Which house should we buy?

[HollyLondoner]

SE England
Married couple in 30s with a young child
£700 a month for 2 days at nursery
Combined salaries of £65k/£4k a month

Option 1:
Little 2 bed Victorian terrace in the area we currently rent
Lovely neighbours and lots of friends
Terrible parking (people park across your front door and you have to walk down the middle of the road with a buggy from all the cars on the pavement)
Shit schools
A little sketchy
£270k
£1400 a month

Option 2
Shared ownership 20 years old
105 years on the lease
30% share for £100k
Very desirable area
Woods on doorstep
Fantastic schools
Drive way and garage
Massive garden
Not really our style and wish we could afford outright but still a lovely house
£900 a month

Does that £900 per month include ground rent, maintenance charges too? I always think a mortgage under £1000 per month is not too scared but what do I know. Are you able to buy a higher % over time? Don’t know about shared ownership. What does a ‘little sketchy’ mean? What is the difference in sq footage ie which is the bigger house? My gut reaction would be Option 2.

How far is house 2 from your friends and family?

@LindaDawn that does include all the charges so that is a really good price for the current market. House no2 in a much bigger house and more practical.

Apologies 😄when I say a little sketchy I mean it's a bit rough in terms of crime. Where we live now has been great for us pre baby ie pubs and high street but maybe not great for bringing up a child.

@polkadotpeppermint still in the same city but about a 20 min drive and actually closer to both of our works.

I'd not choose somewhere I thought the schools were shit.

Option 1 makes no sense at all because of the schools and parking.

I don't know enough about how shared ownership works to truly comment on that.

I'd be looking for another option or a different area.

option 2. we’re in shared ownership and wouldn’t consider anything else now that we’ve done it once. you get so much more house for your money. just make sure it’s a house you can staircase up to 100% ownership to eventually if you wish

I’d keep looking .

@MaggieFS it's an expensive place so it's either a less desirable area or shared ownership unfortunately. We're not getting any younger and want to get on the property ladder.

The only other option is wait until he has more funded childcare but that's debatable about what will happen with the nursery hours and then I could go back up to full time. Currently working 3 days.

Go with what your heart tells you.

if you are saving £500 a month, save it to staircase to a higher percentage of ownership if it’s worth it, or overpay the mortgage monthly

Option 1 is a definite no from me and option 2 could work for me but really isn't ideal

I'd keep looking and schools would have to be good and I'd need a garden and parking.

Having lived somewhere with shit / Competitive parking, it is just not worth the daily aggro

Out of those two options I would say 2 but everything takes so long to complete, these days, you might be better off waiting.

Option 2
can you buy a larger share?

Conscious this might sound a bit preachy which isn't what I'm aiming for, just trying to be thought provoking... but you're essentially saying area is more important than DC's education with option 1? I just don't see why it's even under consideration.

Yes can buy a staircase and buy a bigger share.

It's way cheaper than our rent so seems a good option and yes the parking drives me nuts!!

Option 2. I'd want the extra space and good schools.

Save the £500 per month so you can staircase up and buy more % in future.

@MaggieFS the primary school is good but 2 awful secondary schools. Our son is only one.

It's more all our friends are close and we have lovely neighbours. It has a very nice community feel.

I would keep looking.

I wouldn’t want option 1 and even if you staircase option 2 to 109%, you might have difficulty selling later. I think it reduces your pool of prospective purchasers.

@Bluevelvetsofa what about as a cheaper option while we have a small child/ possible have another in future? Is it worth doing for say 5 years?

Tiny new build 2 beds are over £350k and just not affordable on this interest rate.

That’s a short time lease on option 2.

With option 2 if you staircase up to 100% will you own the freehold or is it only available as leasehold?

I’d not touch a shared ownership with a leasehold. I’d normally always plump for the Victorian house, parking isn’t a massive issue for me, but being straight onto cars on the pavement prob would put me off.

i would keep looking.

I wouldn’t necessarily worry about a bad secondary school when your dc is so little.
A school can improve a lot over the course of a few years. Equally by the time you are looking at secondary you may be in a position to move.
But I wouldn’t choose to buy in an area you think it’s a bit rough and the parking situation would make it a hard no for me

Leashold is better than renting at the end of the day. And you can look as hard as you want, if you can't afford a nice place in a nice area near good schools, its not going to magically appear.

No parking is a killer.
2 sounds ideal.

Is it your forever home? My friend sold a shared ownership and it's really hard work, you can only use certain agents and take certain photos and the fees are more complicated.

And is there an option to buy outright one day, so you aren't paying rent forever?

Have you ever owned a leasehold? I have, it’s shit.

The lease doesn’t have a very long term either, they are looking at a leasehold reform currently but who knows when and if it will come into effect.

Id also be checking carefully if there is ground rent payable and on what terms is it.

Op doesn’t state they are renting either.