Area or house - which to choose?

nearlynew

Linton wrote: »

I would say go for a house which is fairly, but not extremely, good compared with the others in the location.

Avoid a mansion in a slum or a shed in Mayfair.

It's better to buy the worst house in the best street than the best house in the worst street

kprice580

The house we are currently in we went for house, the house we are planning to buy we have gone for both house & location.

Katy x

Catbells

Thanks. Sounds to me that area is more important than the house. Shame. I can't find one in my area - they are all post war and not very interesting whereas a few miles away they are Victorian, Edwardian beauties and a bit cheaper. Decisions, decisions.

BitterAndTwisted

Just because the area you have found x miles away is cheaper doesn't mean that it is a less favourable one to live in long-term. Spend plenty of time there getting to know the neighbourhood. it doesn't sound like you're in a tearing hurry so that makes you very lucky.

Cissi

It doesn't sound to me as if this other area is necessarily less desirable than your current one, it just isn't the one that you know and where your friends are. That's very different from choosing between a "good" and a "bad" area in terms of long term house value - and also in terms of quality of life. Who knows, once you get to know the other area it may turn out to be really lovely and just right for you. And depending on where you are, 9 miles isn't that far away really, so you needn't lose touch with your friends.

Personally I would never again choose a post-war or modern house over a Victorian/Edwardian one and it sounds to me like you feel the same way I do about ceiling height, character etc etc. In your shoes I'd definitely explore the other area a lot more to try to get a feeling for how you'd feel living there before discounting it.

We waited more than 4 years before making our move - we loved the area that we were in but eventually decided that we'd never get the space that we wanted there. We finally moved a few miles out and I have to say that after a year, I absolutely LOVE where we're living now and couldn't imagine moving back! This location turned out to have a lot of advantages that suit us, and I'm actually not missing the things I thought I would from our old area. It took us a long time to take the step, but I'm so glad we did, because we're in the house of our dreams and in an area that already feels like home!

Catbells

Cissi wrote: »

It doesn't sound to me as if this other area is necessarily less desirable than your current one, it just isn't the one that you know and where your friends are. That's very different from choosing between a "good" and a "bad" area in terms of long term house value - and also in terms of quality of life. Who knows, once you get to know the other area it may turn out to be really lovely and just right for you. And depending on where you are, 9 miles isn't that far away really, so you needn't lose touch with your friends.

Personally I would never again choose a post-war or modern house over a Victorian/Edwardian one and it sounds to me like you feel the same way I do about ceiling height, character etc etc. In your shoes I'd definitely explore the other area a lot more to try to get a feeling for how you'd feel living there before discounting it.

We waited more than 4 years before making our move - we loved the area that we were in but eventually decided that we'd never get the space that we wanted there. We finally moved a few miles out and I have to say that after a year, I absolutely LOVE where we're living now and couldn't imagine moving back! This location turned out to have a lot of advantages that suit us, and I'm actually not missing the things I thought I would from our old area. It took us a long time to take the step, but I'm so glad we did, because we're in the house of our dreams and in an area that already feels like home!

THANKS. Its exactly how I feel. I can't unfortunately wait as long as you to find one as I'm renting and might have to move out around Xmas but I'm a cash buyer and am lucky to be able to spend the next few weeks searching. My friend looked at the one I like in the other area and agreed it was lovely and could see me there!!

I would like to be able to say the same as you in a few years. Its funny when you say you aren't missing the things you thought you would from your old area.

Same with chucking out clutter and 'stuff'. I honestly feel relieved and purged after throwing away things I've had for years which I thought were important.

Am still thinking about it mind you:)

Cissi

Good luck! Don't let yourself be pressured into making a decision that doesn't feel 100% right though - in your shoes I'd much rather move to another rental if necessary rather than buy a house I wasn't convinced about.

Having said that, you'll obviously have to make a decision sometime - when I say that we waited more than 4 years to decide, it's because when we sold our house we couldn't find anything we liked enough, so we decided to rent in the meantime and ended up staying for 4 years. We were very happy in our rented house, but at one point personal circumstances meant that we needed to make a choice and it became the right time for us to buy. It sounds as if this might be the right time for you, and I think you'll make a decision that you'll be very happy with in years to come

themull1

I like my post war house....

Person_one

Not_a_Newbie wrote: »

Much rather have a good house in a great location than a great house in a good location.

My mum always told me, and her mum told her, better to buy the smallest house on a good street than the biggest on a bad street.

Older houses are wonderful, high ceilings, square rooms, but you do need to stay on on top of the maintenance constantly which can be expensive and tiring.

EDIT: nearlynew beat me to it, must learn to read whole thread before replying.

LandyAndy

Person_one wrote: »

My mum always told me, and her mum told her, better to buy the smallest house on a good street than the biggest on a bad street.

Older houses are wonderful, high ceilings, square rooms, but you do need to stay on on top of the maintenance constantly which can be expensive and tiring.

EDIT: nearlynew beat me to it, must learn to read whole thread before replying.

I think the advice is, really, don't buy the most expensive house on any street if investment potential is important to you.