Buy a house with potential or one already done?

gazfocus

Hi all,

On the hunt for a house and have seen two we like, and could really do with some thoughts on which you'd go for.

Both prices are very close.

House 1
- Converted Garage into Dining Room and extended to it's maximum.
- Big house, well decorated, etc.
- Nice big hallway and landing.
- New Kitchen and Bathroom.
- Very close to main road and noisey garden.

House 2
- Converted Garage into living space.
- Fairly small in comparison.
- No hallway as such (through front door into small hall, only door is into Living Room).
- Poorly designed kitchen, which would need at least one wall taking down, and needs more worktop space.
- Massive 7m x 3m Conservatory
- Massive garden with potential to extend to the side and the back while still leaving loads of space.
- Quiet, well established estate.


House 2 would need considerably extending to suit our long term needs, and in the immediate future, we would look at opening up the wall between the hall and what was the garage in order to make a large hallway, however, this will cost money.

So, basically, is it better to go for a house that's all been done but in an inpractical area, with possible noisy garden, or a smaller house that we can extend but has a perfect garden/in a perfect area when both houses are priced the same?

mije1983

Personally I would go with the nicer location, especially as you mention house 1 is in an inpractical area.

I suppose a lot rests on how 'long term' is long term. How long would it be before you would need to extend house 2 to satisfy your requirements? 1 year? 5? 10? Would this time give you chance to get the money together to make house 2 perfect for you?

TBagpuss

Can you be happy living in house two in the mean time (until you can save up for any extension / renovations?)

If so, then I would go for house 2. You can make changes to the house, you can't make changes to the location.

gazfocus

mije1983 wrote: »

Personally I would go with the nicer location, especially as you mention house 1 is in an inpractical area.

I suppose a lot rests on how 'long term' is long term. How long would it be before you would need to extend house 2 to satisfy your requirements? 1 year? 5? 10? Would this time give you chance to get the money together to make house 2 perfect for you?

Thanks mije1983. We're looking for our 'forever home' so can't get much more long term than that. We wouldn't need to extend for a while but would do it as and when we can afford it.

TBagpuss wrote: »

Can you be happy living in house two in the mean time (until you can save up for any extension / renovations?)

If so, then I would go for house 2. You can make changes to the house, you can't make changes to the location.

Thanks TBagpuss. Mostly, yes. The only bits that would need immediate attention is widening the hallway (otherwise to get into the converted garage, you have to go through the living room > dining room > kitchen > converted garage, and also redesigning the kitchen. Both of these should be fairly cheap fixes in the short term.

yorkshire_terrier_owner

If you are looking at your forever home, I would say location should be the priority. You can change a house but not a location.

I have just moved to my forever home and the key thing for me was that the location is exactly what I wanted - a very quiet cul-de-sac in a village location. Having moved from a main road in an area that wasn't great, it's bliss. Yes, there are things that need doing to the house but I've done the urgent stuff and I have the rest of my life to do the rest. The main thing for me is that the location couldn't be any better. However, I do also love the house albeit that it's not how I want it yet. I didn't love my last house this much!

kixxb

Having bought a house that was already renovated (by what turned out to be a property developer) I'd never do that again - so many corners were cut and things needed re done and if i'd had a chose I'd have made better use of space etc.

I'd prefer a house in a better location that needs some work as long as you can live in it in it's current condition.

gazfocus

yorkshire_terrier_owner wrote: »

If you are looking at your forever home, I would say location should be the priority. You can change a house but not a location.

I have just moved to my forever home and the key thing for me was that the location is exactly what I wanted - a very quiet cul-de-sac in a village location. Having moved from a main road in an area that wasn't great, it's bliss. Yes, there are things that need doing to the house but I've done the urgent stuff and I have the rest of my life to do the rest. The main thing for me is that the location couldn't be any better. However, I do also love the house albeit that it's not how I want it yet. I didn't love my last house this much!

Thanks yorkshire_terrior_owner (I've got 3 yorkies myself).

I think you make a very good point when you say about having the rest of our lives to make the house what we want. The estate that House 2 is on is gorgeous and the house is so pretty from the outside.

I was rather reluctant when I bought our current house and only really bought it because my wife liked it, but neither of us love it...This is something we don't want to feel for the next house.

kixxb wrote: »

Having bought a house that was already renovated (by what turned out to be a property developer) I'd never do that again - so many corners were cut and things needed re done and if i'd had a chose I'd have made better use of space etc.

I'd prefer a house in a better location that needs some work as long as you can live in it in it's current condition.

Thanks kixxb. That was one of the thoughts I had....the house that's been done has been done to the current owners requirements, whereas there's enough space around House 2 to make an even bigger extension (subject to planning permission of course) and we could arrange the space exactly as we want it.

sandsni

How likely is it that you would actually get planning permission to extend house 2? Having the space to extend does not guarantee you will have the freedom to actually do it.

ACG

but in an inpractical area

How is this house even a valid option?

gazfocus

sandsni wrote: »

How likely is it that you would actually get planning permission to extend house 2? Having the space to extend does not guarantee you will have the freedom to actually do it.

Thanks sandsni for your post. I have looked at past planning applications in the street and surrounding area and they were all granted. Obviously, this isn't a concrete guarantee but nothing is these days.

However, there is a 7m x 3m conservatory that we'd want to replace with a brick built extension so that shouldn't be too difficult to get permission for.

gazfocus

ACG wrote: »

How is this house even a valid option?

Because some people have to compromise

The reason I say is it's impractical is because it's so close to the main road and with us wanting a house to start a family in, we need to think about somewhere suitable for potential children.