Help us choose which house…

[CherryBlossom321]

Firstly - posting links would be far too identifying and I enjoy my personal privacy on forums, so won’t be doing that. I’d be really appreciative of any thoughts, as we’re finding the decision quite tricky…we’re a family of four (mum, dad, two teenagers).

House 1 - Largest option, semi detached in exclusive area (maintenance fee applies). Three double bedrooms (just!), no work required. No drive way, off street parking. Living spaces separated (a kitchen diner then seperate lounge). Small garden. Absolute top of budget, bit of a financial stretch.

House 2 - Less square footage, semi detached in exclusive area (maintenance fee applies). Three good size bedrooms (would be a stretch to fit a double in third). No work required. No drive way, off street parking. Fully open plan layout downstairs. Small garden. Middle of budget parameters.

House 3 - Smallest option. Detached with double drive way. Sought after, but not exclusive area. No maintenance fees. Three bedrooms, two double, one box. Two separate reception rooms. Larger, tiered garden. Some cosmetic work required (painting and carpets). Lower end of budget, would keep us feeling more financially comfortable.

I’m leaning in a certain direction, curious to know the thoughts of others and what you might choose in this scenario please?

Personally, all open plan living with teens sounds like a nightmare. Have you ever lived in a house like this? We did, and it was awful, as cooking, dishwasher, TV, relaxing, the dirty plates all competed visually and audibly. BUT, I know it's much lived right now, so if it's something you are happy with, I go 2. Personally, 2 would be off my list.

If you went house 3, could the teen with the box room have a reception room as a "bedroom extension"?

I'm not sure 1 is right financially, or 3 right spacewise. Can you keep looking?

Yes, I think you can ditch House 2 because of the full open plan.

i prefer House 3 as it is detached with off street parking. With teens you might soon have more cars! Can it be extended to provide a bigger bedroom than the box room?

1, or 3 if you can find a way round the box room. Definitely not 2.

Personally I'd go for option 3, detached with parking would be my top requests. The box room may be an issue but is there potential to convert the loft?

House 3 for me - parking is a definitive red-line

Also detached - needs work so could add value - and the fact its the lower end of the budget - also in my head "exclusive" tends to lead to arseholes

Separate living spaces as well

the teens just need to toss for who gets the small room.

House No 3 cos being detached, no fees, having a driveway and two separate reception rooms. Lastly it’s the cheapest. You could put any savings into your pension pot or help your kids with house deposits. Finally if the house isn’t too big then you won’t have the expense of downsizing in the future. Don’t think the box room would be too much of an issue. Your children are teenagers so may not be at home for that much longer although you could say kids stay home much longer these days cos of high rents/house prices.

Should also have said definitely not no 2 with the open plan. Open plan is great when you have young children as you can keep an eye on them but not when they are teenagers.

Option 3 - definitely.

Financially comfortable - that is a huge asset to family life.

Not house 2 for sure, open plan is only good on toddlers stage.
Im suspicious about maintenance fees and generally prefer detached as it gives you more freedom and flexibility especially with bigger garden and lower budget. So definitely house 3 for me.

How old are teens? Would sharing interfere with potential exams?
Is there a scope for extension in house 3 ? It should be with it being detached.

House 3

Any option for potential future extension?

House 3 as it’s detached and has parking.

Any other relevant factors eg. School catchment, work commutes, main roads, south facing?

I’d probably go for house 3. Is there a possibility of using a reception room as a bedroom? The box room could be a study/ gaming room if your teenagers resemble mines.

3rd option, whack in a decent garden room with savings. Could be office, leisure room for teens, someone's bedroom: use could change over time according to current needs.

Do you like open plan ?

Do you like exclusivity ?

Do you want your kids fighting over who gets the smallest bedroom ?

Houses on rightmove are in the public domain. Shock horror they even show what people paid for them.

Is there potential to extend house 3, if so I would go for that.

3 - detached and drive

Thank you - I think the second reception could be considered as a bedroom, though it would be downstairs. I can offer the choice though. They spend quite a lot of time in their bedrooms. We check Rightmove daily at the moment, these three are the only current contenders. Hopefully more options will appear soon. We’ve never lived in open plan, no. And it does worry me - we’re a neurodiverse household and I think it could be overwhelming.

Not sure about open plan. We haven’t tried living that way before and I do have concerns it might not be right for us.

I’m pretty neutral on whether or not it’s exclusive, as long as it’s quiet and civilised really. But maintenance fees are an additional consideration for the budget.

The kids don’t generally fight to be honest, I doubt they would start now, but the second reception room may be an option for a bedroom if they prefer.

Yes - rightmove is public, but my identity on here isn’t 🙂

Also house 3, the idea of an exclusive area with maintenance fees would be a non starter for me. And I think it’s much nicer to have a house you can put your own stamp on with decorating.

or keep looking!

I wouldn't choose a house that meant one teen had to have a box room. I'd keep looking in the location of house 3, for something similar but bigger, more mid-budget.

I was leaning towards house 3 - apart from the other factors pointed out, I think I’d prefer to feel like we’re not squeezed on the mortgage repayments. Helpful to see that’s the general consensus here. Also thinking further, my youngest verbally stims a lot, so lack of adjoining walls would certainly feel less like we may be bothering others!

Thank you. A few just sold on there that were townhouse style well under budget. Maybe something else will crop up soon. Also considering second reception room as possible bedroom.

Option 3 seems best. As the garden is bigger, would you potentially have room to add a garden room? That could help with teen space needs as they could have their own den and you would be spending less on the house.

House 3. Detached, off street parking, no maintenance fees, larger garden, cheaper. Absolute no-brainer to me. The work needed is minor, really.

When we built out house open plan was all the rage but we weren't keen and went for separate living spaces. Having three teenagers, we were very glad we did.