1 Bedroom House New Build - Is It A Bad Idea?

hazyjo · 8 February 2018 at 6:19PM

vicki2221 wrote: »

I have a one bedroom house with large gardens, garage, driveway. I sold if after 1 month (with a little help from MSE forum because my original listing was terrible). The sale fell through a week ago but since then I have had 6 viewings and 4 offers!! It's been in high demand from FTB, even though it is just 1 bed. We were also FTB when we bought it and 1 bed didn't bother us. I think you will be able to sell it on as long as the other benefits of the property, the space etc are communicated well. So if you love it, get it I would say.

I was going to quote your thread, Vicki

Sorry to hear about your sale collapsing. So glad to hear it's all coming together again though.

Have we actually established whether the chalet bungalow the OP was thinking about is freehold? May be leasehold if a newbuild.

Vicki, if I remember rightly, yours felt more like a house. I think with a bungalow (even a chalet one), it will be less desirable for FTBs. And the usual market of older people will be limited as the bedroom's upstairs and there's no second bed for family or future carer. Yours I would have thought about Vic, but not this bungalow even though it looks quite nice. Plus yours was in Tunbridge Wells which I love and I think fairly central whereas this looks to be in a much quieter location.

OP - have to say, I think you've made the right decision. One more bed and I'd have been singing its praises (apart from the lack of bath

)

NeilCr · 8 February 2018 at 6:50PM

I looked at a new (ish) 1 bedroom house at the same price as this down here on the Kent coast. Agent thought it would go quickly because of the location.

I am 64 and I really liked it. I do not want a bungalow and I liked the space of this one. I live on my own and a number of my friends in the same age group liked it too. In the end, I decided against it as it had two steep flights of stairs. I would have been okay with one (that is what I have now) but my knees are a bit wonky.

I would have thought there would be a demand for a one bedroom house from people like me. Getting on, by themselves but not into bungalows or flats. But, as I say, the location is different!

POPPYOSCAR · 8 February 2018 at 11:42PM

Yes you pay a premium for new build.

Shame it is not where we live at that price it wold be snapped up before it was built.

1 bed houses around here go for at least £245,000, terraced, and half that size!!

Even then ,as there are not many around they are bought as soon as they come on the market.

mystic_bertie · 9 February 2018 at 9:53PM

Penitent wrote: »

Ah, yeah, if you're comparing what you can get in Scotland to what you can get here, you're going to be disappointed.

It's sounds like you've fallen into the price vs location vs size/quality trap. The last time I was looking, the size/quality I wanted in the area I wanted cost about £50-100k more than my budget. I didn't want to compromise on area, so I was looking for places in crappy condition or some other compromise I could fix over time.

Yes i am disappointed big time with the properties in this area. Its not just the new houses that are tiny. A lot of older traditional houses have living rooms about 11 x 12ft and its too small for me. They dont have big front gardens and you need to park on the street. They are also rather close together. I would be ok with fixing a cheap house up but i dont have any spare funds to do so. I dont want my money consumed by doing up a house for the next year or so. I dont think a loan is a good idea either.

teddysmum wrote: »

My sister and her husband had a two bedroomed bungalow in which they sacrificed a bedroom to make a dining room, separated off by glass doors.

This property sold very quickly (a few days) to a single lady, but she only needed one bedroom but with everything on one floor.

I imagine that the majority of bungalow seekers are those who are older or whose families have left home, with an eye to the future when no stairs will make life easier.

Yes this is very true and your sister was lucky. Any houses i have sold in the past have always sold quite soon after going on the market, even when i rented a house out i was lucky there too. I dont want landed with a home i cant sell and so im not taking the chance with this property;)

vicki2221 wrote: »

I have a one bedroom house with large gardens, garage, driveway. I sold if after 1 month (with a little help from MSE forum because my original listing was terrible). The sale fell through a week ago but since then I have had 6 viewings and 4 offers!! It's been in high demand from FTB, even though it is just 1 bed. We were also FTB when we bought it and 1 bed didn't bother us. I think you will be able to sell it on as long as the other benefits of the property, the space etc are communicated well. So if you love it, get it I would say.

Thanks for sharing your experience. Im sorry to hear it fell through but luckily you still have more interest. I was so tempted by this house but as im not sure of how long i will stay there i do not think its worth the risk on this occasion. Thanks anyway

gycraig_2 · 9 February 2018 at 10:09PM

Problem is your budget doesn!!!8217;t match what you think it should buy.

Choices are settle for something for a few years then move or save more deposit, the house you want exist but people in your area are willing to pay a premium for them.

You can!!!8217;t set a budget, choose an area and pick a house size you want then just say !!!8220;there!!!8217;s nothing like it round here!!!8221;

I did similar when I was buying and had to compromise on size in the end as it allowed me to be in a new build near the train station I needed, best thing iv ever done

mystic_bertie · 9 February 2018 at 10:32PM

Cakeguts wrote: »

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-63580789.html This is what one bed houses sell for.

It not quite a good comparison.

hazyjo wrote: »

I was going to quote your thread, Vicki

Sorry to hear about your sale collapsing. So glad to hear it's all coming together again though.

OP - have to say, I think you've made the right decision. One more bed and I'd have been singing its praises (apart from the lack of bath )

Thanks for your reply. I think your right about having another bedroom, sadly it was not to be.

NeilCr wrote: »

I looked at a new (ish) 1 bedroom house at the same price as this down here on the Kent coast. Agent thought it would go quickly because of the location.

I am 64 and I really liked it. I do not want a bungalow and I liked the space of this one. I live on my own and a number of my friends in the same age group liked it too. In the end, I decided against it as it had two steep flights of stairs. I would have been okay with one (that is what I have now) but my knees are a bit wonky.

I would have thought there would be a demand for a one bedroom house from people like me. Getting on, by themselves but not into bungalows or flats. But, as I say, the location is different!

Yes it is hard to predict what future buyers you could find. I was telling myself it would be ok but after reading a lot of the replies on here, it made me realise it was a risk. Im from Scotland and im not experienced with buying properties in England. I dont know enough about that area where the house is and i wont get a truthful answer if i ask the selling agent. So i have nobody to ask for help.

PasturesNew · 9 February 2018 at 10:44PM

There are few 1 bed properties because 2 beds are usually priced just a little bit more, so people tend to feel the 1-bed's overpriced and there's only 1-2 for sale, whereas for £20k more or so you have a choice of 40-50 2-beds.

That's a nice little house and, bizarrely, they could've made it a 2-bed by putting bed 2 where the en-suite is and having a bathroom and/or an en-suite along the wall a bit. Strange they didn't do that!

It's also a shame they put the loo in the middle, instead of under the stairs, as the living room'd have been bigger.

I'd buy it if it were all I could afford and it were in the right location; it's new so what's not to like. I'd have a bit of an issue over the living room only being 10' wide as it's then just a corridor....

Looking at other prices/houses locally, others seem "better value for money" - and I think the price is optimistic based purely on a bizarre snobbery value of the word "detached".

mystic_bertie · 9 February 2018 at 10:51PM

AFF8879 wrote: »

The whole appeal of a bungalow is to have everything on one floor. Having the bedroom upstairs pretty much eliminates your entire target market for that sort of property, should you want to sell in the future.

Yes your right and thanks for yout thoughts.

POPPYOSCAR wrote: »

Yes you pay a premium for new build.

Shame it is not where we live at that price it wold be snapped up before it was built.

1 bed houses around here go for at least £245,000, terraced, and half that size!!

Even then ,as there are not many around they are bought as soon as they come on the market.

I would not like to be buying a house where you live. I dont see anything else i like as the 2 and 3 bedroom semi's dont have enough room and the housing estates are like giant car parks, brick houses galore and loads of parked cars. The attractive gardens and nice estate setting has gone out the window because of the greed of the builders.

gycraig wrote: »

Problem is your budget doesn!!!8217;t match what you think it should buy.

Choices are settle for something for a few years then move or save more deposit, the house you want exist but people in your area are willing to pay a premium for them.

You can!!!8217;t set a budget, choose an area and pick a house size you want then just say !!!8220;there!!!8217;s nothing like it round here!!!8221;

I did similar when I was buying and had to compromise on size in the end as it allowed me to be in a new build near the train station I needed, best thing iv ever done

Sounds like this has worked out great for you. Glad to hear you in a good place now. I am 48 and i have stayed quite a few houses by now. I am used to the cheaper and bigger land and bigger houses you get in Scotland. I cant adapt to the small living spaces in a lot of the houses here. I could if i had no choice. I agree i am stuck because of what i am used to and i cannot buy anything similar here without robbing a bank. My wages have went up a lot compared to what i was paid in Scotland yet i feel anything i can afford to buy is a downgrade. That is why i am so fussy. I will need to persevere until i find something.

mystic_bertie · 9 February 2018 at 11:08PM

Penitent wrote: »

If it's any consolation, I'm starting to look at moving again and my max is (way) less than half your pre-owned house budget, so you can probably imagine the size, quality and areas I'm chosing from. Thankfully, I like poky flats (less to clean, which is particularly important when they're manky when you move in).

I do think you're fussy and that isn't necessarily a bad thing, as long as you recognise that what you want may not be available at the price you want to pay.

Just to add another couple of examples from north of Cov.

More spacious living room, but the bedrooms might be small for you. Actual bungalow, garage, lots of parking, quieter road, very much done up.
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-63399352.html

Spacious, parking, etc.
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-62171587.html

There are properties with bigger rooms, in nice areas, done up, etc., but they're not selling for £170k.

Good luck with your house search when the time comes. Those houses do look amazing. I think i should start playing the lottery. If i was selling a house i would tart it up a bit to sell it. From the houses for sale i have seen i dont see anybody making that effort. I also hate cleaning when you move into a house and im never content until everything has been cleaned.

I will post a link to my old house in Scotland, this is purely to let you see what i sold for 125k - 22 months ago. I considered this smaller than i wanted when i moved into it yet i can now consider it spacious compared to new modern build standards. My house had a front garden, double driveway, decent back garden, houses not crammed together in a big car park esq setting.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/detailMatching.html?prop=42118237&sale=398316&country=scotland

PasturesNew wrote: »

There are few 1 bed properties because 2 beds are usually priced just a little bit more, so people tend to feel the 1-bed's overpriced and there's only 1-2 for sale, whereas for £20k more or so you have a choice of 40-50 2-beds.

That's a nice little house and, bizarrely, they could've made it a 2-bed by putting bed 2 where the en-suite is and having a bathroom and/or an en-suite along the wall a bit. Strange they didn't do that!

It's also a shame they put the loo in the middle, instead of under the stairs, as the living room'd have been bigger.

I'd buy it if it were all I could afford and it were in the right location; it's new so what's not to like. I'd have a bit of an issue over the living room only being 10' wide as it's then just a corridor....

Looking at other prices/houses locally, others seem "better value for money" - and I think the price is optimistic based purely on a bizarre snobbery value of the word "detached".

Yes i now wish they had added another room. I would prefer a wider living room but that one is fine because of its good length. Its a pity because i got excited about it, the blinkers were on. Now i see sense thanks to everyone on this thread. There is no 2 and 3 bedroom semi;s that i consider spacious enough and so ill just keep looking for a preowned house.

mystic_bertie · 9 February 2018 at 11:22PM

this is the new build i could buy a few miles from me at £183k and it is very small and in a nice village. They are too small for me. The three bedroom houses wont be available until August and thats no good, i dont even know if they are big enough. Any new build i can find within the 200k budget do not have enough space for me.

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/new-homes/details/46134500?search_identifier=72ec7ef92ea0d276cbd881e87bf0eaa8#rEoLf3I55X0RCzmK.97

This next one is not too far away, its a 3 bedroom semi and 180k. I went to see these houses. They are in a crammed car park setting with no gardens and allocated parking spaces. This living environment is not for me either. Im a human and i dont want to live in legoland.

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/new-homes/details/46277469?search_identifier=72ec7ef92ea0d276cbd881e87bf0eaa8#Cw3M1O4sRkUWT8LM.97

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1 Bedroom House New Build - Is It A Bad Idea?

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