What was your 'compromise' with your property purchase?

halogen

Bathroom. That's what put me off. It's tiny and I've since discovered that the bath is too small to actually use. I looked at 5 other places but they all had bigger flaws.


It's all very well saying don't buy it if it's not perfect but unless you have an unlimited budget you have to comprimise.

Soot2006

Interesting thread, thanks OP!
Currently trying to work out our compromises We've viewing 14 houses so far and I've decided I cannot compromise on location. We found an enormous, beautiful, well-presented house ... in the wrong street. And I can't do it. Can't live there. Didn't realise I was that picky!

Have decided to compromise on condition/decor. We can work our way through that over the next years as long as we like the house enough to live there for the next years!

Also, I have a car + a horsebox, so driveway/off-road parking was key ... and yet the house we like the most doesn't have this and I've driven up and down the street to determine I would be OK with street parking instead. Perhaps in the future, turn some of the garden into the right car park for myself ...



I genuinely didn't know where the balance of compromise lay before I started looking at the houses. Now, I am more confident about what I can and can't live with.

Damago

Compromise with first house was location - not where I wanted to be, downstairs bathroom, small kitchen and terraced, but if I was to stay in the area I wanted we could only have afforded a flat rather than a house.
Compromise on current purchase - near main road (has put a lot of people off but doesn't overly bother us), very difficult sellers (ongoing), things we can change: house is ugly from outside, dated inside.

System

Aside from it being a "wonky Wimpey", we had no access to the back garden other than through the house, as a previous owner had extended across the back of the garage (which was, of course, a plus point).

It's a bit of a pain carrying the lawn mower through the house, or having to transport bigger things like fence panels over the flat roof, but hey ho, we've been here 16 years and aren't going anywhere.

novelty-socks

We got exactly the location we wanted. We got a big flat. We paid just under our maximum budget.

I suppose our main compromises were:

* That the building has some history of structural issues, so we have to put up with a somewhat higher insurance premium and perhaps more difficult resale in future.
* That we have no dedicated garden or outside space (although there's a nice, usable, shared garden).
* That we had to spend a bunch of money on renovations, which took us close to our full budget anyway!

We're happy with those compromises. I think that's the main thing.

babyblade41

Damago wrote: »

Compromise with first house was location - not where I wanted to be, downstairs bathroom, small kitchen and terraced, but if I was to stay in the area I wanted we could only have afforded a flat rather than a house.
Compromise on current purchase - near main road (has put a lot of people off but doesn't overly bother us), very difficult sellers (ongoing), things we can change: house is ugly from outside, dated inside.

Just a suggestion, why don't you post the exterior here, there are some very innovative and creative people here who could help .. dated inside is great.. you can do everything how you want it

paduk

Ceiling height. I bought a split level maisonette ( 2nd and 3rd floor). The ceiling on both floors is low but plenty of natural light.

Mnd

We heard through a friend that a house may be going up for sale, I called the vendor, next day we viewed it, agreed a price and said we would buy it. It's perfect. Lived here 15 years and still love it

PasturesNew

Lots is always a compromise, especially for those buying into the lower end of the market anywhere.

Whether the lower end of the market is £100k, or £400k, if it's the lower end of the market then there will always be stuff you can't pay your way out of.

For me, here: my own drive, orientation.

I'm selling/moving soon-ish ... I expect to compromise on a lot of stuff as my wish list is unachievable on my budget. The wish list includes: garage, utility, open plan, breakfast bar, conservatory. I expect to be able to afford ... none of those.

Deep_In_Debt

My house is a 2 up 2 down mid terrace. Fine for just me.

I have a tiny kitchen and bathroom and the bathroom is an enclosed one with no window - I don't like the enclosed bathroom. The bedrooms are both a good size and so is the living room with a lot of light.

I live in a nice, quiet area with good neighbours and a lot of countryside around. My garden backs on to a small green with a small pond, then fields for quite a long way.

The area was more important to me than the house.