Hi,

I’m in the process of buying a house and I’ve narrowed it down to 3, all roughly the same price.

1) Huge end semi, garage, huge cellar on the dividing line between a good and a very very rough area, needs 3 years of work+ windows, kitchen, re-plastered, new bathrooms

2) large terrace, i can almost stand in the cellar, ok area next to a trendy area and a slightly iffy area, needs 3 months worth of painting and putting carpets in.

3) medium detached house, no obvious bike storage but a big garden to build sheds/ man caves, off street parking, needs painting, ok area, the most expensive house on that street by a long way- the rest are small terraces.

Any suggestions? The first one would be great, but needs everything doing. To give an idea of its state of repair the garage has a couple of trees growing through the walls. The second has been someones house for 20 years and she has obviously spent it diving/ having fun rather than decorating. The third is on the corner of 2 streets in an l shape. Its street is lots of small terraces, the other street is lots of large detached houses.

In addition to me and my bikes I will be renting out 2/3 bedrooms for extra cash.

Thanks for any advice 🙂

3 for me

1 – 3 years of work will suck the life out of you and being on the edge of a rough area will be grim and limit its value. You’ll struggle to rent out rooms while renovating.
2 – Doesn’t sound that special, but probably best for renting rooms.
3 – Space for sheds and off-road parking is great. If you can build a decent garage/workshop you can have a slightly smaller house without issue. Are other houses in the area similarly priced, not just the ones on the same street?

the newest one.

i live in an old house with ‘character’.

‘character’ means draughts, almost no insulation, crumbly bricks and plaster, dodgy 19th century wiring and plumbing, random damp patches, and a total lack of straightness/squareness – which sounds funny until you buy furniture that won’t stand up because the floor/wall is on the p155.

i dream of living in a lovely warm dry straight new-build.

They are all 100+ years old:)

1) Also has rotten window frames that would take years to save up to get re done
2) single glazed, i could feel the drafts when looking round the other day
30 reglazed and doored in the last 3 years, I think it would be the least straight of the 3.

The first time i went to hang wallpaper on a corner that wasn’t straight I got a real surprise. then when I went round, not a single corner in my entire house was straight!

Cheers

Martin

nickjb,

The houses near No3, within a 5 min walk vary from 3/4 of the price to 3 times the price.

Number 2, lots of the same patten houses about, but a nice sized house in a nice enough area. As you say, not especially special, but nice.

why not look for another house thats better? all 3 sound like a compromise

They are compromises to get more rooms to rent out.

Any house I can afford is a compromise of some sort 🙁

You have to compromise on something. That is the nature of house buying. Still 3 for me but I can see some merit in 2.

ok then, go for the one in the nicest area.

sounds like 2 or 3?

I never think it’s a good idea to buy the nicest house in an average street, you’re far better off buying the cheapest house in a nicer area as it’s an area that people aspire to.

I’d also only ever live in a detached house (unless i had no choice whatsoever) after renting in properties with bad/noisy neighbours.

Bad neighbours can be a terrible experience, at least with detached you get a bit more peace and quiet and don’t have people 2 feet the other side of your bedroom wall.

I’d keep looking if i was you…..

Yep. Worst house in best street. Dontcha watch kirsty and phil?

My tuppence FWIW

3 – it’s detached, big bonus, so no issues with immediate neighbours of which there can be many..; it’s got offroad parking, v useful and a big plus when you come to sell; space to build sheds etc fantastic – and also in theory, therefore, space to extend if you were ever so inclined. And key – area. It’s very hard to judge if crap areas will become ‘up and coming’ but if it’s a decent area already it’s less likely to decline. Having expensive houses nearby is a bonus and should help the price of yours in the future. Cliche alert .. you can change the house but you can’t change area … 😉

House buying is always about compromise, but stay focused on a number of core criteria that are important to you. If you work out it’s a compromise too far then keep looking – it’s probably going to be a buyers’ market for a while (depending on where you are of course …. ).

I never think it’s a good idea to buy the nicest house in an average street, you’re far better off buying the cheapest house in a nicer area as it’s an area that people aspire to.

+1

Number 3 sounds best. Buy the cheapest house on the best street, that’s the rule.

Number 1 sounds like a nightmare, speaking as someone who bought a fixer-upper and gave up on getting it fixed up after the sprog arrived. If you decide that you can’t devote the time and energy after all, places like that are an absolute nightmare to shift in a market like this.

3 for me too. For reasons already said.

I’d much rather live in a smaller house in a nicer area.

I live in a terraced place and generally its fine. Although recently next doors baby seems to have reached a ‘difficult’ phase and all of a sudden I am acutely aware of people the other side of the wall.

They say there are three things to consider. Location, erm… Location, and one other… pah! escapes me.

1st three rules of house buying

1 Location
2 Location
3 Location

If you are wanting to get a rung or two up the ladder and have the skills and the drive, buy the cheapest most run down house in a road.

If it’s ragged, make sure this is reflected in the price plus a margin for your inconvenience – you are the one taking the risk, so don’t reward vendors who think they can get as much as the best house on the street, less the cost of materials and a bit of labour. They need to be realistic!

Don’t just guess the cost of refurbishment and be realistic about budget. Work always takes longer than you think and make sure you include everything in your estimates right down to landscaping.

Lastly, ignore estate agent pressure and bullshit. Their valuations are often wildly out of kilter too.

It’s a buyer’s market and property prices are falling. I expect them to keep on falling because lending rules now exclude the 100% mortgage chancers who helped fuel house price inflation. You now need a significant deposit and people can’t easily magic up a big pile of money, which is good news for savers who have been careful and who have planned ahead.

Average incomes fall well below what is required to buy property these days and until the market re-adjusts, too many will be excluded. In light of this, the only way the market can go is down (unless we see a return to reckless bank lending again. Don’t hold you breath, the regulations make it harder for them to do this and no bank will be taking risks for a very long time. I’m sure there are still some surprizes to come in respect of bank solvency.

Buy at a very keen price or walk away!

Thanks for all the advice. I can see a consensus building against No1- its been on the market the longest too, wonder why? 🙂

Building No1 hasn’t sold because most people want a single family dwelling. This property is too big and has been carved up into bedsits. The cost of turning it into a family home is prohibitive and especially considering the volume of windows. It would be a bugger to heat too.

If this can be turned into three self contained flats, i reckon it would be a winner, but for this you would need planning consent and a pretty significant budget. I’ve no idea what small flats sell for in that area, to know if this would be economic.

If it’s near a hospital or university, it could yield a reasonable rental income in it’s current configuration with a bit of freshening up, especially in view of the low asking price (can’t even get a tiny bedsit for that money in my area).

House no 2 looks good, but mid terrace presents access issues to the garden.

Property 3 looks horrible!

Number1

Number2

Number 3

Lots of similar houses to number 1 have been turned into 3 flats. It would be very easy to split it into 2- wall down the stairs and extra door in. Not sure how they split into 3. The third level goes up the main stairs and you walk past all the rooms on the second floor. Small flats houses round there sell for 1/3 the price of this, i.e. not economic for me to buy to convert. No hospital or uni right rear by either= limited rental market.

Number 2, access to the back is through a secure gate just up the row of houses.

As for number 3’s looks its no worse than a terrace, is it?

Martin