First time buyer nerves?

[Freshwater23]

My offer was accepted on a 2 bed semi detached bungalow around 4 weeks ago. It's all going smoothly, mortgage offer and survey done, just waiting on searches to come back hopefully in the next week or so. My offer was £5k under the asking price (first offer £10k under was rejected). The vendor made it clear from the beginning that he would not renegotiate on price later down the line if I tried. It's an ex rental and I don't think he's in a rush to sell.

I love the house, but the location more than anything and why I was willing to pay a bit more as it really is in a sought after area. It is on the smaller side though and I'm paying a similar price to other houses (2 up 2 down) that are bigger, although (I think) mine has a larger plot. He's also installed a new kitchen and bathroom which will save me money. No major concerns from the survey apart from the heating and needing a new boiler which I knew about from the viewing.

I've made the stupid mistake of checking right move (not actually looking for another property, just like to be nosy) and a bungalow on the same street has been put up for sale today at the same price. It's a bit bigger as it has a conservatory and garage which mine doesn't have, although the conservatory does look old. It also needs a new kitchen, maybe a new bathroom and the bathroom only has a walk in shower.

I'm worrying now that I've made a huge mistake and I'm not getting as much for my money as I would with the other property. I've sent links for both properties to my friend and she said she thinks mine is nicer, but I'm not sure if she's just saying that to make me feel better. Is this just first time buyer nerves? Am I making a huge mistake? I love the area and it makes me smile every time I drive up there. Who's to say I'd even get the other property and if I did I'd have to start all over again and it probably needs more work anyway but I can't stop thinking about it...

A new kitchen and bathroom sounds ideal to me - having been through a total refurb of a small house in recent years, the stress and expense of getting those done while living in a property is not to be underestimated. Not a fan of conservatories personally, and I think a lot of people feel similar - so I don't think they necessarily add a lot of value (especially not if it's old). Your new place sounds great - I'd love a bungalow!

Your new home sounds lovely :) I’m a first time buyer, we are getting our keys next week and there’s been loads of emotions over the last 8weeks; from excitement, worry and also looking on zoopla comparing our house to others that are coming on the market.. it’s all very normal I think 🤔

If you love your house and it makes you smile, then I’d say you’ve not made a mistake! Good luck with it all

Thank you both, that's made me feel a bit better. I was leaning towards staying with mine, but my mum has really stressed me out now and made me doubt myself saying that she thinks I should book a viewing with the other one and it looks like I will get a bit more for my money as it has a conservatory but it looks really old and like it doesn't have any insulation. I'm really not sure now. My fault for asking her but I thought she would say she preferred mine tbh as my friend did and said she thought it was on a nicer part of the street too (mine is towards the end in a cul-de-sac and the other one is a bit further up on a bend) Ahh!

Kitchens and bathrooms are very expensive to replace these days. I consider conservatories to be nothing but a waste of space unless they are heated with a proper roof. Much of the time in fact, they are a liability, as many of them directly open into a kitchen, which means said room will suffer from heat extremes - boiling hot in summer and freezing cold in winter.

It is normal to get the jitters and ask questions. I think what this other house has shown you is that you are not overpaying for yours.

Conservatories are more of a liability than an asset these days, especially if they've been poorly maintained. A wise buyer doesn't want space just for space's sake, a wise buyer looks for well thought out, useable space.

I think it's normal to do this but go with your gut! A new kitchen and bathroom definitely outweighs a conservatory for me, and location on the street too. I had to delete rightmove after we had our offer accepted and I recommend you do the same, no good comes of it.

I was like this with my first house, kept looking at others while my offer had been accepted, i was so stressed. So happy i kept my nerve though, we have been here 9 years now, done a moderate amount of work but we have about £90K equity and I love my little (probably too small now) end terrace.

Your house sounds much better value with its new kitchen and bathroom which is worth anything between £10k - £25k upwards. Forget about the conservatory, it will cost you money to remove it. I have just removed mine. It was a mistake to ask your mum’s opinion. That generation can be very out of touch as to how much things cost!
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Feel free to make a second offer on the other place and renegotiate your first offer based on that. This is a falling market and most sellers still sitting on large paper equity gains.

>The vendor made it clear from the beginning that he would not renegotiate on price later down the line if I tried.

That's not going to work.

It's a horrible thing to do.

It's definitely not something I would recommend a FTB with no experience does, either.

Many vendors are not sitting on any gains and are barely breaking even, if that.

The value of your investment may go down as well as up..

Absolutely agree, but I was replying to the comment implying that most vendors therefore can afford almost blackmail induced price reductions.

Your house sounds lovely OP
a new kitchen and bathroom could easily set you back £20k. An old conservatory probably devalues a house tbh. The location of your house sounds great too and you can’t change that.
we had the keys to our house before we moved in and me and my friends’broke in’ one night before we bought it, whilst the sale was going through.
I cried because it felt like such a mistake.
14 years on it’s been such a great home and I’m so glad we bought it 😂

Of course if you put an offer in the second house you will need to follow through if the first one doesn't work out. The housing ladder is broken and avoiding buying a first overpriced home is probably the most important decision that you can make.

You could link both properties on here if you want to @Freshwater23 but personally I think conservatives are overrated & most people don’t use them much. Some people wouldn’t pay anything extra for a house with one, especially a tired old one. I would far rather have a nice kitchen & bathroom that won’t cost £££ to replace.

Don't do this. We are not in a falling market. Last update from the Halifax said prices rose last month.

As previous posters have said, a new bathroom & kitchen are worth thousands....and you don't even like the bathroom in the other property.

Conservatories are also hit in the summer and cold in the winter. If it's in a bad condition you may want to pull it down so not really adding any value.

Stay with your current purchase and ignore your mum. The grass isn't greener in that other garden.

FWIW.....I moved last October and still go in Rightmove every day. Mainly to see how the market is doing but also to track other properties that I viewed last year.

A new kitchen and bathroom is around 20k so the bungalow isn't really on at the same price.

My curiosity would make me go and view it, likely it will put your mind at ease. Xx

Stop looking at Rightmove. Your purchase may take 6 months and in that time all sorts of properties will come on the market, perhaps a few of which you will think are somehow better than the one you are buying. And if you pull out and go for one of those, then maybe in the months when it's purchase is going through you will see something else, and ad infinitum ..... If you were really happy with the first place, stick with it. As for 'not getting as much for my money' - well, what you'd be getting with the second one is a plot that is smaller (according to you) and a house that would need you to spend a load of money on it. That sounds to me like a worse deal.

I agree with others. Unless a conservatory is of excellent quality, has a proper roof (i.e. not plastic or glass) and has heating, I would see it as devaluing a property rather than it being worth more.

I agree with above , especially to stop looking on rightmove. We bought a house last year that needs new kitchen,bathroom etc and sometimes I wish we'd bought somewhere more done up but the location is perfect for us and not a lot of properties come up here. If given a choice I'd always choose the one that needs less work and that has a bath. Good luck.

You absolutely must view the other property to get a better idea of the differences. You need to think also that the other property is also likley to sell for less than its asking. Personally I would prefere a bigger property, a garage is super useful and I like conservatories.

Your mother maybe hasn't replaced a kitchen and bathroom in recent years. The second house sounds as if it would need both, at the cost of many thousands, not to mention finding reliable installers and all the inconvenience.

An old uninsulated conservatory doesn't really add to the size of the house because it will probably not be used and it would cost to have it removed.

Ok, the garage is good but you'd end up paying out more to get the second house done to your liking.

Your house sounds fine. Stick with it.

I'm actually a conservatory fan, but an old one that's not up to much is more of a liability. Two good bathrooms would cost you as much as a decent small conservatory. And putting in a little more money would get you a really nice one. (I'd advise a glass roof, but high-spec thermal glass, and lots of opening windows and roof lights).
A larger plot means you could have a bigger conservatory if you wanted one.
Demolishing a crappy one would cost you money before you even started to cost for a new one.
House on a bend can be a nuisance for visitor parking.
On what you have said, I'd stick with the one you're on with.

My doer-upper still needs both bathroom and shower room doing. I'm expecting to have to spend about 2/3 as much on them as for our medium sized decent conservatory, and I'm not even going to be going for expensive fancy fittings. I'm not much looking forward to the mess either, or the stress ( as there's a lot we can't do ourselves, when I like to do as much as poss ourselves on jobs to both save money and get a job done with more attention to detail).