Detached or Semi detached - compromises

[bellamountain]

There is a wreck of house semi detached for sale with a 150 foot garden so huge scope to extend and plenty of outside space for the children. The house needs A LOT of work though, it needs considerable extending loft conversion and single storey. It has 3 bedrooms, one of which is tiny. West facing, you couldn't live in it whilst it was being renovated though (would mean moving in with parents).

A dated detached house is on sale for nearly £200k(!!) more which is at the very top of our budget - aside from decorating, any works would need to wait (i.e. knocking through the kitchen and dining room). It has 4 bedrooms though, so no loft conversion needed and already has an en suite. It ticks a lot of boxes as it won't need any extending (necessarily), south facing but the garden is a lot smaller than the first house. Both my kids love to play in the garden and kick a ball about. Would a smaller garden be a deal breaker with kids? It's not new build tiny by any stretch, the first house is 1930s and second is circa 1970s / 80s. The garden has been very well maintained by the current owners but I worry there's not enough outdoor space and it's smaller than what we are used to.....

Sorry for being waffley!!

Definitely detached. I wouldn't put your family through the massive building project. Stress, money, time, resources. By the time it's finished you've probably missed at least one summer in the garden.

What’s one summer Vs a lifetime, though?

Detached definitely.

Unless you can be very sure about the construction of the semi and you know you won't hear normal living noise through the walls, can guarantee you won't have neighbours now or in future that creates a lot of noise "out of hours" then I'd go for detached every time.
Kids only play in their garden for a few years and then they move onto other things but you could be stuck with being woken up by neighbours for years

I'd go for the semi with the huge garden and the potential. But then I've never lived in a detached house and it's really not a priority for me.

Detached! We have a semi which we're renting out and unfortunately the neighbour has about 3 dogs that bark the entire time and jump up at the fence going crazy every time anyone goes into the garden. You could easily get a neighbour like that.

I agree go for the second option.

I live in a new build semi that is built to exacting standards and there is absolutely no sound coming from next door, and they say they can hear nothing from my side at all. So semis are not always noisy, especially if built to the new regs. But of course we hear each other in the garden.

What’s the actual size difference in sqm or sqft? You talk in terms of bedrooms, but that doesn’t say a lot about actual space.

Would the semi, once extended, be bigger than the detached now? Would it be nicer to live in, once renovated? Sounds like probably yes.

I don’t care about detached (currently live in a very peaceful terrace with huge thick walls), so the prospect of having a house done as I want it would probably win.

Detached.

I would opt for detached over a larger garden any day of the week.

It's only 1/6th of the house that has reduced exposure (1 wall) in a semi. 1/3 of course in a terrace.

I live in a semi and hardly hear any noise from the ndn. When I do hear noise it's from the row of detached behind when they let their kids scream endlessly. Part of that may be due to the fact that the semi layout minimises the contact between my house and the ndn (staircases against staircases). That is due some consideration if you are buying a semi - whether they are configured in a way that minimises noise contact.

I have a friend who is detached in a very expensive house which has a near endlessly barking dog next door, which to me is far more annoying.

I don't think a detached is the panacea to zero noise that some people hope it might be. You need detached plus a lot of land/separation from neighbouring properties if you want complete silence.

Basically, crap neighbours are crap neighbours.

150 foot garden is massive, the upkeep would be a huge drawback for me.

what size is the garden in the detached: is it actually small, or just smaller than the massive one?!

Have you estimated the cost of your desired works to both properties? Building work & materials costs are v high where we are (south east)

I'd always go detached.

I've had two semi-detached sets of neighbours. The first lot used my garden, moved 8 people into their two bed house, and threw stones at my cat.

The second man threatened me because he could hear my (basic Boots) alarm clock.

And there is literally nothing I could do about it, because a complaint to anyone would have shown up as a neighbourhood dispute and made my house less saleable.

You need to be able to relax in your home, and being physically separate from neighbours helps. Your dcs will soon grow out of any garden anyway.

I live in a semi detached, similar to what you are looking at. I echo what the majority of posters have said and go for detached.

While the majority of families a few doors either side are lovely, our previous neighbours were hell to live next to as they had no volume control.... Day and night doors were slamming, people screaming and shouting, the dog going demented... I could even hear her cutlery scraping the plate. We finally got new neighbours a few months back and I occasionally hear a cough or sneeze but nothing else. There is nothing wrong with the design of the house, or I would be able to hear the new neighbours- they also claim they don't hear us. If you have the misfortune to share a wall with an antisocial family, it will destroy your enjoyment of your home.

I think its not as straightforward as detached v semi detached - e.g. the poster who said neighbours used her garden and threw stones at the cat, presumably they could have done that whether they were joined to her house (i.e. a semi) or otherwise?

The noise we've experienced as neighbours has been a couple of parties from (not joined) next door neighbour and dogs barking on the garden. Unless the detached house has a massive gap between it and the neighbours, you're likely to experience that in - inconsiderate noise is usually from outside a house (in my view).

We've had both types of houses - have to say detached isn't a priority for me - its probably on the list but not at the top. I'd compare the pros and cons of each house without looking at whether its detached or semi, and then consider whether a detached makes up for the expense / downstairs layout compromise, or not.

I just moved to be detached. Best thing I ever did. I'd never willing go back to sharing a wall.

Detached every time.