I've just been to see a gorgeous house (very idiosyncratic and verging on the totally insane in its layout, but lovely!), and have fallen in love with it. BUT the garden was comparatively tiny, and the main point about moving was to get a better garden.

Oh dear - that sums it up, really, doesn't it! Not really a practical choice :-( I think we'd better not go to see anywhere with a small garden in case I fall in love with it again...

I normally find that whatever your budget, be it £100k or £1 million, the right house is juuuust out of your budget.

I've cheered up now! I've just found a similar house with 4 times the garden for £70k less! I can't help thinking that the owner of the first house is going to have a bit of a harder time justifying her price...

Have you actually viewed the second house Hatster?

well, no...

Do you think there's going to be something awfully wrong? Maybe you're right...

lol, well what I found when looking was that houses can seem absolutely fab on paper... and then you arrive on the doorstep and there turns out to be a good reason it's a bargain.

Let us know

Hah! I had just that experience in the 2nd house we looked at. First of all the estate agent at the 1st house viewing pulled a face when we said we were going to look at this one, and then we got close and Mr Hatster said 'oh, no, I didn't realise it was here!' Turned out it was right on a phenomenally busy road with the traffic roaring by. Even though the vendor told us all about the wonderful walks out to the back of the house, there was no way we were going to be relaxing in a deckchair in that garden.

And the worst thing was, it wasn't even a bargain!

quote:

'oh, no, I didn't realise it was here!'

google earth you see!

I've made a talent out of seeing houses advertised and pinning them down to the exact one. (it's all to do with roof shapes!) I wouldn't even consider viewing unless I've googled it after several let-downs.

Ooh, Hatster are you house hunting too?! how exciting!
Who wants to partake in a solicitor race this time? I don't think Spampman wants to move again so he's out.
I'll be training up a new filly as Anne had to be shot if you remember.

quote:

First of all the estate agent at the 1st house viewing pulled a face when we said we were going to look at this one

this is why I'm in no rush to employ one.

What's the French for estate agent?

I saw a house in Le Yorkshire Post.

quote:

What's the French for estate agent?

I know this one.
It's R'eep Ov Mershant.

But we do Google Earth on all our houses - just that this one slipped through the net - or just didn't show up as being busy on Google?

Yes, we're house hunting too - but no guarantees on how long it will take us to find something that has the right combination of location, house and garden. I can't decide whether Phil and Kirsty would say we were being too fussy - we're just looking for a big garden in a village within cycling distance of both our offices - surely not too much to ask?

If there are houses with big gardens that you like and can afford in the area where you're searching, it isn't too much to ask at all. But if there aren't, it is I had the same problem a few years ago, wanted a slightly bigger house and bigger garden, near our current house. Turned out to be mission impossible, we stayed put and extended the garden, and waited until we moved out of the area to get a bigger garden.

should read "extended the house".

Well, that's it! We're conscious that you have to give on something, and at the moment, it's location - we're looking further and further out from the centre, but there is a limit to how far you can feasibly commute by cycle every day. Mr Hatster was really keen on yesterday's house, though, and is currently considering whether if you looked at it from a different angle or with your eyes half shut, it might turn out to have more garden than we first thought...