Did your purchase match your original criteria?

DairyQueen

Just interested in whether the property you purchased matched what you thought that you wanted when you began the process of finding your new home. It’s surprising how criteria may change throughout the search. Did yours? If so, how?

 

Most of us have to compromise to some extent and that forms part of the process. What did you compromise on? Why?

 

To kick-off…

 

Our original criteria (and whether achieved):

-       Peace and quiet (Tick)

-       Detached (Tick)

-       Rural or edge of village (Tick)

-       Period Property (Nope)

-       Within short distance of one of our selected market towns (Tick)

-       Max 15-minute drive from elderly parents (Nope)

-       Min 2 Beds (Tick)

-       2 Baths (Tick)

-       Large kitchen/diner (Nope)

-       Annexe or outbuilding or garden office – man cave and guest accommodation (Nope)

-       Goldilocks garden - not too large nor too small (Bit too large)

-       Neighbours at a distance - see ‘peace and quiet’ (Closer than we planned)

-       Move-in condition (Nope)

-       Downstairs loo - accessible for disabled mum when she visits (Tick)

-       Snug – for me (Tick).

 

The big pull of our new home is its location; lovely situation; and beautiful, neglected but west-facing garden. Meadow at the front, woods at the rear. It also has 3 bathrooms (bliss) and 4 good-sized bedrooms, and it was 25% under budget (for reasons that will soon become apparent).

 

During the course of our search I had a reality check on the difficulties of maintaining a period house whilst married to the lovely but DIY-shy Mr DQ. Divorce was a bit drastic so compromises were necessary and therefore I have accepted that a house built in the 1990s is a sensible option. Both neighbours have large-ish gardens so there is sufficient distance to maintain privacy, and retirees tend to lead quiet lives (we are all, or soon will be, retired).

 

There are sufficient rooms to house OH’s study. His noisy zoom/phone conferences are muted courtesy of extra space (and will soon be history anyway). There are a couple of guest rooms plus a sofa-bed in the snug so we don’t really need the annexe. The 40-min drive to my parents isn’t as onerous as I anticipated. 

 

The big downer is its condition. It’s a pretty house but it has been neglected for a decade. Structurally sound but everything needs refurbishment – doors, windows, bathrooms, roofline, render. The kitchen and utility are a mess, and both are small and are terrible layouts, but the kitchen can be extended into the garden to create a beautiful room. The whole place needs redecorating – inside and out. The boiler needs replacing. Neither shower works. The heating in the sitting room is rubbish. The suite in the downstairs loo is a ‘fetching’ shade of pea green. The rear garden slopes downhill so it will be difficult to build a garden shed let alone a chalet/office. A tree surgeon needs to tame some of the jungle and the rest will be a labour of love for us.  

Unfortunately, we hadn’t foreseen the post-lockdown demand for builders, nor the scarcity and increasing cost of materials. If I had known that it would likely take two years to schedule and complete the work, and that it would cost around a third more than we had planned, and that it will likely cost more than the house will then be worth, would we still have proceeded?

 

Probably not. Which would have been a shame and the wrong decision. Each time I look out of a window or spend time on the next patch of weedy border, I realise that my glass is much more than half full.  

 

So, whether FTB or, like us, heading toward the last of many property purchases, there are always compromises and the perfect property will never exist. 

dimbo61

Wow, long post and I don't think that any buyer has actually found or even built the perfect property in the perfect location with the perfect friends and neighbours nearby.
Life is full of compromise 

Octothorpe

Hmmm I like more characterful properties but we are buying a 30 year old house!

It's a bit smaller than what we could have got a year or so ago, inside and the garden.

But the rest is pretty much what we were after including location. 

que-sera-sera_2

We viewed 20+ houses before finding our current family home. In terms of the house, it ticks every single box.
If I was to be picky, it’s located at the wrong end of our little town/village. On a newish built estate that we were adamant we didn’t wanna live on. And being only 15/16 years, it lacks the character we would have loved.
We thought this would be our ‘forever’ family home. We’ve only been here for 6 months and already, I can’t picture myself being here ‘forever.’
It’s a lovely enough house/location but there’s something lacking which I can’t quite put my finger on....

hippocrates1

I also said I didn’t want a newish build but I was renting on the estate and I knew I liked the location so I changed my mind. I also wanted a drive but now have allocated parking 5m away. 

MovingForwards

I wanted a 2+ bedroom bungalow (due to disabilities) or an old 2 bed stone house, with a garden, walking distance to shops and public transport, mountain and water views, in an area with character and history, maybe a drive with a very low budget.

I purchased an old 2 bed flat with a private garden, walking distance to shops and public transport, mountain and water views, in an area with character, history and village-like feel, under my budget.

MaryNB

Would have preferred a slightly quieter road. I didn't realise mine is a bit of a cut through. Although I guess in hindsight the speed bumps should have been a big clue.... The gap in the middle of the speed bumps means motorbikes go speeding down the road all hours.  

Anything else really if the house had it it would mean I couldn't afford it. Closer to the street I wanted to live off, separate living and kitchen/dining area, upstairs bathroom, set back from the road etc all would have put it outside my price range. 

No regrets though. It's the only house that has come in the market in the last year that has been comfortably within my budget and ticks the key boxes - two double rooms, freehold house, not on a main road, and mainly of course location, location, location.
 
Thought I would want a south facing garden but in hindsignt if I had one my old Victorian house would be super dark. The sun in the living room is great. And my NW facing garden gets plenty of sun this time of year (maybe too much....my flowers are suffering)

powerful_Rogue

Second property we viewed. Knew straight away as soon as we saw it listed online.

Ticked every single box we had, and more.

Six months in the house and couldn't be happier.

JennyJukes

Ticked almost every box.  I'll rank in terms of priority:

- I wanted my bedroom not to be attached to anyone elses, from below, from above or to the side.  I got that - my house is terraced but to the right, where my bedroom is, there is no house; it's just the entrance for the flats on the side and I don't hear any noise from it!  (I'm very noise sensitive so this is extremely important for me)
- I wanted a house or an upper flat - got a house
- I wanted 2 bedrooms - got 2 bedrooms
- I wanted a place that would provide me some privacy, where neighbours can't tell when I'm in or when I'm out (I had issues with my previous neighbours complaining loudly that I didn't go out much?! and apparently that makes me a "very odd person" despite not having a conversation with me).  The car park is hidden from our garden and none of my neighbours would really be able to see me leave or come in so I feel more comfortable staying in my own home all weekend if I want to!
- I wanted a bath/room for a bath - got a bath
- I wanted my own private garden space and particularly somewhere to hang up washing  - I got a small front garden.  The back garden is a communal drying space but I like it and the neighbours don't congregate there to chat or be nosey!
- I wanted room for a dining table - I have room for a dining table!  None of the other houses I looked at did.

So in all I think I got more than I bargained for really, considering I'm a first time buyer doing it on my own and I don't have a huge salary.  Luckily prices here aren't high.  The first house I looked at had everything I wanted (except the dining table room) but it was at the top end of my budget and I was outbid.  It fell through and they asked me to offer higher which put me off completely since I already offered above value in the first place.  The second home I looked at and offered on was an upper flat which met everything else (but the dining table space) but I was again outbid on.  This third one I offered on (I had viewed a few more before it) I just knew it was the one I wanted.  I made an offer on the day and they gave me the price they would take it off the market for.  I snapped it up.  Shame some things need fixed/replaced but nothing major (touch wood) and it meets pretty much everything I want so happy  

hazyjo

Compromised on 2.5 bedrooms (one is a very small single!). Would've preferred 3+ (actually viewed one with 6 but missed the boat!). Everything else was ticked.

Got a much better location than anticipated, and a massive bathroom which I love, and parking for 2 cars which was an enormous bonus here as parking is at an absolute premium.

Suseka97

We definitely got the sort of house we were looking for (4-bed detached) with a great drive for vehicles and in a lovely suburb.  The compromise is our outdoor space, which is a good size but built into a hillside (as much of Torbay is) and so our garden just goes up and up.  We've a largish decking area that we are having replaced and then the upper tier will need some TLC; the previous owners were clearly not into gardening and so liked the minimal / low maintenance type of arrangement.  Me, I like wildflowers and lots of colour, so that's my project for the next few years.

Ideally we'd have liked something a little more rural and have to admit this won't be our 'last move' as it was intended to be for that very reason.  But we moved here so we could be close enough to be 'useful' retired grands for now and then when that's no longer needed we can move into more leisurely retirement in a quieter place.  That said we have great neighbours and can't hear them unless I keep windows open at night when one particular family likes later night outside socials... but I'm not talking banging music, just social chatter and BBQ's.