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Original poster

House move - please help

46 replies

SilverDoublet · 13/05/2025 13:18

Would you move to a house if it ticked all the boxes - location, schools, transport links, size, bedrooms, side access, walk in condition, but just happened to be quite ugly and tightly packed in an estate. It is detached though. Neither of us are in love with it, but it ticks all our boxes. Help!! Estate agent expects us to put in an offer today...

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sesquipedalian · 13/05/2025 13:20

Depends how desperate I was to move, and what the time constraints are. If you are thinking this of the house, so will others. Is there any way you could improve the appearance - plants/window boxes etc?

Advocodo · 13/05/2025 14:18

Depends on low long I had been looking and how quickly I needed to move.

Original poster
SilverDoublet · 13/05/2025 14:22

We've been looking for 4 years... Nothing has come up that ticked as many boxes without compromising on location or transport links...

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Original poster
SilverDoublet · 13/05/2025 14:23

Also kids are almost teenagers, so may need the space soon...

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housethatbuiltme · 13/05/2025 14:27

The house I am buying wouldn't have been my 'dream house'. It looks very characterless (its post WW1 but built surrounded by beautiful Victorian building which really shows just how much of a plain box it is) but after 2 years, a dozen failed offers and 2 house sale falling through... its big enough and we know the area is decent so fuck it it will have to do.

It becomes a case of et what you can get when you need to move.

andtheworldrollson · 13/05/2025 14:34

Depends - there are usually compromises when but a house unless you are loaded - if you are not in a rush, and housing stock you might prefer will come on the market at a price you can afford , then wait

but mostly for this stage of your life practical beats heart

ForRealThisTime · 13/05/2025 14:53

With all kindness, if you have been looking for four years then it is likely that you can’t afford what you want and will need to make compromises. This is the compromise- go for it.

Watellz · 13/05/2025 15:04

It doesn't matter if / when the estate expects you to put an offer in. If you're not ready, then wait.

Have you considered putting in a low offer? If successful it might ease the discomfort of not being in love with the property.

Original poster
SilverDoublet · 13/05/2025 22:46

housethatbuiltme · 13/05/2025 14:27

The house I am buying wouldn't have been my 'dream house'. It looks very characterless (its post WW1 but built surrounded by beautiful Victorian building which really shows just how much of a plain box it is) but after 2 years, a dozen failed offers and 2 house sale falling through... its big enough and we know the area is decent so fuck it it will have to do.

It becomes a case of et what you can get when you need to move.

Edited

Sounds like you've been through a lot. We are getting to that stage too. I'm really fed up looking as almost nothing ticks all our boxes, until this ugly but expensive house came up. My husband said he wouldn't be showing it to his friends 😆

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Ariela · 13/05/2025 23:07

Can you change it in any way to improve it's look?

Original poster
SilverDoublet · 13/05/2025 23:12

Ariela · 13/05/2025 23:07

Can you change it in any way to improve it's look?

Probably not, without planning permission

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Ariela · 13/05/2025 23:33

I suppose you can always say 'I don't have to look at it when I'm inside, and the inside is just what we want'

CarpetKnees · 13/05/2025 23:41

If you've been looking for four years, then yes, I would.

Funnily enough I was chatting to someone today about house buying and how most of us are never likely to be in a position to buy a house that is absolutely perfect in all ways. You can only choose from what is available at the time you are looking. You would have to be very fortunate to be in a position to buy just at the time "the perfect house" came on the market, at the right price and with all your boxes ticked.

Original poster
SilverDoublet · 14/05/2025 13:07

ForRealThisTime · 13/05/2025 14:53

With all kindness, if you have been looking for four years then it is likely that you can’t afford what you want and will need to make compromises. This is the compromise- go for it.

What we want is rare, in our area. A 5 bed that doesn't need to be completely gutted. Our budget is very good, they just don't come up often.. Maybe one or two per year.

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TheNightingalesStarling · 14/05/2025 13:13

My only concern is you describe it as "packed in". I realised I need a house with natural light when living on a new build estate as the houses were too closely packed together. (Made my depression really bad) However if it has a reasonable size garden it would be OK

andtheworldrollson · 14/05/2025 13:27

So there have been 5 to 8 houses that fully meet your spec over the last 4 years and you haven’t secured any of them ? Why not ?

BarneyRonson · 14/05/2025 13:32

I think ugly on the outside is modifiable with a budget. But tightly packed on an estate sounds a bit odd.. is it a cramped garden situation and being very overlooked? I live in a terrace on a street, so I guess that coukd be construed as tightly packed? But we are very happy and comfortable as we have nice and quiet neighbours and no dogs around. Are you used to living detached with grounds?

Watellz · 16/05/2025 05:39

Don't buy a house you'll be embarrassed to be associated with.

dogcatkitten · 16/05/2025 05:52

In what way is it ugly? I don't like the sound of being 'packed in', is it over looked all round with no privacy? That would be a no for me. And if it's so ugly your DH wouldn't bring friends over it sounds like a no go.

Sounds like you might have to look slightly further away from your preferred location and cope with the extra travelling if property is so scarce and you have very specific requirements. Or bite the bullet and go for a bit of a development project.

Twiglets1 · 16/05/2025 07:00

SilverDoublet · 13/05/2025 13:18

Would you move to a house if it ticked all the boxes - location, schools, transport links, size, bedrooms, side access, walk in condition, but just happened to be quite ugly and tightly packed in an estate. It is detached though. Neither of us are in love with it, but it ticks all our boxes. Help!! Estate agent expects us to put in an offer today...

Don't worry about what the EA expects or wants ... take the time you need to make a decision on this house.

It doesn't sound quite right for you as you are both being so derogatory about it. But ... 4 years is a very long time to be looking and not finding anything suitable. It sounds like maybe you have not been realistic about what you can afford.

At the end of the day it is better to buy a house that meets your family needs than one that looks great. But in 4 years of looking, have there really not been any that have enough bedrooms and look nice too?

GemmaCalmDown · 16/05/2025 08:12

Having lived on 2 estates where they were packed in, even though they were detached with a 1m path either side for each house the main things to consider are parking and if there is enough, definitely look in the evening after everyone has returned home and the weekend.

The other one is what you can see from the rooms you spend most time in. For us that was the lounge, kitchen and garden. So always on my checklist when I am viewing a property is what can I see when I sit on the sofas and look out of the window? What is my view like?

How overlooked do you feel in the garden? Would you be comfortable sitting out? Is it hilly or all flat so no houses are domineering others?

Have you put an offer in? Can you check these things?

Original poster
SilverDoublet · 16/05/2025 09:10

Twiglets1 · 16/05/2025 07:00

Don't worry about what the EA expects or wants ... take the time you need to make a decision on this house.

It doesn't sound quite right for you as you are both being so derogatory about it. But ... 4 years is a very long time to be looking and not finding anything suitable. It sounds like maybe you have not been realistic about what you can afford.

At the end of the day it is better to buy a house that meets your family needs than one that looks great. But in 4 years of looking, have there really not been any that have enough bedrooms and look nice too?

Show quote history

It's just that it is quite difficult to find a 5 bed in our area, we don't want a big project and would like not to have a North facing garden again. Also need parking. So that makes it difficult.

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pinkdelight · 16/05/2025 09:38

The exterior of the house wouldn't bother me at all, I'm inside most of the time and almost never out front admiring what my house exterior looks like. Tightly packed is also balanced by the detached. Terraces are more tightly packed and are fine to live in. It does feel like if you've been looking for four years and this ticks all the important boxes - size, location, price etc - then if you're bumping on these less important issues then you're always going to find some problem and never going to find the right house. There are always compromises with homes unless you're vastly minted and can buy or build whatever you please. These compromises are minor and won't make a different to your day-to-day family life in your home. They wouldn't for me anyway and after four years I'd buy something with bigger compromises just to get onto the next phase of living.

PattySupper · 16/05/2025 09:51

Put a picture of the front into Chat GPT and see what it comes up with. Might be able to pretty it up a bit?

Original poster
SilverDoublet · 16/05/2025 11:19

pinkdelight · 16/05/2025 09:38

The exterior of the house wouldn't bother me at all, I'm inside most of the time and almost never out front admiring what my house exterior looks like. Tightly packed is also balanced by the detached. Terraces are more tightly packed and are fine to live in. It does feel like if you've been looking for four years and this ticks all the important boxes - size, location, price etc - then if you're bumping on these less important issues then you're always going to find some problem and never going to find the right house. There are always compromises with homes unless you're vastly minted and can buy or build whatever you please. These compromises are minor and won't make a different to your day-to-day family life in your home. They wouldn't for me anyway and after four years I'd buy something with bigger compromises just to get onto the next phase of living.

Yes I've been trying to tell my husband that. He's brought up a whole set of new issues with the house - it's ugly, too dark inside (current house is exceptionally bright with large windows). The last one he hated the large astro turfed garden, and also thought the house was too ugly, but now he thinks it was better than this one.... This one is a lot more expensive than last house we looked at, but the location and size is amazing for us.

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