Ivy is definitely a hardy plant. I compare it to poison ivy - it will be on this earth long after we're gone. I've been trying to kill some English Ivy that's creeping underneath my neighbor's fence and then climbing up my lace leaf maple tree. I have to stay vigilant! As cyn said just try to get as many roots as possible.

There is not anything particularly disturbing or "wrong" about its location. It's far enough from the house that it's not going to be harmful to it. If you like a shady yard, you'll have it. Even though in the future it will rob your perennials of the light they need, that is the nature of gardening and the constantly changing, albeit slowly and thank goodness, conditions. You give something up but you get something in exchange. Shade necessitates groundcover instead of lawn when it becomes pronounced. No big deal. Slope necessitates groundcover, too, so you might end up killing two birds with one stone. If you decide you don't want that kind of a yard in the future, you could move the tree as it is not that big. But moving it requires some skill. You still want to keep a solid root ball. (It would be hard to explain in words, without using an awful lot of them, how to do it.) Best if it is done when the tree is completely dormant as it gives you a better chance. You also might want to trim back all the branches to half their size in order to increase your chances of success. Everything will regrow after it is situated.

Here is another picture

Once the changes to the house are made, getting professional landscaping would be great. The front entry area seems unusual as it looks more like a rear enclosed porch. Does that inside area actually contain living space or is it an entry? Opening that up and making it more “ front porch like” might be all of the exterior changes that are necessary. Hopefully some of these talented people can show some renditions.