Which property, A or B?

[Mamma44848]

We’re struggling to decide between these two houses. They have nearly identical layouts, both detached and are in a similar quiet areas, similarly priced. This is likely to be a 5-10 move depending on personal circumstances.

House A
Pluses

• 5 mins from local shop, safe walk for kids
• 5 mins from bus stop (distance is important because of disabilities and small kids)
• 5 mins from planned community centre (not yet built)
• large garden (south-east facing), essentially a blank canvas (and with no shade)
• Front of house is a green strip that won’t be developed on. No through road, sort of tucked away. Safe for kids who might try to dash out the door. The town as a whole is a bit rough so maybe fewer opportunistic thieves would come this way.
• Front faces another house but at a distance. Back garden is surrounded by neighbouring back gardens so not too overlooked, feels very open.
• Playground round the corner for young and older kids. (Not amazing)

Minuses

• close to a field popular with walkers, lots of foot traffic in front
• field could potentially be developed on, though there is a lot of other land further away that is already earmarked
• layout has a couple of things - combined toilet/utility room is not ideal. Kitchen leads into the back garden so all the mess from kids goes straight into the kitchen.
• internal decor shows a lack of finesse or care, slap-dash painting, weird DIY jobs, lots of bits need to be touched up. For a relatively new house it is very well lived in (owners have young kids and dogs). Decor is also not to my taste, doesn’t match our furniture, but it’s otherwise a blank canvas. We are unlikely to be able to devote much time or money to decorating so we’ll have to live with it.
• Newish estate, trees are still saplings, not much community feel yet.

House B
Pluses:

• Layout is slightly better - it has a separate utility room with a door to the back garden which we’d really like because of messy kids.
• Garden is a plus/minus - north facing so mostly shaded which I didn’t like initially, but given this summer a north facing garden might be better for kids as they could use all day without worrying about sun and UV.
• Internal decor is lovely, very well looked after by the same owners for 20 years, no touch-ups needed.
• Maturer estate, 20 years old, lovely community, neighbours have mostly been here since the development was built, mature trees throughout, toddler playground on an island in front with lots of trees so it’s a bit more private.
• Prefer the look of the house externally but it’s not a deal-breaker House A is lovely too.
• 15-20 mins walk to another development with a few more amenities and a lovely large park. House A is about 40 mins walk. No direct buses there from either house.

Minuses

• No pavement in front of house, front door leads straight onto road which is quiet-ish. Safety could be managed by only using the back door with kids.
• Garden is completely paved over (presume it’s hard to grow much) and has a very raised deck (to get more sun presumably) with concrete steps, not as pleasant or safe for kids. Unsure whether we would have the inclination to rip everything out or just try to live with it. Also faces the side wall of another house which somehow makes it feel very enclosed - sitting in the garden you would basically be looking at a big wall. It’s a nice garden otherwise and built for entertaining adults rather than for kids.
• 15-20 mins walk from the same shop as House A and need to cross a busy main road (hard with disabilities/children)
• 10-15 mins walk to bus stop (same bus route as House A)
• House is a couple of rows away from a main road - not too busy usually but when there are issues on the motorway, traffic tends to divert to this road.
• On the other side of this road is land earmarked for another housing development. I think noise and dust won’t be that noticeable from where the house is but I don’t really know.
• Playground is for small kids only and old - other small playgrounds are dotted around.

So if it’s about location, location, location, I think House A wins. If it’s about the house itself House B is better, though the garden is different to what we envisaged. If it’s about a nice friendly community House B wins.

But as it’s also a 5-10y house then we need to think about resaleability - again the houses are quite similar so I think selling will come down to similar things we are considering, like location and garden.

DH favours House B because it’s very well looked after and he thinks we can make do with the other things - the relative distances are not that big and he doesn’t mind driving or cycling. I favour House A for the large garden for the kids and closeness to shops and bus stop when I’m dragging unwilling kids along with me, and even if the decor is imperfect it’s still a step up from where we are now.

Would love any thoughts!

I would be concerned about future building development . They absolutely change the feel of a place. Traffic is an issue from many perspectives; safety, noise, parking.

On my estate we found that lots of the key worker properties got sold on as investments after the original families outgrew them. Small two bed new builds tend to have more churn that estates or streets on estates with larger homes.

I would go for the nicer garden but look at where and what the trees are. My estate was built around an oak. With no competition for light it’s grown quickly and my south facing garden gets less light in afternoon every year.

House A sounds much better in terms of its location. Things that aren't to your liking seem to be fixable.

I don't like the sound of House B being so close to thr road that your children will have to go out of the back door. That could become a bone of contention when you come to sell on.

would you be able to post the links because it's very difficult to try and imagine your descriptions?

Not true, many areas in the UK once known as dangerous dumps are now "trendy" and flats are six times the price they used to be.

Location all the way. House A. That's reinforced by what you've said about how often you use the bus, time mattering and so forth.

Contrary to what some social media would have you believe, decorating doesn't need to cost thousands. Painting is cheap, and relatively quick. And it doesn't have to all be done at once.

Digging up a garden, putting the work into sorting out the soil so you can grow things, and then growing them is expensive and bloody hard work. Or, if someone else does it for you, very expensive.

House A

A

There are exceptions, but they are difficult to predict and not the majority. If you have insider knowledge, I am open to your insight though? My view would be the ford factory and the surrounds at Dagenham. That is ripe for regeneration, but it will be a way off I suspect.

would not commit to either if your circumstances are changing yearly. Need clarity

A main road nearby is a big 'no no' for me - never lived by one and have cats. Having said that, a mature road where people want to live longterm and a loved house is a big 'yes' - an unloved house, you don't know what is unloved and hidden. We have a north facing garden, it really isn't that bad - our washing line is positioned and picks up mornng sun, sun goes about the front of the house and starts to hit washing line again around 2pm. We have shade at the back of the house when hot, but can easily sit towards back on days when it's cooler with a bit of sun. Don't just think about DC, think about what suits you as adults. You want somewhere to come back to that you like and suits you.

If these are your options because you're sold STC, I'd says don't be panciked because you have a buyer. If someone likes your current home, someone else will, so wait until you're sure of a future purchase. We've been there, done that.

From your description you are obviously more in love with House B but I think A will be better day-to-day. 10 - 15 minutes further to the bus stop adds half an hour to every trip out. A garden your kids can use will be great. I don't think a combined toilet/utility is a big hardship and you can paint, change light fittings and curtains fairly cheaply to make it look more like your home.

House A.

I stopped reading at north facing. South east wind every time, not for the heat but the increased light, it massively effects my mood and well being generally.

Possible, but the property bubble has more or less popped IMO, the sentiment is gone for piling into expensive mortgaged flats just because there are some new wine bars and a vegan cafe nearby. My only prediction is that if interest rates are forced up properly (could be Iran, could be U.S V China proper trade war, could be Russia overstepping and escalating with other countries getting more involved and just open season on power/oil infrastructure, or some other reason) the property market will basically implode. I don"t think Ford Dagenham or any other area not already swept along by the cheap credit bubble is going anywhere "trendy" anytime soon, they are still pumping out engines there though, that must employ a fair few people even now?

Don't buy the house near the future community centre. Living near a construction site is hellish.

Rip up the paved garden in house B. It sounds much nicer.

Good advice.

property bubble has more or less popped

This is very true. Liz Truss et al saw to that.

It will definitely be more long term than it once was. Dagenham has acres of land that used to be full of cars awaiting delivery, so while there is still engine production, a lot of the land is now unused. I think I was thinking about it as more of a long game risk, but in the current climate I agree that it is unlikely to become gentrified any time soon.

I agree, and I don"t try to predict the next housing hot spot, it has tended to be harbour areas in some cities with the aim of getting young trendies into loads of mortgage debt with the compensation that you can watch the sun go down over the harbour as you sip your 9 quid beer, young generation now are more awake to how they are being financially screwed though, staying at home, avoiding Uni etc. Yields went briefly higher than Truss under RS, AB is good for higher still IMO, he just doesn"t have the fiscal discipline, it isn"t in his mindset.

North facing gardens are very miserable and depressing from my experience, I had one in my last house and vowed never to let one, quite literally, darken my door ever again! I know it has been very hot this year but this won't definitely be the case guaranteed every year, although of course more likely. If you are not a gardener and really hate the heat and aren't fond of sitting in a garden reading a book and having a drink then it might be fine, but if you do enjoy being in the garden at all I would not recommend a north facing one.

So on the garden alone I would go with house A, also it does sound a bit better in general.

Good point, you could always go out to a park or something but not the same as sitting in your own garden.

Yup. It is a dire situation really. I'm glad I am at this end of my life, and not the other.

They can save a shit ton of money though, knew a guy, not too young, early 30"s, who gave up a rental to live with his Mum in a big house, immediate saving of 1400 a month on the rent plus food costs, council tax etc. much cheaper or non-existent. bang that 1400 into a tracker fund every month for a few decades and it mounts up?

Have you decided OP?

A gets my vote, the convenient location and nice outlook outweighs all the cons.

That rather relies on having parents who can afford to do that.

Rent prices are insane at the moment.

I’m leaning towards House A as having a big and safe garden is really important for me for the kids. I’m sure I’d feel differently about a north facing garden in the depths of winter. The relative distance to the bus stop is important too.

But it’s useful to hear from others as well as it gives me some more to think about wrt what attracts buyers when it comes to reselling down the line.

Thanks all for your thoughts.

House A due to proximity to bus stop and how often you explained using the bus. Get a survey to make sure the rough shod finish is just finish and nothing more major. If it's just finish and budget allows, get a decorator in, they'll do a better finish and you'll have colours etc that suits you more.
Also, I have no utility room, I'd kill for one. Downstairs toilet presumably wouldn't get used for more than 5-20 minutes, so you don't really lose access to the utility, so I don't see the problem with them being combined.

Also, the front of my house gets all the sun so my garden is shady. I can overlook the garden getting the shade but my bedroom and lounge are at the front of my house and in hot weather it makes those living areas unbearable. That would be more of a factor for me than the garden personally.