Which is More Important: Location or House? 31 Things to Consider

So, you have found the perfect home, but the location is not ideal. And in your perfect location you have found a less than perfect home. Which do you choose, home or location?

Is the home or a good postcode more important? Is the size of home more important than location when moving home?

In this week’s home moving blog we will weigh up the pros and cons of moving to the ideal location but into an OK home vs moving to the ideal home in a worse area.

We are not talking a really bad area versus a really good area, but are comparing a very desirable location with an average location, a perfect home with a home that you could manage in, but……

Most people would choose location every time as a home can nearly always be improved. But is this always true and is it always cost-effective, and far more importantly, is it the right decision for YOU?

31 Things to Consider When Choosing Between Home and Location

The best way to approach this conundrum is to draw up a list of your needs and wants, not only now but taking into consideration the future. Then list the pros and cons for each home and each location.

Here are 31 points that you may want to consider when making your decision.

• Type of home. Although you may not have considered it, don’t discount which type of home you are looking for. Bungalows, flats and the different types of houses all have pros and cons.
• Location of home. Whilst living in a cul-de-sac, for example, is considered to be safer as there is statistically less crime, parking can be a nightmare.
• Parking. New housing estates tend to have limited parking and narrow roads. Terraced homes also tend to be on congested, narrow roads. Is there a school or busy shops on the road, which again can cause parking issues?
• Traffic. Is the home on a rat run? Is it possible that the road could become a major thoroughfare?
• Schools. Although you may not need secondary schools, or schools at all right now, will that be a consideration in the future? Does each location fall into a different catchment area?
• Employment. Does the area have enough employment within your work sector for career progression should you need it? Are businesses in your profession looking at local investment now or in the future?
• Regeneration. Is the area earmarked for regeneration or does the area have the potential for regeneration?
• Green Land. Is it likely that those fields behind your ideal home could be built upon in the future?
• Lack of kerb appeal. What are your options to improve the kerb appeal of the home you are considering moving into?
• How flexible is the accommodation? Does the home offer you the flexibility to reconfigure the rooms or extend should you need to?

  

• Parks and fields. Whilst your ideal home might back onto peaceful fields during the day, do they become a meeting point for local kids of an evening, or is it used as an unofficial racetrack at weekends? Will crop spraying be an issue in the summer whilst you are sat in the garden with your G&T? Do you suffer from hayfever?
• Public transport. Do you need to commute to work or do the kids need to get a bus to school? Is the public transport well used in your considered area or is it possible services could be cut due to lack of use?
• Local stores. There may be only a single store in the village, is it well used? Is it possible it could close and you would face a 5-mile drive to get a loaf of bread? In towns and cities, gangs of kids tend to hang about outside shops, is that going to be a problem?
• Things to do. Village life might be great whilst the kids are young, but what happens when they are older? Are there youth clubs or activities locally to keep the kids occupied? Or do you need to be in the middle of where all the action is, like clubs and pubs?
• Open fires. Sat in front of a real fire with a glass of wine seems idyllic. But what about clearing the grate the next morning? Or fetching logs and coal from outside when it is cold and wet?
• Repairs and renovation. Is the home in the ideal location worth spending the money on to renovate? Conversely, will the value of the home significantly increase if it located in a less than ideal location? Will you recoup your expenses as many homes have a ceiling price?
• Living on a building site. Could you stand living amongst the dust and upheaval that you would be subjected to during major renovations with possibly times of no electric or hot water?
• What are your long term plans? Is this a forever home or just a short term stop?
• Are you moving just to get into that special location? Are you interested in the home purely because of its location, but it is not really a suitable home for you? If so, you could find yourself moving again within a couple of years. Do not underestimate how living in a cramped or unsuitable home will affect your life.
• Costs. Good areas tend to come with high price tags. Is moving worth the financial struggle to move to a certain area or would you be better to move to a cheaper home, in a less desirable area that may see a better return on your investment in the long run if the area is regenerated for example?
• Mobility. Your mobility may not be an issue now, but in the future would getting to the shops by foot or pushing a pram 2 miles to the shops, for example, be an issue?
• Neighbours. The neighbours now might seem great, but what if they move out and the neighbours from hell move in? A flat or new terraced home with thin walls may not seem such a good idea then. How overlooked are the two properties and is that going to be a problem?
• Crime rates. Visit www.police.uk to find out about the crime rates in both areas.
• Insurance. A village property with a river running along the foot of your garden may seem idyllic. But is it liable to flood? How will this affect the home insurance premiums? Your postcode will also affect things like car insurance so be sure to compare quotes for both postcodes, the savings can be significant.
• What makes this area so desirable? List all the things that make this area so desirable to you. Then list how those traits could change by circumstances beyond your control, and the likelihood of those things happening.
• What makes the other area less desirable? List all the things that make the area less desirable to you. Now list what needs to change to make it more desirable and how likely those things are to change.
• What can’t you change? Kerb appeal is something you can change for most houses, flats are not so easy. But then again, how often do you spend time looking up at your flat from the outside? A sloping garden, on the other hand, is not that easy or cheap to level.
• What are your other options? Can you broaden your search of properties or locations? Would that open up the possibility of a better home in a slightly better location, a halfway between perfect and not quite perfect? Do you have to move, what is driving that decision?
• What are the must-haves? Make your list then compare with the two properties and the must-have in both locations.
• What are the nice to haves? Make your list then compare both properties and both locations against that list.
• Would renting a property in the less favourable area be an option? This would allow you to get to know the area and make a more informed decision. Often the reality is not as bad as social media or other people’s opinions would have you think.

One last consideration. If you live alone or as a couple, location is probably more important for socializing and having everything close by. A family would need more space and would probably spend more time in the home or garden. Consider your lifestyle and how you live, what you use the home for, just as a place to lay your head, or as the hub of your life.

You may also want to compare schools in different locations if they fall in different catchment areas.

• England: www-school-performance.service.gov.uk
• Scotland: www.govt.scot
• Wales: www.gov.wales
• Northern Ireland: www.education-ni-gov.uk 
• Ireland: www.education.ie 

These guides may help you in your decision-making process:

• House, bungalow or flat, which is best for you?
• Best places to move for your child’s education in 2019
• Can moving make you happier?
• How to decide where to live next
• How to decide where to relocate to for a new job
• My partner wants to move home – I don’t – now what?

Final Thoughts on Choosing A Great Home and Not So Good Location

At the end of the day we are all different, have different needs and wants. So what is perfect for one person could be a nightmare for another.

And don’t ignore your gut feeling. If you think that the perfect home in the less than perfect area is the one that you would be happiest in, then you probably will be.

Making the decision of where to relocate to is not always easy, but as with many decisions in life, money can often be the deciding factor.

Whilst having the most desirable postcode in London is very nice, being the poorest person on the street is definitely not nice. Do you really want to spend your life playing keep up with the Jones’?

Is it better to be comfortably well off in a less salubrious area, than bankrupt in the perfect location?

And I will repeat a line from above, do not underestimate how living in a cramped or unsuitable home will affect your quality of life. This is worth thinking about long and hard.

We hope the considerations above will help you might the right choice. With the spiraling costs of moving home it makes sense to spend time weighing up the pros and cons, so don’t rush any decision.

And I will leave you with this one anecdote. I know a family that bought an ex-council home for £6000 in East London in a very run-down area, everyone said they were absolutely mad. But the house was perfect for the size of family and they lived there very happily. The area was nowhere near as bad as people would have you believe and it was a very close-knit community.

9 years later the Canary Wharf developers bought that house for a very very substantial amount of money allowing the whole family to emigrate to Spain and live in relative luxury.

I hope you make the right decision for you when you choose your new home. Good luck.