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)

genuine question but…. why? Are you prone to getting very stressed?

House selling, moving into rented, whilst looking to buy is probably quite stressful for most I would have thought!

Yes I am but years of therapy and yoga and whatnot has tamed me, but this has unleashed the whole lot again.
Weirdly I am feeling quite calm this morning despite only 4 hours sleep.

Are you still doing yoga?

OP, take a breath and try to enjoy looking for your next home. The fact you've sold and have a rental sorted are great and should take the pressure off massively.

Nobody wants to fork out for rent needlessly, but sooner that then end up stuck in a home you don't love or feels like too much of a compromise. You'll be in a great position when you do find a house so I'd look slightly over budget as well to see if this opens up more options for you.

Good luck and do keep us updated!

Not at the moment. Once we're back in Bristol I can get myself to classes again. At the moment the house is covered in boxes I'd find it hard to find the physical and mental space.
But I hear you.

You're right. It's miniscule. Could be lovely but too small for what the OP is looking for and a big building programme is not what's needed. More turn key loveliness and space for two people to not be on top of each other.

I'm quite shocked at just how incapacitated my father has become in a matter of months. Stairs of any sort is simply a no go and it's really making me think about what we will need in our old age. Bungalows don't really do it for me but neither do chair lifts. 😁Having space for a downstairs bedroom and bathroom of a just about decent size [to use a zimmer frame/rollator] has been a lifesaver while we try to get him literally back on his feet.

@heldinadream I do get you totally - and yes find somewhere you love that ticks as many boxes as it can - one thing to mention with regard to rental is that if you are banking your house money- your interest may well cover off a lot of your rent, so it isn't really going down much by renting and having cash in the bank - so I would take your time within reason

@heldinadream I totally get why you'd want so many rooms, it's reasonable! We sleep separately and love it and both WFH so need 2 rooms to work in. And you should have the dream house at this point, I agree!

I get why you're stressed but I agree with whoever said look at this as a a lovely hobby for a while rather than something stressful, although I totally get why selling and moving into rented is stressful as well. If your dd lives in Bedminster could you look nearer there - would you be open to different areas of Bristol?

I am going to have a look now as I love Rightmove!

4 bedroom semi-detached house for sale in Little Birch Croft, Whitchurch, Bristol, BS14 (rightmove.co.uk)

House 1- light and airy and the garden is great

i think it should be a priority given you are saying you feel very stressed and barely sleeping

OP you are very similar to my parents. They moved at a similar age to their last home.
They were very practical about the future, but also looking for a house they loved.
In their practical box, they had -
downstairs loo, and space to put in shower if needed.
An 'extra' downstairs space so that it could be a bedroom if needed (that is my Dad's study),
Very easy upkeep, windows, heating, electrics etc.
A study each. Mum has one of the bedrooms.
Also - close to shops, on edge of town, so cheap to taxi places once they stop driving (they lived in a village before),
one level as few steps as possible.
Car park on drive.

In their 'love the house' box, was a garden for mum. She is a keen gardener, and loves her garden. The garden was just a lawn, no flower beds, but it was easy to put in what she wanted.

They have been there 10 years, and in the last year my Dad has been in hospital twice, once for back and once with a broken hip. The downstairs loo and level ground, and car close on drive have been essential. His study became a bedroom each time for a few weeks. Their future proofing has worked 100%. He is now back upstairs, but their staircase could take a stair lift if needed.

I think you should be realistic about the future, and also find a house that works for you now.

@TheStroppyFeminist That house looks seriously amazing but we've already bumped the budget up to 400, and are looking at things up to 425 on the grounds we might get an offer of 405 or 410 accepted but 450 is just way out of budget.
I'm going to keep an eye on it though in case they have to drop the price. It's beautiful. Thanks for discovering it - I have not dared to look at anything over 425.

Fingers crossed they drop the price. Once you're cash buyers they might do.

Sadly to report, this amazing house is in a high flood risk pocket right next to the Malago river.
It's one of the strict criteria we have that we won't consider anything at high risk of flooding.
I'm gutted though. I bloody love it -not seen it in the flesh obviously but it looks so good.
No point torturing myself with it though.
Onward.

Oh that's such a shame @heldinadream the right house is out there, I'm sure🤞

Are you confident in this assessment? Google Earth reports the elevation of the street outside the house is 150 feet and the back garden falls away to 140 feet. The lowest elevation of St Peter's Rise (where it crosses the river) is 100 feet. So there would have to be more than 40 feet of flooding even before the garden was inundated. By that time, houses on St Peter's Rise would be under water. Is that really a possibility?

Don't buy a house buy a bungalow

I second this.
Much more practical if your dh is heading into his 80s.
I'm not saying people 80 + should all move in to bungalows but you have a chance now of future proofing your home as you're in the lucky position of being able to buy as your previous home sold.
Best of luck.
How exciting.

You're right, using the gov flood risk web page confirms this address as in the lowest risk bracket for surface and river/sea flooding: BS13 7NQ

check-long-term-flood-risk.service.gov.uk/risk#

Has it ever flooded in the past ? Of not, perhaps it’s not such a risk as you think.

How about this? www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/151059221#/?channel=RES_BUY www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/151059221#/?channel=RES_BUY]]]]. I know you said 400k is top budget but surely people don’t necessarily expect the asking price? It has a garden and is set back off the main road.

the two you linked to I’d say neither

not being ageist but with your ages i would go for house 2
house 1 is light and airy but especially the garden the different levels would cause difficulties perhaps in the future
2 looks more liveable for you and any future health and mobility problems

I’m sure this has already been mentioned, but if this is your last house then you should really choose one where it will be possible for you to live comfortably on the ground floor if necessary in the future - so a decent sized bathroom (that could accommodate a wet-room type shower if needed) on ground floor, plus additional rooms on ground floor that could be used as a bedroom, without compromising your living areas. And I would suggest that preparations for this (ie a large wet-room) get done before you need them, as it is incredibly stressful if health takes a sudden turn for the worse (eg a major fall), and having to contemplate building work at that sort of time is nigh on impossible (as the experience of family members has shown).