Would you buy a bungalow that you didn't like?

We're in the process of buying and it's become obvious, the closer to town that properties are the more expensive they seem. We've chosen a location about 20 mins from town and feel we're getting quite a bargain.

Hi PerserverancePays, we bought a house 4 years ago I didn’t like (we were under pressure from nightmare buyers), and despite improving it both cosmetically and structurally, I still don’t like it!
We now need a bungalow. We sold our house last year, and are having trouble finding the right property. I understand your situation well and sympathise completely. It is hard not to despair/panic a bit! I am keen though not to make the same mistake as last time. Good luck with your search, and fingers crossed patience pays off.

We sold our home of 40 years in October 2019. Had to be out end of March 2020. Here in Australia the date of settlement is decided at the time an offer is accepted and that is the latest date you move out unless an agreement is reached to stay longer and in that case rent would most likely be charged.

We had to have a single story home with no internal steps and few to none outside on a largely flat block with various other must haves. We looked at 25 homes before we found this one even though we had a very generous budget. A couple we looked at that would have suited and we were out bid on them but in hindsight were not right. A couple we saw seemed right but just did not feel right for some reason we could not see.

Eventually we rented for a year. Covid hit and that made buying very difficult. We thought we would simply keep renting until we found something but the owners of our rental wanted to live in their house so we had to go. The choice was find another rental or buy a home. Fortunately we found our new home which ticked all of our must have boxes but came with some of our did not wants. I guess, fortunately, the negatives were things like a pool and a much bigger house than we wanted or needed.

While we did not love the house we can enjoy what it has to offer and change what we don't like. It has paid off as having had a couple of joint replacements and continuing poor mobility it is working very well for us.

There should be at least a bit of a pull towards a home, it is far too expensive and stressful to move into a mistake that does nothing for you. There are vibes in walls and the bungalow/house either accepts or rejects you. Re costs, 20k to move and maybe 20-30k to make that property your home. It is very important to listen to that gut feel that we all have. Gut feel first then pros and cons on paper afterwards

I am 10 minutes easy walk to the local shops and all facilities, it is a great way to pass people and have a little chat. I would not like to be surrounded by shops and the consequential noise and activity. Have a look also at being in a gently mixed area, it is lovely not to be in an old people ghetto and don`t discount getting a stair lift in later life

Gosh Whiff, thank you so much for writing that. I feel much buoyed up by all the stories of waiting for a home I at least like. I wish there was more to view though. I think that what's making me panic a bit. Your bungalow sounds lovely.
So sorry you were widowed so young, that must have been very hard.

Love that picture Coastpath, quite the transformation!

PP our first 2 homes I brought with my husband and we loved each one. And would never buy somewhere we didn't love.

After my husband died aged 47 still loved our home but as the years went by and my health got worse knew I needed a bungalow. Finally both parents and mother in law died and had no one dependent on me anymore so finally I was free to move to live closer to my children. A move of over 100 miles to the north west.

I had a list of 20 bungalows I liked and my children whittled it down to 6 because of the areas and some wouldn't be near enough to shops etc.

My bungalow was the third one I saw. Fell in love with it from the outside and walking in it felt like home.
Could see all the things needed doing but knew I could get it as I wanted. It had everything I wanted . Even a walk in shower all be it a bit wobbly. I can't get into a bath to use a shower unaided. So after leaving made my offer . While we waited viewed another bungalow which was lovely but couldn't use the shower as it was over the bath so knew if I brought that one that was the first thing to do.

My first offer was turned down so upped by £10k and got it. Cancelled the other viewings for the next day.
The survey showed a few things I hadn't spotted but knew I could get those done .

Had 2 buyers pull out of buying my house. First day of exchange 2nd 4 days before exchange. But the executors for the bungalow waited for me. Saw my bungalow June 2018 finally mine August 2019. Just before Christmas everything was finally finished.

In my old house I never got to sleep easily. My first night here dropped off straight away. In my house I existed know live my life to the full since my move.

Love everything about my bungalow surprised myself with the colours that I was drawn to . My neighbours are wonderful. Transport and health care superior to the west Midlands.

And my bungalow has gone up in value by £70k in the time I have been here.

It's worth waiting for the right new home. There is a list on stress of buying thread of all the things I have done. But apart from decorating again in 5-10 years time nothing needs doing. Unless you love it don't buy a property.

Fantastic Coastpath. Great job.
I think just moving would be enough for us to cope with.

It makes an enormous difference Coastpath

Sadly, I think we're getting too past it to do much renovating!
The semi-bungalow we looked at the other day had been partly renovated a few years ago but really needed re-doing. It was quite expensive so factoring in removal costs, renovations, doing the garden etc would not be cost-effective.

Wow... FANNNNNNNTASTIC Coastpath what a difference!
?

Wow Coastpath, that’s fantastic.

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202204/medium-829117-2021-patio-doors--04.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/202204/medium-535432-2021-patio-doors--16.jpg

Just to give an idea of how you can change the light in a room. This is the day before and the day after patio door fitting.

Our last house was bought for entirely pragmatic reasons, it was a large Victorian semi, decorated in gloomy red, black and white, but very spacious and convenient. I thought it was a bit creepy but by the time we’d decorated throughout and changed the colour schemes it became remarkably cheerful. It didn’t need anything structural, just several coats of paint. It really came to life with children running up and down and seemed a very happy house, so don’t be too downhearted. You can always change the house, but if you love gardening, perhaps you need a bigger garden and should make that a priority.

As you are thinking of a 'doer-upper' then I would think like Coastpath, but take good advice about what is possible (both with the house, an your own skills) do your sums and remember to allow a good contingency.
It is worth subscribing to something like Housebuilding & renovation, and even going to their shows / exhibitions.

Our journey to building our own house began many years ago when we needed to move. We looked at a house that was too small and generally awful, dark, no flow etc. and didn't buy, saying ' good job we can afford something better'. Later we became friendly with the people who bought it, and did rather as Coastpath has described. It got us thinking.

Bungalows especially can be ripe for renovating BUT they are often expensive, so you might not have money left for renovating.
Another possibility, depending again on your finances and abilities is to look at the kind of large old house that can be split into 2 flats. You take the downstairs one and sell the upstairs.

We bought a horrible bungalow we didn't like. We'd sold our house and had moved into rented whilst we kept looking, but we didn't find anything we loved and were fed up with paying rent. Eventually we just settled and bought a bungalow which had been run into the ground as an air bnb. It was dark, had bad flow, the garden was an overgrown tip and the decor was gloomy beige of the worst kind.

Over a year we have knocked seven bells out of it. We've transformed the garden cutting back overgrown shrubs has made it seem much bigger. We've decorated everywhere and have turned most of the windows into french doors so we have flooded the place with light and can walk in and out of the garden from almost every room (not the bathroom!)

I now absolutely love the place. It's the nicest home I've ever had and the light and the indoor/outdoor flow is amazing. We can stroll out of our bedroom door in our PJs onto the patio with a cuppa in the mornings. I could never go back to a house having enjoyed this one level living. Only fly in the ointment is that my husband enjoyed the renovating process so much he wants to move now and I feel very settled here.

Picture the bungalows finished, as you'd want them. Perhaps you could make one of them lovely. Good luck finding a lovely home.

PerserverencePays

The good thing about bungalows is that there aren't any stairs to fall down.

But houses tend to be cheaper and perhaps you could install a lift. Perhaps not as big as the Queen’s, hers will fit 3 people, only a little one in a corner.

I'd rather have a dated old thing that hasn't been 'improved' , then I won't feel bad about ripping stuff out that is at the end of its useful life.

I'd agree with that; when you buy a "doer upper" you go in with the full knowledge that you'll have a lot to do, have to spend a fair bit on getting it right but, once its all done, it will be to your spec and you'll have full confidence that it's been done properly and the way you want it. It's far worse to buy something that you think only needs cosmetic alterations and then find that the boiler is knackered, the bathroom leaks, the radiators leak and the doors don't fit. I've done both and prefer the "doer upper" every time.

I'm wondering , why would anyone buy a property they didn't like?
Surely it's got to have "potential" or some redeeming features? Just being "a bungalow" doesn't cut it. Quite frankly, I've been looking a while and some are just plain odd. Nasty layouts and such.
If you're not in a hurry, why not wait a while and see what comes on the market. Could be the home of your dreams hasn't been put up for sale yet!

The good thing about bungalows is that there aren't any stairs to fall down.

Our first house was a bungalow- it was only about 15 years old and a real bargain as the owners had let it get into a dreadful state (they had dementia, so not their fault). We cleaned and redecorated it before we moved in and got it looking lovely. Despite all this, we absolutely hated it! We only bought it because we knew we could do it up and hopefully sell it making a decent profit. Neither of us liked the concept of living in a bungalow and couldn't wait to sell it and buy a conventional 2 storey property. Luckily for us, we only stayed 3 years and made such a profit that we could afford to buy a lovely period property in a 'naice' area of our town (we were only 23 when we moved and could never have afforded to live in that area had we not made a killing on that bungalow). Needless to say, unless our mobility is hugely compromised in the future, we would never consider living in another bungalow!

I've never thought of a house 'loving me back', it's a nice thought though. Thank you.

I could never buy a place I didn't feel happy in. I've always known 100% that I really wanted the homes I've bought. Get a good feeling when viewing and just want to move in asap.

The bungalow I'm in now is a [large] semi and I had 3 detached ones before that. [Had neighbour problems each time though, ironically, despite being detached]. The estate agent begged me to view it, though I wasn't keen. Within 2 minutes I knew it was for me. Been here 11 years now, [no trouble with neighbours!] and love it.

So keep a very open mind, view anything in your price range, even if you think it won't be right. You may be surprised. new properties come onto the market every day and you are in a good position to snap up a good one.

No, I would need to at least like it.
The whole house moving process is too costly in terms of both money and emotion to invest in something you don't like.

Maybe widen the search? We found a home we liked in a different town with good transport links to where we were looking in the first place.

We viewed so many houses, bungalows and flats before we bought our present home. DH loved it, but I had set my heart on a split level house that we were outbid on. I like my house, but I don't love it.
Every time I take my favourite walk I see that house and look longingly at it. Ah well, never mind.

I would be very reluctant to buy any property that I really didn’t like. Do think it through carefully won’t you.