Which of these 3-bedroom houses would you purchase? Edit to include option C?

powerful_Rogue

diystarter7 said:

EssexHebridean said:

diystarter7 said:

EssexHebridean said:

I was going to say to ignore the speed limit on the road too - the majority of people simply ignore anything below a 20mph at least. 

! 

Hiya

Any evidence to back up your comments about the "majority" ? 

Thnaks

As a starting point the HSE don’t suggest anything lower than 10mph for industrial estate settings which is often where limits below 20mph are to be found. 

I’m not aware of whether there is any up to date evidence relating to 20mph limits specifically as these are still relatively speaking unusual in the U.K. although becoming less so - however as at 2020 it was reported that 56% of cars, 58% of light commercials, and 67% of motorbikes were exceeding 30mph limits. It’s generally understood that the lower the limit, the more drivers are likely to exceed them - in part I believe because 30kWh is still seen by many as the lowest ‘standard’ limit for the U.K. and so often drivers simply don’t notice a  lower limit, while others consider the lower limit to be “unnecessary” or even optional! Once you get below 10mph is also becomes a little more difficult to maintain the required speed, so that can have an effect. 

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/vehicle-speed-compliance-statistics-for-great-britain-2020/vehicle-speed-compliance-statistics-for-great-britain-2020

Hiya

So you there is no evidence to qualify your comments about the "majority ignore" the 20mph speed limit

I don't want to derail the thread so will only respond to this again if you do provide a link as requested to support your comments which is not the case in the above link you posted

Thanks for trying.

Did you not read the link I posted?

Data released by the Department for Transport (DfT) found that a staggering 86% of all journeys made through 20mph zones last year broke the speed limit.

https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/news/motoring-news/drivers-break-20mph-school-zone-limits

ArbitraryRandom

SarahB16 said:

On a separate point made of having to walk through the front of the house to get to the back of the house it would also be extremely easy to just use the footpath if you wanted to as well.     

I guess it's little things like, if you're cutting the grass at the front and your compost heap or green bin is around the back, do you really want to either take that through the house or go 'around the houses'. Not a deal breaker if the house was otherwise perfect, but it puts (at least some) people off as it's a little inconvenience. 

I didn't buy a house once as there was nowhere to put a bin in the kitchen that wasn't a walkway. I was already on the fence about it but in combination with the other things I didn't like it was enough for me to say no and keep looking for something that was a better fit. 

ArbitraryRandom

EssexHebridean said:

One thing which does stand out in (some of) the replies here is the amount of snobbery there is around terraced housing - not everyone has the budget to buy detached or semi-detached, as much as they might want to. Whilst living in a particular type of house might not be to someone’s own choice, sneering at that property type isn’t really necessary IMO. 

I haven't seen any sneering or snobbery about terraced housing. The OP clearly DOES have the budget to buy semi-detached as one of the options they offered is exactly that (end-terrace).

I have lived in mid-terrace and I currently live in a detached (I've also lived in top, middle and bottom flats). In my experience there's a practical difference when you have side access to your home and when you have a wall which is not shared with another family that mean I would always choose a semi-detached over a terrace if all other variables are equal.

The OP seems to feel differently, but when asked 'which would I buy' then it would be disingenuous for me not to mention WHY I wouldn't buy a mid-terrace.  

EssexHebridean

powerful_Rogue said:

diystarter7 said:

EssexHebridean said:

I was going to say to ignore the speed limit on the road too - the majority of people simply ignore anything below a 20mph at least. 

! 

Hiya

Any evidence to back up your comments about the "majority" ? 

Thnaks

90% of people break the speed limit in 20mph zones.

https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/news/motoring-news/drivers-break-20mph-school-zone-limits/

Ah we cross posted previously I think - thanks for that link, interesting particularly in combination with the detail given in the link I posted at the same time. As someone who lives on a road with a 20mph limit I can certainly confirm anecdotally that I would certainly agree with that 90% figure - it’s rare that you can drive along our road at 20 without someone tailgating, revving their engine in apparent frustration at being “stuck behind” you etc. I imagine anyone else who routinely drives in these limits and abides by them finds much the same! That link also backs up the correlation between the lower the limit, the more it is ignored, too. In real terms I suspect the OP’s road’s limit may well get observed as a 20mph, or closer to that at least than the 5/10 currently being suggested - but that of course may mean a corresponding increase in road noise - although at garden level that may be able to be mitigated by planting. 

ArbitraryRandom said:

EssexHebridean said:

One thing which does stand out in (some of) the replies here is the amount of snobbery there is around terraced housing - not everyone has the budget to buy detached or semi-detached, as much as they might want to. Whilst living in a particular type of house might not be to someone’s own choice, sneering at that property type isn’t really necessary IMO. 

I haven't seen any sneering or snobbery about terraced housing. The OP clearly DOES have the budget to buy semi-detached as one of the options they offered is exactly that (end-terrace).

I have lived in mid-terrace and I currently live in a detached (I've also lived in top, middle and bottom flats). In my experience there's a practical difference when you have side access to your home and when you have a wall which is not shared with another family that mean I would always choose a semi-detached over a terrace if all other variables are equal.

The OP seems to feel differently, but when asked 'which would I buy' then it would be disingenuous for me not to mention WHY I wouldn't buy a mid-terrace.  

Oh it hasn’t come from everyone by any means - this was why I  was careful to stress that the attitude was apparent in “some of” the replies. 

I’d agree about side or rear access - one of the things on our wish list currently is some form of access directly into the garden space, and the more we’ve thought about it, the more we think that it’s a must-have for us. Certainly round here though semi-detached and end terrace are seen as two totally different property types - semi detached carries a price premium over an end terrace pretty much across the board - that may be different in different areas though of course. 

SarahB16

EssexHebridean said:

powerful_Rogue said:

diystarter7 said:

EssexHebridean said:

I was going to say to ignore the speed limit on the road too - the majority of people simply ignore anything below a 20mph at least. 

! 

Hiya

Any evidence to back up your comments about the "majority" ? 

Thnaks

90% of people break the speed limit in 20mph zones.

https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/news/motoring-news/drivers-break-20mph-school-zone-limits/

Ah we cross posted previously I think - thanks for that link, interesting particularly in combination with the detail given in the link I posted at the same time. As someone who lives on a road with a 20mph limit I can certainly confirm anecdotally that I would certainly agree with that 90% figure - it’s rare that you can drive along our road at 20 without someone tailgating, revving their engine in apparent frustration at being “stuck behind” you etc. I imagine anyone else who routinely drives in these limits and abides by them finds much the same! That link also backs up the correlation between the lower the limit, the more it is ignored, too. In real terms I suspect the OP’s road’s limit may well get observed as a 20mph, or closer to that at least than the 5/10 currently being suggested - but that of course may mean a corresponding increase in road noise - although at garden level that may be able to be mitigated by planting. 

The road is not a through road so will only be used by the residents so I doubt there will be much traffic and there won't be that many houses overall.  

The speed of the traffic will not be an issue for me and on the occasions when a car is travelling on the road it really will not make much difference to me if it is going at 5, 10 or 20mph because for the vast majority of the time the road will not have cars travelling along it.       

EssexHebridean

SarahB16 said:

EssexHebridean said:

powerful_Rogue said:

diystarter7 said:

EssexHebridean said:

I was going to say to ignore the speed limit on the road too - the majority of people simply ignore anything below a 20mph at least. 

! 

Hiya

Any evidence to back up your comments about the "majority" ? 

Thnaks

90% of people break the speed limit in 20mph zones.

https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/news/motoring-news/drivers-break-20mph-school-zone-limits/

Ah we cross posted previously I think - thanks for that link, interesting particularly in combination with the detail given in the link I posted at the same time. As someone who lives on a road with a 20mph limit I can certainly confirm anecdotally that I would certainly agree with that 90% figure - it’s rare that you can drive along our road at 20 without someone tailgating, revving their engine in apparent frustration at being “stuck behind” you etc. I imagine anyone else who routinely drives in these limits and abides by them finds much the same! That link also backs up the correlation between the lower the limit, the more it is ignored, too. In real terms I suspect the OP’s road’s limit may well get observed as a 20mph, or closer to that at least than the 5/10 currently being suggested - but that of course may mean a corresponding increase in road noise - although at garden level that may be able to be mitigated by planting. 

The road is not a through road so will only be used by the residents so I doubt there will be much traffic and there won't be that many houses overall.  

The speed of the traffic will not be an issue for me and on the occasions when a car is travelling on the road it really will not make much difference to me if it is going at 5, 10 or 20mph because for the vast majority of the time the road will not have cars travelling along it.       

That probably deals with that aspect then! 20mph limits on roads that get used as rat runs definitely don’t solve the problems they were intended to! 

diystarter7

SarahB16 said:

EssexHebridean said:

powerful_Rogue said:

diystarter7 said:

EssexHebridean said:

I was going to say to ignore the speed limit on the road too - the majority of people simply ignore anything below a 20mph at least. 

! 

Hiya

Any evidence to back up your comments about the "majority" ? 

Thnaks

90% of people break the speed limit in 20mph zones.

https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/news/motoring-news/drivers-break-20mph-school-zone-limits/

Ah we cross posted previously I think - thanks for that link, interesting particularly in combination with the detail given in the link I posted at the same time. As someone who lives on a road with a 20mph limit I can certainly confirm anecdotally that I would certainly agree with that 90% figure - it’s rare that you can drive along our road at 20 without someone tailgating, revving their engine in apparent frustration at being “stuck behind” you etc. I imagine anyone else who routinely drives in these limits and abides by them finds much the same! That link also backs up the correlation between the lower the limit, the more it is ignored, too. In real terms I suspect the OP’s road’s limit may well get observed as a 20mph, or closer to that at least than the 5/10 currently being suggested - but that of course may mean a corresponding increase in road noise - although at garden level that may be able to be mitigated by planting. 

The road is not a through road so will only be used by the residents so I doubt there will be much traffic and there won't be that many houses overall.  

The speed of the traffic will not be an issue for me and on the occasions when a car is travelling on the road it really will not make much difference to me if it is going at 5, 10 or 20mph because for the vast majority of the time the road will not have cars travelling along it.       

Hi

That is a massive plus point, IE not having a thorough road as most people that will come here live there or visiting a resident. We live in a non-through road and actually feel safer as most of the residents that lived here before we moved in often can identify people by their cars etc.

Good luck

Marcon

If you need a straw poll from strangers who have very little information about the two properties - no pictures, floorplans, details of location/amenities etc etc - are you quite sure that either property is going to be right for you? Properties are often emotional purchases and you don't sound as if you've fallen in love with either of these (although I confess I've not ploughed through the whole of this thread - just the first page or so).