More space than we need and iffy neighbour.

[Tootsiroll]

A quick bit of advice if you would be so kind.

My partner and I are looking to buy, we never thought we'd have the opportunity to purchase our own home but since moving to Wales it's actually a realistic posibillity.

In the past we've always lived in small, one bedroom flats, even when we were sharing we stuck to a one bedroom to save on money. We don't have a lot of stuff, we don't have kids and we don't enjoy gardening so we've never needed a lot of space. We currently rent a two bedroom house as there weren't a lot of options when we were moving and honestly we got so much more for our money here that we decided we didn't need to stick to a one bedroom property any more. After moving in though I feel we rattle around in it a fair bit and never really expanded into the space.

I've been looking at the local property market since March and we're both keen to make things happen this year. While we're doing this together my partner is happy for me to narrow down the choices and so far it's been going fairly well.

Recently a house has come on to the market that is much more than we were looking for in terms of space. Three bedroom, two reception rooms, bathroom, shower room, dining room, kitchen.....I mean it's so much space....what do you do with two reception rooms when you're use to your kitchen and living room being one space? And a dining room....we eat off of our laps while sitting on the sofa. On the plus side the layout is great, it's still got it's internal walls rather than being made open plan which is quite a common thing for houses around here and is something I personally don't like.... it's just....there's just so much space.

I don't know if we should get as much as we can that's within our budget or look for what we need even though the price difference is marginal. Would the upkeep of a larger house be that much more? It's a higher council tax band, water isn't metered and is instead based on house size, plus houses here are old so insulation is an issue...would we be paying a lot more on heating come winter?

The only other niggle is the neighbour on one side. I'm happy for people to live as they please but one of the neighbours (It's a terrace) is really shabby and run down. There's no window coverings and you can see each room is piled high with stuff. They don't let it spill out into the garden but of all the houses in the row that one stands out as being in very poor condition (Think rotten windows, peeling paint, the white door is literally green with growth etc). The person living there is lovely though (it's a small world is all I'll say)

Thoughts?

The problem.with a neglected house in a terrace is the impact on you . If garden is very neglected it can attract rats . If house not heated or aired the damp can affect your property.

Thinking if this is a relative you could offer to help them . Clean windows, stick up curtains to hide mess , wash front door .
Sounds like a lovely house but also hard to maintain heat , etc.

Doesn't sound the house for you. What about it makes you think it is?
Personally as far as space goes I'd prefer mostly open plan because then at least you use the space. :)
If it were me I'd keep looking. The only thing being I suppose is often houses have more bedrooms than you might want but will be cheaper than a lesser bedroom house because of quantity availability?

Keep looking ...... something will come up.

It wouldn’t be the space that would bother me, but the condition of the house next door certainly would. You don’t know what impact the neglect has had and may have in the future, on the property you’re considering. You have to consider a future sale too, if you wanted to move.

We recently did a similar more- 2 bed flat to a large, 4 bed house with a massive garden. Ours is detached though.

Spare rooms are handy when friends/family stay, otherwise, they just sit there. I only need to vacuum/clean there occasionally. 1 reception room is a gym/games room. Another has lots of indoor plants and its a lovely room to sit in to read or do hobbies. We have an open kitchen/lounge and DH and I live in there 90% of the time.

The space wouldn't worry me- the neighbouring house with no upkeep would. Personally, I'd take a 2 bed detached over a 3 bed terrace with a rotting house next door.

You'd find something to fill the space with, hobbies or offices or similar.

But the neighbour would put me off. I lived beside an uncared for home. They hoarded too. Initially we thought them harmless but their property neglect ended up in us having damp and leaks (they eventually agreed to pay for) and mice. They also became more and more bonkers and whilst never aggressive, they were difficult to live beside.

You'll find somewhere else though. It sounds like you have a good idea of what you are and aren't looking for.

The neighbour would put me off for certain. Many of these houses have gaps between the attics so if neighbour gets a rodent, so do you.

Is it an old terraced house? If so, they're much harder to renovate or do any DIY on than a newer property - think black mortar in the walls, uneven floors and walls and potential damp. Bear that in mind too.

I've 75% convinced myself the house is not for us.

While I was quite vocal about the excess of space, the prospect of having it did let my imagination go on a flight of fancy. I could imagine a more formal, fancy front room that people saw with a wood burner, pictures on the wall, books on the shelf, all very neat and presentable. Then another cosy, slightly scruffy but well used back room that we would use that people wouldn't see (I'm basically living my great grandparents best life) Then a small dining table with room for a Welsh dresser, eating Christmas dinner, having company over for dinner, all very civilised and swanky.

My partner was very interested in turning the smallest bedroom into a gaming room where he can have his gaming consoles set up rather than packing them away when not in use. All while still having a second bedroom for guests to stay in or maybe even for a future family (We're both open to kids but both agree it might not happen either)

All that being said, I also know that a smaller house would give us what we need. Not all houses here went open plan, some still have the orignal floor plan, or maybe I can find one with potential and turn it into what I want it to be.

Food for thought.

That sounds lovely. There are plenty of terraced houses around but be very choosy which area - the Valleys especially for instance have a lot of deprivation which often, sadly, leads to social problems.