Bungalow in village or house in countryside?

[IndecisiveRabbit]

Just looking for some opinions. We have 3 kids (9, 6, 6 months), DP works from home, and I work at the school my kids go to. We live in a very expensive village and are looking to buy our first house. We've seen a bungalow in the village that needs LOTS of work doing, 3 beds, amazing garden, partner and I could do lots of the work, could cycle to school/work. For the same price, we've seen a 4 bed house in the countryside, needs no work, great views, much bigger rooms, but 10 minute drive from school. Would you go with the closer, smaller bungalow or further, bigger house?

Bungalow!

For the location. Your eldest is only a fees years off the independence of secondary, much better to be in a village with a bus service, where friends live, where they can nip to the shop all without Mum and Dad Taxi.

Also (if this matters) you can add more value by doing the work needed on the bungalow, and in due course would you be able to extend into the loft or alongside?

Thanks, this is what my partner thinks- we could definitely add value, and there is scope for extending. I'm also worried about ending up as a taxi service for teens in a few years if we move out the village. Think I'm just daunted by the amount of work to be done, and find the house more pleasing to look at.

Sounds like two great options! Just make sure you don’t underestimate the cost and time of renovating the bungalow. In my limited experience, getting a doer-upper to dream-home standard is hugely expensive and fraught with challenges!

I absolutely adore good views and don’t like sleeping on the ground floor, so if it were me, I’d definitely go for the house!

Village - I lived in remote rural area and it is not great

Village with facilities is better. Much better for kids

What work does it need?

What has to be done immediately ?

It has been empty for over a year and is extremely dated, so first thing is new carpets, curtains, and paint for lots of the walls. Also needs a new ceiling in the hallway (currently got awful flammable foam tiles, some loose) and new tiles in the kitchen. Will probably need electrics checking, as very dated. Also needs lots of elbow grease, as it's filthy, but that shouldn't take too long to do.

I think you might be seriously underestimating how much might need doing and the cost. It actually sounds like that is a complete renovation with new electrics, plumbing, basically everything. It may well be very poorly insulated too. This isn't going to be cheap or quick and you definitely couldn't live in it while doing that kind of work with young children so may have to rent for months. Do you have the funds for both the renovation and rent? You may well find horrors (like asbestos for instance) too which can be costly to fix and hold works up. Are you up to this size job? If not buy the house.

If the drains, hot water and electricity all work fine I would go for the bungalow, you'll end up with a much more desirable property. Bungalows can often be extended upwards and sideways. You can put your own stamp on it. Plus the massive garden so you can put in a shed for the grumpy teenagers 😂. You will easily resell it due to location and desirability of a bungalow.

The drawback is that it is very hard to do any sort of DIY with a toddler around! Realistically it will take you years (unless planning to throw lots of money at it). The DIY will take over your life and you will always be upside down/ just trying to finish xyz.

It took us approx 10 years to do similar project! Then we moved 😬

Sorry , I don't get this at all. Ten minutes to school is nothing compared to a huge amount of renovation in time labor and cost . The OP works full time and has 3 young children. When would you do this renovating and or project management?

Read up on today's renovation costs OP. To me the choice is a no-brainer! Go for the lovely house and garden in the countryside. You will not regret it.

How old is the wiring, sockets, circuit board? If you rewire the bungalow you will need to live elsewhere temporarily, and replaster and redecorate after.

How old is the boiler and are the radiators modern or older?

Is there any evidence of leaks from the roof?

Cosmetic changes are very different from more substantial work.

Also if the bungalow is 3 bed, is it possible to create a 4th bed in the future? Building an extension can be stressful.

I would rather live in the village, but I'd be careful you don't take on more than you intend.

so first thing is new carpets, curtains, and paint for lots of the walls.
That's not the first thing, that's the last thing! Extremely dated suggests you'd probably need a rewire, which means lifting floorboards and channelling through plaster. It makes sense to leave fresh decor til later. You don't say anything about the kitchen or bathroom, usually these need updating in an unmodernised property, maybe a new boiler, or new rads, pipework. Hopefully the roof is sound and there's decent insulation in the loft, nor any issues with damp.

Having said all that, I'd still go for a property in the village that needs modernisation rather than a recently done property out in the sticks. Being able to nip out on foot for a pint of milk or cycle to school or to a friend's house will be invaluable for your kids, I wouldn't give up that convenience for the sake of some work on the house (which will add value and appeal to your house too).

You month not regret to now but when they are teens and need to be taken to a club each night or school events it's becomes draining.

It's 40 minutes each time they need to go somewhere and be collected.

But yes the bungalow sounds like a lot of work especially as it has been stood empty for a year.

Is it even habitable?

Bungalow. Will suit your teens and be easier meeting friends and socialising.

I think the other question is how big is the village? Will the facilities survive. We have lived here for 20 plus years. In that time we have lost the pub, the primary school, The Post Office/ village shop and the buses are now about every 2 hours on weekdays rather than every half an hour. Next village pretty much the same, but they still have a school but twice a day buses.
We have gained a Farm Shop but they can only sell what they produce.

Rural house. It's only 10 mins out of village. Doing up that other house will bring untold stress. Workers will let you down. Everything is expensive and always more than expensive. I have seen friends live in chaos for longer than expected. Buy other house, sit back and relax. I live 10 mins out of town..not village. Its a super location as kids were happy at home and not wanting to hang around. Yes it's a bit of driving but your commute is so short.

are there pavements between the house and the village? Is it cyclable for older kids?

You’ve got a lot on your plate with kids and work at the moment so I’d be tempted to go for the house but central location would be much better for when the kids get older.

Sounds mostly cosmetic. I'd go for the bungalow.

Oh god, 10 years! I suppose that is one of my worries- my partner is very keen and capable, but he works full time and there are only so many hours in the day. But yes, there is already a shed in the garden for the kids to hide in (and maybe partner to work in) and lots of trees, so they would spend a nice lot of time out there!

Countryside any time. Ten minutes is no time and you can't beat no immediate neighbours! Plus the bungalow sounds like a money pit.

Roof is fine, electrics and heating need testing (just been reading through our survey report). We think we can make it into a 4 bed without extending. After having read the report, we think we need to get quotes for the most important works and see if we can negotiate the price down a bit, if we decide to go ahead,.as there are quite a few things that weren't obvious when we viewed, that need attention.

When was the bungalow built, how old is it?

You dont need to live somewhere else while a house is being rewired or plastering walls for gods sake!

A house is livable and then you do bits as you go along, its not a 'renovation' as such you're just bringing it up to what you want, things like curtains, carpets, bathrooms, kitchens just get done in time.

Just do things slowly and then it doesnt feel so overwhelming

I would go for the bungalow given the location.

Having just done a full renovation and extension - it is incredibly stressful and expensive. Any quotes you get, you need to add a substantial amount for the unforseen.

We don't regret it for a minute because the end result is fab but I really don't know if I'd do it again.

To add - it does depend on what state the bungalow is in though. If it's literally just cosmetic, painting and redecorating, then that wouldn't put me off.

Definitely the house for me. I think you are quite likely to be under estimating the work that needs doing to the bungalow and doing work when you have small
Children is tougher than you imagine. Ten minutes driven is nothing.