Unsure what I want, plus couple of houses opinions requested

danlightbulb

Just called about the bungalow. It has mines within 20m. They are sending the report over. Typical. Probably unmortgagable - again.

I dispair with this sh1thole sometimes. Would be better off nuking the whole area from orbit.

danlightbulb

That nice detached house has been marked sold already, I only spotted it about 20 hours ago! I said it wouldn't be around for long.


Coming back to bungalows, there is another one Ive seen. This is labelled as a 2 bed rather than a 3 bed, but the number of downstairs rooms is similar as one has 2 beds and 2 sitting rooms, and the other has 3 beds and the living room extension.


Which would you say is better, which has more potential?

new one: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-83946368.html
or original one: https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-57484677.html


Houses with gable end walls always look nicer than ones with a cap-like roof on, don't they?

Bossypants

Curb-appeal-wise I prefer the new one, but in terms of size, layout and general potential, it's the original one for me every time. I think on that one, the curb appeal could be greatly improved by repainting the outside and doing something about those ridiculous bulging bay windows if you can. In any event, while curb appeal is a nice to have, I find the novelty soon wears off and you stop noticing it very quickly when it's your own house. The inside is what you're going to really feel and appreciate (or not!) in time. Only one of my previous homes has had real curb appeal, a lovely little 18th century flint cottage. It looked like something off a chocolate box, but the internal layout was awkward and I never really managed to get to grips with it. In the end, I was very glad to trade it for my current place, which is pretty plain from the outside but which works really well and feels welcoming and nice to be in on the inside.

danlightbulb

I also think the 2 bed looks nicer from outside. Plus its got the driveway, bigger frontage and side access to garage rather than rear access. I think it being brick makes it look nicer too, rather than render and that red colour they have painted the bricks with on the first one.

However the first one is on a slightly larger plot, has already been extended at the back to give that larger living room and enable the 3 beds in the main house. Its also got a larger kitchen, although the new one has a kitchen plus a utility area. The original one has got that funny bathroom window thing going on.

I just don't know. I prefer the 2nd one in terms of looks and site layout, and both could have a loft room created which would be nice in both I guess. But the first one is already bigger inside because of the extension.



[STRIKE]However, I'd much rather have the normal two storey house to the right of that bungalow, without a doubt. [/STRIKE] - sorry, very inconsiderate of me to comment that.

Bossypants

danlightbulb wrote: »

However, I'd much rather have the normal two storey house to the right of that bungalow, without a doubt. [/COLOR]

And I'd much rather have the stately home set in 25 acres just south of me. Sadly, though, I can't afford it and so instead I've found a place which meets as many if my wishes as I could manage while being priced within my budget. And I bet there are a lot of people on this very forum who would LOVE to be anle get a little detached bungalow, or one of the semis you posted earlier.

You can do as you please of course, but I would really advise you to stop wishing you had better cards, and instead work out how best to play the ones you have. Daydreaming is fine, but constantly gazing into the next price bracket and sighing over it will only make you miserable.

danlightbulb

You're right, I don't mean to sound entitled. I apologise for that comment.

In all honesty even if that house next door was available for the same money I'd still be finding fault with it. It's so much money to spend I begrudge doing it. I think that's why Im finding fault and uncertainty with everything I see.

Both of those bungalows are nice, but I can't decide if a bungalow is right for me. I don't know how to resolve that.

I think it would be much easier if I was with someone else. I have lost the ability to make decisions lately.

Bossypants

To be honest, I think it sort of sounds like maybe you're not quite ready to make the decision? I can only speak for myself, but I've found that when I've been really mentally ready to move, the right house has just sort of presented itself.

When you are ready, as far as bungalows vs not, I don't think you should target bungalows, just don't discount them. Go and see ones that meet your location and size requirements just as you would any other house which did that. One of these days you will walk into a house and think 'yes, I could see myself living here', and then you'll likely find you are able to resolve your other concerns without too much worry. The two houses I've loved the most in my time were both houses I didn't expect to like at all based on the ads. They looked small and bland and had very little curb appeal, and I only went to see them because I had told myself I would see everything which met my size and location specifications. In both cases, I walked in expecting to be in and out in 5 minutes, but as soon as I was through the front door, I could immediately picture how I could live there (even though one of them had all the walls in bright, 70's vinyl wallpaper and contrasting carpets...). I'm not saying this will be the case for everyone of course, but the key is that you really must go and see every single one in person. There is so much about a house you can't tell through an ad, and to be honest my experience is that the ones which look amazing online often fall short in real life anyway.

danlightbulb

It was a good suggestion to look at bungalows, earlier in the thread. I had never considered them at all, and have now seen two good ones with far better space and garden sizes than anything I'd found in a traditional house. I can see the appeal initially, just wondering about the downsides. And strangely they seem better priced here than normal houses do. That probably won't last long, they will sell and as there aren't many in the first place there will be none more come on the market.

danlightbulb

I have been trying to compare the two bungalows to each other in terms of size and floorplan, using google satelite view to measure distances along with the room dimensions supplied by the adverts.

This is as close as I can estimate it. It will be a little out because of the crudeness of the information but not that far off.

The original bungalow is bigger, by virtue of the extension, but not by much. I make it about 110m2 to about 96m2 (not including garages). I wonder though if I prefer the layout of the second one.

These two floorplans are drawn roughly to scale.





In terms of total plot size, they are very similar as well. The house on the right has a wider but shorter garden (to accomodate the side driveway and garage), whilst the one on the left is longer but slightly narrower.

The garage on the second house is much more accessible, being front accessed down the side of the house. The original bungalow's garage is at the very rear of the garden and there is rear access via another street at the back which leads round the back of several houses. I feel I would get more use from a garage that is closer to the house, as can more easily pop in and out, and ultimately the option to make it part of the house itself.

The house on the left has been badged as three bed and the one on the right as a two bed, but as you can see they actually are very similar in size and have the same number of total rooms.

The one on the right has a gable roof, compared to the hip roof on the first house. I understand this may make a loft conversion easier and bigger.

The one on the left is in a quieter street, not much through traffic, whereas the one on the right is on a busier road, however is elevated quite a bit.

Do you all still prefer the one on the left? If so, why do you consider that one to have more potential than the other one?


Sorry, bet you're getting fed up by now. I have no one else to gain knowledgable views from.

Thanks

getmore4less

Second one.

I would be wondering what is going on with what looks like abandoned land in the middle of the housing triangle to the south.

Also rear access from the house seems to be through the lean to
It is not clear if you can get between the house and the garage. there is a secondary access down the other side.

kitchen is tiny could knock through.

If that road is busy then getting off the drive will be an issue for 2 cars, which was on the requirement list.
(you could put a turn space on the front as you really should reverse onto the drive currently)

great south west garden.
Potential for great rear extension but will hit ceiling prices(£200k-£250k)

First one
Prefer the layout of the first with the bigger living room and a kitchen you can use but north garden and that shared rear access would need research.
I also like to park my car very near the doors to he house, that would be a lot of work and need permission for a dropped curb.