PLEEEASE HELP CHOOSE HOUSE! Links included!

[heldinadream]

Dear House-discerning mumsnetters, I need your help!
Choosing (we think and hope) between two houses, in Bristol.
HOUSE ONE. Beautiful and up together with a couple of minor things that would need doing/tweaking. Really special house in lots of ways. Brilliant garden, not massive but lovely.
HOUSE TWO. Bigger. More rooms. Some aesthetically fine, some not but totally liveable with. Smaller garden all paved so we’d be taking up paving and trying to create a garden.
REQUIREMENTS. I’m going to be 70 next year, DH is 77, but we are both fit, well, and energetic (well him more than me in some ways 😂). So this is our last house.
I NEED a garden. Where we live now it’s minute and I need more.
I NEED an art room or space and a writing room or space, can both be in the same room but I need SPACE.

We’ve sold our house and complete in 2 weeks and are moving into a rental. LOOOONG story but we’ve been looking since last December, mucked around by buyers, couldn’t bear the thought of losing this buyer so we’re moving out so she can move in, so we really, really can’t keep on and on looking. In this time we’ve lost 3 houses that I LOVED. I want to love my next house, I really do. Or make it into my lovable house fairly quickly.
Both houses same price and similar location.
So it comes down to this – house one I would love straight away and have an amazing art room, truly special. But it is on the main road so there could be noise issues, especially in the summer, and the rest of the space is more limited, even though lovely. Smaller kitchen but great utility room. Much, much better garden. House two I could have 2 art rooms (one to work in one to store art materials) and a writing room AND a guest room and still space to do everything else. Much bigger kitchen, no utility but not really needed because kitchen big enough. Both have a garage (for storage, we are leaving one behind so need this).

We absolutely cannot spend big bucks after the move. Some but not big.
So I guess the question is – could I love house 2 and make the garden something good, and so gain all the rooms and space? I crave enough space. I’ve never, ever had enough space.
Or should we go for gorgeous, less space, but already gorgeous garden, but on main road? ARGH! There’s no complicated chains so the consideration is choosing the right house, nothing else.
We wanted to decide today. We’ve only just seen these two today (I knew they were both good).We only lost house 3 that I loved about 3 weeks ago.
HELP!

HOUSE ONE - GORGEOUS HOUSE.
3 bedroom house for sale in Wells Close, Whitchurch, Bristol, BS14 (rightmove.co.uk)

HOUSE TWO - LOTS OF ROOMS.
4 bedroom semi-detached house for sale in Petherton Road, Hengrove, Bristol, BS14 (rightmove.co.uk)

House 2 as it is not near a main road and as you get older the steps to house 1 will become a real problem.

House 1 is beautiful inside but ugly as sin at the front. The EA knows this which is why you don't see the front until the very last picture. The steps up to it may be fine now but could be a nightmare. Just because you are fit and supple now doesn't mean you will always be. My SIL 76 slipped on ice putting the bin out and broke her hip. She was fit and healthy. A keen cyclist. She was on a zimmer frame for months.Steep steps and old age are not happy bedfellows. We all hope to be healthy forever but my mum and her friends are all in their eighties and, beyond 85 , time seems to suddenly catch up .

STOP PRESS! DH just announced we've ruled out house one!
You all helped. I agree with him.
Still left with should we go for house 2 though. 😬

You are right on all points.

Really? You must be in quite poor health or fitness to be considering this at 40. The OP says she is fit and healthy. Most older people don’t live in bungalows, only the ones with poor mobility. None of my family have lived in bungalows.

I usually go for the doer upper in these dilemmas, but I really don't like house two. One is nice, but I'm not sure it's the house for you.

I was in a similar situation and ended up renting for six months. Perfect house came up and we got it over other buyers because we were chain free. So maybe say neither for now and keep looking?

I would not consider house 1, @heldinadream. I have poor mobility, and I can tell you that the access issues for house 1 would make it very difficult indeed for me. I appreciate that you are both fit and healthy at the moment, but things can change very quickly - and the last thing you want is to have to move again, because of mobility issues.

I actually think that house 2 is a nicer looking house - it has way more curb appeal than house 1. You can change the decor and make a lovely garden, and it would be a beautiful forever home, imo.

As others have said, I don't think either is a good fit for your ages.

I really liked house 1, it was lovely, needed nothing done and just had a nice vibe. Great garden.
House 2 was fine, I see it had more rooms but that's about all.
Will it just be you and your DH living in it with the adult DCs only coming to stay occasionally?
I ask because DH and I are of similar ages and we have downsized from a large old cottage type house with loads of character to a modern (not new build) house which is far easier to clean and look after. We have got it how we want it (new bathrooms and kitchen, fresh carpets in halls and bedrooms, fitted bedroom units. )
It did feel a bit small at first but it's really plenty big and comfortable enough for us, DC can come and stay, as can friends/rellies.
The only thing I miss from the old house are the views, which were spectacular to the fromt and rear. But we decided we'd lived in the country for long enough and wanted to live in a city again as we got older, with plentiful bus routes to the city centre, a pub, coffee shop and late night grocery shop nearby, also a Drs surgery and hospital , all very accessible.
For the person who asked about mobility, I have had knee surgery since the move and could make it up the stairs, with a little help, as soon as I was discharged. Indeed, the physio team had me practising stairs, on my crutches, before I even left hospital. If you have stairs in your home they will want to ensure you can manage them before you go home.
As for the steps in the garden, there may well be solutions (for example, a ramp?) you could consider if the need arose.

An elderly relative lived in a tall townhouse into his 90s and I actually think all the stairs kept him fit and well! So don’t be too defeatist!

If you're not completely excited and taken with house 2, then it isn't the one for you. Don't panic yourselves into a suboptimal choice. Something else will come on and you'll have lots of time to decide.

House one and you could add a garden pod as an extra space for an art studio further down the line.

House two is really quite large to heat and clean as the years go by. (I’m in your age bracket and the cleaning thing really matters. ) And it doesn’t have a garden, which you say you want.

Look, you are in a good place as you have got the money, without having to sell OP. Interest rates are going to rise IMHO , so prices will not. Keep looking. If you have to ask a load of randoms on the internet if you should buy a house, I think in your heart you know the answer.

I would rule out house 1 because of the steps.
House 2 is nice but very overlooked, faces north east, and even with the flags ripped up and plants installed, the garden is tiny.
I think there's a house 3 somewhere in Bristol with your name on it.

Neither!

Could you or DH on one of his mega walks leaflet all the houses in quiet roads you like saying that you are brilliant cash buyers and invested in a quick move and would anyone like to sell to you and save om agents' fees? Could even scope out the ones with decent gardens in advance.

I’d be cautious buying a big house with lots of work needed at your age (no offence!). Speaking from experience with older relatives it only takes one fall or stroke or life limiting illness and you might struggle. Agree with previous poster, there’s another one with your name on it!!

This for me. The main road and the steps just up to the front door would be a no from me.

House 2 has a lot more ground floor living space that will make growing older in the house more long lived.

You don't have to dig up all the paving. One of the nicest gardens I've ever seen was a fully paved garden that had a few edges dug up and then an array of potted plants all around. These are easier to maintain if either of you have any mobility problems in the future too.

House one looks much better. One thing interests me-all the talk from various posters about mobility and living downstairs if necessary-is this a thing? In societies where people live long lives, you don’t see them in stairlifts or shuffling about on one level-they’re still active and do gardening and go swimming and all their daily tasks. There is such a thing as bungalow legs-people not using their leg muscles enough and there is an opinion that stairs are good for older people. If you’re a yoga teacher and he’s doing 10 mile walks at 77, there’s no reason to think you won’t have good mobility for a very long time.

I'd keep looking OP, do you know the areas?
Your DH ruled out 1 but 2 has double yellows outside and a very small drive, not great for visitors, plus busy road it would be a no fr me.

This. I'd go neither. Those stairs up to the garden in house one are going to be a nuisance and possibly a house flood risk. Yes you can sleep downstairs in house two but there's a lot I'd need to do in the house if it was going to be my final one. A completely shaded garden is not ideal for a gardener. My final house list is as follows. bungalow or downstairs bathroom, pref bungalow. not overlooked, decent size and aspect garden, not a hilly place to live. decent size kitchen with plenty of storage and an eye level built in oven or the money to change the kitchen to how I want it, quiet as possible. if it was me I'd keep looking.

Not helping I know but I want to vote for house 3 if house 1 is now out. House 2,too big, no garden, too modern, no privacy. Isn't there something else on the market you could go and see?

House 2 for me. Yes, perhaps cosmetically it's not quite as "done" as house one, but I think it's a much safer bet for an older couple. It has much more scope for being able to safely and comfortably see you both into proper old age. Yes, it's a bit dated in terms of decor, but nothing you couldn't live with for a while and it all looks in good nick.

House 1 is nice inside, but outside looks like a 1970s council block. All those steps might be fine now, but in 10 years when your DH is pushing 90? When it's wet or icy out? I don't want to sound morbid, but health and mobility can rest on a knife edge at that age. I've seen it happen a number of times in my own family.

I trashed my knees going hip deep in a bog rough walking my dogs. That added to back trouble, a legacy from my days in the NHS, mean that sometimes I can't get upstairs. Additionally a bungalow means that kitchen and bathroom/loos excepted, you can use any room for what you want.

I don’t like house 2 particularly but house 1 is terribly ugly and it’s interesting that they’ve hidden the picture of the front near the end of the photos . I’d keep looking .

But I think neither is good-if you’ve ruled out house 1, house 2 doesn’t sound like a good fit. That garden is no good for a keen gardener-keep looking-something will appear!