Would you buy a village house if...............

WelshNic

Do you have a Google map ref for it? Or a link?

Personally I wouldn't entertain it and as you describe it it doesn't seem your ideal forever house....

phoebe1989seb

Also the problem is that every house we've viewed or considered viewing has a compromise or two to be made.........the other one we offered on (offer rejected) today is on a busy A-road

We unfortunately bought our current house at the top of the market in the dreaded 'dead zone' of stamp duty (paid £285,000 in 2007), have spent £40,000 on new kitchen, bathrooms, other essential works and can now only get £250,000 for it - the offer we accepted within two weeks of marketing. As we had previously downsized from a 6 bed house (sold for just under £600,000 in 2007) in order to be mortgage-free we are now in the position where to remain mortgage-free we have to make huge compromises in what we can afford.

Btw we are having to move for family health reasons.

Niv

The way you describe it does not make it sound like you would be happy with this as your 'forever house'.

For me, I would consider such a purchase but not as my forever house.

Niv

Running_Horse

Does it have to have character?

Plenty of boring old estate houses in many villages.

I love village pubs, but would never live next to one, even a gastro.

phoebe1989seb

Thanks for your comments mlz. I have answered as best I can below

mlz1413 wrote: »

i'm the same as landyandy would NOT buy in a village full stop.

so bias put aside what happens when the buildings that are currently storage change use? have they been residental? are they likely to be swallowed into the pub or become the next leisure time activey? (god forbid a gym that everyone drives to!) No, they haven't ever been residential - they were previously part of an old brewery on the site according to the grade 2 listing. Surely if the pub were to apply for a change of use and we, as new owners of the house objected on the grounds of our quality of life being ruined, they would not get PP/LBC?

what is the parking like and what would it be like if another business opened up in the buildings? The pub has a car park which partially runs behind the house garden as well as behind the pub itself. There are only around 20 spaces, I must admit. The house has ORP for one car only otherwise it's on-street parking. There is an outbuilding with the house but potentially too small to be a garage and as it's also listed obviously couldn't be altered.

when you get to the garden is it private or will the noise from the pub always ruin a lovely sunny day? The garden is very private. The pub is more of a gastro pub/restaurant and only has a small patio of it's own which is nowhere near the house's garden.

if cycling is your only transport make sure you can get a online shop delivered, if hubby can't drive for any reason you need to make sure you can shop somewhere other than the local village shop / post office - if of course you have one. Yes, the local shop is a bit of an issue as it is a very small post office with only minimal provisions. The nearest alternative is a service centre with shop attached some 15 mins walk away in the adjoining village.

phoebe1989seb

Niv wrote: »

The way you describe it does not make it sound like you would be happy with this as your 'forever house'.

For me, I would consider such a purchase but not as my forever house.

Niv

Thanks Niv

OH does see it as our forever home, but for myself despite the fact it's of a good size in a pretty village, I cannot - for me there was no 'wow factor' and I feel that the amount of work required and the length of time it will take to do it all will still not alter the fact that if we do choose to sell it those buildings will still be looming out back!

phoebe1989seb

Running_Horse wrote: »

Does it have to have character?

Plenty of boring old estate houses in many villages.

I love village pubs, but would never live next to one, even a gastro.

Hi RH - Yes, we do want as much character as we can get! This one has lots of character and plenty of potential to uncover more during the restoration work..............should English Heritage see fit to allow it

Next door to a pub is not my number one choice of location either, but decent houses are so thin on the ground particularly if we want to remain mortgage-free...........which we do. Temporary renting is not really an option as we have sooooooooooo much stuff plus three cats to accommodate and to compound the issue our buyers are looking at a completion date in mid/late May

Sambucus_Nigra

We live in a village; conservation area and our main garden, we have to go out the back, turn right, walk down a path, turn left, down another path and all the houses have gardens that are like mini allotments; yes it's a pain when the old bloke catches you in your garden every time for a chat; but it's very community orientated and people look out for each other. Plus it helps that we have a canal at the end and we sit out there in the summer evenings supping home made wine.

Glorious!

But if the house has no 'wow' factor then don't do it! Only you know whether it ticks boxes or not. We can't see it from here.

We also have corn mills; a marina, and all sorts of canal businesses around the place. Still wouldn't swap it for the world.

poppysarah

phoebe1989seb wrote: »

that the pub has no intention of changing the use of these buildings.

yeah yeah yeah.

Wobblydeb

"Yes, the local shop is a bit of an issue as it is a very small post office with only minimal provisions. The nearest alternative is a service centre with shop attached some 15 mins walk away in the adjoining village"

Are you sure you want to live in such a quiet village? I originally didn't question your 4 miles to Waitrose, thinking that you were in love with village life, and one person's rose is another's nettle.

It doesn't sound like you already live there (or have lived in a similarly quiet place) though? I love quiet little villages, but they're not for everyone - think about your lifestyle and how your days will be filled....