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 is listed as offers over £400k. You mentioned in a previous post that £400k is your top end. Is house 2 actually feasible?

I think you should look at ones up to £425k, especially if they've been on the market a while. There may be room to negotiate.

Look for a house with downstairs bedroom/ bathroom. Fit and healthy as you are now, things get more tricky as you get older. Futureproof choice is best.

If you can get past the lack of kerb appeal of this house, it's absolutely stunning inside. The living room could be an art studio and all your living done in the open plan kitchen/diner/lounge. The garden looks a great size and a lovely blank canvas for you to make your mark on.

Caveat - I extended the search by half a mile and don't know the area at all. It could be the nicest house in the grottiest street for all I know!

I know it doesn't have a garage, but it does have a mahoosive shed at the bottom of the garden, with the scope for more.

Edited to add the actual link! https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/148376300#/media?activePlan=1&id=media17&channel=RES_BUY

No I don't think house 2 is the house. How wedded to the area are you?

Ruling out house 1 is a smart move.

Ruling out house 2 should be your next smart move!!

I know you just want to get sorted BUT

you've said you expect this to be your last move, so hopefully you'll both be there for many years to come, what's an extra few weeks, even months, to get the right house?!?!

Personally I don't think you're considering the future anywhere near enough.

mobility changes in the click of your fingers.

You're moving anyway, so it would be monumentally stupid not to get a house that has stair free access, downstairs shower room (or utility that could be converted) and a single level garden.

i could bore you for hours about various family/friends/myself from 55 years up who have suddenly needed all of this despite being absolutely fit & mobile until an accident/event.

we all hope not to be in that position (my 95 year old Great Aunt isn't) but the odds are against us.

and if you want to spend time in your garden, you really need to spend time looking at which direction it faces & what will put it in shade ! You don't necessarily want full sun at all times, but there's a middle ground.

sales on the previous houses you lived might fall through! Or you may look at them in a different light.

Sorry if you’ve already mentioned this but why do you need so many bedrooms?
Think it’s a bit of a waste to have so many and will just mean more cleaning.

House 2. You are fit and able now but a year at your age can make a huge difference. Garden one has too many steps.

Definitely house 2. Mobility can go down very quickly as I found out recently with my own mother. If they hadn’t moved to a dommer bungalow it would have been a night mare.
Also in laws very fit and healthy until one fall on holiday and a broken hip, again luckily had moved into a bungalow.

Don't be blinded by the fabulous decor. Those stairs up to the garden are going to be a pain in the bum and if you get a lot of rain you risk flooding the conservatory (I know this from experience) Isn't that price rather hot for a 3 bed semi? Its years since I lived in Bristol

for crafting in

I think the one Crikeyalmighty found is better than 1 or 2. Yes it's more expensive but looks like nothing needs doing - don't underestimate the cost of building/upgrading work, everything has gone up in price massively over last few years, and there's the hassle factor. All level access, plenty room for family, big garden and that room at the side could easily become ground floor bedroom and bathroom if needed. No idea about the area though.

I think if its final house time, you really need a downstairs bathroom or at least a shower...and I say this as someone who has strip washed and hairwashed in a kitchen sink

but the change from room to bathrom aint cheap especially if there is no plumbing at that side of the house. If its already top end of budget then the money can't be conjured from nowhere. Also when you ned it you need it now or pretty soon, not in the weeks to months it will take to convert. Worst thing you can do is go with the plumbers who are available because you are in a hurry.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/150063938?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY

this has a indoor annex with 2 rooms either side of a downstairs bathroom

huge garden only the other side of the Wells Rd

so you could turn one of the rooms into a crafting room
and the other is future proofing for older age

'Nothing needs doing' is very subjective.

That's nice.

Big ugly from the outside but lovely inside.

If I was @heldinadream I would get a house with a downstairs bedroom & bathroom though - thinking ahead to when they won't be as mobile.

Definitely not house 1. It's on the side of the A37- one of the busiest roads into Bristol with lorries thundering up and down day and night.

definitely a better option if the area is nice

I don't think either are great. The steps in the first one aren't practical. Just because your both fit and healthy now that is likely to change in the next few years. House 2 according to people isn't as good an area and the garden isn't really a garden. Do you need all these bedrooms and rooms for the 2 of you. This is going to sound awful but also be mindful of it's likely one of you will eventually be living alone here at some point. Most people downsize at this point of life.

My concern about the steep garden steps in 1 isn't just accessibility but where does the water go in heavy rain? So many gardens on a slope have an area that floods or gets waterlogged and, in this case, it would be the bit right next to the house.

I like house 1.

Just seen your update, but I also would have said house 2.
House one has access issues - both to the house and the garden, which might not bother you now but you wouldn't want to be forced into a move if one of you suddenly did develop issues.

House 2 is big enough even without the conservatory. I'd get rid of that to open up the garden, and give you direct access from and more light into the kitchen.

@WideFootWelly I just suggested myself getting rid of the conservatory to DH.
He made that scathing sound people make when a suggestion has gone down like a lead balloon. 😂
So I guess not (or not without more discussion).

I can't reply to everyone right now as we need to eat and discuss with DD1, too, but this is soooo helpful and house one (sob) is defo off list.
Goodbyeeee lovely art room...😭👋

I think two is a better house.

One is undoubtedly a better presented house but it's been done to it's maximum potential. It will only ever get worse.

Two can quite easily be improved. It looks like a long term home.