Move or improve - living space v lifestyle

JodyBPM

We're in the fortunate position of having paid of our mortgage earlier this year. We currently live in a property similar to this http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-34854914.html

but without the little conservatory at the back, and with a much bigger, but very steep garden. The area is very pleasant, and the children go to an outstanding primary school close by, and its easy for our commutes to London. We have no problems at all with *where* we live, we just struggle with the size of the house, and the crazy garden.

Originally, the mortgage free plan was in order to move to a bigger & better house, but now we are looking around, I'm not really sure how worthwhile it is to take on another mortgage for a slightly bigger place.

We're a family of 4, and as you can see from the link above, the house is pretty small, particularly the 3rd bedroom and the kitchen.

For an extra £100K, which would be very affordable, we would get something like this
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-22043688.html

but in all honesty, I don't feel we'd really be getting much more space for the money, and it hardly seems worth moving.

For around £150K mortgage, affordable still, but if interest rates rise too much (say over 8%), we'd probably have to look at limiting our lifestyle eg selling our holiday caravan etc we'd be able to get something like this http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-37773800.html
which is certainly nice, but does mean moving a bit further out, and I'm less keen on the secondary school the children would end up at (but not horrified by them perhaps going there)

Or for around £200K mortgage (do-able, but tbh outside my comfort zone and would definitely limit our lifestyle, and if interest rates rocketed we'd be b*ggered) we could get something like http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-29718028.html?premiumA=true
Which I absolutely love, but again its yet further out, would be a harder commute, and the children would end up at our less favoured secondary.

We're in a bit of a quandry as to what to do. Not having a mortgage is fab, but we are struggling in the size of house we have. Given that we think we'll probably move, we're reluctant to do a loft conversion etc as we obviously would lose money on that if we sold.

I know this is a bit of a "my diamond shoes are too tight" situation, as we are in a really comfortable place at the moment and are very, very lucky, but honestly, we don't know what to do!

What would you prioritise - house over lifestyle?
Could/would you live in a house as small as ours with 2 children, what about when 2 children become 2 teenagers...

fluffnutter

Can't you extend where you are now? Up, down or out the back?

bluebird

are you working for rightmove and just advertising via the links?

JodyBPM

fluffnutter wrote: »

Can't you extend where you are now? Up, down or out the back?

Not out the back, as we have a very steep garden, and the first terrace starts about 4' from the back wall of the house with a 5' retaining wall. I imagine it would be virtually impossible and prohibively expensive to do anything in that direction.

We have about 8' from the side of the house to the boundry, running along the kitchen and the hallway, but again as site access is bad (up a narrow unmade road, then up steps to the house) it would be very expensive for a small amount of extra space - quotes in the region of £25k simply to extend out kitchen by 5'ish.

Loft conversion would be in the region of £35K for a bedroom plus ensuite, with a pushed out dorma. Could be doable, but would lose the existing 3rd boxroom for the stairs, so all we would be gaining is a bigger bedroom for ds, but no extra living space, and we'd lose the loft storage.

In any case, we'd never make the money back on extending if we sell, which we probably will do at some time soon, so we're disinclined to extend as we would be spending a lot, and we still don't think its possible to make the house into what we would like as a 'forever' house.

JodyBPM

bluebird wrote: »

are you working for rightmove and just advertising via the links?

No! Just trying to give people an idea of what the different price ranges equate to in real terms, as property prices vary so much across the country! Its shocking IMO how little you can get around where we live for the £350-£375k mark.

Carer

Speaking from experience (having 2 teenage boys in a relatively small 3 bed- one in a tiny box room) and an adult daughter staying in an outbuilding, they actually take far less space now than when younger.
They suddenly become welded to their bed/bedroom and spend 90% of the time they are in the house holed up in there. Mine will appear downstairs occasionally to graze, pick up food, winge about no clean clothes (I refuse to enter their rooms)etc and then disappear again.

There are no longer toys everywhere, they only use the garden if a mate comes round who smokes.
The only thing I wish is for another bathroom!

And for what it's worth - I grew up in family of 7 - 5 children in a small 3 bed house. It was fine, we didn't know any different. I only got my own room when I was in my 20s.

fluffnutter

Generally speaking, studies have shown that the actual house you live in is less important than other aspects of your life, e.g. how much disposable income you have to do the things you enjoy.

People overestimate how happy their lives will be in their 'perfect' house and underestimate constraints on their time, e.g. they've moved to a bigger house in a different area but now have a far longer commute to work. They'd have been better off travelling less and staying where they were.

Food for thought I guess.

gingin_2

I would go for it but keep within a comfortable level of borrowing as it seems being financially secure gives you peace of mind.

We borrowed "safe" on this house 18 months ago and kind of regret it. It suits us now but like you we are thinking ahead to when the children are teenagers and I don't think it will suit. We are going to finish doing the work that needs doing on this house in the next year and then move again, taking on a bigger mortgage.

P.S Bluebird - odd comment! Have a look on the Housing Board and see all the rightmove links, are they all secret rightmove agents too?

Dunroamin

Where does the question of the children's choice of secondary school fit into your plans?

Courgette

Really tough decision. We were about to be mortgage free (we would have been by now actually) but moved for more space. The monthly payment has hardly increased but the remaining term has gone from 2 months back up to 25 years. Personally I wouldn't want to move if it meant a much longer commute for either of us as we have precious little family time as it is but this new house is approx 500metres from our old one.

We were living in each other's pockets at the old place and I must say that moving has improved relationships as we really were too cramped up before (yes, I know lots of people used to have massive families in tiny houses and they coped!).

For what it's worth, I wouldn't bother goinf for the second one on the list, hardly any increase in space for the money IMO.

Not really been any help there, have I! :rotfl:

JodyBPM

Dunroamin wrote: »

Where does the question of the children's choice of secondary school fit into your plans?

All the schools in the area are, I guess, OK, but I'm not particularly enamoured by any of them tbh, so they're not the biggest priority in our moving decision. We'd have to move significantly out of area (or become religious!) to get into any school that we'd really consider as being fantastic. Even though I'm not madly keen on the local schools, its generally a nice area, and the schools are doing OK, at above the national average. There's no innercity, rough, crime ridden schools to avoid IYSWIM, and they're all much of a muchness - reasonable, but nothing to write home about.