Trading in Edwardian house with charm for family friendly new-build

[Doubtfyre]

Hi all, so I'm really struggling with this decision and I'm hoping posting on here might help me figure this one out.

We're very lucky to be currently living in a beautiful Edwardian 3-storey detached house. It's full of character with lovely high ceilings, large rooms and looks very grand; but it's also cold, with no driveway and a small garden. As a family of four with two young kids, we worry in the long-term the kids will want a larger garden to run around in.

A house has come on the market which was built in 2017, so 7 years old. Whilst the rooms are slightly smaller, the overall square footage is more than our existing. It's detached and fronts on to a country park, so you don't feel like you're surrounded by other houses (although the garden does feel somewhat overlooked). The house has a better flow to it for families, in that we could have a playroom off the kitchen which leads into the garden; and the garden is much larger.

I'm just not used to new build houses. It's a stunning house, but it doesn't have the charm we obviously get with our Edwardian property. I feel like I'm trading in style and charm for functionality...but, maybe that isn't a bad thing?!

Anyone made a similar move before, for the purpose of their kids? The new house is walking distance to an outstanding school, but we don't really struggle with schools in our area anyway.

Edwardian house is closer to town, whereas new house would be about a 40min walk, or quick bus ride

Thanks for reading!

Does it have to be this house? Can you wait and look for a house with a bit a character and a large garden? Why does it have to be one or the other ?

Its horses for courses. I view anything after the pre war period as a 'new build'!!!

Get an Edwardian or period or semi period house with a driveway and bigger garden, job done

There is no way I would trade in an Edwardian house for a new build. I live in a 12 yo new build that my very wealthy LL built herself, and the quality of the house is absolutely shocking. The materials seem to be getting ever worse.

I would wait for another option. In terms of build quality I probably wouldn’t consider anything built before around 2000 for the same purposes.

Well, DH is of the view that if we get a bigger Edwardian house, we're just buying a bigger house with the same problems at a larger scale 😂I think the appeal for him with a newer build is not being cold! Whereas I'm all about charm and character...

The other thing is where we live, there are very few roads we'd consider and a larger version of our existing house would just be too out of budget. I think 🤔

The newer build house is on a prime road (due to fronting the country park), so the houses very rarely come on the market, so the pessimist in me thinks if we turn it down we'll never get another opportunity!

I think closer to town would be a bigger appeal to me than anything. Especially during the teenage years if they can easily get around themselves you won’t be mums taxi

The new house sounds great! Firstly is location (location, location). You can make a garden more private but you can't move a park.
Same goes for the house, you can put character into a home. You can even add chimney's and fire/stoves. Think of all the ways you can add to your new house. Think of the positives, cheaper upkeep, cheaper to 'run'.
We've lived in both old and modern, and as I get older I'd love to live in a new build. But mostly I'd want where we lived to be right first and foremost.

Honestly? I'm a big fan of new builds over period properties. Easier to maintain. Warmer. New boiler, electrics, plumbing etc

I like how period properties look but I prefer living in new builds.

I think this is where I'm struggling, our current house looks beautiful with so much kerb appeal, but when I picture our life as a family it's the kids running around having fun in the garden, and having a room they can play in whilst we're nearby having a cup of tea (I'm not sure my children would ever do this, but it's still part of the dream 🤣)

But then they'll become teenagers and want to get to town, and our current house is better for that.

Lived in a lovely Victorian villa before kids. It was coldish , hard to heat and any repairs became expensive really quickly and time consuming. I did love it though. Next house was a well built new build . Bliss. Low maintenance so able to spend more time and money on kids as weekends no longer spent doing tedious chores . Kids had bigger rooms and bigger garden . Still here , maybe eventually downsize to a cottage or a period property.

I lived for many years in a gorgeous Edwardian house, but the first place I bought for myself was a flat in a 1960s mansion block. No character whatsoever.

After a couple of years, once I'd decorated it and lived in it properly, the lack of character did not matter at all. It developed character from the people who lived in it. It was a lovely, functional flat. It had everything I needed. It had attributes that I could not have afforded in a period property, like off-road parking, large bedrooms and a large garden. And the bits that were just dated, because they were not old enough to be period, became quirky and fun.

Aren’t there any extended 1930s semis around you? That feels like a better option.

Our energy is 3.3k a year for two of us. Detached houses aren’t all perfect: having four sides to heat, for one.

I sympathise, living in a draughty cold older house!

One thing to be aware of when buying a newer house which is a decade or so old, is that everything seems to need replacing at once. In our previous house our double glazing, down stairs loo, kitchen, bathroom & en-suite all seemed to need doing at around the same time!

Also, think about life once you're on the other side of the toddler years. Can your DC walk to a secondary? How easy is it to catch the bus there? Are there any amenities on the newer estate such as a shopping precinct, parks, football pitches where they can meet friends? How good is the bus route?
These are all important when they reach the teenage years.

You don’t seem sure about this new build. Kids don’t really need big gardens, just plenty of love from their parents. I would double check the modern house isn’t too overlooked as you are not used to that and may feel hemmed in. Not sure I would want to be further from town though. Can you insulate your house more. Maybe have a chart and mark each advantage and disadvantage. I am not really into character houses as the layout out of a house, how easy it is to maintain and how close the amenities are more important to me especially as I am getting older. Not much help I realise. What does your hubby think. Lastly I woukd expect your Edwardian house to be more sellable in the future rather than a new build of which there are many.

Having 4 teenagers the proximity to town is the thing you need.

We've got an Edwardian house and got one of those eco/EPC surveys which then led to cavity wall insulation (where appropriate), more insulation in the loft and around the loft hatch, new extractor fans in the toilets. We've got new rads and double glazing windows and a triple glazed front door. Also solar panels which are useful for running fan heaters when it really gets bad. As much as it'd be nice to have a house that was square and where every DIY job didn't have immediate mission creep, I'd be reluctant to move.

I wouldn't ever buy a new build to replace an Edwardian house.
A 1950s 60s 70s 80s with good location (near school, park, shops)and larger garden yes but NOT a new build that hasnt stood test of time, and isnt near town.

I think you need to find plan C.

We live in an Edwardian house with three kids now in twenties from babyhood, 55ft garden and yy to wanting bigger garden for a ten year period. But now it's fine. Although I have now a second garden somewhere else thats for me not the kids.

The house itself has accommodated itself beautifully over the years to us all, and I can see it working still when we are old. I love the wideness of downstairs. The third story is a loft and I think of it as a very manageable two story with light and air. So quiet too.

We live in a cold Edwardian house, wouldn't trade it in for anything 😂😂😂😂😂😂 it's a love hate type relationship. Do you think this is the right house for you op? Re read your message and try read as an outsider. What do you think your opinion of the house is? For me you don't seem too excited about it 🤷🏻‍♀️ shouldn't you feel excitement about moving?

Also we had a kitchen diner a living room and a playroom on ground floor it's odd there's isn't room for that in an standard Edwardian layout. Our living room wasn't knocked through. The playroom opened onto the garden. You could configure your existing house?
As for cold, thick curtains rugs, closed doors worked miracles. The children never got colds...perhaps it WAS the draughts. No mould or condensation. Single glazing

A 40 minute walk or a short bus ride isn't an onerous journey into town, though.

I have lived in both, I absolutely hated the paper thin walls of the new build , the lack of quality features and the noise as the walls are so thin. Kids don’t use the gardens for as long as you think they will, I am living our old house which has privacy in every room .

FWIW we last moved when dc were 2&4. We fell in love with a Victorian cottage, okayish, but fairly small two-tier garden and rejected a bigger modern house with biggish rectangular garden. Kids are now 9&11, and while we still live the period charms of our house, we often kick ourselves for not going for the kitchen-dinner, bigger garden and warmth of a new build. Is for me, it would be a go for it.

I can hear my OH peeing 30ft away, on another floor, with all internal doors closed.

I absolutely hate it.

When you say smaller rooms what does that mean for storage and furniture? Once you are in there those rooms might seem even smaller. Surely there is a way to have the play area near the cups of tea in your existing house? The stress of moving will be greater than rejigging existing. And then when they are older you can change rooms back if necessary? Our house has been so incredibly adaptable.

We've just moved from a small, but beautiful, cottage with a teeny garden and dodgy parking to an 8 year old house on a small new estate. Whilst I don't 'love' the new house in the way I did our cottage - life is SO MUCH EASIER!! The house is warmer, quieter and far less dusty. The space is far easier to live in with a growing family. The extra bathroom and storage space in a dry garage (with proper lighting and electricity) are life-changing. The new place is far from perfect, and I know we won't live here forever, but it has definitely been the right decision for us right now.

It will habe its advantages, however I personally wouldn’t if I could avoid it.

I often look on right move, and know at some point we will possibly move, and I always gravitate to the period properties, I just find new builds charmless, and I habe live in two. Yes it’s less upkeep and easier to heat, if that’s more important to you than charm.

Lived in both and much prefer the solid Edwardian - high ceilings are something that you know you will miss when you wake up to the box house. It starts there first thing in the morning. Only new furniture really works in them too (height and looks) which for me isn't to my taste. They are cheaper on gas/heating but also very stuffy and have no air flow. If you have something that smells the whole house will smell of it within a day. Stuffy and hot in the summer as walls are so thin. Some people love them but I feel like a hamster in a box.