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This or that? Detached house vs semi detached

39 replies

mumma24 · 14/02/2026 07:09

What are your thoughts? Which would you opt for?

Victorian semi has character, on 3 floors, 4 double bedrooms, lovely hallway, high ceilings. Longer narrower garden. . Parking may be an issue as only one space, no garage.

detached is 1960s, 3 double bedrooms, in cul de sac with garage and parking for 2 cars, quiet area, kitchen and dining room at the back could be knocked through to make one larger room. Small garden.

both same price

OP posts:
xOlive · 14/02/2026 07:11

I would have said detached but the Victorian semi sounds wonderful! Is street parking an
option for additional cars?

YouDriveMeCrazyButICanDoThatMyself · 14/02/2026 07:13

Always the detached house.

After the misfortune of living next to neighbours with loud tvs in my last two attached houses (Victorian end Terrance and 60’s semi) I will never live attached again.

tirednessbecomesme · 14/02/2026 07:13

Always detached

mumma24 · 14/02/2026 07:15

@xOlive yes there’s some parking in the street No permit needed, just could be further down from the house. Lovely village too

OP posts:
whirlyhead · 14/02/2026 07:16

I live in a detached house and it’s a lot noisier than my Victorian terrace was. There are always people in their gardens playing loud music, mowing the lawn or using leaf blowers, plus the loud outdoor conversations. And I have a really big garden too.

WingingIt09 · 14/02/2026 07:16

Always detached! After compromising with a semi-detached to get a nicer house and now having party wall issues with the neighbour when trying to do some work… I seriously wish we’d gone for the smaller house and been detached!

Ilikewinter · 14/02/2026 07:17

100% detached

Twiglets1 · 14/02/2026 07:39

Depends how many children you have.

Unless you need 4 bedrooms I would opt for the 3 bed detached house.

xOlive · 14/02/2026 07:46

mumma24 · 14/02/2026 07:15

@xOlive yes there’s some parking in the street No permit needed, just could be further down from the house. Lovely village too

If it was a new build, I’d say detached because my new build walls are like paper.
The high ceilings and long garden alone would sell it to me 🥲 it sounds beautiful, especially being in a lovely village!
Could you get a feel for the neighbours? See if they’re likely to be noisy people?

treeowl · 14/02/2026 07:49

I’m not someone who prizes detached over everything else so I would go for the semi. It sounds nicer.

mumma24 · 14/02/2026 07:50

@Twiglets1 4 adult children, 2 still living at home. no grandchildren,

OP posts:
TubeScreamer · 14/02/2026 07:51

Detached every time

cornbunting · 14/02/2026 07:51

"quiet with parking" = easier life day to day, so I'd pick the detached on that basis

MikeRafone · 14/02/2026 07:53

I’d go for the detached property and 1960s warmer property with lower heating bills. Even if it’s not insulated now, it’ll be easier to insulate to get a far better ECP than the Victorian semi. Having a drive to park on rather than hunt the space, unless you rarely use the car

Seaitoverthere · 14/02/2026 07:58

I’ve spent most of my life in detached houses. With 4 adult children and 2 at home I would go for the semi though parking would worry me a bit.

We only have 2 children, 1 at home and likely to be for the foreseeable future and have gone semi this time. Have had issues with the neighbours as ended up with people who were effectively squatting (complicated situation) but that house is under new ownership now.

It is so good being to be able to accommodate everyone with privacy. When DD and partner come back to stay the house absorbs them and with other DD unable to leave we all have privacy which we all really value. Absolutely worth the trade off for detached in my opinion despite what happened with next door.

LibertyLily · 14/02/2026 10:03

I love period houses (have never owned anything newer than Victorian) and the semi sounds lovely....

But having relocated from a detached in a cheaper part of the UK, back home to a more expensive area in 2024, we had to compromise by buying a Georgian semi in order to get something in a lovely location. Imo, we made a mistake settling for an attached property.

Four out of the most recent six houses we've owned were detached (the others were a large six-bed Victorian semi and five-bed Georgian end-of-terrace), so we've not really been used to neighbour noise. Additionally, our last house was semi-rural with only two close-ish neighbours.

I'm extremely noise sensitive and whilst our Georgian cottage has thick walls, I do hear some sounds from our one attached side (mostly windows being opened/closed, very occasionally music). We deliberately sited our TV on the opposite side of the cottage so any noise we make shouldn't bother our neighbour.

DH is a bit deaf so he doesn't notice any noise, but once our renovation is completed, we've decided we'll sell and will only consider a detached property.

So, I think if I had to choose one of those @mumma24 it would be the detached 1960s house.

berkshirecat · 14/02/2026 10:08

Always the Victorian one with character!

Advocodo · 14/02/2026 10:28

2nd house with parking for 2 cars, hubby would want the garage, I would want the knocked through Dinning room/kitchen at the back of the house so easy access to the garden, quiet curl de sac and finally it’s detached. Wouldn’t want 3 storey unless I had teenagers and lots of overnight visitors.

Buscobel · 14/02/2026 11:03

Detached with garage and parking.

Didimum · 14/02/2026 11:09

I’ll always choose the period property. Anything later than possibly 30s leave me cold. Such a personal preference though. Semis and tricky parking has never bothered me. Whereas living in a modern house every day makes me sad.

EmeraldDreams73 · 14/02/2026 11:14

I've always lived in and loved period houses, compromising on many comforts to do so (currently on 14th renovation...) Now I'm seriously considering giving up and going for something more modern to free up some money and help with monthly bills. If finances are a concern for you too, look at running costs and council tax bands.

Otherwise, which matters most - practicality or aesthetics? I'd want the Victorian semi personally but age, exhaustion and finances now mean I'd probably reluctantly decide on the sensible detached!

Twiglets1 · 14/02/2026 12:12

mumma24 · 14/02/2026 07:50

@Twiglets1 4 adult children, 2 still living at home. no grandchildren,

If you only have 2 adult children living at home then it would be fine to buy a 3 bed house in my opinion.

In any case, your children are adults and so you don't really need to do anything purely on their behalf. Which house do you prefer? A consideration could also be which house will be better for you as you age.

Raera · 14/02/2026 12:14

How many bathrooms?

Flukingflukes · 14/02/2026 12:36

Team detached, all the way.

Janeaway · 14/02/2026 12:38

Another saying detached.

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