Looking for a house

[macafee2]

Having moved into temporary accommodation the wife and I are on the hunt for a house. Lots of new builds but they are not for us.
Sifting through the emails we can discard a number of houses for one reason or another but this week 4 got our interest.

1 was flooded a year or two ago and so that has now been discounted.
Another has structural issues and previous buyers pulled out as they could not get a mortgage, that has been discarded. The third was next to two busy roads and was not secluded so that has been discounted

The forth, a disappointing bungalow, I would prefer a house. Built in 1963 I don't think been redecorated. Two double garages and a single garage.
Fields to the front, rear and one side. Farm on the forth side.
Currently a quiet location but will it be once the new houses go up a mile down the road? Apparently the houses wont come any closer as they have reached the edge of town. The kitchen is a good size but the rest of the rooms are small. Wife has had her pen out and drawn possible expansion plans. Incorporate one of the double garages and "Workshop" and build on a living room.

Single garage is to small to accommodate our caravan so some or all of that would have to come down. The remaining double garage is a pre fab, wide enough but not long enough or high enough so that would need to go and a new one built further back.
We viewed twice yesterday and again today, the jury is still out


I am worn out looking. Some houses are being snapped up in just a couple of days.

macafee2

[Saga Lout]

Originally Posted by macafee2

Having moved into temporary accommodation the wife and I are on the hunt for a house. Lots of new builds but they are not for us.
Sifting through the emails we can discard a number of houses for one reason or another but this week 4 got our interest.

1 was flooded a year or two ago and so that has now been discounted.
Another has structural issues and previous buyers pulled out as they could not get a mortgage, that has been discarded. The third was next to two busy roads and was not secluded so that has been discounted

The forth, a disappointing bungalow, I would prefer a house. Built in 1963 I don't think been redecorated. Two double garages and a single garage.
Fields to the front, rear and one side. Farm on the forth side.
Currently a quiet location but will it be once the new houses go up a mile down the road? Apparently the houses wont come any closer as they have reached the edge of town. The kitchen is a good size but the rest of the rooms are small. Wife has had her pen out and drawn possible expansion plans. Incorporate one of the double garages and "Workshop" and build on a living room.

Single garage is to small to accommodate our caravan so some or all of that would have to come down. The remaining double garage is a pre fab, wide enough but not long enough or high enough so that would need to go and a new one built further back.
We viewed twice yesterday and again today, the jury is still out


I am worn out looking. Some houses are being snapped up in just a couple of days.

macafee2

A garage usually puts on half the value it costs to build it, if you want to throw money at a house to make it what you want, why not consider building your own? I'm sure there's a patch of land where you can have everything you want and all new, South facing of course to make the most of solar energy and endless Summer evenings outside. I think it's what I would likely do given the choice.
Good luck in your hunt but make it count whatever you do.

[clf]

The end of building in the area may change, it certainly has for most of the 'fancy houses' in my town. Even the old green belt has miraculously moved over the past thirty years.

Nothing was supposed to have been built to the left of THIS development, as it was supposed to have been an exclusive development with nothing encroaching on it (even though there is one of the roughest estates in the town on the other side!). But 30 years since they went up, THIS, THIS and THIS went up (the national limit sign used to be 1 mile further inwards), leaving THIS untouched, so far. At least until the farmer or landowner decides to sell up.

Which is my point, you should investigate who owns the lands surrounding what would become your property, also the potential for you to buy it yourself (with a view of renting it to the farmer - and thus retaining its control). Your local council land property department and/or public record office should have this information.

I dont know about your area, but where I live, it is relatively cheap compared to Belfast, yet being relatively close to be able to commute, which is why the properties and sprung up everywhere. It may be worth putting yourself in the position of a young couple looking for somewhere to live yet be relatively close to a city (for their work) along with the public transport route.

Another thing to try (although due to the pandemic, it will be less accurate) is at various times of night, to drive around the area, to see who or what is about.

Consider too, potential neighbours. They may not appreciate you pulling apart a car on your drive, or have an air compressor running every so often. Is there a church near by that may cause the roads to clog up during service times (this was an issue for me on a Sunday evening - I had a fantasy of storming into the church mid service to demand someone move their car from blocking the entrance to the street - some worshippers had a bizarre sense of entitlement lol cars parked on both sides of the entrance and around the corners HERE). Consider the little things, that are not always immediately obvious, but can become irksome later. Perhaps an oil delivery truck cannot easily get access, or postal delivery etc.

[macafee2]

Originally Posted by Saga Lout

A garage usually puts on half the value it costs to build it, if you want to throw money at a house to make it what you want, why not consider building your own? I'm sure there's a patch of land where you can have everything you want and all new, South facing of course to make the most of solar energy and endless Summer evenings outside. I think it's what I would likely do given the choice.
Good luck in your hunt but make it count whatever you do.

Thanks. I don't have the courage to have a house built

macafee2

[coolguy]

As all the tv programmes tell us, every property comes with compromise - this island is just becoming over crowded, and the latest changes to planning law makes even more building a certainty. My orchard and veg plot form a large building plot (50 x 200 feet) to the side of the house. It is a pain to keep under control, and I have considered selling (the next door neighbours who I get on well with would like a chunk of it to increase their garden size) but it is my oasis. You can only control what you own.

[macafee2]

Originally Posted by clf

The end of building in the area may change, it certainly has for most of the 'fancy houses' in my town. Even the old green belt has miraculously moved over the past thirty years.

Nothing was supposed to have been built to the left of THIS development, as it was supposed to have been an exclusive development with nothing encroaching on it (even though there is one of the roughest estates in the town on the other side!). But 30 years since they went up, THIS, THIS and THIS went up (the national limit sign used to be 1 mile further inwards), leaving THIS untouched, so far. At least until the farmer or landowner decides to sell up.

Which is my point, you should investigate who owns the lands surrounding what would become your property, also the potential for you to buy it yourself (with a view of renting it to the farmer - and thus retaining its control). Your local council land property department and/or public record office should have this information.

I dont know about your area, but where I live, it is relatively cheap compared to Belfast, yet being relatively close to be able to commute, which is why the properties and sprung up everywhere. It may be worth putting yourself in the position of a young couple looking for somewhere to live yet be relatively close to a city (for their work) along with the public transport route.

Another thing to try (although due to the pandemic, it will be less accurate) is at various times of night, to drive around the area, to see who or what is about.

Consider too, potential neighbours. They may not appreciate you pulling apart a car on your drive, or have an air compressor running every so often. Is there a church near by that may cause the roads to clog up during service times (this was an issue for me on a Sunday evening - I had a fantasy of storming into the church mid service to demand someone move their car from blocking the entrance to the street - some worshippers had a bizarre sense of entitlement lol cars parked on both sides of the entrance and around the corners HERE). Consider the little things, that are not always immediately obvious, but can become irksome later. Perhaps an oil delivery truck cannot easily get access, or postal delivery etc.

Twice we have looked at buying adjacent land as it was owned by the home owner but the properties were sold to other people.
Apart from the farm there is no one close by to the one we looked at today.
This being part of our trouble, we don't want neighbours.
Land varies in price, but the two we looked into, £10,000 an acre for farmland and £60,000 for 0.8 of an acre where building is not currently allowed but council plan may change in years to come so I think that was a bit of speculation when buying.

We want out of town so we wont have to worry about walking the streets, who on earth will walk in the middle of nowhere at night, no lights, no pavement

macafee2

[macafee2]

Originally Posted by coolguy

As all the tv programmes tell us, every property comes with compromise - this island is just becoming over crowded, and the latest changes to planning law makes even more building a certainty. My orchard and veg plot form a large building plot (50 x 200 feet) to the side of the house. It is a pain to keep under control, and I have considered selling (the next door neighbours who I get on well with would like a chunk of it to increase their garden size) but it is my oasis. You can only control what you own.

so true

macafee2