choice of houses

annaj42

Hi
We are desperate to move after the arrival of our daughter and since she will be our only child want a house we can be proud of leaving her and that she can either live in comfortably or sell easily. We will have to move area and are going to struggle to get anything better than what we have already but we have to find something bigger. I've seen two houses that are an improvement - one is five minutes drive from a huge abattoir and also on a small road with a hauliers at the end ( I have seen loadless lorries bombing up the road each time we have been there at weekends). The other is set at the back of a row of houses and its garden, side and back, borders a massive car park. Are these houses cheap because of their locations and therefore be difficult to sell? They are really nice houses but so cheap I think they are too good to be true.
Any advice appreciated.

alchemist.1

You know what they say Location, Location Location.

GwylimT

I went for the best location i could afford, it did often mean the worst house on the street, but these things are normally sorted fairy easily.

Personally, to me a home is somewhere to live and enjoy, not just something I view as an investment or inheritance.

moneyistooshorttomention

Unless they are LOADSA £ cheaper than equivalent nearby - then yep...I think a lot of people wouldn't want those locations and that's why they are cheaper.

I rate location first and go for the best location I can manage to pay for - and figure the house can always be sorted out later (ie as time and money allow for). You cant change the location.

Both times I've bought a dump and, most recently, a dump that was pretty uninhabitable at that (though someone had been living in it). I then spent months and money ripping it apart - as there was a lot that literally wouldn't even "do for now". Its together enough to be recognisable as a modern-ish house now and still needs a 5-figure amount of money spent on it to get it finished (but that will have to wait for my spare income to start piling-up a bit - so that I have the money to pay for it).

My suspicion is that it might take as long as 5-7 years to get it finished - but it was either that or a worse location - so <shrugs>

missbiggles1

annaj42 wrote: »

Hi
We are desperate to move after the arrival of our daughter and since she will be our only child want a house we can be proud of leaving her and that she can either live in comfortably or sell easily. We will have to move area and are going to struggle to get anything better than what we have already but we have to find something bigger. I've seen two houses that are an improvement - one is five minutes drive from a huge abattoir and also on a small road with a hauliers at the end ( I have seen loadless lorries bombing up the road each time we have been there at weekends). The other is set at the back of a row of houses and its garden, side and back, borders a massive car park. Are these houses cheap because of their locations and therefore be difficult to sell? They are really nice houses but so cheap I think they are too good to be true.
Any advice appreciated.

That must be the strangest reason I've ever come across for buying a house.

ibizafan_2

All I know is that I just couldn't live near an abattoir. Yes, I might be burying my head in the sand, but that is a step too far.

annaj42

thanks moneyistooshorttomention. I think that is the reply I was expecting - you've been very helpful. Unfortunately hubby is crap at DIY and hates it which is why we are this predicament in the first place. I don't have enough energy with the little one to take on a big challenge We will, however, hang fire for a bit and see what comes up next year closer to home. The location of the abbattoir house in particular concerns me both regarding living there now and selling in the future.

moneyistooshorttomention

Errrm....lateral thinking maybe?:rotfl: Whats hubby like at babysitting his own child - and are there DIY courses running at a local college (with, hopefully, a slant towards expecting women to do them)??

Yes I will admit to father, male friends, boyfriends and (more recently) throwing money at it tend to be my "resource of choice" :ofor helping - so I sympathise.

So maybe hubby doing babysitting whilst you do the DIY (having learnt it at a College)?

Mojisola

annaj42 wrote: »

We are desperate to move after the arrival of our daughter and since she will be our only child want a house we can be proud of leaving her and that she can either live in comfortably or sell easily.

Do you really think that you will live in one house from now until the time you die?

Even if you do, there's no way of knowing what the area will be like in 50 years time and whether your daughter will have any interest in living there.

annaj42

Hi Mojisolamy
My hubby has a phobia of moving house - won't even accept we have to move now even though our house is far too small to bring a child up in. Places in Wales don't change that much and as far as the abbattoir house goes, the abbattoir will be there for a long time since it is the major employer in the area. I was just thinking that with my daughter not having any brothers or sisters we want to do the best for her, maybe I could have worded it better.

annaj42

HI again moneyistooshorttomention.
I think that is the way to go especially when baby is a bit bigger. I sort of got the impression hubby liked and was good at DIY -but soon realised he gets a sweat on if I ask him to change a light bulb (he's taller than me so can do it without steps). I did up my previous house so will have to find the energy again to look at grotty houses with more potential.
Many thanks again