Terraced or Semi Detached?

Phil3822

I went for semi as there was not much price difference. I would have not been fussed with a semi or end of terrace as long as it had parking for multiple cars. Round here most terraced houses don't have off road parking so that was an issue. I did however make sure I looked for a property where me and the wife could use the bedroom on the not shared wall. Personally, I would not go for a terraced house due to both shared walls although I know people who have no issue and they have some excellent space etc for the money.

sammyjammy

Dan-Dan wrote: »

We settled for an end of terrace house , it was a compromise as we would have preferred detached ! , it` feels semi detached though , and the price was more favourable

Depending on the type of house , i would not be interested in a terraced house if i could help it , thick victorian walls maybe , but nothing built in the 70`s , walls far too thin

Age of the house doesn't necessarily make any difference. I live in a Victorian terrace built in 1899. One side all I hear is the constant yapping of their little terrier and the intermittent horridly loud music from the teenager of the house when his parents go out (never lasts long but pushes right through my brain whilst it lasts!) the other side is even worse as it's on the same level as mine. I hear her alarm clock (40 mins before mine :mad:), I hear her on the phone, hoovering, everything! Ours are the kind of terrace that was put up in their thousands in a short period of time very cheaply. I think the wall is just one brick width wide!

The next house I buy will at least be a semi

moneyistooshorttomention

Conrad wrote: »

These questions are akin to 'shall I holiday in France or Spain'. We all have a different internal narrative, different ideas on spending vs saving, differing motivations and expectations, some of might expect a pay rise, others to start a family, so really there is no right answer to such a question.

On the one hand I've had clients who always kept things manageable and prospered that way, on the other I've had them push the boat out and in the process enjoy a larger capital gain, so is there is no right or wrong apart from saying you need to be mindful about over extending.

That is the thing too, ie the different "internal narrative". If your "internal narrative" is that you've grown up in a terrace house, then maybe you are more likely to regard the downsides (like that noise through the walls) as "just one of those things". When what you knew when growing up was a detached house after a while and can "hear the quiet" there when visiting your parents, as they still live there (I've never ever once heard any neighbour noise in that house), then your "internal narrative" goes "This is what houses are like and what mine will be like".

Maybe those who've probably pretty much always been used to neighbours noise might find it eerily quiet in a more detached place and feel "comforted" by the sound of others nearby (instead of it making you feel on edge and annoyed, as it will to someone with the other narrative inside their head).

EDIT: oh yes...and I'd forgotten the blimmin' alarm clock the Irresponsibles had. I had to move bedroom in the end, as they worked antisocial hours, whilst I worked "normal office hours", so I was getting woken up by it during the night and at weekends. Sharp conflict with my "internal narrative" there telling me I wouldn't ever have dreamt of working such hours myself and starting to wind me up a bit about whether another spell of unemployment ever might mean some DWP official trying to tell me I should expect to work outside office hours myself......NO chance....I DID not want to be reminded within the walls of my own home that that happens and I mightn't be able to prevent it happening to me. I wanted to shut Work Worries right out the second I got inside my front door...Being woken up at around 5a.m. of a morning wasn't conducive to a calm frame of mind....

phoebe1989seb

Dan-Dan wrote: »

hmmm , my mistake! , i think i just assumed they would be lovely and thick , maybe i am thinking of somewhere our lovely phoebe lives with 15 inch thick solid wall!

:rotfl:Dan :rotfl:

Just been to measure the thickness of our stone walls and they're actually closer to 20".........and I always thought men were prone to *over-exaggerating* measurements, lol

Seriously though, in my parents' 1920s semi you could hear next door talking, sneezing etc etc and the second house we bought - a Victorian 3 bed, 3 reception mid terrace - wasn't much better.......

Farside

You'll get more for your money if you get a terraced house, but you won't get much privacy. Plus most terraced house have a right of way for neighbours, which means your neighbours and the neighbours friends/family are allowed to walk through your garden to acess the neighbours garden, you can't stop them. If you have a dog then beware, the neighbours could leave the gate open and let it out lol.

That was why i chose a semi, because it's enclosed and its more private, no annoying neighbours trampling over the garden haha.

Errata

NH2004 wrote: »

I need to seriously buy a house in the New Year and am torn between buying a cheaper terraced house or a semi detached.


I've viewed a couple and once inside the terraced houses seem quite nice and liveable, and you don't really seem to gain much space by buying a semi.


Opting for a terraced house would make repayments very comfortable and I'd expect to be able to overpay the mortgage to pay it off sooner. Whereas pushing out for a semi detached, whilst not being unmanageable, would leave us with less spare cash.


What are peoples opinions on this? Are semi-detached house a better buy or not?

The best buy is the one that can be manageably afforded.

katejo

Farside wrote: »

You'll get more for your money if you get a terraced house, but you won't get much privacy. Plus most terraced house have a right of way for neighbours, which means your neighbours and the neighbours friends/family are allowed to walk through your garden to acess the neighbours garden, you can't stop them. If you have a dog then beware, the neighbours could leave the gate open and let it out lol.

That was why i chose a semi, because it's enclosed and its more private, no annoying neighbours trampling over the garden haha.

I am not sure what you mean by this right of way for neighbours. Right of way to get where? My neighbours would have to climb over walls to access my garden.

1 disadvantage of a mid terrace is the need to keep your bins at the front of the house (unless you have rear access). Also, if you are a keen gardener, moving garden waste involves carrying it right through the house! One day I will move to a semi or end of terrace!

Errata

Plus most terraced house have a right of way for neighbours, which means your neighbours and the neighbours friends/family are allowed to walk through your garden

No they don't.

Farside

katejo wrote: »

I am not sure what you mean by this right of way for neighbours. Right of way to get where? My neighbours would have to climb over walls to access my garden.

1 disadvantage of a mid terrace is the need to keep your bins at the front of the house (unless you have rear access). Also, if you are a keen gardener, moving garden waste involves carrying it right through the house! One day I will move to a semi or end of terrace!

Right of way AKA an easement is like the name states, a right of way, it is for your neighbour to walk through your property to get to their property. It's generally used to take out bins but neighbours can be a pain. It causes a hell of a lot of problems, look on google lol.

Looks like you are very lucky, in that non of the terraced houses where you live has a right of way through them. That's a hard find! I was looking for years around here but couldn't find one, i went for a semi in the end haha

Farside

Errata wrote: »

No they don't.

yes they do