Schools and house moving dilemma - what's the solution

Counting_Pennies_2

I wouldn't be too concerned about property prices rising. The recession so far has been very false. Labour continued spending on our country's credit card and now we have the price to pay from January onwards with all the cuts that are coming in.

When all that affects the economy I don't see house prices rising for a very long time. In fact I am seeing a lot of big houses going on the market round here for that very fact, I think people are expecting prices to decline enormously.

My husband studied economics, and we have been overdue a slump in house prices for a long time, they are about 20% over inflated.

If it was me I would continue renting. Not just because of what I think might happen, but also, you are happy in the house you are in, and it will more than likely get you into a good secondary school, and when you can do that it is worth more than the benefits of 'owning' your own home.

Rentals are much cheaper than mortgages at the moment, so you are not going to miss out by not being on the housing ladder now. We are even considering moving from a mortgaged property to a long term rental for that very fact, we have calculated we will save money, so we could then save the additional we would have put to a mortgage and have a nest egg later on to buy a smaller house for ourselves when the children grow up.

In terms of renting a property in addition to living in a mortgaged house when it comes to getting into secondary school I would say it isn't worth it. My local school has uncovered the fraud of people having two council tax payments on properties and the children have been thrown out of the school. That stress just isn't worth it.

hth

clearingout

If you can afford to pay a mortgage AND rent for a year to get into the good school, have you looked at the cost of private education? My eldest went into private for his reception year - we then got divorced so were unable to afford it. However, we would have managed it had we been together. It wasn't as expensive as I thought it was going to be, although there can be a big price variation between schools. It is worth considering.

I don't agree with the renting to get the 'right' address - you will effectively deprive a child of a place who's parents are genuinely living locally and you will get found out, sooner or later.

As for 'bad' schools, you need to look at their 'contextual value added' scores - these show the quality of the behind the scenes work that goes on. Some schools will always have below average GCSE scores but may well be excelling in other areas and are able to provide a fantastic environment for their students to grow and develop in other ways, other than the usual academic way. We weren't all cut out to go to university and education is not what it was - the opportunities to learn on the job, change careers etc. are enormous nowadays and reflect changing society.

Most schools have open days in the early autumn - there is nothing to stop you having a look round both schools, talk to teachers openly about why you are there and get their honest opinions (ask them if they'd send their children to the school they work at!) and take the opportunity to speak with students as well. You will probably be surprised. Most schools stream students and if you are confident your child will likely be in the top sets, if he/she was going to get 10 As at GCSE, the chances are they'll do it whichever school they end up in.

Finally, I am the child of a milkman and a seamstress, went to a dreadful school (was then, still is). I have a degree and Masters degree. I made some odd choices career wise and am struggling at this point in my life from a financial point of view - a good education guarentees nothing at all!

clearingout

just to add:

think of it this way
a) all good schools have a 'bad' element, a bottom set and problem students (not suggesting they are all one and the same thing!)
b) all bad schools have a 'good' element, a top set and non-problematic students (again not suggesting they are all one and the same thing!).

Swings and roundabouts?!!!

jackieglasgow

I never quite understand your admission policies down south, I think it must be really hard for you to make these decisions. My first reaction on reading the OP was to stay put in the nice, larger house in the good area and buy a buy-to-let, with the intention of selling it and hopefully buying something big enough in the right area once your kids have gotten into the school you want, this also means you might manage to get a bigger house in your preffered area when the time comes?

Allegra

Fly_Baby wrote: »

Thanks!

Is that an option - buying an inferior house in the desired area? It seems that in our situation it is either a two-bed property or a flat, still at 300K plus and the mortgage alone higher than our rent by £300-400 pcm.

Or maybe we haven't been looking long enough (1 month).

I think that's what I meant by "inferior house" - a two bed property or a flat

It's a question of priorities - what is more important ? A separate bedroom for each child (believe it or not, children of different sexes do share bedrooms sometimes), a house that will not make you feel claustrophobic, or a place at the good school ?

If they are all equally important (and they might well be), then the only option is to keep looking. I think that one month is not long enough by any stretch - we looked for about six, and ended up with our current house as a total fluke - in the area we really wanted, but thought we couldn't afford - because its owner died at the time that was right for us !

Would a two bedroom house in the right area be a possibility for you if there was potential for extending ? A loft that could be converted, or two reception rooms where one could become a bedroom ?

Oldernotwiser

clearingout wrote: »

just to add:

think of it this way
a) all good schools have a 'bad' element, a bottom set and problem students (not suggesting they are all one and the same thing!)
b) all bad schools have a 'good' element, a top set and non-problematic students (again not suggesting they are all one and the same thing!).

Swings and roundabouts?!!!

And all schools will have the majority in the middle of these elements who will be enormously affected by whether or not the school is good and the relative sizes of the top and bottom groups!

Fly_Baby

Bufger wrote: »

With an 80K deposit i dont think houseprices are likely to grow out of your reach any time soon

Three-bed semi-detached or terraced house in the area with decent schools seem to be out of reach already - unless I agree to tiny bedrooms and a tiny garden. And we are talking ex-council houses here (not that it bothers me but it does gives an indication of the level of prices in our town - not London and not even Greater London).

Fly_Baby

lalli_pickle wrote: »

OK, I'm probably going to get blasted for this, but if mortgage payments on a decent place you like will be higher than renting, surely you are better off staying where you are?
That way you get to keep all that extra money, you don't have to worry about the interest rates shooting up, you're in the right area and you don't seem to have any worries that your landlord will kick you out so you effectively have the stability you would have owning your own home.
If the only reason you want to buy is that 'all your friends own houses' is that really a good enough justification for you to buy? Do you really want the mortgage and the house or is it a case of keeping up with the Joneses mixed with pressure from family and friends to be a grown up by buying your own house.
Bear in mind that in the vast majority of countries, owning property is a rarity and renting is the norm.

I hear everything you are saying but I do want to own a property. It is not the matter of keeping up with the Joneses - financially we may be better off than those families but they own their house whereas we rent.

The only reason I am considering continuing renting would be for the sake of the school, not because I am happy with the way things are.

Spendless

Fly_Baby wrote: »

Three-bed semi-detached or terraced house in the area with decent schools seem to be out of reach already - unless I agree to tiny bedrooms and a tiny garden. And we are talking ex-council houses here (not that it bothers me but it does gives an indication of the level of prices in our town - not London and not even Greater London).

What about 2 beds

on a corner plot - so room to extend
with an attic room/potential to have one
with a 2nd reception room so you can turn downstairs room into a bedroom- for you if you prefer to have kid upstairs whilst young.

Is it you who wants the garden or is it for the kids? If kids, that does become less important as they grow bigger, or you could look for somewhere close to a park/playing field.

Fang_3

Have you considered telling your landlord that you love the house and if he was ever thinking of selling you would be more than happy to make an offer if he finds himself in that position? And that that way he would save on estate agent fees etc. It might be that he is considering selling due to the current market and just needs a little push from you. If not, he'll be sure that you do love the property and won't want to move from it.