Advice re: Moving Home?

seb2

Hi Everyone,
I just wondered if I could ask for some advice. My husband and I rent, will be for a long time, have a dog and two cats, and I'm about a year away from paying off the balance on my debt management plan. I am in a job where I get a slight pay increase each year, and my husband works for himself. In his third year the business is growing. We do not yet have children, but I'd like to think we will have within the next 2-3 years.

We live between two sets of neighbours, who are polite and kind enough, but the noise levels are horrendous. One wails and screams and beats her husband at all hours of the day, while the other side fight one another, bawl at the kids, and my husband has had to pretend to customers calling him that the line is bad, because it is very audible through the walls. This week our drain has had to be dug up, as the bathroom is built on top of the filled in manhole cover which accesses the drain. Although it's now sorted, the bathroom (extension) has not been built according to building regulations. With a view to having children (the third bedroom wouldn't fit a cot either!) we're not thinking that the neighbours and other little issues would be conducive to raising a family in a happy way!

We are looking at a property on Monday, to rent, £50 more than we pay now, but further away from the city centre. It's in a village, VERY quiet, or so it seems, and we like the look of it so far. We're debating the "having to make some sacrifices" in order to fund living there - the purpose of which would be to have a quieter "next chapter" of our lives. We have lived here for 3 and a half years and feel sad at the prospect of leaving, but building a new home together and starting a family would be exciting, and the area would be nicer. I am sure if it is meant to be, we'll cope, with the distance and finances etc.

Any ideas re: moving/staying and putting up with the ruckuss? Ways to cut back on little things (we'd not be living near our local shop, so not be in there spending money needlessly on crisps and snacks and drinks etc) ... I am just looking at practicalities. One of which - OPEN FIREPLACE! Funding coal and kindling would be cheaper than the disgustingly extortionate bills we've had trying to heat this place in the winter!

Thanks for reading. Any advice and thoughts are really appreciated! xx

averagemummy

I would have a look at the past three months bank statements and work out what you are spending on bills and shopping etc. Then you can work out how and where you can cut back. If want suggestions you could always post a statement of affairs on the debt free wannabee forum.

I would then carry on trying to cut back, so you are allowing for this extra £50 for the next few months so you can see if you can afford it. However it sounds like you may have made your mind up already about this new place!

The only thing that sprang to mind is that open fires and babies/toddlers don't always mix well... I would always make sure I had a good fire guard!

Dark_Star

Transport....do you rely on public transport/is there any in the village?

Is there a pub?

Go & look at new place at different times of day (just in case the new neighbours practice drumming etc )

Why is it up for rent?

Can you get to civilisation if it snows heavily?

Think about day to day life (dr/dentist/food shopping etc) & where you woud do it if different to now.

seb2

Thanks to you both re: your advice. I think we may have made up our minds, but we haven't yet even seen the inside of the house. With regard to the fireplace, of course a fireguard will hopefully one day be in order, and be of top priority should baby appear! I forgot to add, the lounge has a cute little alcove in one corner, ideal for putting kids' stuff and toys in and having a play area - funny, as I've never seen such a shaped lounge with that kind of feature.

I shall certainly go back through bank statements and check where we can cut back, I'll do that this evening!

Yes there is a pub - right opposite the house and down the street a little. We'll be checking that out after the viewing I think!

Also, we checked bus routes, should I need to get a bus to work if it clashesa with my husband's work plans for using the car. If we get snowed in (possible, given the location) then ... what a shame I won't be able to get to work! But public transport is to hand.

Thanks again for viewing my post and giving the great advice. i really appreciate it! xx

Dunroamin

I'm puzzled as to why you're renting a family sized house (and moving to somewhere more expensive) when there's just the two of you and you're repaying debts. Why not just rent a small flat to enable you to pay your debts more quickly and get some savings together before thinking about a family?

conradmum

We used to have an open fireplace and I think the novelty will wear off very quickly. Is there no central heating in this house? Personally, I'd never live somewhere with no instant heating, where it took 15 minutes to start a fire and another half an hour for it to warm up a room. It's nice and romantic once it gets going but not much fun when it's -5 and and you've just got in from a day's work.

Tiddlywinks

Last two posters have summed up some of my thoughts:

1. Renting can be very problematic - especially with pets and children. Will the new LL accept pets? Will s/he be happy to have children (if you go on to have any).?

2. How old are you both? Do you need to have children now or could you dedicate your time and efforts to saving every penny possible in order to buy before starting a family?

3. Open fire - as has already been said, the novelty wears off fast! Coming home after a hard day at work to a cold house is no fun... and older houses can take a lot of heating up. Coal is also not as cheap as you think. Indeed, some areas insist on clean burning coal which is more expensive. Ordinary coal can take a lot of coaxing to get going.

4. The new house - is the LL looking to rent long term? What are their personal circumstances? There is no point in dreaming of a long term future there if the LL has other ideas. You need to find out if they see the property as an investment or whether they are just renting it out because they can't sell it - will they put it on the market when sales start to pick up?

5. Living in the country - How do you shop now? Where is the nearest takeaway? I once lived in a village so far from a town that there were no pizza / curry deliveries and it was an 11 mile round trip to get some fish and chips! The buses were very irregular and the service kept getting cut back because of lack of use.

I personally would stay put and do my best to save as much as humanly possible for a deposit on a house. Your current LL is happy to accept pets (which is becoming rarer these days) and seems to want a long term tenant.

As to the noise, use ambient soundtracks to mask some of the annoying stuff - it really does work. I used to use rainfall when I lived on a military installation where people were up and about 24/7.

Good luck.

zcrat41

Living in the country is great!! Depending on the landlord you may get a lot of security and liking of animals i.e. we have a house we rent out on our farm - we can never sell it so its always going to be rented and if someone said to us can we have a 10 year tenancy (something we've done in the past) and you were great tenants we'd jump at it. And we don't mind pets.

Having said that, if you are thinking of babies, they can take a long time to arrive (i.e. a long time to conceive them then another 9 months before they appear). Why not stay where you are (or even somewhere cheaper) and give yourselves a savings buffer and get rid of that DMP.

Do go and see the house though - the fireplace might be open but it might not work!

I'd be amazed if you can live in the country with a baby and only 1 car - where we live there's one bus a day and it's almost vital for working families to have 2 cars.