New Build Townhouses

Doozergirl

dgl1001 wrote: »

please be careful about buying a townhouse. although the idea of seems attractive, they can become impractical because of the constraint use of the strairs which may be a problem if/ when you have children. In terms of values against traditional two story properties, it is easy. The top floor has no sales value. They may tell you its has, but buyers are not interested in the third floor element. Your valuation should therefore be based on the first two floors. Hope this helps

Sorry but that is wrong. I've said myself already that you do get better for money from a townhouse than you would from a two storey house with the same square footage but to say that buyers aren't interested in the top floor and that it doesn't count is just crazy.

Firstly, people wouldn't buy the house if they didn't want the extra space and secondly, they do fetch a decent premium more than the same house without the top floor - what would be a two bedroom two storey house with a different target market.

I can't fathom your comments at all.

Fly_Baby

QTPie wrote: »

Well it depends very much how the layout of the townhouse is structured and what you are looking for.

Ours is four bedrooms: two good sized doubles (one with very nice en-suite shower room) and two singles (one is used as a study, the other set up as a single bedroom. We have a "nice sized but not huge" living room (16ft x 11ft ish), a seperate dining room, a good sized kitchen breakfast room (but no seperate utility room) and a small garden (28ft by 16ft, professionally landscaped - very pretty and very easy maintenance).

It is a LOVELY house and has been great for us, but - realistically with a child - I would like:

QT

Well, if a couple of adults has outgrown a 4-bedroom 2-reception room house with a garden... What are we all doing hoping for a 3-bedroom house for a family with two children?

Sorry, couldn't help it.

twokcc

Going back to how much to offer, can only relate my own experience. New build end town house 3 storey 4 beds + garage for sale at £215K were selling last year at £230K- confirmed by information sold house prices. Cash purchased eventually got them down to £165K, decded not to proceed as it was to rent. The fact that I wasn't going to live in the house gave me an advantage in that it was a plain facts/figures decision not emotive in any way. Just felt prices had further to fall and there would be other oportunities to buy.
Few things that i took into consideration was parking (as already mentioned by many), school catchment area. Also the build on the estate had finished so property owners wouldn't be living on a building site. Sounds as if this could apply in your case and needs to be considered. Could be for a long time if the builder went bust or just decided to stop work on the site until he had better prospects of selling and making a profit. This could have an impact on your house value BUT if its the house that you want to live in long term this has to be the overiding consideration. Don't make a hasty decision but if its the right house for you go for it (then stop looking on this forum until house prices have picked up again).
Good luck with whatever you decide

poppysarah

twokcc wrote: »

Going back to how much to offer, can only relate my own experience. New build end town house 3 storey 4 beds + garage for sale at £215K were selling last year at £230K- confirmed by information sold house prices. Cash purchased eventually got them down to £165K,

They were being sold similar prices near me - now a 4 bed detached went at auction for 113k. The 3 beds are being sold at 90k ish.
And they're still building another hundred plus across the road.

GDB2222

twokcc wrote: »

Don't make a hasty decision but if its the right house for you go for it (then stop looking on this forum until house prices have picked up again).

What!? He mustn't look on this forum for another 10 years?

NoDebtForMe_2

cranezoe wrote: »

the other thing was, we already have a little one. she is two. and while it would be great for older children to have the space of a whole floor we decided that it would be quite hard traipsing up and down stairs in the night to feed/comfort/find teddy etc.
It would be harder to hear her if she got up.
we'd have to use stair gates to block off both stair cases. we would like to have another baby which would increase the amount of going up and down the stairs and keeping an eye on two of them. and I think with little children its quite hard to live over 3 floors.
the garden being small is quite off putting if you have kids too.

Im just saying this because you said about eventually having kids, and prehaps its not things you've thought of.

Im sorry but I completely disagree with this and have the experience of a three storey house to say this.
We have an old victorian terraced house which we added a full dormer to with its own stairs and door etc.
We have the 2 boys up there aged 12 and 10 and then our daughter on the second floor aged 3. If we are on the first floor and she is on the third floor we can hear her if there is a problem and it isnt because she is a particularly loud child. The stairs are also much steaper than these newbuild houses and all 3 have never had a problem with them from being 2 years onwards. They adapt to things very very easily.
Baby monitors can be used (like in any normal house) for children under 2. Even going up and down the stairs isnt much of an issue - they arent mansions!

cranezoe

I was just saying how we had come to the conclusion that it wasn't for us at this point in time.
Dont be sorry for disagreeing with my point of view and its good to hear that it works for you.
In the house I saw, the main bedromm was on a floor by itself and then two room a floor below. having spent the last two years going across the landing from our room to our daughters room- and she is not a particularly bed sleeper!- means that I feel it would be more awkward for us with small children.

Jazzyjeff_2

Update:

Offered £290k to the estate agent, weirdly the owner foned me up 30 mins later as I'd given them my details when we looked round (believed the coincidence as we looked round with a different agent and he was surprised I'd offered through Savills).

Bottom line when they said offers they meant 'within £5k of asking', said the lowest so far was £371k on a £375k house!! They have had another reserved so 3 left now.

Good luck to them selling the remaining ones and to the buyers, to be honest I was worried that at £325k It could turn out to be a bad buy. Looks like sellers are still wanting 2007 prices!!

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/new-homes/property-21313400.html?locationIdentifier=REGION%5E76726&maxPrice=375000&radius=0.25&pageNumber=1&backToListURL=%2Fproperty-for-sale%2Ffind.html%3FlocationIdentifier%3DREGION%255E76726%26maxPrice%3D375000%26radius%3D0.25

Doozergirl

Nice looking houses, all finished to that spec, lovely.

Shame about them wanting so much. Hopefully they'll come back to you at some point

Jazzyjeff_2

I doubt it tbh he nearly choked on the £290k offer, think there's more chance of picking one up in a couple of years when someone who's bought at too high a price needs to sell on....

They are really lovely houses but at the end of the day are not detached, have small gardens, and the builders only paid £750k for the land on which they've built 8 properties! Thanks Zoopla