Small house - are we making a mistake?

itsmehere

DH and I are planning to put an offer for a two bed semi-detached house which we have seen in our preferred area (zone 5) in London. We are currently renting FTBs and are planning a baby come next year and need more space.The house itself has an area of 860 sqft, it's well-priced and close to a good primary school and secondary school. It has one bath upstairs, lovely kitchen, decent south east facing garden, and there is a scope for converting the loft to make it a three-bed. There are many houses next to it who have done the conversion so it shouldn't be a challenge to get the planning permission. It's well within our means, even factoring in the loft, but we noticed another property in the market just opposite to this house. They have already converted the loft and have 3 beds and 2 bathrooms and has an area of 1150 sqft. The price difference between the two houses is £70k. And the price of the bigger house is actually £50k higher than our original budget, although we can afford it if we stretch ourselves.

We both are very risk averse, although we work in stable professions. We have decided to have just 1 child and hence I feel the small house will work for us but we know things can always change. And in that case we can get the loft converted. But I want advice from you experienced people, have you regretted buying a small place and not stretching yourselves when you could have? Will the loft conversion price be prohibitive in price in years to come and we end up moving houses? Any advice would be most welcome!

tacpot12

You don't know where interest rates will go in the future, so not overstretching yourself financially is a good idea. You will have more flexibility and less worries if you take the cheaper property. Your plan to have a baby will probably mean your income will drop somewhat, have you factored this is to the idea of buying the more expensive property?

Buying a house with the potential to extend the loft is a good idea, even if you don't extend it yourself it will make the property more attractive to buyers in the future.

I bought a small house, and later considered moving to a larger house, which would have meant stretching myself financially. I decided to stay in the smaller house and realised later that this was the best idea.

elsien

You will always expand to fill the space available. I'm a single person in a 3 bed house and it's quite full but I've also lived perfectly happily in a flat.
If you like the house you've been looking at and it can be extended I see little point in going for the other one "just in case." There's no guarantees or crystal balls either way.
You could always check out the loft conversion with the local council as a general query if it helps put your mind at rest. Would it then give you the same space as the bigger house?
How does it compare otherwise - garden etc?

The above posters points about drop in income when you have children is also a good one.

itsmehere

Thanks for the replies. Yes we have factored in 1 year maternity leave, and the two bed is well within means and three bed one is a bit of a stretch. Garden wise - it is the same although direction wise the two bed is SE facing. Loft conversion is definitely a possibility in the two bed but just worried as the online forums suggest a loft conversions at 60-65k with bathroom fixtures etc and hence we would be paying a premium of 5k for the bigger house with their specifications. On the other hand, what if the tradesmen costs for loft conversions increase even further and it makes no sense to extend and we have to move.

Mickygg

No one can answer this question, only you. You are obviously concerned so I would suggest don't rush into buying the 2 bed until you are 100% sure.

I have always gone for the bigger property, pushing the budget. The cost of moving these days is incredibly expensive and huge hassle. Also a loft conversion isn't exactly hassle free. So if there is a 3 bed house already done to your taste and affordable I would go for that.

[Deleted User]

Loft conversions don't have to be that expensive. Why not get a builder to give a quote if the sellers will permit that. You can decide what to spend and when to do it without having to pay a premium.

If worse comes to worse you can sell the property in a few years and move on. Remember, the two bed will become a three bed and there is an established precedent for conversions in the street from what you say.

With the already converted house, it can be very difficult to check the work has been done properly (surveys won't investigate beyond what they can see). If you do the conversion yourself with a reputable, carefully checked out builder, you will know the quality of the work.

need_an_answer

Have you viewed the 3 bed in person or just seen it listed?

Go and look at it and compare space rather than possibly doing it all "on paper"

Has the conversion been done well and to the same design as you would want to do in the other house.

go with a critical eye and view the converted property to see if its how you want it.

We had something similar when we bought our house but opted for the undeveloped one as we wanted to do it our way rather than pay a premium for something that wasn't quits as we would have wanted it.

bouicca21

Like Mickygg I've always gone for pushing the budget - it only takes a year or so of belt tightening before things ease out. Also I like lots of space. Even as a singleton I have a 3 bed place.

I'd go and look at the converted one. It would be useful just to see how the space works even if you go for the 2 bed. Would also be worth checking if it has the necessary building regs certificates.

comeandgo

When my husband and i were both working at well paid jobs we went to the utter limit of our budget, just the two of us but four bedrooms three bathrooms huge garden, and at that time interest rates were 5%. Over the years we have overpaid the mortgage and now mortgage free.
We have a house that we can downsize if needed, value increased quite a bit. We have never regretted going larger. With interest rates so low, you could fix for five years or ten years.

Cakeguts

1150 sqft is small for a 3 bed. About the size of the average 3 bed semi so if they have got 2 bathrooms in there as well as 3 beds I would think that one of the bathrooms is in the loft.



Just remember that if you buy a house with a loft conversion the rest of the house is smaller than a purpose built 3 bed without a loft conversion would be so if you want 3 beds buy a 3 bed house not one with a loft conversion.

pebbles01

I'd be tempted to go for the smaller one, as I'd not want to stretch myself financially when thinking of having a baby, and potentially nursery fees. Also with the loft conversion, this is fine when a baby is in with you, but as a personal choice, I wouldn't feel comfortable with having a child on a different, especially lower floor to me. I know people that do and I've seen some fabulous three storey houses where the master bedroom looks great. However they don't feel family friendly, especially for those with young children.