Help me choose!

Cokezero

Hi all. Partner and u are buying our first home but will potentially be a forever home. 2 house have caught our interest and we are bidding on the one that went up first. Houses are detached in nice estates in a good part of town. 1 estate nearer to town, the other closer to the motorway but both nice estates. Both houses similar layout and same size.

1. House 1 larger but less over looked north facing garden, 20 years old. 2 reception rooms and good size kitchen. Walled house with space for 2 cars. Near green (corner house). Good established name associated with estate. Closer to town.


2 . House 2 facing onto green. Extra parking nearby. Closer to motorway. 12 years old. West South- west garden that is smaller than house 1 and slightly more over looked..unwalled front garden (feels more spacious).

Would love any tips or advice!

Atlantic Dawn

Which has better broadband?

c_meth

Location, location, location. You can change a lot of things about a house but not where it is.

Wabbit Ears

Assuming family home with kids. Second house sounds more kid friendly.

Which has less passing traffic?

Which had better walk/bike access to primary and secondary schools?

Is there fiber/cable broadband?

In my experience how much sun the back gets is pretty meaningless as we live in a cul-de-sac with a central green and that's where the kids play.

CruelCoin

Front gardens are never enjoyed for private use (BBQ's always done in the back), so i'd disregard the issues with it being overlooked.

Lower commute time, younger house, and a back garden that you can use for more of the year really sells house 2 to me.

Cokezero

These are all really helpful ideas! Both houses are on the same stretch of road but I suppose I can't presume broadband in both estates would be equal. Would people think a west facing (slightly south) garden that's smaller would be preferable to a large estate house garden due north? Thanks in advance

greenorchard

Cokezero wrote: »

These are all really helpful ideas! Both houses are on the same stretch of road but I suppose I can't presume broadband in both estates would be equal. Would people think a west facing (slightly south) garden that's smaller would be preferable to a large estate house garden due north? Thanks in advance

Yes personally I'd definitely prefer a smaller South West facing garden over a bigger North facing one

riclad

Go for house 1 ,larger house,
we only have 6 weeks of really good weather in the summer ,
i dont, think the orientation of the garden is that important .
An estate in dublin 2-3 miles away should have very similar broadband services ,
maybe one might have fibre broadband that does not need a phone
line to be installed.
http://www.comparebroadband.ie/
As long as you can park to cars in the front garden ,
its not a big deal,
Maybe one has a fence ,versus one has a front wall around it.

Angry bird

Distance to local shops, schools, public transport etc. Me personally I like to able to walk to these and any short cuts that a car can't do.

April 73

For me a north facing back garden would be a deal breaker.
I suspect the insulation would be better in the 12 year old house too.

I moved from an 11 year old house to one built 20 years ago & there is a considerable difference in insulation between the two.

Cokezero

Thanks again. We are aiming for house 2 now. Thanks for the tips

April 73

Good luck!

TENHNY

Cokezero wrote: »

These are all really helpful ideas! Both houses are on the same stretch of road but I suppose I can't presume broadband in both estates would be equal. Would people think a west facing (slightly south) garden that's smaller would be preferable to a large estate house garden due north? Thanks in advance

CokeZero, I thought i would give you my two cents worth,
I live in house estate- renting and currently looking for our forever home,
My garden is west facing and the first thing i do when i get in from a long commute is open patio doors and take in some sunshine after a long day in the office, shoes off and enjoy that fact that i dont have to interact with any neighbours
the houses opposite to me, have the sun at the front of there house in the evening so they have to sit out the front, they interact with neighbours etc there is a huge green that the kids play out on out the front that catches the sun.
Would you relax reading a book out the front i personal would not
Best of luck with purchased