Deciding which house to buy

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Longtime reader, first time poster. After reading what feels like 100s of property threads I've decided to post myself as we're really stressed and would appreciate any advice.

We have sold our house (under offer) and need to find our next place asap. Part of our reason for selling is we need to take £11k out of our property to pay off debts that are causing us too much stress, plus moving costs (this house also needs more work which we can't afford). So our budget for our next place is lower & we're struggling. Staying here isn't an option - the costs here coming up in the next year or two we can't handle & our incomes are low atm due to health issues. Hopefully our incomes will be better in 5 years time.

So here are the property options around us. We're in the North in a not exactly sought after town, but there are jobs here and we like it.

Option 1: Detached house (my husband's dream). But, we'd be moving really far out to a new build estate with nothing much around it except supermarket 10 mins drive away. Work will always be a 20-30 min commute along a motorway. Newish house (2005), good condition. Will cover our moving costs BUT will still leave us struggling to pay off debts because it won't let us pay off our debts as well.

Option 2: Semi detached, 80s house, with bedrooms and lounge all on the party wall. A little run down (needs redecorating) but not terrible. Kitchen is really small which I don't like. On an estate that used to be considered ok but is really going downhill, with a lot of antisocial behaviour issues & neglected gardens. Car dependent, but work would be 15 mins drive. Will pay off all debts.

Option 3: Ex-council house (50s), semi. Area is a mix of still some council houses (with residents wearing all black and grey sportwear), and private owners who have really done their gardens and houses beautifully. Rooms are big and spacious and very nicely decorated inside. One of the bedrooms and the kitchen is on the party wall. Shops are not walkable but it's near a bus route, if finances get tighter and we can't afford a car. Will pay off all our debts and leave us spare too.

Option 4: In the area we want to be in. House is possibly 60s or earlier, big. Semi with lounge and bedrooms on the party wall. Looks quite nicely decorated superficially but I suspect it might need a lot doing under the surface. Quiet road, 10 mins walk to shops etc. and near a bus route. Will pay off debts.

Option 5: In the area we want to be in. Late 1800s mid terraced. Only has on street parking. 5 mins walk to shops and near a bus route. Looks very nicely decorated / renovated inside. Will pay off debts.

Option 6: Near the area we want to be in, but would have to drive to shops. New-ish (mid 90s). Mid terraced. Driveway is a few houses down, not next to the house. Will pay off debts and leave us spare.

We're struggling with several factors here... we're scared of buying somewhere that might be a money pit (like where we are now). We hate how thin the walls are in our current house (60s), the noise from neighbours drives me crazy. We don't have much spare income and can't afford big house expenses. I get cold easily and worry about heating costs. I'm worried about being car reliant and feeling isolated, as I like walking to shops / library etc. We only have 1 car now which is a temp. loan we will have for another year, but after that we need to find the money to buy a car or go back to buses and cycling to work.

We're so stressed with talking about it and the decision making, we really need some help to sort through our options. It's just me and my husband (both late 30s), no children.

5 I think would be my choice, it seems the best connected and I’m assuming the walls will be thicker than a new build. Definitely visit at different times of day and night though to check the area/neighbours/parking

5

But the cost of selling, buying, moving, estate agents, solicitors, stamp duty, etc. is surely going to be more than 11k. Are you sure you've done your calculations properly?

Definitely adds up to £11k. Our debt is just over £6,000. Selling costs with EA fee, solicitors cost (I have already instructed), and stamp duty total £4,800. I got a good fixed price for EA and I guess costs (e.g. stamp duty) are generally lower because our budget is small (prices might also be lower here in the north). Still need to pay for removals but I'm working on setting aside £600 for that and will have it ready by completion time.

Option 5 definitely.

I think location should be top priority. Walkable shops and busses are great for future proofing and make day to day life so much easier. For me they are a top priority, especially since you mention health issues.
In my opinion detached/semi detached and off street parking are luxuries you can't afford at the moment.

Option 4 for me, with a decent survey to uncover any issues.
Bookshelves or wardrobes on all party walls if possible, will deaden any noise from neighbours.
But I think this is very much personal choice, I like 4 because you said a quiet road and I'd value that. An older house could be a money pit if electrics plumbing and roof haven't had any remedial work. Nicely decorated could be hiding problems if it was just a surface renovation.

Rule out anything that makes you car dependent, rule in anything that gives you amenities in walking distance (as that makes you happy). Then debate the rest. What are the pros and cons. Which of them can you see yourself living in and being happy in. Which is most affordable. Which makes you feel safe. Ask questions of the EAs and owners on the things you want to know and don't be afraid to make offers under asking price to give yourself a bit of breathing space. Even a couple of thousand will be really helpful.

5 or 4. Walkability is a huge plus.

If you are already 11k in debt and you need to spend another 11k on moving costs, this leaves you at least 22k in debt. RIghtmove will show you the stamp duty payable.

So you are looking to buy something at least 22k less than what you are selling for. Is that right?

So that rules out Option 1

Option 2 enables you to pay off the 22k but needs decorating which will cost more.

Same for Option 4

So I would take all of those off the list.

No, it's 11k in total. 6k debt, plus 5k moving costs. Stamp duty is included in moving costs.

(We won't have a huge stamp duty bill at the house prices we're looking at, and in my calculations I've assumed the most it could possibly be).

If you don’t like neighbour noise don’t choose a terrace. We are selling an early Victorian mid terraced, as nice as it is we can hear next door neighbours on both sides a lot - TV, phone ringing, kids going up and down the stairs, kitchen extractor fan etc. Then there’s the gardens so close to each other too.

Option 3 or 4 for me, but I’d probably keep looking too.

Option 5 or 4 for me, I’d rule out any that won’t pay off your debt as that’s the point of moving

walls will be thicker than a new build. - I am in a new build semi - the sound insulation is amazing. There are standards that have to be reached before building regs will let it all be signed off. Our living rooms are next to each other with TVs on each wall just inches apart and I do not hear a thing and neither do the neighbours. I hear nothing from them at all through the wall and they are a young couple so not sitting knitting all day.

Unless you want to move anyway, I would reschedule the debts and stay put. Moving house always costs far more than you expect it to - stuff adds up. Not just the obvious things, but often there is stuff to do, things/fittings to buy. You could go though all that upheaval for very little gain at all.

I'd be asking any you want to buy about their winter utilities costs.

The Victorian terrace could well be expensive to heat.

Is option 6 on a bus route for your work? Given how tight things are, car ownership is a big expense and so I'd rule out those you need a car for.

Wasn't sure how far out 6 is.

Transport links and running costs are the biggest factors to consider given the move needs to reduce your ongoing costs over and above the 6k.

4 for me

Location is key, plus paying off debts.

60s type houses are fairly sound and very livable. Hopefully any work needed is optional rather than essential and you can do it as and when you are ready.

The £6k debt might not sound like much, but things are so tight financially we're really feeling the monthly repayment and having no money left, and it will take us 2 years to pay off fully. But, if it was just the debt, we would stay. It's also the very expensive jobs we know need doing in the next year or two (things that need fixing asap to not cause further problems) and we can't get further into debt to pay for them. The amount of noise coming through the walls here really bothers us as well.

Yes, option 6 is on the bus route. I couldn't walk to the shops / library there, but I could get a bus to them. Car ownership is a really big expense, I wish public transport was bigger round here. Just the cost of getting a (used) car that isn't falling apart is so expensive now.

Option 6.

You need money more than you need convenience. Plus any commute under 30 mins is very short - most people I know commute 45mins to 90mins.

If noise is a big issue for you you need to be clearer about how soundproof these houses actually are. From what you’ve said 4, 5 or 6 would be my choice in that order.

Load up the Area360 add-in for RM on Chrome, and evaluate the relative features of all - flood risk, EPC, crime rate, etc. Factor these into your decision.

Good luck, and well done for looking after your mental health. That's far more valuable than an aspirational home.

Options 4 or 5 for me

Well clearly option 5

1 is utterly useless (why the hassle of moving if it does fix the reasons you moved)

2 do NOT buy in a place spiraling downwards you will lose money, be miserable and end up stuck forever... we did that, got a massive detatched house in what became 'hell on earth' and doing that ruined our lives many years ago.

Neither 1 or 2 sound like real or viable options so just removed them:

3 sound like where I grew up, I had a wonderful life there but its now 'gentrified' and too expensive for us

4 and 6 sounds maybe comparable-ish to 3 so I understand why you would juggle between those three choices if those the where the only choices.

5 - OBVIOUS WINNER on every point, sounds great and ticks every box. I'm assuming you are the type 'scared' by older houses? since the others are less suitable but all newer, don't worry old houses are wonderful (I have spent half my life in Victorian houses and they are my favorite by far over mid-century and new build).

We never hear our neighbors in our Victorian terrace.

My husbands parents semi detached 60s house can hear every single food step of their neighbors though. Sounds like a heard of elephant and the neighbors are a little old couple not a loud boisterous household.

Without knowing your full circumstances, £6k seems like a fairly modest amount of debt. Can’t you consolidate it into one loan, paying off £100 or so a month? Isn’t that less hassle than moving?

I'm actually pleased to read that no one has suggested we should go for #1 (detached). It has appealed to my husband a lot because it's detached & he wouldn't need to worry about / avoid playing music on an evening, but I've kept having the feeling it isn't worth it because of all the other negatives. On other mumsnet threads I've read people saying detached is everything and to get one you'll never regret it, so that's what made me question it.

Thanks for the warning about an area going downhill. I guess I hadn't thought enough about it getting worse and worse.

The only negative with 5 is the parking - we don't know how much it'd bother us to park on the road, presuming we managed to keep having 1 car. We've always had a drive. We've driven past a few times now and sometimes there's parking gaps, sometimes not, but one car there is probably the current owner's.

I wouldn't say I'm scared of Victorian houses, I think they're beautiful, I just have never lived in one so no point of reference. Some people say they're noisy, others say they're not noisy at all. I've read they're cold / expensive to heat and get a lot of spiders... both things that worry me a little bit!

I thought I knew party wall noise in 60s houses was fine, based on experiences living in them growing up, but our current house (early 60s) has shown that's not always the case. It creeps me out when I hear the neighbours sneeze and it sounds like it's almost next to me.

We're going to try to view #5 in the next few days, I can't call the agents until they open again tomorrow. Lots of positive comments about #5.

We have now viewed #3 and it was beautiful inside. But, we're questioning two things about it:

1. There's a bus stop right in front of it, we don't know if that'd be very noisy and would bother us.
2. If you walk for a few mins down the road you get to a park. My husband's heard it has a reputation for drug use. We drove past this park at night at there were two people stood on the corner, looking like they were waiting for a car, and they looked like they could be addicts, by the way they were dressed and they looked very gaunt. This wasn't directly outside the house, it was 5 mins walk from it. In the daytime, the park has plenty of kids in there playing.

We're going to see #4 soon and I'm going to ask to view #5 when estate agents open again tomorrow.