[doganjo]

Make a list of pros and cons, a wish list - you hear all the time on these house programmes about 'ticking the right boxes'.  Use this list when looking for a property.

When I was going to build my house the first thing my architect nephew said was sit down and make a wish list, get quotes, decided what exactly you can afford. Then pare down that list to match the budget.  You hear time and again Phil Spencer saying that there is always compromise in house buying.  Only you and Steve together can decide what that compromise is.  You have found that although a large old house is beautiful, it takes a lot of money to keep it up to standard, and to keep it warm.

I did what Lindsay told me at and managed to build a beautiful high quality 4 double bedroom house for £138K, lived in it for 2 years till the kids persuaded me to move here beside them then sold it for more than double.(Admittedly as an accountant I knew where to find bargains and could whittle quotes down to where I wanted them, and I already owned the land as part of the croft)

I don't LOVE my house, I only LIKE it (that's my compromise), but it is a very sensible home for me as I get older - easily heated, easily maintained, with an enclosed garden, plenty of room, and picturesque too, handy for transport links of all kinds - and not in a bad part of Clackmannan (It's not ALL got a bad reputation  )

[happygolucky]

I know Anne, we actualy do like it here and are/have looked at houses in the area....trouble is that list of pros and cons is more difficult as I see places I like that are newish but then I cannot see me enjoying living on estates, then places I like that are older and again, too cold and too expensive or too remote.......keep seeing stunning ones around Stirlingshire but not near public transport.
The house we wanted WAS ideal but some one else bought it as our offer disapeared, they ended up selling it for less than our offer.......it was dog heaven......we still have not sold so no rush but I cannot make my mind up.......we could either go tiny or not so tiny, newish or oldish.....I am getting more and more confused.......

[Bionic]

Sandy,
I think you will find that once you get a firm offer on your property it will concentrate the mind and help you to focus on what you really want/need.
Good luck with it. House moving is horrible at the best of times.
Sally

[Fowgill Farm]

Reading this thread i think you need to go on 'Escaped to the Country' or LLL with Phil & Kirstie!  Why not apply nothing to lose?
best of luck whatever you decide.
Mandy

[happygolucky]

Mandy...Location Location was what brought us up here...the one about a couple moving to a B&B, I have actually been in touch with them since AND..I had an interview to go on that programme but they did not want us...and we found this house pretty quick....I would love them to help us, my Steve resembles Phil a tiny weeny bit (hair)

That's me off now..I am getting fed up with being so undecisive myself...viewing more on Sat then a treat as we have been invited to a game supper at a good friend in Perthshire...thats another place I would adore to live....I  would also love to live IN Stirling, there is a cottage there but its not great, they would take an offer but its a middle cottage with no room to put a toilet downstairs as its shared access and its in a farmers land up a tight lane near the main road...so no no no on all counts...!!

[doganjo]

You are probably right to keep looking no matter how unsettling it is.  My sister and brother in law were on holiday when their house in Inverness sold, and they had 3 weeks to get packed up and move down here.  Luckily they had already seen a house they liked and were able to put in an acceptable offer immediately.  They also got access straight away as the old lady who owned it had died, but they couldn't move in for 2 months as it needed so much work done on it.  They were able to stay with me for a bit and then their son.  If you buy a do-er upper as Phil and Kirsty call them, you may have to live in one room at a time as you do it up - or rent temporarily. So make sure you have enough in the budget for that, and for all the legal fees and costs.  You can get an estimate for that from your lawyer.

[happygolucky]

We have a few in mind and depending on what we get for this, we could be mortgage free and I have seen plenty of cheap 1 bedroom places that I actually love......all for well under £100,000...so we always have that option, the couple that came last may get back as he is an architect and this would suit some one who wants to put their own stamp on a grand house...the other couple have a house to sell first.....then the one we really wanted was sold, done and dusted in 4 weeks so, yes, we thought we would have a look around just in case and get our minds sorted.  Funnily enough, there are a few very modern houses, 2 are very very cheap and have wonderful views, so, if we get an offer soon, I think that's what we will go for as then we can add a log burner like you did Anne....forgot how much that cost but being mortgage free we should afford something!!! then make it more like we want, like you said, newer houses are much cheaper to heat etc and the 2 or even 3 we love have stunning views, so that's one good thing at least.........so....I feel much more settled...the log burner peeps said they could install one almost anywhere depending on flue height etc, well with a small bungalow with nothing around it, no probs...(then I could have my Landy)

[Rosemary]

Yep, location is the thing though - because you can't change it.

We love it here - it's less than 2 miles to the town but it's rural. We can hear the sea and it's a couple of miles walk across the golf course. We have neighbours but not too close, although they are nice. It's 15 minutes drive to Dundee, then 20 minutes to Perth, an hour to Edinburgh by train (although Carnoustie has a station too but trains are more frequent from Dundee).

And Carnoustie is a "proper" town - greengrocer, butcher, hairdresser, loads of beauty salons  , Co-op, library, health centre, leisure centre - but feels small. And we've 950 hectares of Barry Buddon, when the Army's not using it 

[doganjo]

Yep, location is the thing though - because you can't change it.

We love it here - it's less than 2 miles to the town but it's rural. We can hear the sea and it's a couple of miles walk across the golf course. We have neighbours but not too close, although they are nice. It's 15 minutes drive to Dundee, then 20 minutes to Perth, an hour to Edinburgh by train (although Carnoustie has a station too but trains are more frequent from Dundee).

And Carnoustie is a "proper" town - greengrocer, butcher, hairdresser, loads of beauty salons  , Co-op, library, health centre, leisure centre - but feels small. And we've 950 hectares of Barry Buddon, when the Army's not using it 

It'll be handy for watching the shooting events at the Commonwealth Games though, you could let out the caravan      - so long as they're not cockerel haters 

[happygolucky]

So...met a friend and had a long chat...they say all thier money goes on thier old house too and cannt save for holidays etc like us....so...we looked at newer properties and thought with a bit of tweeting they would be great, found a couple  next to doggie walkies and going to look a loads more.....THEN..went to another friends house and its a cottage just outside a village with a log burner a rayburn and in the open countryside....and all newly done up, they only rent but now I am very confused as my heart wants that country cottage ideal but my head wants new but def non estate.....off to see a country cottage in a mo....the confusion is doing my head in...We NEED done up but I need semi rural!!

[Bionic]

Sandy, at least you are begining to narrow it down a bit. So thats semi-rural and already done up.
That should be do-able.
We looked at loads and loads before we moved. It was only by looking at such a lot that I realised I wouldn't be able to live in a place that needed lots doing to it.
Its true that we could have got a place with more land if we were prepared to do more to the property but that would have been at the cost of my sanity.
 

[happygolucky]

we just saw a lovely little ex rental place...trouble is, too much to put right and then not ideal....so another crossed off......the tennants left owing loads of rent!!
 

[goosepimple]

Stay ruthless and focused HGL, there's a lot of great stuff out there esp when you can put a pin in a map 

[lachlanandmarcus]

You might want to consider a shell / wreck of a place. That way you can end up with mega insulated imterior up to current regs new roof etc etc but still have the character look and feel. That's what we did and it feels like the best of both - we are warm and cosy but the house is 300 years old. Even tho its listed we hadostly free rein inside because it was so derelict.
Mind you it did involve 11 months living in a caravan :-)))

[MAK]

We have someone living in a caravan in the next village to us. he bought the stone built house for £4,000 and has his caravan in his barn that looks in better condition that the old house was. He's from Belgium and his wife has got her chickens running all over his building materials and tools. There is no mains drainage in these parts and the hole he has dug for a fosse is already full of water. Lots of work and I don't envy him in a caravan ( even parked up in the barn) but at the end of the day he will have a very cheap house with outbuildings next to our large lake. His name is Boatman so we are hoping he lives up to his name and brings a boat to share on the lake.