All house purchase is a compromise?

[Cogcog]

I hear it often that we should expect some compromise when buying a house. I wonder which things people would be willing to compromise on?

Location: I have seen a couple of places which hit the spot; one was too far for one family member to travel to work. One was in a village with no services other than a small shop and a pub (no doctors, post office) and services were a 3 mile drive away and I have elderly parents and I am the only driver. One was near a school withe the viollage playground atached which no doubt will bring twice daily noise and parking issues which would detract from the peace and quiet I want. I would compromise on that but only as a last resort and if all the other things were right and if I would mitigate it with screening or a taser. Road noise would be an issue I probably wouldn't compromise on but I have lived very close to a railway and that was fine (trains every 20 mins slowing into the local station and in a cutting). One place I am looking at today is about 100 meters from the main East Coast main line. Slightly worried that could be noisey from early until late.

Ouside space? I bought my current house with just a courtyard because I was blown away by the house but had had wanted a bigger garden.I would and have compromised on that.

Room sizes: I would like fancy bathrooms, ensuites and big bedrooms but TBH we rarely have overnight guests and bedroms are used 8 hours a day and I am aslepp for that time. I would and have compromised on that.

Heating: lots of the places I look at have oil heating which seems quite volatile price wise. I would compromise if I could afford to install a ground source or air source pump.

Storage. Not until you don't have it do you realise how important it is. I am too scruffy not to at least have a large garage or shed.

Garaging. I guess I would sell or garage my 2 seater elsewhere if I had to but FFS! I wouldn't buy just with on-road parking.

Schooling: I bought a house based on proximity to a good junior school but having done the school run when the kids were older it wouldn't be a deal breaker now to have to drive the kids to school. Quality more important than convenience.

Maintenance. I don't mind work to do but would not be keen to be buying something into which I owuld jabve to pour money ad infinitum. Big, older places I would havwe to realy be in love with. Grade 2 listing OK, Grade 1 or Historic monument status no chance.

[bogie]

its always a compromise of sorts, unless you are lottery winner and building your own home to spec

last purchase we looked at over a dozen places that appeared to match criteria and all had something wrong when we got there ...so we looked again at a few more

finally the one we chose had everything we wanted and we compromised on location (it was about 20 miles further out than we wanted, but not that big a deal to us) and garaging (it had one mid sized garage rather than 3 or 4 we would have liked, being car nuts!)

so we got the house we wanted, and just drive a little bit further and dont have as many garages as wed like....not that big a deal

up to you what you will compromise on, and how much of a rush you are in to "find the right one" ...and how much alterations you are willing do after buying it etc

[Cogcog]

Nothing is giving the 'buzz' which will make me compromise at the minute.

Thank God Google Earth and Street View came along to save me all the driving to see unsuitable places. Although I drove about 3o miles to see a house at the weekend which had the East Coast line alot closer than even Google Earth suggested.

Then I lay in bed this morning and could hear only birds and wondered if the best compromise was to stay where I was!

[Tuna]

Even building your own home is a compromise - you're limited by the availability of plots, the surrounding countryside, planning controls, neighbours and budget. That doesn't mean you can't get a damn fine house, but unless you have seen the kids leave home and are retiring with a few million in the bank, you are going to compromise in some way.

The big trick is to enjoy your house for what it is and make it a home. Who cares if it turned out you couldn't fit a log flume in the back garden?

[Broomsticklady]

If you want rural Scotland you're probably going to end up with oil heating - it's not too bad - you ahve to shop around and top up when prices are lower in the summer thats all - and get a budget account so you don't end up with one off large bills.