Best compromise…

[Moreveganice]

We are very particular about an area we want to move to and there is limited housing stock so we will have to make a compromise or 3…

option 1
large spacious house with a nice layout and a decent garden (I am a keen gardener…) - on budget.
semi detached.

option 2
smaller house with just enough room query possible to extend a bit - would need reconfiguring. Small garden A little under budget

detached.

so detached or space? Which is the better compromise?

or option 3
large and detached - over budget -would really need to stretch and mortgage to the max ( we are both the wrong side of 50…)

Option 2 for sure

Option 1! It sounds perfect. Semi's are fine, what type of house are you jn now? Maybe just knock to nose up the neighbour first though

@sausageupanalley we have a semi at the moment but we had hoped to go detached…

Option 2.

1. potential to be mortgage free immediately or very soon?
2. if it’s a forever move - gardening when 20 years older needs to be considered. Right now you could either take on an allotment or really maximise your space with vertical gardening as well as filling every single space. Future gardening may not be so problematic or need to be outsourced.
3. a bigger house means higher bills and maintenance as well as cleaning. Again it might not be the way you want to spend funds and time in the future.
4. being able to remodel now with a view to the future could serve you very well. There is a tendency to ignore dwindling abilities, plus who wants to move or remodel things when they are 80+ ? Future pricing now would remove potential issues in the future.
5. detached. Unfortunately you can’t guarantee your semidetached nice neighbours will always be there.

we are currently in a similar predicament looking for our final home.

1. I don't really gey the snobbery around detached etc. And yes, I've lived in detached, semi and mid terrace.

At the wrong side if 50 I'd just want to be enjoying life in the garden, not faffing about with extensions, or over extending myself so i had ti make sacrifices else where.

@Seaside3 it’s not always snobbery. Sometimes it’s life experience which differs from individual to individual. Nice neighbours sadly cannot always be guaranteed to stay - ours died! Sometimes neighbours really are best further away.

@Alphabet1spaghetti2 true, but many detached houses have neighbours very close by, especially on new estates.

Option 1.

Option 1

@Seaside3 being close by is entirely different to be attached. No having to pray your neighbour (semi or terrace) actually gets their roof fixed before it damages yours, far less chance of them damaging party walls when doing diy, less noise and smell transference, their rats and mice much more likely to stay being their problem, less chance of them blocking your rights of way, much more clear cut that they are to blame if they decide to block their drains , less chance of them abusing and damaging shared guttering and down pipes causing damage to your property, less chance of them painting your windows and brickwork when painting their exterior, less chance of being disturbed by hoovering and drilling at midnight when they do diy, barking dogs are less noisy when not literally the other side of the thin wall . …. Just to name a few issues!
Nothing is risk free but detached has an awful lot more plus points!

Option 2 all the way and read Margaretta Magnusson’s book The Swedish Art of Death Cleaning

Option 2 with vertical gardening.

Actually, the one which one has a downstairs shower room and bedroom...

Option 3, you only live once.

And can always downsize if needed!

Option 1 for me (but I’ve never had huge hassles with neighbours).

Option 1 as it sounds like it already has everything you need - garden, space etc.

I do massively value being detached so I'd be exploring option 3 a bit more - would they be willing to negotiate on price? Otherwise, I think I'd wait for something better to come up. Option 1 relies on decent neighbours sharing the building, option 2 just doesn't sound like the one for you.

Option 1.

Interesting thoughts although I’m not quite ready for retirement living. We might not be wanting to commit to a long term mortgage but we still have primary aged kids at home. Vertical gardening is harder with trampolines and pets!

A downstairs bed room is on the list of requirements though- but for our elderly parents - not us just yet!

We won’t be downsizing for at least another 25 years I hope 🤞

@Moreveganice Thats a big drip feed!! With that info it charges things a lot. Option 3 is the only one to go for. Can release equity and downsize later on.

Apologies @Alphabet1spaghetti2 I didn’t anticipate this tangent. My question was really space .v. Detached wwyd?

@Moreveganice I would go detached every single time, but that’s me. But I think YOU will need space - you have young children who will only get bigger, plus you are looking at extended family staying with you. Space will give you all the room to have a bit of alone time/space for hobbies/ space for friends to visit - children do play dates/ parties/ teen gages hang out etc.

Yup!