Would you buy this house?

[Ilovemyshed]

Sorry no links, not on the market yet but a friend is thinking of selling.

Former bungalow, extended with loft conversion.

Sensible size plot, quiet location on edge of a gorgeous village.

Sitting room with small snug/study leading off it. Very large open plan kitchen/dining/living. Separate laundry room. 2 double beds and shower room downstairs.

All bedrooms have garden access and big french doors also to garden in the kitchen diner.
Vaulted ceiling in hall up to a light landing with room for armchair or desk.
Large master bed with doors/ juliet balcony and views, dressing area and huge ensuite with separate bath and shower.
No garage but large hidden shed and big loft with proper ladder boarded and with racking.

Would the bedrooms downstairs put you off?

Whereabouts in the country? If it is by the sea you will be knocked over in the rush!

Because in a house that was once a bungalow, it's usually possible to live on one floor if you need to, so the property can take you into old age while still having room for your family in your younger days.

It's exactly what I'd like to buy now.

i can't afford one where I live & don't really want to move away though. Keep playing the lottery & hoping!

why are you asking? Do you want to buy it? Or is there a reason you think she'll find it hard to sell?

obviously without all the details & seeing it, it's hard to be 100%, but I'm 95% already!

@Sethera

that's pretty much my situation.

i had an accident and couldn't do stairs for months so I had to live downstairs in my house. It worked out ok because at the time I was living on my own so it was no bother to live like in a studio flat, but it would have been much better if I'd had a bedroom.

Right now stairs are difficult & some days still just too much & the option of downstairs would be lovely, but I still enjoy having an upstairs bedroom most of the time.

also I love having people to stay & downstairs bedrooms for guests are fine (preferable even for some of them).

before my accident I did not want a bungalow. I'm only 55 so not 'elderly' yet, but still thinking of the future with my next move.

It's a bungalow, so presumably anyone thinking of viewing it will already be aware that they tend to have downstairs bedrooms.

It does sound rather nice, and a bungalow is something that I would consider if we were ever thinking of moving.

Yes I would it sounds like just what I would want and if it was in the area I wanted to be and at the right price for me I would jump at it.

No but the open plan living/dining/kitchen most definitely would.

It sounds lovely to me. Want to see pics now! ( And why are downstairs bedrooms a problem? You don’t have to use them as bedrooms, surely they are just rooms…. Is this a trick question - because bungalows would generally have bedrooms downstairs if it’s not been converted….)

The main thing with any house is location.

You can add to rooms, you can put up walls you can reconfigure, you could knock it down and build a 4 bed.

Do you like where it's situated? Does the location work for you? The rest is just changeable over time.

We moved from a huge 5 bed beautiful Georgian home to a tiny 3 bed cottage the location of the big house was awful, no community no soul no life.. where we live now is beautiful and is home.

Sounds fab to me. Bedroom(s) + bathroom on both ground and first floor is ideal for future-proofing. I've just bought such a house.

Sounds perfect if it is where you'd like to live for the next ten years.

I think it sounds fab, especially if it's detatched! Although because I have a preschooler I'd want 2 bedrooms upstairs atm. It depends if it works for your circumstances. My husband doesn't like bungalows for some reason though so he'd say no.

Agree with PP about location location location though. That and having nice neighbours. Xx

I've got a bungalow and I love it!

A dormer bungalow wouldn't be for me because I wanted everything on one floor but your friend's house sounds lovely.

@medik7
You seem to be getting a lot of posts deleted on different threads.
Assume you're being unpleasant.

I’ve a young family and live in a bungalow. I have recently moved and I was looking for a bungalow rather than a house.
Maintenance is easier, plot is usually bigger and I prefer living on one level.
Bungalows are becoming more popular and they don’t build many now so I think it will be fine

IME it's infuriating when you click on a link for a "bungalow" and find out there aren't any downstairs bedrooms (or a downstairs bath/shower room).

Bungalows should have a downstairs bedroom!

She is thinking selling because she lost her husband and its too big for her - especially the garden - and she wants to move nearer her daughter who is 200 miles away. She is very anxious about selling and worried that 2 beds downstairs might put people off. I wanted to get some opinions to reassure her there is a market for it.

Its a dormer plus a big flat roof extension on the back. So I suppose you would call it a "dormer bungalow".

It was done recently and is VERY well insulated so actually pretty cool upstairs with lots of windows. It is beautifully decorated.

The open plan bit is just a huge kitchen diner, great for entertaining. There is a completely separate and very cosy living room with a door!

I don’t think two beds downstairs is offputting. It sounds like a good home. If she wants to act, she should really do it in the middle of September. After that, most serious homebuyers start looking again around February.

It has a separate closed off sitting room. The open plan bit is a giant kitchen diner.

Bungalows always command a premium so while it will put some people off, they are rare enough that there is still competition for them. My parents downsized into one that has a more substantial upstairs ( 3 beds) than your friend’s but their logic is that because there is a big bedroom, main bathroom and three receptions downstairs, it’s not an issue if they get too frail for stairs in future. They bought it in their mid 60s and plan to go out of there in a box. The only slight issue is the garden is a bit big but they just get someone in a few hours a week to do the heavy/ routine stuff.

This actually sounds like my downsize fantasy and I’m sure those of many others- one problem downsizeRS often have is the proportions between the living space and the bedrooms whereby the living space feels pokey- a big kitchen diner plus two other receptions sounds perfect.

surely there’s nothing she can do about it?

She should talk to some estate agents and look at recent sales on rightmove to know what sells. If this is typical for the area it will sell surely? And if she has to eventually lower price to move on so be it

She shouldn't be anxious it won't sell as lots of bungalows get converted and there is mostly still bedrooms downstairs because a loft isn't usually big enough to move all the bedrooms upstairs and put in bathrooms etc.

I personally wouldn't because I'd never buy a bungalow converted or not, or a house without a loft space because I don't ever believe they can be isulated enough to keep them cool in summer and warm in winter. I don't like reduced head height or those windows on a slope either which conversions often have. Plus I need the loft for storage.

No but because it's open plan not because it's a bungee. We looked at a couple of open plan houses and had to strike them off our list because they made the downstairs feel small. There was no room for DH and I to have our own spaces without hiding in the bedroom