how big is your house & how many live there?

Chinkle

It's all very lovely planning a rosy future with four kids in a lovely big house with room for all, but is this realistic? Babies don't just pop out when you want them, and your financial situation as well as the economy will change things too. Why over-stretch yourself now with a big house - move as and when you need to.

blushingbride_3

Ok lovely thanks everyone!:)

The only issue with me isnt buying the house, its if we decide to move in the annex at my parents

It's gonna cost about 100k to convert the barn building & i dont want them spending all that money for us to only be there for a short amount of time.

They would cover the conversion costs & we would then pay their bills by way of rent.

pigpen

I had 8 children in a 3 bedroomed house..

I now have 7 in a 5 bed house.. OH and I have 1 room.. DD1 (15) and DD2 (12) each have their own room, DS2 and DS3 share the 4th room and the 3 small pinks share a room. DS1 used to have his own room and DD2 was in with the 3 small pinks so I had 4 in one room.

If you had 3 + 1 the 1 has the tiny room and the 3 have the biggest room and you and OH have the middle sized room... easy peasy!

blushingbride_3

Chinkle wrote: »

It's all very lovely planning a rosy future with four kids in a lovely big house with room for all, but is this realistic? Babies don't just pop out when you want them, and your financial situation as well as the economy will change things too. Why over-stretch yourself now with a big house - move as and when you need to.

its not just daydreaming, we can afford the children & the house if we want it, we save everymonth so our incomes and sufficient even if i am working part time.

The issue is knowing how much space we need, i dont like wasted space & dont want hubby feeling stretched. the budget we have set is what we can afford with one salary not two

we want to move now as well to be in a better location & enjoy the house & time alone before the children appear.

blushingbride_3

plus it will take 6months plus to convert the building if we go down that route.
It currently has permission for offices, and planning advice didnt think that a annex would be an issue

JBD

I have 3 children and a 2 bedroomed house. I grew up in a family of 7 in a 3 bedroomed house. People think that it is essential for each child to have their own bedroom but it isn't at all.
Personally I would go for the best house you can comfortably afford. Taking out large mortgages can cause a massive amount of stress. If your plans of having 4 children during a few years does come true then you will probably find it is a massive financial commitment. You have to think of childcare for a start which many people find very expensive.
Another thing you could consider is buying a smaller cheaper house that has potential for extending, eg look at the loft space. Could you convert that into 1 or 2 bedrooms a few years down the road?
Also you don't have to buy a house now that will be suitable for the rest of your lives. A lot of people move several times to suit their changing circumstances.

kegg_2

2 adults and 2 boys (12 and 13) in a 3 bed.

Few doors up same size house but 2 adults and 8 kids ranging from 6 to teens. I dont know where she puts them all.

mummyyof5

I have 2 adults,..20 year old DD and 8 month old GD , 17 year old DD, 16 year old DS, 13 year old DS and 3 year old DS in a 3 bed semi.

We manage fine...no one needs a room for each child..my Dsis in law has built onto their house so her 3 children can each have their own room and she really regrets it...her children spend all their time in their rooms....she admits we are much closer as a family..as our children spend a lot of time downstairs with us.

gingin_2

blushingbride wrote: »

its not just daydreaming, we can afford the children & the house if we want it, we save everymonth so our incomes and sufficient even if i am working part time.

The issue is knowing how much space we need, i dont like wasted space & dont want hubby feeling stretched. the budget we have set is what we can afford with one salary not two

In that case, I think what you are proposing is tight. Although people have done it on here, 4 young kids in a 3 bed semi would be my idea of a nightmare. I would save longer for a larger house.

I always dreamed of 3 or 4 kids, but once my two came along, I realised quite clearly what I wanted to be able to provide them with and it wouldn't be possible with more children and we left it there (and I am very happy with that).

Purely my opinion, though.

lilac_lady

Although it would be nice for every child to have his/hers own bedroom, many people have overstretched themselves by buying a 4/5 bedroom house. It's not child abuse if childen, especially smaller ones, have to share a room.