Please help us decide between these two houses

[Inneedofspace]

We are FTBs with young kids, who have always lived in a flat, so this would be our first house ever, and we are super excited (mostly about having a garden for the kids). Having always lived in a flat, we would love a detached property, but these are rare to come by within our budget, so we were thrilled to see one that matched our criteria recently (House 1, link below). We are obviously looking at all other houses in our area of interest, and we have found a lovely done-up semi-detached (House 2, also link below).

From what we can tell, house 1 will need some work done, but we are not sure about the extent of it, and how feasible that would be considering we are WFT and have young kids (we could stay in our rental for some time initially). House 2 seems ready to move in, but we are not sure if it would feel like we are living in someone else’s home (we will not have the money to change much unfortunately as it’s already at the top of our budget). We slightly prefer the location of House 2, but it will need to be extended some time down the line, as we would ideally need an extra room (so that the kids have separate rooms). We would probably prefer a terraced to a semi, just because a semi somehow seems like we are getting half of an ideal detached property (I am aware this probably sounds ridiculous to most…). We have viewings scheduled for both and are ready to make an offer, but not sure if we are considering everything here and if there is something crucial we are missing. We are somewhat familiar with both areas, schools and catchments, but the house itself is more difficult to judge, so we would appreciate any advice please. Which would you go for?

House 1: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/170883104#/?channel=RES_BUY
House 2: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/170881130#/?channel=RES_BUY

Thank you for any advice and thoughts.

Oh and it’s in catchment for Churchfields, it’ll be getting a lot of attention for that

That’s interesting. I also had a “no semis” rule at the very beginning of our search, but only for a few days, as the reality kicked in very fast. 😅 I will try to make myself do what you are suggesting as I am definitely prone to saying “nope” very quickly while scrolling through the listings. Thank you for the advice.

Thank you, it does make sense, and we definitely need to be doing more viewings it seems. There was one particular house in the past that we failed to view as we were not sure it would be in the catchment of a school we wanted (it most probably will continue to be, but there was a slight risk of not getting in), and I regretted it later, as it probably was worth a risk. It was pretty much perfect, so I catch myself comparing new houses to that one, which I realise is a dumb thing to do.

We think that all three major locations that we are currently looking at have everything we need (safe, family friendly, good schools, good connections to work, decent amenities nearby). So, no, it doesn’t have to be South Woodford. I don’t really understand when people want to live only in one very specific postcode or even narrowing it further down to a street they want to be on (unless other things are important, like being close to family), but to each their own, I guess.

OP how many houses have you actually viewed? I've always known as soon as I walk in the door whether the house is 'the one' but inevitably there is usually a compromise somewhere along the line! I and the family have moved six times.

Seven so far. Is that a very small number by most people’s standards? How many houses do people normally see before finding “the one”?

Oh, wow, six times! I understand needing to move for various reasons, but I don’t think I will ever want to move just so I can get an upgrade, though, who knows, maybe that will change in the years to come.

I'd go for house 2.

House 1 is not detached. I don't like the look of house 1 at all. I'm not keen on the extension - I prefer rooms to be symmetrical. It needs quite a bit of work and it looks like it's a shared garden at the back, although I'm sure that's easily sorted with a fence. But, house 2 is beautiful! The outside and inside have kerb appeal and you can just move in and live your life. I also checked out the local primary school for house 2, which looks amazing, so that would seal the deal for me.

I do think you're right about the danger of holding out for the 'perfect' house... you could add years onto your house search doing this. But only you and your DH will know if that's worth it for you.

What's your gut telling you?

What are the other schools like outside of the catchment areas? I think it’s worth considering that sometimes what you think is the best school for your child doesn’t turn out to be the right one for them once you start looking. Is it just ofsted outstanding versus good or is it a good school versus a very rough/ deprived school. Ofsted ratings change, heads come and go etc etc. sometimes it’s important to consider other things like whether it’s in walking distance, afterschool provision, secondary school catchment and importantly the type
of house you can afford in that catchment area.

I think I went to see about 20! I was moving with then finance from a flat to our first house. Couldn’t afford the dream in my head and it took that many to work out what mattered most to be and also that I really wasn’t ever going to find a golden unicorn of a house.

My gut is not telling me anything… I don’t really know, I’m very confused as I really thought we had it narrowed down to those two, but now I’m just lost. I am also afraid that House 2 will leave us with no money to do or fix anything as it is at the very extent of our budget already, and people are telling me it is not a good idea to go there.

All schools around here are either good or outstanding. We are mostly looking at those that are well-regarded in the area, but that is not to say that other schools that we have not considered would not be a good fit as well. I don’t know really, the more I look and research, the more confused I am. I sometimes wish there was only one choice and no other options. 😅

That’s a lot of houses! I see what you mean, and I am no longer sure if we have our priorities right.

So I'm not trying to encourage you to spend more than you feel comfortable with, but you can also look at it as house 1 is cheaper but has a number of unknowns. Don't get me wrong, it has potential, but I think quite a few people saying you can easily do that work inexpensively might not be in London, and a lot will depend on finding decent builders who actually show up and whether you need steels etc. House 2 seems to be pretty much what you see is what you get, subject to survey, of course.

And this might just be something that bothers me, but I really don't like the level change into the kitchen or the location of that ground floor toilet. I'd be wanting to get that moved around asap. Will those things bother you? For me, those plus the renovation costs plus the location would be in cons column.

I still think you need to go see them in person.

You don't have to pay the asking price certainly not in this day and age when it is a buyers market. Don't write it off before actually viewing it.

Good point!

I would widen your search to include catchment for other schools then and see if you can find something more suitable for your needs.
I'd much prefer a bigger house on a quiet road and an ofsted "good" primary than the most desired school.

Just a quick update for all of those who wondered what happened in the end.

So, DH went to see the area around House 1 during rush hour yesterday, and he said it was fairly busy like some of you had already mentioned. He said he could not imagine us living on such a busy road with the little ones, so it was a no from him based on that, and we cancelled our viewing appointment. I think it wouldn’t bother me personally, but we said if one of us “vetoed” something, then we would drop it. As for House 2, it was as pretty as the photos, and many people viewed it (multiple at the same time, so felt a bit hectic). The EA said they had already received some offers, and it seems there might be some over the asking price (it is listed as OIEO). We decided to not offer as we can only do the asking price at best and are definitely not going to engage in any bidding wars or similar, so there does not seem to be point in offering.

Thank you so much for all your help and advice, we really appreciate it. ❤️

House 1. It’s detached.

The other one has neighbors directly the other side of the main bedroom walls, so regardless of finish, it’s already massively inferior and there’ll be nothing you can do about it should you be unfortunate enough to have noisy neighbours.

House 1 by a mile. So much more flexibility with the different rooms and definite potential to extend if you wanted to. It’s above house. I’d always go for a detached if you can as well.

House 1.

The third bedroom in house 2 is basically a walk-in closet.

House 1 is in lovely shape. I was expecting a dump from your description. Get someone knowledgeable to walk around it with you and spot any 'deferred maintenance' issues.

Just saw your update - your H is being a nervous nelly.

He’s correct, though. I know the area and the road and commented earlier that I wouldn’t be happy living on a busy main road. I think it’s a reasonable red line to have.

Both nice houses but you have shops opposite house 1 and one of those a chippie. Might be worth visiting at different times to see if there is an issue with traffic, smell etc.