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Buyers remorse - Housing

jbecks

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Hi all,

Ive been quiet here lately due to going through the painful experience of moving house! :doh:, So there was a house we liked that but felt it was overpriced, it's a gate lodge which is quirky and had been on the market for about a year when we viewed it. We offered what we thought it was worth and they came back a week later to accept at which point I had an offer accepted on another property the wife and I liked...but since then it has sold.

I liked that the nearest neighbor is around 800m away which causes a problem as that neighbor is the large manor house who once owned the gate lodge. I would always have the feeling that I live on the land of the manor house and that I don't really own a separate house if that makes sense, especially as you have to drive through the grand iron gates that lead to the manor house. The lodge comes with 1/3 of acre of land so there's lots of space and I would not have to worry about how loud my tv was or when doing DIY late at night :D I also loved the design of 1800s building. A few of the other issues was that the lodge sat right next to a fairly busy B road which linked the neighboring village to the A12 or to Kelvdon train station so the traffic would be heavy and you could hear it in the garden obviously, Which also may be an issue when inside your home as the 20 sash windows were only single plain and would be expensive to replace with wooden sash double glazing if the English Heritage allowed it ( its grade 2 listed) the house had been recently refurbished and what annoyed me was it had either been done on the cheap or DIY a few examples were pipe work not straight, cracked window, leaking radiator, old waste pipe hole not repaired, some brickwork repairs still needed, chimney was removed and then ordered to be replaced and was done poorly. it had been converted to open plan and in doing so they squeezed in a tiny box room bedroom which would make a good office but you do not have a separate lounge area. If I did purchase the property I would have played around with the layout sligthly and added a 3rd double size bedroom and use the second bedroom as a lounge.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-44246480.html?premiumA=true

This is the house that I am currently in the process of buying, its semi detached house built around 1920 in rural location. I liked how much space this offers with a garage, outbuilding, workshop and a shed...the garden is 120ft. I would have preferred a detached house but I would have had to sacrifice on space, its a little bit tired and needs some love :D kitchen etc. I'm planning on carrying out a loft conversion with a master bedroom and on-suite, if I could put two bedrooms upstairs I will and converting an upstairs bedroom into a bathroom and turning the downstairs bathroom into a utility room and a toilet, and open the kitchen into the rear single story extension etc. Its changed alot since the satelite photos, the field adjactant to the property is now used for keeping horses and the agricultural farm buildings to the rear are now some stables. The biggest problem is the downstairs bathroom. The back up plan would be converting an upstairs bedroom into a bathroom and then making the current downstairs bathroom into a large bedroom and on-suite instead... all depends on how much it will cost and what return I can achieve to what I do...but the house has plenty of options.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-46191566.html

What do you guys think? if I could I would love to live in France! some of the houses in the country side are perfect for what I want...but not being able to speak french is a slight issue! and also employment! :D its probley just pre
 
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I like the semi detached mainly because i wouldnt go anywhere near a listed building just because of the hoops you have to jump through.
 
Both nice, but I don't think I would like to live in a gate lodge though.

Also why do people do this open plan thing on old buildings?? My house has lovely pokey little rooms and a big lounge/drawing room to the rear. I love the cosyness of the small rooms.
 
In relation to the gatehouse, its a nice looking property, built to live in - many were originally decorative which leads to problems in how they were built.

We have a gatehouse, its now owned by different people, and they cant do anything to the outside without our permission - its a condition in the deeds - so even if EH give them permission, I still say no to changes, although if you wanted dg windows you could replace just the glass panels - EH don normally like this cos you get a black line in the glass, but as its on private land I doubt that would be a problem.

What if the main house was sold, and turned into offices, or a hotel, or a hindu temple etc etc any increase in traffic would have an impact.

Overall, its best avoiding niche markets unless its a chance to refurb something derelict and add value.

Pete
 
I like the gate house myself :) I could pop in for a coffee each morning if you bought it as my kids all go to St Mary's Academy church school in Kelvedon. We could spend hours talking Land Cruiser nonsense. It's worth considering for this reason alone IMHO :) ;)
 
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I wouldn't touch the Gatehouse it would be like living in your ex wife's mothers garden ! on a side note i've never understood how a brick building can be justifiably "listed" whichever way you look at it it's built on modern principals even if it has stood for hundreds of years ?

Anyway good luck with your purchase looks a nice place , it's hard to tell from the pics but could you knock that side garage down to make access for a HUGE man cave out back :icon-wink:
 
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I wouldn't touch the Gatehouse it would be like living in your ex wife's mothers garden ! on a side note i've never understood how a brick building can be justifiably "listed" whichever way you look at it it's built on modern principals even if it has stood for hundreds of years ?

Anyway good luck with your purchase looks a nice place , it's hard to tell from the pics but could you knock that side garage down to make access for a HUGE man cave out back :icon-wink:

In fairness Shane the Romans built out of brick 2000 years ago .....
 
I like the semi, it's got a bit of character.
 
:think: i spose i would let them sneek of few of them on the list then Yogi :lol: i'm sure you get what i mean though .
 
My cousin bought a coaching house on the Isle of Wight, which is similar in that you have to access it by the private estate road through the manor house gardens. That's a pain because She is totally paranoid about being the owner and let's everyone know about it. My cousin and his wife are the nicest people you could meet, but they don't speak to her at all because of her attitude. I visited them last year and she blocked the road and wouldn't let me pass!

The coach house is listed, but he's managed to do what he has wanted without too much hassle. It's a fantastic place, full of character and very charming.

One of the points of friction is that my cousin is a native IOW born and raised and she is a mainlander! That sticks in his craw!
 
What do you guys think? if I could I would love to live in France! some of the houses in the country side are perfect for what I want...but not being able to speak french is a slight issue! and also employment! :D its probley just pre

Ahh lingo.....
Nor could I when I got here! work is relatively easy to find - working and red tape is the PITA! today is a bank holiday, so no garden/building noise before 10.00 and after mid day!(lik a Sunday) Being 'pro' gardeners, if someone complains to the Gendarmes, then they 'can' confiscate our kit! So, we have had to swap everything around and turn today into a pool cleaning day. Still, weather good for tomorrow (30's) and I have 2 large gardens to cut, one of which is 5.25 acres! (26km up and down!)
 
not sure either of them appeal. to me. the coach house definitely not, the semi not because too much jiggery work required. just not quite my taste. gra.
 
In relation to the gatehouse, its a nice looking property, built to live in - many were originally decorative which leads to problems in how they were built.

We have a gatehouse, its now owned by different people, and they cant do anything to the outside without our permission - its a condition in the deeds - so even if EH give them permission, I still say no to changes, although if you wanted dg windows you could replace just the glass panels - EH don normally like this cos you get a black line in the glass, but as its on private land I doubt that would be a problem.

What if the main house was sold, and turned into offices, or a hotel, or a hindu temple etc etc any increase in traffic would have an impact.

Overall, its best avoiding niche markets unless its a chance to refurb something derelict and add value.

Pete

That was another concern of mine was the house would have been used as a wedding venue or hotel! :( It would have drove me nuts!

Both nice, but I don't think I would like to live in a gate lodge though.

Also why do people do this open plan thing on old buildings?? My house has lovely pokey little rooms and a big lounge/drawing room to the rear. I love the cosyness of the small rooms.

I blame all those home renovation programs telling people to go for open plan! and on an old character property I think it ruins the home! especially on this one by taking the space from the old lounge and making it into a 3rd box bedroom and then making the remaining area of the lounge and kitchen open plan....which would have been a great if it had a separate lounge too!

I like the gate house myself :) I could pop in for a coffee each morning if you bought it as my kids all go to St Mary's Academy church school in Kelvedon. We could spend hours talking Land Cruiser nonsense. It's worth considering for this reason alone IMHO :) ;)

DOH! I should have accepted the offer when they came back to me!! :D sounds like a plan!

I wouldn't touch the Gatehouse it would be like living in your ex wife's mothers garden ! on a side note i've never understood how a brick building can be justifiably "listed" whichever way you look at it it's built on modern principals even if it has stood for hundreds of years ?

Anyway good luck with your purchase looks a nice place , it's hard to tell from the pics but could you knock that side garage down to make access for a HUGE man cave out back :icon-wink:

I agree, it would always have made me feel like I'm living on someone else's land :( and Its to exposed from the road! I could send the wife to the workshop and I turn the house into a man cave!

What do you guys think? if I could I would love to live in France! some of the houses in the country side are perfect for what I want...but not being able to speak french is a slight issue! and also employment! :D its probley just pre

Ahh lingo.....
Nor could I when I got here! work is relatively easy to find - working and red tape is the PITA! today is a bank holiday, so no garden/building noise before 10.00 and after mid day!(lik a Sunday) Being 'pro' gardeners, if someone complains to the Gendarmes, then they 'can' confiscate our kit! So, we have had to swap everything around and turn today into a pool cleaning day. Still, weather good for tomorrow (30's) and I have 2 large gardens to cut, one of which is 5.25 acres! (26km up and down!)

:D If I could get a job repairing cranes or heavy plant equipment preferably in the rail industry, and be based in a really rural area...I would be gone in heartbeat!

not sure either of them appeal. to me. the coach house definitely not, the semi not because too much jiggery work required. just not quite my taste. gra.

My biggest problem was trying to get a house that fit my requirements for my budget :( I'm 31 and this will be my second house (as in the house I currently own and just sold was purchased when I was a first time buyer) and will be getting a bigger home :D but I had a maximum budget of 300k and I did not want to max that...( only using my salary and existing equity for mortgage purposes and not to include the wife's earnings) which had to be a non estate position, not a new build, parking for a minimum of two large cars and a large garden... A garage would be a bonus! :D I'm looking forward to sprucing it up so to speak...but If I could choose a house I would love a house/cottage/bungalow from the 1800s or earlier! and if it was built with stone all the better :D
 
You did well to get so much space and that's what count's you can turn four walls and a roof into anything you want given time . I grew up considering 3ft thick stone walls in little cottages the norm then ended up buying a 1950's council house :wtf: . It took a while but now it looks like a renovated and modernized old cottage with a genuine exposed beams in the ceiling and 16x24" stone floor tiles and all that jazz . Visitors usually comment "its like a holiday cottage in Spain or somewhere" which is not exactly what i was aiming for but if i won the lottery the only thing i would change is the location , if i could pick the house up and drop in a field i couldn't want for more .
 
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