Nice house, bad kitchen - should I buy it?

[Bananavibez]

Ive found a house I really like, but its 3 bedrooms with a terrible kitchen. Im a FTB with very minimal cash once the deposit is paid... Should I stay away?

And to add- the houses in Crookes and Walkley are very popular and still sought after

First off you need to check you could get a mortgage as that isn't a proper kitchen.

If you can: are you willing to put the kitchen in the dining room (with a table) and use the existing lean-to room as a utility/pantry?

I have a tiny kitchen however it's doable for me because it's the same as most other houses nearby plus I have a garage so I put the washing machine and tumble dryer in there. I have cooker, fridge freezer and dishwasher in my kitchen.

The thing with the house you're considering is that it appears the back door is one end. Having that tiny kitchen as a thoroughfare would drive me crazy.

I would keep looking.

I'd be more concerned about the pretend wall behind the sink

I think it depends on your local area. My sister lives in a terraced house very similar. The whole area has houses like it and they sell quickly (Sheffield). I wouldn't buy it but I moved to the middle of nowhere to get a big house. All depends on what we can live with.

Could the dining room become a kitchen diner and the kitchen a utility room, obviously not now but in the future.

I think that might just be a stud to cover the window to give a 'tall wall" on that side. Possibly a fridge freezer went there? (you can see a cable wrapped around the front of the sink unit. However, I agree the house gives a bit of a "bodged DIY" vibe. Also, while it's in general a small house, so I wouldn't expect a huge kitchen, this one is always going to be tricky just because it's both narrow (couldn't have units on both long walls unless one side v shallow) and has a load of doors and windows which limit unit/ appliance placement.

However, I guess it's a question of who buys these houses and are they actually priced as 3 beds (bedrooms must be minute if it's only a 2 storey house). If it's mainly singles/ couples who have open planned the GF and then use one bedroom as an office, one as a spare, then it could work.

I'd be interested in sewing the whole house on rightmove

My daughter has a house with similar layout and it’s lovely. The kitchen is at the front (your sitting room) and the sitting room flows from it into what is your dining room, with no wall between the two. Then there is a utility at the back which is entirely separate. There are two bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs. One is used as an office for wfh, and in the lift conversion is a large bedroom with en suite, which she and her partner use.

it works well for them. She bought it ready converted though. If you have no budget for that it might be better to look elsewhere, as it will cost a bit to get it done from scratch.

Op your a first time buyer with a minimal deposit. House prices are falling. Could you not wait and build a bit more deposit ? You might do much better for your money by holding off for a while. If prices fell 10%to 20% in the next year that could be a lot more than your rent for the period. That kitchen is going to make it tough to sell when the time comes.

wrong thread!

London, houses split in half and turned into weird shaped three floors, Tetris shaped?

that’s what vibe I’m getting

They are not falling that much

That’s my house! the kitchen was made from the outside lav and the coal bunker Cold in winter and boiling in summer.

Do you need a dining room ?

I would consider, in time, fitting/putting a kitchen into the dining room and having my table and chairs in what is currently the kitchen.

tho of course you would have a plumbing cost as there is currently no water in the dining room.

is there a back door tho ( as I don't see it in the photo/floor plan )

and I admit I don't know if the current kitchen is actually big enough for a table and chairs and for people to be able to actually sit at the table ?

and @ThaneOfGlamis makes a very good point !

Its just getting started I fear

No I wouldn't want to live with that kitchen.

Looks ok for now but get a free standing cooker. It'll be ok. I'm oldie and have cooked fine in this type of kitchen. You can have all the great stuff later, probably in the dining room and use this room as a utility with laundry and storage units.

If you really love the house, then yes you could turn the dining room into the kitchen. Can you turn the kitchen into a pantry / utility with a downstairs loo right at the end?

how Many will be in this home?

it seems very very cramped and that kitchen? Heavens

Depends on the money every time. I've cooked for 10/11 in that size and smaller. It's seating/standing room that's the issue.

I’d walk away. I wouldn’t consider that room to be a kitchen at all. It’s just a tiny room with a sink.

Jas it already been heavily discounted,can you offer less to take into consideration the cost of a new kitchen ?

It’s workable for a single person / couple. Less so with kids. It’s mortgageable from a space/ amenity perspective (former mortgage valuation surveyor here).

The thing I’d be looking at is the construction of the kitchen, could be a single brick (known as single skin; typically 115cm thick-ish) and that would be flagged on mortgage application. It’ll be cold and prone to damp.