Which house to go with? So confused!

[chelseaflowershow]

DH and I are downsizing from a fairly big house. We have two that we can offer on and I cannot choose between them, can you help me choose?

House P
3 bed detached with integral garage - 22 years old
Recent new kitchen, bathrooms, flooring (it’s really lovely and decorated to my taste already.
All open plan which I feel may be chilly in the winter. Lounge flows into dining area then into the kitchen. Could possibly hang a door to close the kitchen off. Separate utility.
Room sizes -
lounge 3.93 x 3.25m
Bedroom 1 - 3.63 x 2.73m
Bedroom 2 - 3.45 x 3.75m
Bedroom 3 - 2.98 x 1.89m
Kitchen is a galley kitchen and we can live with the size.
No internal door to integral garage
combi boiler which is I assume older.
Lovely garden but is facing NW
315k

House F
3 bed semi, preferred street as the houses are prettier. 12 years old.
Traditional layout with hall leading through to kitchen with lounge off the hall where you can close doors making it cosy
a small conservatory on the back with a solid roof. Okay garden but has steps down to detached garage.
not been modernised since built - would need a new kitchen, bathrooms, boiler etc. no utility room.
needs a good redecorate right through
again, kitchen and diner size is fine
room sizes
lounge - 4.90 x 3.37m
bedroom 1 - 3.68 x 2.48 as there is a fitted wardrobe in the room
bedroom 2 - 3.03 x 2.90m
bedroom 3 - 3.00 x 2.28m

this house has storage cupboards in the landing.

house p as the lounge is smaller we’ll need to reduce the size of our long 2.9m sofa by taking a section out. A chair will fit in the room too then
House f the sofa and chair fits the lounge
in both I have no idea where I’ll put a Christmas tree

I prefer the actual house P but the lounge is smaller but bedrooms bigger. I worry about having my adult kids around and not having enough room for everyone to sit.

Not keen on the layout of house p and I think having to access the garage by the up and over door (we’ll have to put the tumble dryer out there) will be a pain.

House F nicer layer layout and bigger lounge but we”ll need to spend a fortune on it to update the kitchen, bathrooms etc

ugh!! Any pointers please?

I don't think either of them sound right. Can you keep looking?

We need links to get a better grasp I'd say

F if you have to decide right now.
Accessing the garage to get to the tumble drier in P would become wearing, especially in winter.

I hate open plan so wouldn’t like the first. I’d also prioritise downstairs space over bedroom space. So I think the second sounds better but would depend on price difference and whether it would be too much.

Oh I forgot to say, house F is £310k so only 5k cheaper for a semi that would need a lot of work.

Id keep looking. But without links very hard to say to be honest

I thought it was mandatory to have a fire door between the house and an integral garage? Has it been removed - or have I misunderstood?

Both sound really small and putting a door on the kitchen will make it feel even smaller! What sq ft are they? Tumble dryer in garage? Only if it’s a proper laundry area.

A house that’s 12 years old ‘needs’ a new kitchen and bathroom? The world’s gone mad.

Where are you looking roughly ? and what are your criteria for bedrooms etc ? Had a hard week and could do with a nice calming property search 😁

There was never a door between the garage and the house at all. It was built this way. Only access is through the garage door.

i can’t link them sorry as they aren’t on the property portals yet, they are ‘coming soon’ and I’ve seen estate agent reels that are on socials. Ive been able to ascertain the room sizes from previous sales or houses of this type.

How bad can the kitchen and bathroom in house F be given it's only 12 years old?

I read it as the garage not having a door (or doorway) into the house - so you have to go outside to access the garage?

OP, the way you've described them, the first house sounds much nicer, and from description alone I'd choose that. But I don't understand how the second house needs so much work doing if it's only 12 years old!

P.
Knock out a door to the garage.
You can easily divide the open plan using French doors and minimal walls.

Are they both the same Council tax band?

I agree.

House P sounds better and much less hassle. You can always get a new sofa I wouldn't get hung up on that. There are ways to divide the space a bit eg with furniture. You can get really good washer dryers these days no need to trek to the garage.

We could buy a proper insulated garden office type building to keep a tumble dryer and extra freezer in.

it’s just the smaller lounge that I’m a bit hung up on, I imagine trying to squeeze all the family in at Christmas or birthdays. Most of the time though itll just be me and DH and he reasons if we can’t fit into a 3 bed detached there’s something wrong. These houses are designed for families!

House F definitely will need new kitchen and bathrooms very soon, I’ve seen some latest pics and it’s very tired.

“Not keen on the layout of house p”

Theres your answer. You don’t like P.

Go for F, or keep looking.

Given the choice, I’d go for F as I don’t like open plan houses.

Detached rather than the semi. I wouldn’t want a level of noise that could come from an attached neighbour.

@chelseaflowershow They aren’t very big though. The first one is tiny really. Modern idea of a family - 2 tiny dc and no friends up visitors. People do get spaced out with open plan though. They don’t all sit in a lounge where you don’t have enough seating!

Personally I think you will have to wait until you have seen both in the flesh. It's very difficult to know without having been inside.

Why does house F need so much work if it’s only 12 years old?

Floor plans for each

Sq ft of each?

House P. You don’t want to be doing loads of work. My grandmother had a small living room and you know what? All 14 of us grandkids, our 8 combined parents and my nan all managed to fit in and have a raucous time at Christmas. Wasn’t an issue.

Also at some point the baton is meant to pass and your kids are meant to host you!