias, or solar panels, or roof repairs (v different from a whole new roof), or decorating...

Britpop · 17/08/2023 08:27

Depends how long you intend to live there. I would go for house 1 as you will want to decorate in the long term anyway and as long as kitchen and bathroom are usable they won’t need to be done straight away. The downstairs bedroom puts me off house 2. Also kitchen and bathroom might be new in house 2, but if you are anything like me they won’t be right and either you will redo in a couple of years or live with low grade irritation as you can’t justify redoing.

re roof on house 1 get a good survey and maybe negotiate on price.

kitchenhelprequired · 17/08/2023 08:36

Do they have the same amount of living space/no. of living spaces?

Original poster
Anotherloafofbread · 17/08/2023 08:41

The estate is 1970's. Both houses have a kitchen, sitting room, dining room and downstairs loo. House 2 has a tiny utility as well.

House 1 is traditional separate rooms. House 2 is more open and has a double sided wood-burner separating the dining room and sitting room.

OP posts:
DragonDoor · 17/08/2023 08:42

I’d need to see a survey on the 1st house to make an informed decision, but likely second house as I wouldn’t want to do major renovations.

VinEtFromage · 17/08/2023 08:49

It's too hard to say without knowing your family set up & seeing the houses.knowing if parking is better at one than the other. Sizes of garden etc etc

but I'd far prefer detached if it's not in any way inferior to others

CatsOnTheChair · 17/08/2023 08:49

How many bedrooms do you need? 2 is likely to have a smaller market appeal due to the location of bed3.

I'd probably go for 1, if the survey was OK, and the roof price was factored in.

ReviewingTheSituation · 17/08/2023 08:53

A 1970s house is unlikely to be needing a new roof. I'd take that out of the equation and decide based on other factors.

I agree with a PP that even if a house has a new kitchen, it doesn't mean it's the right kitchen for you. It comes down to how long you think you're going to be there and whether it works for your lifestyle for that amount of time.

It sounds like you're leaning towards the 'done' house anyway, so maybe go with your gut, but the downstairs bedroom and the fireplace* would make it a no for me.

*caveat - I have a logburner, and I love it. But we have a big open plan downstairs space and it easily heats that, and more. I'd be wary about a log burner in the middle of 2 smaller spaces - it might make them both unbearably hot (there's no way I could sit at a dining table within a couple of metres of a log burner) and therefore be impractical to use. The space around it will be 'dead' space, which is limiting for furniture placement and general room usage. So it might look nice, but think carefully about the practicalities for you and your family.

LadyEloise1 · 17/08/2023 09:07

What way does the back garden face in both houses ?
For me a sunny back garden would be imperative.
Do you need 3 bedrooms ?
Will it matter if one is downstairs ?
Could it be used as something other than a bedroom?

Elizabethwalton · 17/08/2023 09:21

Without seeing its hard but I would go for house 1. Open plan seems nice but very inflexible really. And pp said 80k for the work..Will even if it needs new roof that sounds way out.

KievLoverTwo · 17/08/2023 09:26

Neither. I would hold out for a better option.

Ohmylovejune · 17/08/2023 09:30

If its on an estate, pop around tonight and also at the weekend and look at parking around each. Some estates have cars all over the place when everyone is home, and one might be better situated than another for that.

Not sure which one I'd go for, but having replaced a roof - it's expensive! Ours was about 60 years old.when we replaced it.

LadyEloise1 · 20/08/2023 10:20

Did you make a decision @Anotherloafofbread ?

BanditsOnTheHorizon · 20/08/2023 10:24

A lot depends on how many people and ages are going to live there. If you've got 2 small dc one will have to sleep downstairs. If it's just you and dh plus 1 (or not) then definitely house 2

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