Which of these two houses to buy?

[Mamma2027]

Layouts are virtually identical with some small differences:

House 1 - preferred location and garden

• On a close and front of house goes directly onto a green, so very safe for kids.
• Amenities 2-3 mins away
• Garden is east facing. Large, no features, no shade.
• Newish development and looks it, saplings rather than mature trees
• Exterior is nice
• interior is a bit too modern for us, doesn’t match our current furniture which is very Cotswolds type
• kitchen opens directly to garden (which is giving us a huge headache in our current house with kids and mud)
• Might be easier to sell on in 10 years

House 2 - preferred house and look of area

• On a quiet through road on the other side of which is a green. No pavement but could use the garden as a buffer and side gate to exit
• Same amenities are 15 mins walk on a path with one road crossing
• Garden is north facing with patches of sun. Mostly decking and paving so not my dream garden
• A bit more private front and back
• Older development, 20 years, mature trees, lovely area
• Well looked after by owners, like the decor, wouldn’t need any extra work
• utility room opens to garden which would be hugely beneficial re kids
• Love the exterior, interior is great and to our tastes

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Essentially we prefer house 2 and the look of the area, but also prefer the location of house 1 for kids safety and amenities round the corner and garden potential.

I would love an amazing south facing garden with mature trees and flower bushes but I don’t actually have any experience in keeping one. I have a new baby too so the time I could spend on trying to establish one would be limited.

We also have kids with high needs and will not have a huge amount of time to devote to renovations or lots of work.

It’s also not a forever home or ideal location, more like 10 years in a town we have to live in out of necessity.

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I would love some thoughts from others. I like house 2 but I’m not sure if the look of it outweighs the north facing garden and distance. House 1 is on balance better and the practicalities of location and safety are really important, but our heart is less in it plus it doesn’t have the utility room where we want. Head and heart are a bit mixed up!

In addition to the above, compare both with Area360 on RM to check flood risk, crime rate, noise levels, etc

If changing the inside is an option, go for house number 1!

Thank you, this is interesting.

House 1 is a relatively new development, built in the last 10 years.

House 2 is a bit older, built in the last 20 years.

Both are on the edge of a town where crime is high. They are both in the nicer bits of town where there is a lot of new development happening. When I look up crime stats they are still included in the area circling the rural villages rather than the town itself.

Do new developments with presumably somewhat affluent families and young professionals remain low crime? Or does crime and less desirable behaviour creep across?

I don't know the answer to that, and I suspect that every estate is different.

It's completely luck of the draw as to whether your own estate happens to house the worst family in the town.