Which One Would You Choose

Orchid

Hi,

I'm torn between two houses and I can't decide. I need your thoughts on these. Which one would you choose?

I'll first start with the fact that I can get them both for the same price.

House 1 is semi detached 3+1 bed and House 2 is the middle one of a three house terrace, 3 bedrooms
Location on both is similar for us but House 2 is within walking distance from work
House 2 has a bigger garden than House 1 but not by much
House 1 has a 1 room extension on the side so an extra room downstairs
House 2 has the potential of extending a little on the back
House 1 has downstairs loo, House 2 doesn't
Decoratively they need similar amount of work but House 1 will be a bit dearer
House 2 has tenants, House 1 doesn't (as we are currently renting for a good few months before the lease is up if it's worth dipping into the savings)
House 1 has a sloped garden, the garden of House 2 is flat
The garden of House 1 has south easterly aspect, the garden of House 2 has south westerly aspect.

That's the pros and cons in a nutshell. Your thoughts will be greatly appreciated. If you were choosing a house which one would you go for?

Littlehorny

House 1 for me, 3 pro's leap out- the downstairs loo, the groundfloor extension and the biggy for me is that it is a semi detached. Mid terrace is a disaster as far as i can see, you cant beat being able to get down the side of your house with bins, kids bikes, ladders and garden work etc. if you lived in house 2 and ever decided to build an extension all that muck and materials would have to be carted through the house, a nightmare imo. Anyway best of luck!

goat2

house 1 semi detached for me, downstairs loo also, garden on slope good, trying to think what time of day sun shine on that garden

Orchid

Thanks guys. Hubby is also rooting for House 1 while I can't decide. I prefer the garden of House 2 as not sloped ... Anyone else who wants to share their opinion is welcome.

handlemaster

Semi all the way ;-)

trishasaffron

South-west garden for me always.

MouseTail

The aspect would swing it for me too, so house 2. Having said that, is there space for bins out the front, and is there a front lawn in house 2? Bringing bins and a lawnmower through a house gets very annoying very soon.

December2012

How sloped is sloped?

Orchid

MouseTail wrote: »

The aspect would swing it for me too, so house 2. Having said that, is there space for bins out the front, and is there a front lawn in house 2? Bringing bins and a lawnmower through a house gets very annoying very soon.

There are 4 car parking spaces in the front of House 2. No designated space for bins but I guess they can be left there. I have to admit I hadn't thought about that.

Orchid

December2012 wrote: »

How sloped is sloped?

It's not very sloped but it's definitely not levelled. Hubby says there are companies that can make it level but I've never heard of this. Plus who knows how much it's going to cost...

beertons

Can you link the two houses? To give us a better opinion on whats on offer?

Balmed Out

the semi is not in as good condition but has a better layout and simply by being semi detached would trump the terraced house despite the price difference

December2012

I think house 1 is a better house, particularly when you've redecorated.

Littlehorny

the kitchen in house 1 is not great but the kitchen in no.2 is poxy.

P. Breathnach

No contest for me: house 1.

I don't see a big issue with the slope. It's not that steep, and I have lived with a greater slope than that.

I agree with you about re-decoration. I certainly don't share the taste of either seller!

I suggest that you might need to do some re-wiring in either house. You might need to consider replacing CH boilers.

Good luck with the decision-making.

Muahahaha

I'd go for the semi too, the garden looks a much better shape compared to the long narrow garden of the terraced house. Also the kitchen in the terrace is just a galley and those things can be hassle to cook in when you've got big occasions like Christmas.
Both houses need a full redecoration so I wouldn't let that affect your reasoning. Have you asked what are the markings on the front wall of the semi d?

The_Conductor

Orchid wrote: »

Thanks guys. Hubby is also rooting for House 1 while I can't decide. I prefer the garden of House 2 as not sloped ... Anyone else who wants to share their opinion is welcome.

Load of topsoil- and a few hours and presto- the slope is no-more.

I'd be definitely in favour of House 1- its leaps and bounds ahead of house 2.

pwurple

House 1. Access to back of house beats terraced.

Sloping garden is better than flat for me too btw, flat gardens are no fun. Just terrace it, put a patio down, much nicer than flat.

Qualitymark

Annoying that there isn't like-for-like comparison of the actual square metre size of the houses. The semi states openly that the floor area is 102.2 square metres. With the terrace house (unless I'm missing it) you have to work it out room by room.

The semi looks better to me. The paneling in the kitchen is hideous, but if you take it down (assuming it doesn't cover damp or anything) you should be able to plaster the walls.

Did you say what the alignment of the garden is? Have you brought a light meter into the rooms of the two houses at the same time and the same level of cloudiness to see which is brighter?

Sloped garden can be nice - you could put a few fruit trees at the end, some soft fruit bushes, then keep the part near the house for a play area and sitting-out-and-drinking-tea area.

Southeasterly garden means you'll have sun in the kitchen in the morning, and in the living rooms at the front of the house in the evening, southwesterly the other way around.

Do you know the BER of the two houses? (I thought it was compulsory to have that in ads now?) Oh, wait, it's in "show more information"; E2 for the semi, E1 for the terrace, neither great. (A friend who's house-hunting recently told me that she simply sets the BER to "B2 or above" now; "I don't want to live in a cold house," she said.)

Tip: I like to search for a street address and the word "jailed" or "court", etc, to see what the near neighbours will be like.

dizzymiss

House 1 all the way. I grew up in a mid terraced house and honestly wouldnt recommend it. Having to always go through the house whenever doing stuff ie gardening, building work, cleaning your chimney, moving bikes etc gets old fast. The galley kitchen doesnt give you much to play with. Also having neighbours on both sides could be an issue if they are both noisy. Side access to your house and garden would be a must for me also there's room to extend more freely I think with house 1. From the pics, you'd barely notice the slope and although smaller it's a more spacious garden, both need redecoration so that's not an issue really.

Best of luck

beertons

House number 1 for me. Access to the back is essential, lawnmower, bins and bikes don't have to be brought through the house. You can also extend it a little, on the right. I'm not into terraced houses myself. They may be warmer,well the newer ones and mid terraced.

Qualitymark

OP: How about these:

http://www.myhome.ie/residential/brochure/new-development-at-forest-hill-8-house-types-carrigaline-cork/2120674
(BER A3, 3 Bed Semi-detached Houses (Bellflower Close) Amv €199,000 1129 Sq. Ft. / 105 Sq. Mt.
3 Bed Semi-detached Houses (Bellflower Close) Amv €225,000 1239 Sq. Ft. / 115 Sq. Mt.)

http://www.myhome.ie/residential/brochure/1-bridgefield-place-curraheen-bishopstown-cork/2401611
(BER B3, 1 Bridgefield Place, Curraheen, Bishopstown, Cork
€198,000 - 4 Bed End of Terrace House 1212 ft² / 112.6 m²)

dizzymiss

The semi d's are gorgeous and for the price. You'd get nothing like that in galway for that price.

Idbatterim

house one in my opinion, as has been mentioned a few tons of top soil will take the slope out...

jmayo

House 1, house 1, house 1 !!!!

It has following advantages:

semi D meaning side access
not conjoined to neighbours on both sides
downstairs loo (trust me this is damm handy)
downstairs extra room (trust me this could come in handy one day if old, injured etc).
house is not lumbered with galley kitchen that couldn't swing a kitten in.
you have more extension options with house 1 than house 2.

o1s1n

House 1 by a mile.

All the pros aside, the simple fact that it's semi D and not mid terrace would do it for me.

Orchid

Thank you so much for the valuable input guys. We are arranging for an engineer to have house 1 looked at for us. I still haven't given up completely on house 2 but if we go with our heads it will be house 1 for now.

Orchid

Qualitymark wrote: »

OP: How about these:

http://www.myhome.ie/residential/brochure/new-development-at-forest-hill-8-house-types-carrigaline-cork/2120674
(BER A3, 3 Bed Semi-detached Houses (Bellflower Close) Amv €199,000 1129 Sq. Ft. / 105 Sq. Mt.
3 Bed Semi-detached Houses (Bellflower Close) Amv €225,000 1239 Sq. Ft. / 115 Sq. Mt.)

http://www.myhome.ie/residential/brochure/1-bridgefield-place-curraheen-bishopstown-cork/2401611
(BER B3, 1 Bridgefield Place, Curraheen, Bishopstown, Cork
€198,000 - 4 Bed End of Terrace House 1212 ft² / 112.6 m²)

Thanks for these. One is in Carrigaline so that's a bit far for us. The second one I like, it has a good location and it's new. However hubby did not like the modern look of it

Ray Palmer

House 1 for sure. I would be worried about that crack around the building. Just from the image it would suggest the extension wasn't given a proper foundation. Full structural survey and a letter of compliance for the extension are required.

It certainly looks like some cracking issue effects the house. It may be nothing but that is why you get a professional

Qualitymark

Orchid wrote: »

Thanks for these. One is in Carrigaline so that's a bit far for us. The second one I like, it has a good location and it's new. However hubby did not like the modern look of it

On the other hand, look at the BER - your utility bills should be much lower.

Ray Palmer

Qualitymark wrote: »

On the other hand, look at the BER - your utility bills should be much lower.

BER is total unfit for purpose of accurately telling you about your bills. It is a very misleading piece of information. You need to be able to read the report and understand it. The BER figure itself is nearly worthless.

Thoie

Littlehorny wrote: »

House 1 for me, 3 pro's leap out- the downstairs loo, the groundfloor extension and the biggy for me is that it is a semi detached. Mid terrace is a disaster as far as i can see, you cant beat being able to get down the side of your house with bins, kids bikes, ladders and garden work etc. if you lived in house 2 and ever decided to build an extension all that muck and materials would have to be carted through the house, a nightmare imo. Anyway best of luck!

House 1 for all these reasons. There's also the fact that midterrace you can end up hearing noise from 2 sets of neighbours instead of just one, and keeping the bins out the front would drive me mad.

When the engineer is checking the place, make sure he climbs a ladder and takes a look at that flat roof too. Not a big deal if it needs redoing, but might help you knock a few quid off the offer.

lukesmom

House 1 there is no contest.

Qualitymark

Ray Palmer wrote: »

BER is total unfit for purpose of accurately telling you about your bills. It is a very misleading piece of information. You need to be able to read the report and understand it. The BER figure itself is nearly worthless.

Citation, please?

ABajaninCork

Nope! House 1 for me. No2. would be out. Looks a lot smaller....

Anyway - House 1 is in a nicer area! If you're buying in Bishopstown be sure to ask about subsidence and whether the house has been underpinned or not. Apparently it's a notorious area for subsidence. Check the insurance too.

Orchid

We know about the subsidence in the area, thanks very much. Hopefully the engineer is good and will pick up any issues. And thanks again everyone for the very many useful tips.

Ray Palmer

Orchid wrote: »

We know about the subsidence in the area, thanks very much. Hopefully the engineer is good and will pick up any issues. And thanks again everyone for the very many useful tips.

Well that explains the cracks for you.

Even if it has subsided it may have stopped. The problem is you need inspection over a long period to really know. That means having gauges and monitors over a number of years.

When I say gauges it just tends to be a pieces of glass stuck on each side of a crack. It being brittle it will crack.

You certainly need a full structural report on the property and I would be asking the owner to provide any details of works or inspection. Ask through your solicitor so there is a trail and any omission found out later can be used in court.

Just being safe it isn't normally something you have to worry about and it isn't always an expensive fix.

Godge

House 1 for me by a long way.

Wouldn't worry too much about it being south-easterly.

The length of the garden will help keep sunshine late into the evening at the back.

Victor

I think part of it will depend on what your needs are. If you have a load of kids or tele-commute or expect visitors / grannies, having that extra room might be useful.