Property purchase help

[Icantthinkofacoolusername]

Hi

We really could do with some guidance, we are a family of 3 (6 month old DD) and are looking to purchase a new build for our small family. The agents have a number of properties but they all have different specs, the home we liked is significantly over budget but the agent has proposed two other homes in our price ranges.

The challenge is we do not intend to be in this home for long but are concerned about re-sale value. I have listed the difference between both homes below:

Home A

1. Side garden which is much bigger than home and not an odd shape compared to home b
2. No difference in size and comes with 2 parking spaces but just has a side garden

Home B

1. Back garden but much smaller - it really is very small with an odd shape broken triangle type shape
2. No difference in house size and comes with 2 parking spaces but a smaller garden

We intend to build a conservatory in the future to make the living room bigger with better re-sale value but our challenge is which home to opt for to ensure it sells well in the future, we made a mistake with our previous flat which took us an extremely long time to sell because we had no balcony, thank lock down for this!
So we are struggling to decide which one will have better re-sale. Home A and B have privacy but it's a case of deciding which one to opt for considering re-sale and how quickly we can sell the place in the future.

Any help would be appreciated!

Do you know whether the gardens will both get some sunshine?

House B would get very limited sunshine whereas House A will get some sunshine

since you keep mentioning resale how long to you plan on living in it and why bother with an addition if you are not staying (are you a carpenter by trade and can quickly pop up the addition type question)?
unless the addition is to a very good standard it may devalue the property especially if the esthetics are compromised.
sun over shade

We plan on living here till the market picks up- maybe 3-4 years?. Not a carpenter by trade just to make the living room slightly bigger .

Which one will give the most garden space after you build an extension?

House A

i don't think 3-4 years and an extension will lead to much increase if any in value, especially a new build.

Location is also a big factor in resale value, are they in the same area?
For what it’s worth, we don’t like conservatories so building one does not always increase value / ease of resale.

This.

If you only intend to stay for 3-4 years @Icantthinkofacoolusername you are unlikely to make money on a new build that will have become a nearly new build (competing against all the new brand new builds at the time of selling). Both houses have weird shaped gardens & not everyone likes a conservatory so it’s a risky plan.

There is a good chance you won't get back what you pay if selling a new build after 3 or 4 years.

I always thought new builds were not good for resale on a short timescale? Because they are like ‘second hand new builds’ competing against actual new builds with all the perks and warranties offered by the developers?

Also conservatories: very marmite and you might not get the value back.

In house A do any windows or doors open to the side or overlook the garden? Would you be happy to have your 3 year old playing out there when the time comes?

New builds are a bit like new cars, they lose value as soon as someone has lived in them as they no longer have the cache of being new. Definitely avoid them if you are going to move on in 3 to 4 years. Or buy one which has been previously lived in but is still pretty new, then you avoid doing lots of maintaninence but you don't lose as much money on the house price.

Also new estates sometimes have restrictive rules on extending so definitely worth checking whether you can add a conservatory before you buy.