Larger/nicer house in worse area or worse/smaller house in nicer area?

Exodi

I guess I got the best of both worlds with my current house but I just wanted to emphasise not to go for a bad area.

I used to live in an unfavourable area (certainly not a rough council estate or anything, the houses were very nice 3 bed semi-detached new builds, a lot of them were council properties). Over the years, I started to build contempt for the people in the street for what would probably seem petty from the outside;

> The smell of Cannabis as you walk down the street
> The smell of Cannabis radiating off people in the local corner shop
> Loitering outside the local corner shop
> Staff in the corner shop chatting to their mates whilst serving people
> Young children walking around outside unattended
> The sound of tyres skidding and cars flying down this residential road at 50+ mph
> People walking around in Pyjamas/Dressing Gowns irrelevant of the time
> Coming home from work early and noticing the street isn't any less populated despite it being normal work hours
> People have shouting matches across the road/outside peoples houses, typically late at night
> Drum & Bass being played at absolutely ridiculous volumes during the morning/evening.
> Drum & Bass being played at absolutely ridiculous volumes out of cars.
> I have occasionally left very early (4am) to catch a business flight and notice a few people walking around... WHAT ARE THEY DOING?!

... sorry, I feel better now!

PasturesNew

Smaller/nicer, every time.

Bigger sucks you in because you think big is good.

Small can be annoying if you've not got room for "stuff", but still....

Smaller/nicer, every time.

I must say though, it can be peculiar when it comes to resale - when you find the bigger houses in the not so good areas, costing more than yours sell almost immediately .... and your nicer area one sits.... I suspect that's those pesky BTL LLs snapping them up as less nice areas can be little rental goldmines for LLs who can take the risk.

So, sometimes, in a nicer area, your house looks either "too small" or "overpriced" compared to others locally in "not so nice areas" as not everybody's in agreement about which area is desirable/not.

bp5678

elsien wrote: »

I often hear people on here saying single people don't need a 3 bedroom house - I may not need it but I've still managed to fill and all the space is used.

Thanks for this part as it was something I've also been thinking about. I'd appreciate another opinion on the "single and looking for a 3 bedroom house" idea? As I say I'd rent out at least one of the rooms.

SmashedAvacado

its the people with small ones that say size doesnt matter....or did i mishear that famous saying...

bp5678

need_an_answer wrote: »

I would opt for the better area and see if my budget stretched to a 3 bed dooer upper......

I love the idea of this but as a 24 year old first time buyer who's not the most practical and inexperienced with housing, I'd probably be the wrong person to be doing up a house. The idea sounds great but me actually implementing this is probably a bit farfetched. I'd be naive if I thought i could do up a cheap house well!

burnleymik

Go for the better area. We made this mistake as first time buyers. It was a bigger and better house, in a slightly worse area (not bad, but not as good as another property we were thinking about) and in the long run it has cost us. We have been here a long time and although we could invest money, the area has a ceiling price and to do any major work, such as an extension etc, just wouldn't be financially worth it.


In the end we are now moving to that better area, but I do wish we had made that move in the first place, not a regret, as such, but hindsight.

JennyJukes

I live in a rough council estate. Everyone told me it didn't matter what it looked like on the outside, once I'm inside my home is mine, I'm safe and away from the outside world - ha! The ONLY positive I have is that I'm saving on rent so I can move out of here quicker!!! Knowing I won't be here forever. I'm one of the few who works so everyone else has their music on all day, slamming doors, shouting drinking, so on... I would definitely rather live in a not so looked after place but in a nicer, quieter area and pay that little bit extra! Living in a rough area all I really ask for is somewhere affordable, quiet and not damp, I can make the rest look pretty. Maybe a smaller house in a better area with room to expand on the house? (Not that I know much about home owning lol)

getmore4less

Important to spot the areas that will remain good or get better.

Some areas are good because they are new.

Look at property mix are they predominantly property people want.

Boom times small stuff sells.

Weak times they don't people skip the bottom.

There is still potential for looking at income capacity as a long term investment rather than a home in a good rental area.

KatieDee

We actually had this exact choice to make - a lovely detached house in less desirable area, or a very average house in a nicer area.

It was a difficult decision. While viewing, I probably would have leant towards the former, as the house was quite new, lots of space and a lot cheaper!

In the end, the other house won us over. The area in which I live and will hopefully raise a family in is very important to me. I want my neighbours to be of a similar mindset to me and as snobby as it sounds, you might assume a nicer area would be looked after more by the people who live there. Obviously not always the case judging by some threads on here, but it's definitely more likely.

You can decorate a house, add an extension to make it bigger, change the layout, but you cannot change the area. Chances are if you've noticed an area isn't as desirable, other people will have too, meaning your ability to sell on will be lower. I think that is why a lot of "less desirable" areas tend to have more privately rented houses, because there isn't much demand for people to buy there.

ethank

Location Location Location. As Kirsty says "Find the worst house in the best street"