Really confused about what I want :(

MFWannabe

danlightbulb said:

Tiglet2 said:

Tiglet2 said:

These are cheaper properties in your detailed drawn area on Rightmove.  Might be worth viewing.
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/73760262#/
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/78425198#/
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/92646506#/
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/74892636#/
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/74578401#/

Danlightbulb - what did you think to these?

They all share the similar layout where the living/dining rooms are adjoining the party wall, which is not ideal for the piano really although I take on board what people have been saying about that. It would be better avoided though if possible.

They are ok yeah and I should probably view a couple of them. Out of the list i would say the 1st one and the 4th one look to be the better in terms of layout and condition. The last one is a step too far I think in terms of work needed.

Ive just viewed a house though, which was a tale of two extremes. The house itself is a traditional 3 bed semi, been extended so its got great space inside and its in really good condition throughout. However the road its on is not very good, and its garden is extremely steep/terraced, but a good size and very private. If the house was on any other road it would have sold no problem but because of where it is, and the garden, its been on the market for a while. Due to me likely now needing 15%, I can get nowhere near it's asking price but there may be a substantial deal to be had with it because of its issues which would immediately put many people off. Its not in the core area of where I wanted to be but about a mile away from where I live now, so taking on board what people have been saying, its doable. So how do I decide whether the house trumps the location or not?

Decision may be swung by if you can get it for the right price or not? Which property was it Dan? 
Ref the location; what puts you off about it? Does it have more pros than cons? 
What was your initial feeling when you viewed? 

danlightbulb

MFWannabe said:

danlightbulb said:

Tiglet2 said:

Tiglet2 said:

These are cheaper properties in your detailed drawn area on Rightmove.  Might be worth viewing.
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/73760262#/
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/78425198#/
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/92646506#/
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/74892636#/
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/74578401#/

Danlightbulb - what did you think to these?

They all share the similar layout where the living/dining rooms are adjoining the party wall, which is not ideal for the piano really although I take on board what people have been saying about that. It would be better avoided though if possible.

They are ok yeah and I should probably view a couple of them. Out of the list i would say the 1st one and the 4th one look to be the better in terms of layout and condition. The last one is a step too far I think in terms of work needed.

Ive just viewed a house though, which was a tale of two extremes. The house itself is a traditional 3 bed semi, been extended so its got great space inside and its in really good condition throughout. However the road its on is not very good, and its garden is extremely steep/terraced, but a good size and very private. If the house was on any other road it would have sold no problem but because of where it is, and the garden, its been on the market for a while. Due to me likely now needing 15%, I can get nowhere near it's asking price but there may be a substantial deal to be had with it because of its issues which would immediately put many people off. Its not in the core area of where I wanted to be but about a mile away from where I live now, so taking on board what people have been saying, its doable. So how do I decide whether the house trumps the location or not?

Decision may be swung by if you can get it for the right price or not? Which property was it Dan? 
Ref the location; what puts you off about it? Does it have more pros than cons? 
What was your initial feeling when you viewed? 

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/85516811#/
When I pulled into the road and parked up i was really quite put off at first. If you look on google street view you'll see why. But the house itself really is nice.

The immediate location is a little rough. A little further afield there have been some newer estates built. Its a mile from where I live now but in the direction away from where I ideally wanted to go.

I often seem to be interested in houses that have these extremes going on - nothing ever average lol.

MFWannabe

danlightbulb said:

Tiglet2 said:

Tiglet2 said:

These are cheaper properties in your detailed drawn area on Rightmove.  Might be worth viewing.
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/73760262#/
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/78425198#/
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/92646506#/
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/74892636#/
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/74578401#/

Danlightbulb - what did you think to these?

They all share the similar layout where the living/dining rooms are adjoining the party wall, which is not ideal for the piano really although I take on board what people have been saying about that. It would be better avoided though if possible.

They are ok yeah and I should probably view a couple of them. Out of the list i would say the 1st one and the 4th one look to be the better in terms of layout and condition. The last one is a step too far I think in terms of work needed.

Ive just viewed a house though, which was a tale of two extremes. The house itself is a traditional 3 bed semi, been extended so its got great space inside and its in really good condition throughout. However the road its on is not very good, and its garden is extremely steep/terraced, but a good size and very private. If the house was on any other road it would have sold no problem but because of where it is, and the garden, its been on the market for a while. Due to me likely now needing 15%, I can get nowhere near it's asking price but there may be a substantial deal to be had with it because of its issues which would immediately put many people off. Its not in the core area of where I wanted to be but about a mile away from where I live now, so taking on board what people have been saying, its doable. So how do I decide whether the house trumps the location or not?

You should view 1 and 4 then; you can see better from viewing as pics don’t show enough 
I think if you look at the floor plan of 4 there’s room for piano away from party walk? 
Will also help you to decide on today’s property

NinjaTune

I have to say it's really good to see a positive post from you about the property you've viewed.  You are willing to compromise (to a certain extent) about the location, willing to accept that there's a possibility of obtaining the property at your budget and can see the good point of it without letting potential negatives rule it out

When you say that the road is 'not very good' what exactly do you mean by that?  Does it have a high crime rate, dodgy neighbours or that the road itself has drawbacks (potholes, bad visibility etc.)?  ETA:  somehow managed to miss loads of posts where this question was already answered!

How did you feel when you were going round the house - were you thinking what you would do with rooms, how you would put your own stamp on the place, where furniture would go?  In other words, were you able to imagine actually living there?

DCFC79

danlightbulb said:

MFWannabe said:

danlightbulb said:

Tiglet2 said:

Tiglet2 said:

These are cheaper properties in your detailed drawn area on Rightmove.  Might be worth viewing.
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/73760262#/
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/78425198#/
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/92646506#/
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/74892636#/
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/74578401#/

Danlightbulb - what did you think to these?

They all share the similar layout where the living/dining rooms are adjoining the party wall, which is not ideal for the piano really although I take on board what people have been saying about that. It would be better avoided though if possible.

They are ok yeah and I should probably view a couple of them. Out of the list i would say the 1st one and the 4th one look to be the better in terms of layout and condition. The last one is a step too far I think in terms of work needed.

Ive just viewed a house though, which was a tale of two extremes. The house itself is a traditional 3 bed semi, been extended so its got great space inside and its in really good condition throughout. However the road its on is not very good, and its garden is extremely steep/terraced, but a good size and very private. If the house was on any other road it would have sold no problem but because of where it is, and the garden, its been on the market for a while. Due to me likely now needing 15%, I can get nowhere near it's asking price but there may be a substantial deal to be had with it because of its issues which would immediately put many people off. Its not in the core area of where I wanted to be but about a mile away from where I live now, so taking on board what people have been saying, its doable. So how do I decide whether the house trumps the location or not?

Decision may be swung by if you can get it for the right price or not? Which property was it Dan? 
Ref the location; what puts you off about it? Does it have more pros than cons? 
What was your initial feeling when you viewed? 

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/85516811#/
When I pulled into the road and parked up i was really quite put off at first. If you look on google street view you'll see why. But the house itself really is nice.

The immediate location is a little rough. A little further afield there have been some newer estates built. Its a mile from where I live now but in the direction away from where I ideally wanted to go.

I often seem to be interested in houses that have these extremes going on - nothing ever average lol.

Could you do anything to the front so it doesn't put you off ?

danlightbulb

NinjaTune said:

When you say that the road is 'not very good' what exactly do you mean by that?  Does it have a high crime rate, dodgy neighbours or that the road itself has drawbacks (potholes, bad visibility etc.)?

How did you feel when you were going round the house - were you thinking what you would do with rooms, how you would put your own stamp on the place, where furniture would go?  In other words, were you able to imagine actually living there?

Its an unadopted road so yes it was a bit badly maintained. This house is at the very end of it. At the entrance to this road is a corner shop and a takeaway. The house opposite had a couple of caravans in their garden which they've turned into a bit of a car park. The houses were all different styles, so it didn't look 'pretty' at all. I know that for crime the area in general is slightly worse than where I live now as the car insurance quote is higher (this is one of the ways I judge it, in the absence of any direct info), but some areas in Tipton are about the same.

I couldn't ask about the neighbours or the street itself because I met the agent today not the vendors. 

It is surrounded by an open but steep area of land with dense overgrown vegetation. I doubt there are plans to do anything with it because of the steepness but that's something I would check on.

The house itself was great. It was cottage like. Already in good condition overall and doesn't need any major work doing. 2 reception rooms would be great for piano. I know I don't really need something with 2 rooms living alone, but it would mean my things aren't crammed in. It had a brick outbuilding and room for a garage to the side in future (not that this would be affordable anytime soon).

danlightbulb

DCFC79 said:

Could you do anything so it doesn't put you off.

Im not sure what you mean? Its a bit like having a nice little cottage at the end of an industrial estate. Not quite that extreme but you get the point.

MFWannabe

Unfortunately there’s not much you can do with a location but plenty you can do with a property 
It’s a personal decision really; personally I’d choose better location every time even if property needed work because of the above 🤷‍♀️
But other people would go for better property in less desirable location 
I would view other properties and it will help you decide? 

danlightbulb

Yeah I still have the viewing on the other house to come at the weekend. The two I just called up about (from Tiglet's list) have both gone under offer.

I don't know how much weight I should give to issues like the unadopted road, or the very steep garden. Obviously those things affect what the house would sell for and are the reason I might get it for a good price. But at the same time maybe I should not be taking those risks at all? Earlier in the thread people were ruling out a shared driveway which I assume is for a similar reason - the potential for big hassle.

phoebe1989seb

It looks like a nice property with a definite cottage feel 

I think it partly depends on whether you want to play it safe or not.....a characterful house such as that one that are within your budget will always have downsides which are what makes them more affordable.

For example, when we sold our last-but-one house our buyers admitted they could never have afforded a thatched property of that size/amount of garden if it hadn't been on a (rural) A-road......if it had been on a quiet road in our village you could have added £100k to the price.

Therefore, in a better location that property wouldn't be affordable for you!

If you buy something with more universal appeal (eg, not on an unadopted road), chances are it won't have the period look you seem to prefer as the character properties in *better* locations tend to be more expensive