Advice choosing between 2 properties

apyabt

Hi there, Just wanted some advice regarding a future house purchase. 

My wife and I have put in an offer for a property for £315k on a new build development. It is a 3 bed, 3 story townhouse, centre terrace in a large-ish UK city. Another property has come up on the same development that is up for £375k, same build specs, rooms etc, but with an extra 130sqf extra throughout the property and an end of terrace. 

£315k = 1150sqf, £375k = 1280sqf

Now, we think that £60k for an extra 130sqf is pretty steep, however it does have these other pros:

* 130 sqf extra space

* 1 neighbour rather than 2

* Larger garden 

* North facing living room rather than south facing (no TV glare) 

* Kitchen island and better layout on the ground floor

* More storage

* Larger front balcony (enough for another dining space rather than just a bench) 

* 2 car parking spaces instead of 1

It would be great to get some input from other people who have had to make a similar decision. Are these benefits and the slight increase in space worth £60k? We are first time buyers so have never had to consider these things before. Thanks in advance! 

hazyjo

Is it still only 3 beds?

UnderOffer

If at all possible I’d try for the more expensive property. The fact that you get 2 parking spaces too is so much better. 

We had a similar dilemma many years ago, both properties were 4 bed and similar but one was 50k more, my gut said go for cheaper, we don’t need a study etc., don’t over stretch ourselves, we spent 10 happy years there but have now moved to the exact property we considered all those years ago, still cost us the 50k too plus the added expense of 2nd round of Sdlt fees and solicitor fees, if I could turn back the clock I would have spent the extra money on our preferred home. 

zagubov

I'm in London and would think this would be well worth it. Having lived in a newish three-storey townhouse, try to have your own bedroom on the first floor. Upstairs is for kids, guests or office space.

The extra parking space is worth a lot. If you don't need it you can rent it out.
If you can afford this as your first house, you'll really future-proof yourself for a long time to come.

I know perfectly well that this site is about saving money, but we need to remember that economy should be our servant not our god.

apyabt

hazyjo said:

Is it still only 3 beds?

Yes, still 3 bed. Exactly the same rooms, just with extra space throughout. 

apyabt

UnderOffer said:

If at all possible I’d try for the more expensive property. The fact that you get 2 parking spaces too is so much better. 

We had a similar dilemma many years ago, both properties were 4 bed and similar but one was 50k more, my gut said go for cheaper, we don’t need a study etc., don’t over stretch ourselves, we spent 10 happy years there but have now moved to the exact property we considered all those years ago, still cost us the 50k too plus the added expense of 2nd round of Sdlt fees and solicitor fees, if I could turn back the clock I would have spent the extra money on our preferred home. 

The money isn't really the concern to be honest, I guess we're more concerned with losing equity if its not worth this perceived value. With the £315k property we have worked out that one of us could lose our job and we would still be comfortable, but with the £375k, it would be pretty tight (just being extra careful considering the economy right now, our jobs are pretty secure compared to most).

That's the way I'm leaning to be honest (my wife might take some persuading though). I think we will regret it in a few years if we don't go for the more expensive property. I might have a chat with the agent on Monday and see if we can get them down to £360k and go from there. Thanks for sharing your experience, really appreciate it. 

apyabt

zagubov said:

I'm in London and would think this would be well worth it. Having lived in a newish three-storey townhouse, try to have your own bedroom on the first floor. Upstairs is for kids, guests or office space.

The extra parking space is worth a lot. If you don't need it you can rent it out.
If you can afford this as your first house, you'll really future-proof yourself for a long time to come.

I know perfectly well that this site is about saving money, but we need to remember that economy should be our servant not our god.

Yes, the future-proofing is a really good point and one we hadn't really considered. The larger property would definitely be suitable for 10 years, whereas the smaller I think more like 5-7, and that would be pushing it. The extra space and the layout in the living area is pretty significant.

Agree with your comment, sometimes you have to spend money to save money. We have spoken about the smaller property as well and would want to do some work on it, whereas the larger property already has those things.

I'm just concerned about making an offer on something that is over priced and losing equity if it isn't deemed as worth the extra £60k on the market in the future, considering the small size difference. Would you say an offer for £360k would be fair? 

hazyjo

I'd compare against older houses. The minute you move in, it'll be "second hand" and it's those you'll need to consider if you ever move. Long term, it's unlikely to be worth more cos it's a newer build.

I was the second owner of a house once. Buyers had paid an enormous price tag at the time (400k), well over market value elsewhere. When they came to sell, I bought 8 years later for around 35k more. Other properties had risen over 50% and the Zoopla valuation was around £150-200k over (I forget). Not saying take a blind bit of notice what Zoopla says, but just an example of how the general area had increased.

At that sort of price level, it sounds like a much bigger increase for the same number of bedrooms. The figures don't mean a lot to me, it would be about layout and how spacious the rooms feel. Do you have any links or floor plans to share?

RelievedSheff

I would pay the extra to be semi detached rather than mid terraced and get the larger house and extra parking space.

Having suffered with noisy neighbours in the past we would want as few attached neighbours as possible!

pbartlett

Is the rear garden south or west facing on the more expensive one - that would sway me...

GDB2222

You are paying £275 per sq ft for the smaller house. The extra 130 sqft are costing nearly £500 psf. Bear in mind that both houses have the same electric systems, central heating etc, so the extra footage is rather cheap to build.  You may therefore be able to get more discount on the larger property. Just a thought. Plot size is also important.