priorities when buying for yourself

tiger135

Thanks Rhemmings, its just like you describe, 4 houses in a cluster. In this case the two away from the road have private gardens and the two nearest the road have open gardens bordering on the path and parking spaces.

NameUnavailable

You will almost certainly end up compromising on a couple of your wants.

The property I ended up buying this time around was a complete opposite of what I initially wanted.

MFWannabe

tiger135 said:

I have scoured the market in my area, had saved searches for months, viewed a handful.
Currently I like a one bed freehold with small garden out front, 20 mins drive from work 25 from family. However, my mum thinks its too far away and my dad said the same and commented that the council might object if I wanted to fence off the garden (no idea why).
Any leaseholds are met with similar criticism," you owned leasehold before and had problems" true but I was 24 when I bought it and was clueless back then.
Its like they know what I should buy ( to them2 bed house with private garden in a 3 mile radius).
 Anything that doesnt fit that and I get negative feedback.
Mum also likes to tell me I like to sit in the garden (occasionaly) and I like to walk ( but does this mean I need to live in walking distance of all the family?).
It’s like Im still a kid and getting told what to do!

It’s your choice. If you really like it then go for it; especially if it ticks most of the boxes 

tiger135

Its just strange how friends, colleagues, cousins and sister all are positive about the properties Ive shown them, its only my parents who come up with negatives. 

Wyndham

tiger135 said:

Its just strange how friends, colleagues, cousins and sister all are positive about the properties Ive shown them, its only my parents who come up with negatives. 

I'm not sure how old you are, but I think based on one of your previous posts you're at least late 20s, rather than late teens. So, I'd ask why you are giving so much importance to your parents views. You are the one who is going to live there, not them. So, unless they are in some way helping you with the purchase, you need to (politely but firmly) tell them that it's not really their business.

Personally, the thought of living within 3 miles of my parents would fill me with horror - and even your current 1/2 hour is a little too close for my liking

Edited to add: I've just been reading one of your other threads. You're not late 20s, you're early 40s! And have had lots of good advice, but just don't seem to want to actually make it happen.... seems I've (once again) got sucked into a thread where the OP doesn't actually want real replies! {Sigh}

tiger135

This is a progression from the last one as I have taken the advise to buy, and just dealing with the hurdles of deciding what to buy. Everyone drives now so I think I put freehold over leasehold, due to driving not really necessary to need a station on the doorstep .  

zagubov

I think you're describing what are called cluster homes. They's a bit like terraces as you have neighbours on two sides.
A big proportion of the house would be unusable stairwell. Known somebody who has one and the advantage is they aren't leasehold.
Not likely to have gas, so energy bills may be high.
Not great privacy for guests as they'll be sofa-surfing in the living-room.
A two bedroom house would have many advantages

Jonboy_1984

tiger135 said:

However, my mum thinks its too far away and my dad said the same and commented that the council might object if I wanted to fence off the garden (no idea why).

I genuinely think my mum would only have been fully satisfied if we had bought in the same terraced block as them……the 20 minute drive works well for my wife and I, whereas my brother gets frustrated at times as he’s only a couple of hundred yards and they unintentionally take advantage at times.

The cluster homes on our previous estates have various covenants about not fencing front graders (but the front ones had detached private garden spaces).

RHemmings

tiger135 said:

Thanks Rhemmings, its just like you describe, 4 houses in a cluster. In this case the two away from the road have private gardens and the two nearest the road have open gardens bordering on the path and parking spaces.

Does each quarter house have an upstairs and a downstairs? Or is there a different arrangement?

Noneforit999

Personally I would look for things that are deal breakers that I cannot change without moving again.

You can't change the location
You can't change the garden size
Generally you can't add more off road parking (caveat that you sometimes can)

The house itself can be refurbished so for me, I would be looking at the things I cannot change and prioritising those.