House Prices #5 Property market, buying and selling

[Meg78]

How do you know if a property is the right one for you? Do you get “the feeling”, or are you more logic and finance driven?

I’ve only ever moved to properties I HAD to before, this is the first time I’ve had choice and it’s very overwhelming! How do you know if you’d like living in a certain style, edwardian high ceilings, barn conversions, 60’s dormer or new builds etc.

How do you choose which property is yours?

 

[Megansnarkle]

How do you know if a property is the right one for you? Do you get “the feeling”, or are you more logic and finance driven?

I’ve only ever moved to properties I HAD to before, this is the first time I’ve had choice and it’s very overwhelming! How do you know if you’d like living in a certain style, edwardian high ceilings, barn conversions, 60’s dormer or new builds etc.

How do you choose which property is yours?

Logic and finances should be what dictate whether you see a property or not - before you go you should be asking whether you can afford it, whether it's in the right location, whether the layout works for you (based on floorplan). Once you see a property, then it's feeling (at least for me).

As for style, I think most people have some idea what they like or you work it out through hours spent on Rightmove and working out what draws you in. Personally I would never buy a new build (unless I had no other choice) or a barn conversion, they're just not my style. As for what I do love, the dream house for me would either be an Edwardian property or a proper mid-century gem, so two totally different styles but both styles I could totally lean into.

 

[Shinythings]

How do you know if a property is the right one for you? Do you get “the feeling”, or are you more logic and finance driven?

I’ve only ever moved to properties I HAD to before, this is the first time I’ve had choice and it’s very overwhelming! How do you know if you’d like living in a certain style, edwardian high ceilings, barn conversions, 60’s dormer or new builds etc.

How do you choose which property is yours?

We really liked our house but didn't get the feeling. But it did have the best potential, location and size.We got the feeling more from another house we saw but logically it was not a good choice as in hindsight it was too small. Ours was the best balance of liking the property, having the most potential and best area. With that in mind we know we can turn this into a house we will absolutely love.

I think with house hunting it's one of those few times in life where you have to make a decision based on your head AND heart.

 

[Choco88]

With this house we were first time buyers desperate to get out of our parents home so we bought the first house we saw this time we’ve got kids to think about so I’m going to take my time finding something that’s perfect for us. I’ve seen two properties I want to view

House 1
Pros:
Only 5 minutes drive to my parents (they help a lot with childcare)
10k cheaper
Garden slightly bigger

Cons:
No utility
Would need a fence adding on the right handside

House 2
Pros:
Internal garage that could be converted to extra living space
Gorgeous kitchen
Bigger play room for kids
Utility room

Cons
Further away from my parents & kids school
Underfloor heating conservatory could be expensive

I wish I could pick up house 2 and put it in the location of house 1

 

[WeepingCassandra]

With this house we were first time buyers desperate to get out of our parents home so we bought the first house we saw this time we’ve got kids to think about so I’m going to take my time finding something that’s perfect for us. I’ve seen two properties I want to view

House 1
Pros:
Only 5 minutes drive to my parents (they help a lot with childcare)
10k cheaper
Garden slightly bigger

Cons:
No utility
Would need a fence adding on the right handside

House 2
Pros:
Internal garage that could be converted to extra living space
Gorgeous kitchen
Bigger play room for kids
Utility room

Cons
Further away from my parents & kids school
Underfloor heating conservatory could be expensive

I wish I could pick up house 2 and put it in the location of house 1

A fence is a half a day job, wouldn't even put that in the cons list tbh. Same as the underfloor heated conservatory - we have underfloor heating in our kitchen and we rarely use it.

How much further away is house two? If it's more than 20 minutes, I'd probably be inclined to go with house 1 depending on how much you want a utility. Is there scope to add a utility onto the first house? (Though bearing in mind extensions are SO expensive now).

 

[Choco88]

A fence is a half a day job, wouldn't even put that in the cons list tbh. Same as the underfloor heated conservatory - we have underfloor heating in our kitchen and we rarely use it.

How much further away is house two? If it's more than 20 minutes, I'd probably be inclined to go with house 1 depending on how much you want a utility. Is there scope to add a utility onto the first house? (Though bearing in mind extensions are SO expensive now).

House 1 is a 5 minute drive, house 2 is a 14 minute drive.

I always thought underfloor heating was expensive to run which is what’s putting me off. There isn’t any other heat source in the conservatory.

Unfortunately it’s has already been extended so no room for a utility in house 1.

 

[Megansnarkle]

House 1 is a 5 minute drive, house 2 is a 14 minute drive.

I always thought underfloor heating was expensive to run which is what’s putting me off. There isn’t any other heat source in the conservatory.

Unfortunately it’s has already been extended so no room for a utility in house 1.

I don't even know if this is a thing, but does the underfloor heating work on separate 'circuits' so you could choose whether or not to heat the conservatory?

 

[101d]

House 1 is a 5 minute drive, house 2 is a 14 minute drive.

I always thought underfloor heating was expensive to run which is what’s putting me off. There isn’t any other heat source in the conservatory.

Unfortunately it’s has already been extended so no room for a utility in house 1.

For the sake of 9 mins go with house 2

 

[WeepingCassandra]

For the sake of 9 mins go with house 2

Hard agree.

ETA - We only have underfloor heating in our kitchen (which we don't use and are planning to pull up). Granted, it's a kitchen which is insulated anyway and has the heat sources of kitchen appliances etc. but it's not actually that useful. There are plenty of other ways to heat a conservatory without underfloor heating or plumbing in a radiator.

 

[Notworthy]

It doesn't sound like you love either house and you've said you can take your time to find the right house so keep looking.
Also 9 minutes doesn't sound a lot and if it's on your way to work it isn't but if it's the opposite direction then that's 36 minutes extra a day plus a 5 minute drive could be walkable, a 14 minute drive not.

 

[101d]

Hard agree.

ETA - We only have underfloor heating in our kitchen (which we don't use and are planning to pull up). Granted, it's a kitchen which is insulated anyway and has the heat sources of kitchen appliances etc. but it's not actually that useful. There are plenty of other ways to heat a conservatory without underfloor heating or plumbing in a radiator.

Do give me your conservatory heating secrets as I've just moved into a house with one, no heating underfloor or otherwise, and in winter it was awful!!!

 

[Megansnarkle]

Do give me your conservatory heating secrets as I've just moved into a house with one, no heating underfloor or otherwise, and in winter it was awful!!!

My mum has an electric oil filled radiator heater in hers but tbh they're not really rooms that are designed for whole year usage in the UK unless you're rich enough to heat them properly. I personally think that conservatories are the worst of all possible worlds, too hot in summer, too cold in winter. But great for about three weeks in spring and autumn.

 

[iieee]

The idea of buying a house because I love it is such a foreign concept to me. Very jealous.

 

[Choco88]

It doesn't sound like you love either house and you've said you can take your time to find the right house so keep looking.
Also 9 minutes doesn't sound a lot and if it's on your way to work it isn't but if it's the opposite direction then that's 36 minutes extra a day plus a 5 minute drive could be walkable, a 14 minute drive not.

I haven’t viewed either yet I’m scared to bite the bullet and list my house incase we sell quickly and we can’t find anything to move in to. It’s really hard to find the perfect house I’ve seen one that is perfect layout wise and doesn’t need any work but it’s on a main road and also £75k over budget so that’s out.

 

[Meg78]

We’ve put in an offer on a house and are hoping if they accept we’ll just sell our house to an instant home buyer, can’t stand the thought of strangers wandering around fingering things in the bedroom

 

[Shinythings]

We’ve put in an offer on a house and are hoping if they accept we’ll just sell our house to an instant home buyer, can’t stand the thought of strangers wandering around fingering things in the bedroom

Only thing to consider with that (although you may not care) is that you often will end up with a final offer below market value from what I've heard.

 

[da1sycha1n]

I don't even know if this is a thing, but does the underfloor heating work on separate 'circuits' so you could choose whether or not to heat the conservatory?

An electrician advised us to buy infrared panel heaters for the conservatory, works a treat, also got a Kampa Diddy heater that we plug in, they were designed to heating tents and caravan awning's so are brilliant

 

[whoareyouu]

We’ve put in an offer on a house and are hoping if they accept we’ll just sell our house to an instant home buyer, can’t stand the thought of strangers wandering around fingering things in the bedroom

That’s what I plan to do. Take the hit on this house and save a bigger deposit for the next.

 

[Choco88]

An electrician advised us to buy infrared panel heaters for the conservatory, works a treat, also got a Kampa Diddy heater that we plug in, they were designed to heating tents and caravan awning's so are brilliant

Are they expensive to run?

 

[Meg78]

Only thing to consider with that (although you may not care) is that you often will end up with a final offer below market value from what I've heard.

Yes we’d lose 20% of the market value, quite a scary amount but we think the house we’re hoping to buy would appreciate beyond that amount once tarted up a bit