Help - mid terrace with loft conversion or semi detached with driveway (both 3 bedrooms)

[Newcreation]

TDLR: Should I buy a mid terrace with loft conversion and ensuite, 3 double bedrooms but no driveway or a semi detached with 2 double bedrooms and small box room plus driveway. Both are £500k. 2 bathrooms vs 1.

I’m looking to buy a house in Croydon and would love some opinions. I’m single at the moment, but I’m thinking long-term—ideally, I’d like a place that works for me now and could also suit a future family in the next few years.

I’ve narrowed it down to two options, both priced at £500K:

1. Mid-Terrace (Loft Conversion, No Driveway, Permit Parking)

• 3 proper double-bedrooms (loft conversion with ensuite)
• Two reception rooms, kitchen, and a large first-floor bathroom
• More rental potential: I could rent out the loft ensuite for privacy
• Narrower house and garden compared to a semi-detached
• The current owners haven’t done any work to the house—it was in the same condition when they bought it, including the loft conversion.

1. Semi-Detached (Driveway, No Loft, More Privacy from Neighbors)

• 2 double-bedrooms + 1 small box room (all on one floor)
• Single bathroom, no ensuite
• Driveway for off-street parking (I don’t drive, but resale appeal)
• Potentially more desirable long-term, but smaller internal space

Both houses require minimal cosmetic updates, so there’s no real difference in how much I’d need to spend on decor.

I also feel like the mid-terrace is overpriced. The neighbouring house (same original layout but no loft conversion however, theres a 2nd shower room on the ground floor) sold for £415K in December 2024 (I actually viewed it when it was originally listed for £425k). In that house, all three bedrooms are on the first floor, but the third bedroom and the bathroom are quite small because they were created by converting a former bedroom. Total floor area is 1065 sq ft for this mid terrace vs 865 sq ft for the neighbouring one with no loft conversion.

This mid-terrace was also bought for £435K in 2020, during the stamp duty holiday and ultra-low interest rates. Given that, what would be a reasonable offer? Would £450K-£460K be too low?

Thanks in advance.

My main question is what Croydon areas both houses are in?

Is there potential to convert the loft in the future on house two?

Permit parking becomes very old very quickly, especially if your neighbours can't park for shit plus I'd want the side access of a semi for bins, gardening, muddy walks

I would be looking for a 3rd option . Neither of these sound ideal .

Can you extend house 2 up or out at some point? What areas are they in? How many bedrooms do you need?

I would always choose semi-detached with parking over terrace, if the semi had the potential to be configured/extended to how I would like it.

I find that on mumsnet there’s a lot of obsession with driveways and not having permit parking. Which might be sensible in a lot of areas of the country but not necessarily as practical in London and surrounds where there is significant housing stock in terraced houses and everyone manages perfectly well.

The terrace sounds like it has much more space. How long has it been on the market? That might help determine where you might get with offers

The semi sounds better unless you really want/need a lodger and/or would rather pay less overall as the terrace probably will go for less, I don't think the extra bathroom makes up for the lack of loft, driveway or privacy.

Why Croydon? I'd be inclined to buy somewhere nicer like Bromley

Does the semi have parking at the side of the house and a garage? So you have room to expand sideways and up to the loft at different points? Does the semi have windows at the side and what direction do they face (seems silly question to ask but our hallway has 3 large south facing windows and it makes the house so bright whereas our old house had 1 small north facing window in the hallway). Which garden (both front and back) is bigger, is there room to expand into the garden? Are these houses eat/west facing or north/south facing? How close are the houses to the town centre/schools etc?

Why are the terraced house owners moving again so soon? I'd try to find out whether there's aggravating neighbours. A terraced house would be my last resort due to neighbour noise. House 2 may be smaller to start, but surely more potential to extend either sideways, backwards or upwards?

The semi. Downstairs bathrooms are a pain in the arse, off street parking is a godsend, one less neighbour minimises aggro potential. I moved from a terraced with a loft conversion in Croydon to a semi like the one you describe also in Croydon and converted the loft a few years later to get a master bedroom with en suite, so that’s what I’d do.

its also worth saying for the ‘why not Bromley’ folk, that there are nice parts of Croydon just as there are not nice parts of Bromley. Plus it can be more affordable.

Off road parking wins for me

What's the noise insulation like in the mid terrace - can you hear neighbours either side? Semis normally have more resale value than mid terrace and drive way adds a lot of extra value in London, where it's not common. Esp since permit parking is getting more expensive. If the semi also has side access that would be a winner for me.

If it's just you, do you need the loft bedroom/2nd bathroom? Even if you have DC in the future it will be some time before they grow out of box room. Renting the loft room would still mean they share your living space/kitchen/garden - not sure how comfortable you'd be with such a lack of privacy.

In your situation I'd go with a semi with a view to putting in a loft conversion in future if you desperately want more space. A semi with a loft would carry much more value than a mid terrace with one.

If the two properties are in equally good areas, I’d go for the semidetached. Having a side entrance is convenient in so many ways and having no sound transfer from/to half the house is good too

Depends what area they are, whether the semi can be extended and costs to do so.

I’d be conscious of noise from a terrace, lack of parking, overpriced and reasons for sale. I wouldn’t want house 2 though, unless there was scope for remodelling.

Drive and parking is always a bonus.

I think I’d keep looking and also wonder why Croydon.

Semi.

Only neighbour noise one side.
Future-proofed: you can go into the loft and will end up with a bigger house. A drive will become more desirable as EVs become more common. You or prospective partner for family might drive in the future.

No snipes about Croydon here: it’s a matter of budget, transport links etc, and loads of perfectly nice / reasonable / ordinary areas in Croydon. And less nice areas of Bromley.

So much stupid prejudice about Croydon. It is a huge borough with a massive diversity of types of area. And even in cheaper areas there are thousands of ordinary roads housing decent ordinary families.

Yes terraces can have noise problems however my terrace is larger than my friends detached and she has far more neighbour issues than I do.

The question is how much space do you need. How many in the house. How do you use the house. There's double bedrooms and then double bedrooms. I've my bed plus chair, coffee table dressing table, large wardrobes and still plenty of floor space whilst another has barely room for a full size wardrobe as well as a bed.

There is potential for either property to do better price wise, driveway v box room especially somewhere in the London area where adult children are likely to stay living at home longer.

If you get the semi, could you rent out the driveway if you don’t need it? Less intrusive than a lodger in your house.

That's not the first time on MN when people knowing nothing about Croydon making such comments.

Where in Croydon?

Semi-detached, every time.

Have you considered whether you could convert the loft in future? Have similar houses on the street done loft conversions?

Quite! And anyway, you can be sure buyers are going for the best they can get and not wilfully choosing, say, the dodgiest road in Thornton Heath over a tree-lined avenue in Bromley when they could easily afford either option. Everyone's gotta live somewhere, even if it's not on the dream list of most MNers.