Houses, aspects, sunlight, hedges and neighbours!

lessonlearned

Needs, wants and preferences will change over our lives.

A good location is very important to me but as Ibizafan has pointed out my idea of a good location no longer has to take schools into account. So for me the "right" location can now be based on preference rather than need.

Aspect is important, how the house "sits" on its plot, and of course a pleasant outlook or a stunning view is always nice to have.

I like an attractive street, preferably a cul de sac or at least not a main road or a "rat run". Then I look at gardens, now that I'm pushing 65 not too big so it's unwieldy, preferably west or south facing and no steep slopes or flights of steps.

Next doors towering leylandii hedges would be a definite no no.

TBH I pay no attention to the decoration or floor coverings. I also tend no to worry about the inside layout too much, walls can be knocked down, moved or added at will.

I invariably gut the place anyway. I will replace the kitchen, bathrooms and fireplace as a matter of course. I loathe carpets so usually rip them up at the first opportunity.

The main thing for me is if the inside "feels" right. It's hard to define really but I think it tends to hinge on the quality of light. If a house is gloomy and I can't change that by removing trees or revamping the layout and or changing the decor then I will walk away.

Recently I found what on paper seemed a perfect little house for my next move. Great location, good layout, the right price and a small but pretty garden. Unfortunately the house was really dark inside and no amount of light paint, shiny surfaces or clever use of mirrors would have made any difference.

The search continues.......:rotfl:

Davesnave

I've gutted this house and re-built the bloody thing because I'm so fussy about aspect, situation, views and privacy.

After viewing many, many properties up to £400k, I found very few that hit the mark on those scores, let alone considering things like transport, schools and distance from basic services.

But as lessonlearned says, I'm older, and I can afford to be picky.

On my last house hunt in 1987, I had the choice of one property if I wanted 1/4 acre south-facing, and that had about 7 houses looking right into the rear garden. By the time I sold it, they didn't. That's what leylandii are for.....and before anyone starts, they were 25' from the boundary.

I put the utilitarian bits in the overlooked area, including a 25' greenhouse, but with the terrace behind, it did lose sunshine November to February. It was a compromise, and it sometimes irked, but in the general scheme of things, it was no big deal.

And you never have the full picture till you move in. I have a 5 acre buffer zone nowadays, but I've still had some grief from two neighbours, even though both live well over 100 metres away. You can never insure against nutters!

Clutterfree

Our priority list has changed over the years but currently are:

1. Period property
2. Non estate location
3. Parking for 2 vehicles
4. Needs work but is still liveable until said work is undertaken.
5. Second reception room.
6. Garage or option for outside storage.
7. Garden not overlooked - bonus but not a deal breaker if one or two windows overlook.

Youngest son has one year left at school so obviously had to ensure it was on a bus route to take him in.

Aspect of garden has never been an issue for us because, unless it's a very small garden and has tall buildings all around, most gardens will get sun at some point of the day.

Oh remembered another one - must have at least 2 toilets!!

glasgowdan

I just wish we didn't do things the way we have and ended up in rented. We had no mortgage to pay bwfore we moved but ended yp commiting after pulling out of a purchase.

Another consideration is that the next move doesn't HAVE to be the forever one... Just trying to comfort myself here!

Davesnave

We went rented, and I know that if we'd have been in any way encumbered, this house wouldn't have been sold to us.

The cheap or really good ones go "Pft!" just like that!

getmore4less

we are south facing(living room on the north) house on both sides to the east and west.

We get morning and evening sun in the living room bay window all year and it stays cool in the summer.

We lose evening sun on the part of the garden close to the house as the sun drops below a house 4 away.

the properties and vegetation to the south is far less critical to the sun(higher in the sky) than open aspect to the east-west.

if you want evening sun on an outside area you need a clear aspect SW-NW with NW being the lowest.

Unless looking at fairly isolated properties there will always be a compromise with what's around it.

ellie27

glasgowdan wrote: »

I just wish we didn't do things the way we have and ended up in rented. We had no mortgage to pay bwfore we moved but ended yp commiting after pulling out of a purchase.

Another consideration is that the next move doesn't HAVE to be the forever one... Just trying to comfort myself here!

We were in rented between our sale and purchase too. However we waited for a place that ticked almost all our boxes so that it was a forever house. The thought of going through another sale (then possibly another rental?) and then having to find a house, doing all that again is stressful and expensive so I would say its worth another few months in that current rented house.

Good luck!

pinkshoes

Our first priority was off road parking for 3 cars. Two of ours, then space for a visitor. Nothing worse than not being able to park when you get home from work.

Word of mouth is also more important for schools than Ofsted, which is generally a pile of rubbish. Positivity form parents with a child AT the school speaks far more than a couple of people turning up for a day or two amd watching some lessons.

Big trees in a neighbours garden blocking light would annoy me. And I do like a sunny garden in the afternoon.

As others have said, you need to decide what is important to YOU.

phoebe1989seb

We also draw up a points system when buying a new home. Despite that it's usually the feeling that it's *the one* when we walk in the door that sells a particular house to us.

Our priorities are -

Period house (preferably Edwardian or earlier)

Detached (although our last one wasn't, but it had a 2' thick stone wall between it and our only neighbour)

Large rooms (we prefer not to knock walls down as that invariably ruins the character of the original layout, not to mention buying a listed house where that is unlikely to be approved)

Large garden (we have two boisterous dogs that need to let off steam plus I'm a very keen gardener)

Nice, attractive area with low crime level

Proximity to good local shops etc (I don't drive so a nice village centre within walking distance is essential for me)

Proximity to culture of some kind (DH loves the rural life, but I need my culture fix and the ideal would be a country home with a bolt hole in London)

Within a couple of hours drive of family (since our three remaining parents died in the last three years this has become slightly less of an issue)

Off-road parking/garage.

Our current house ticks almost all of the above - slightly smaller than we'd have liked, but the quirky character of the house more than makes up for it - except that we're 3.5 hrs from our nearest family.

It was a complete mess - but not the wreck our last place was - when we bought it 18 months ago as the PO had left it as a shrine to his ex gf whose parents owned it previously :eek: Last decorated in the 1970s (except a 1990s bathroom) it was a sea of woodchip and floral carpet, but luckily many of the original Arts & Crafts fireplaces/other features remain. Those that don't we're painstakingly replacing as part of our restoration.

The south-facing garden is smaller than our last one but has so many gorgeous features it actually feels bigger. It's not overlooked at all and is crammed full of mature trees that give a feeling of complete privacy, whilst its size means it's still a very sunny space

My favourite NT house is five minutes walk away, we have a wonderful bakery and deli in the village and there's loads of great countryside to walk the dogs in......perfect......for us, at least!

Right, back to stripping a huge woodchip ceiling, lol!

dirty_magic

Aspect and location were most important to me. The hedge would definitely put me off. I'm glad I didn't sacrifice the aspect because I love my sunny garden.

The neighbours a few doors down have lots of trees that block the sun in the evening and it does bug me a bit that I only get an hour or so of sun after work. It is nice to hear the birds in the trees though.