Found Ideal Home But…

Charlie1985

Hi,

Myself and my wife have been looking for a particular house type to come up on our estate as we really like the layout. We posted letters through doors of the home owners about 2 years ago to see if anyone was selling but unfortunately no one was. This house type rarely comes up for sale on the estate.

We have however recently had one come on the market but its driveway (2 cars only) is smaller than other houses of this type (typically 4 cars) and rather than being on the side is around the back with access via a different street. In addition the garden size is about 1/3 smaller compared to other plots of this house type.

That being said we really like the house layout itself. Would welcome peoples views to help us make a decision. Are we being too picky here? Should we focus on the house itself given that’s where the majority of our time will be spent and we like its layout?

Would love to hear if anyone else has been in a similar predicament and what you opted to do.

Many thanks in advance for the replies.

Kind Regards
Charlie

deannagone

The garden and drive are part of the house.  It can only be your ideal home if you can look at the garden and drive and not mind they are smaller.  If you can, its still your ideal home.  If these differences will mar possession and use of the house, it isn't

Is gardening important to you?  Would u really need a larger garden?  Would the size of it stop you doing things you want to do?  How often do you need to park 4 cars?  Is there non problematic off street parking.

sammyjammy

Good points from Deannagone, will parking the cars at the back of property cause a bigger issue with security?

Albermarle

 Are we being too picky here? 

As it has taken two years even for this house to come up for sale, how long could it be before a more perfect one is for sale? You could be waiting a long time.......
So you need to trade off your misgivings about this house, against the unknown amount of time you may be waiting for the 100% right house to appear. That is your decision of course.

Another point is that probably if the right house does come up, you will probably not be the only one interested, as many people like the same things about houses.

ReadingTim

Depends on whether you actually want to move, or are you relatively happy where you are?  You've been wanting to move for 2 years already and in all that time only a compromise has come onto the market - how much longer are you willing to wait?  The perfect house may come on next week, next year, or next decade - what do you plan to do in the meantime?

RelievedSheff

Only you can say whether the compromises with this plot are going to cause you a problem. You will be the one living there.

ReadingTim

Albermarle said:

Another point is that probably if the right house does come up, you will probably not be the only one interested, as many people like the same things about houses.

Quite.  And they may have deeper pockets than the OPs....

MysteryMe

You could do another letter shot if the last was two years ago

Charlie1985

Thank you everyone for your comments. So the garden we wanted for the kids and to be this one is not too bad. The driveway I have only had houses where our drive is at the front so not too sure how it will be having it around the back. Good points raised in that this house type does not come up often and we are somewhat scared by the time the next one it may be out of reach in our affordability (be in mortgage rates or house prices increasing). We may have to settle for this compromise for now. 

I did actually follow up with some of the vendors that responded to my initial letters a few years ago. Unfortunately all have said there position has not changed and they are not looking to sell anytime soon.

RelievedSheff

Charlie1985 said:

Thank you everyone for your comments. So the garden we wanted for the kids and to be this one is not too bad. The driveway I have only had houses where our drive is at the front so not too sure how it will be having it around the back. Good points raised in that this house type does not come up often and we are somewhat scared by the time the next one it may be out of reach in our affordability (be in mortgage rates or house prices increasing). We may have to settle for this compromise for now. 

I did actually follow up with some of the vendors that responded to my initial letters a few years ago. Unfortunately all have said there position has not changed and they are not looking to sell anytime soon.

So it looks very much like that your only options are to wait longer, potentially very much longer or accept the compromise if this is the house type and location that you really want to be in.

pretamang

I'd have to vote that you're being too picky here. Unless you are lucky the buying process is complicated and you don't know what issues you might find when you start looking at paperwork and surveys.

I've been burned before on what I thought was the perfect flat for me, since then I won't let myself get too excited until I'm about to exchange.