Deciding between 3 bed or 2 bed impact on bills.

F37A

Hi

I'm a FTB. Saw a property marketed as 3 bed though the 3rd bedroom is too small so would function more like a study.

Now council tax going to be more for this compared to property with just two bed rooms. But with bills really how much of a difference would that extra small 6x6.7 room have? As long as you switch off the radiator and don't switch on the light in that room it'll make a negligible impact on bills compared to if I have a 2 bed.

Feeling like as a FTB I should only go for 2 bed max and am wondering whether I'll regret going for that extra room.

Thoughts welcome

ProDave

The EPC rating of the property will make a LOT more impact on bills.  A 5 bed with an EPC rating A will probably cost less to run than a 2 bed with EPC G

If you care about bills and the planet, look at the EPC and let that influence your choice of property, not the number of bedrooms.

eidand

The EPC can always be improved. 

How long are you going to spend in that house, any family to think about, can you use the extra room, etc etc. That's what matters not how much the heating of one extra room will cost.

 These are all questions only you can answer.

getmore4less

Think about how you want to use spaces.

That decides the number of rooms.

You, guests, hobbies, WFH.

We ended up with 4 rooms upstairs to get the space we wanted downstairs.

Trynsave2

You might not need a 3rd bedroom, but I bet you will find a use for one. It may prove to be an expensive cupboard, but often more rooms upstairs equals more space downstairs. When you're looking around think about areas, not numbers of rooms. Think, if that space wasn't  upstairs, how would that affect me downstairs? Looking at it this way might help you define your needs for every day living space, not just a room you have no immediate plans for.

Windofchange

We moved from a 2 bed new build to a 4 bed Victorian, and the difference in bills has been negligible. Council tax is more as you say, but in terms of the heating and utilities, I don't think it is costing us more than 100 quid or so a year. I currently pay £60 a month on direct debit, and after 14 months I have about £50 credit in my account, so it's costing around £55 a month. It's only the two of us, so similar to your plan, we have the small 4th bedroom as an office, two guest rooms where we have turned off the radiators, our master bedroom and then the ground floor. When we have people over we turn it all back on of course if needed, and give the system a run through every now and again anyway to ensure it is all circulating. If it were me, I would go for the biggest house I could afford as you never know what the future holds - could you rent one of the rooms? That would certainly cover any extra bills and some. 

F37A

eidand said:

The EPC can always be improved. 

How long are you going to spend in that house, any family to think about, can you use the extra room, etc etc. That's what matters not how much the heating of one extra room will cost.

 These are all questions only you can answer.

No family to think about atm. Just me for the moment though plan is for this to change in the future so can have family. I was thinking that finances will be more tight as I get off the mark as a FTB so thought be more prudent with just the two rooms

F37A

ProDave said:

The EPC rating of the property will make a LOT more impact on bills.  A 5 bed with an EPC rating A will probably cost less to run than a 2 bed with EPC G

If you care about bills and the planet, look at the EPC and let that influence your choice of property, not the number of bedrooms.

Yeah I was thinking about epc. Well the epc is c so that's good.

F37A

Windofchange said:

We moved from a 2 bed new build to a 4 bed Victorian, and the difference in bills has been negligible. Council tax is more as you say, but in terms of the heating and utilities, I don't think it is costing us more than 100 quid or so a year. I currently pay £60 a month on direct debit, and after 14 months I have about £50 credit in my account, so it's costing around £55 a month. It's only the two of us, so similar to your plan, we have the small 4th bedroom as an office, two guest rooms where we have turned off the radiators, our master bedroom and then the ground floor. When we have people over we turn it all back on of course if needed, and give the system a run through every now and again anyway to ensure it is all circulating. If it were me, I would go for the biggest house I could afford as you never know what the future holds - could you rent one of the rooms? That would certainly cover any extra bills and some. 

Thanks. I think the smaller room is too small to rent though I could just about fit in it if I chose to sleep there and rent the other two. Caveat is that that I'm sceptical about rental market in area and slightly worried I may find it difficult to find a tenant. Being stuck with a larger house and then no tenants would be a pain. And I am stretching a little with this purchase. About 7-8k left over and might need to wait before I can afford to get it fully furnished. Some of that buffer is illiquid and emergency spend so a little on edge about using it.

Trynsave2

No-one should advocate you buying for more than you can comfortably afford. However, it doesn't usually get any easier with a second or often third purchase, the numbers are just bigger. You also have more stress as trying to coordinate a purchase with a sale, higher conveyancing fees, stamp and Estate agent costs to contend with. Therefore whilst more expensive in the short term, if your affordable pain means you can stay longer, it may well be cheaper in the long run. You may even be able to source a longer fix as rates are super cheap.

Only you know your budget so don't be swayed if your gut is telling you what to do. However, if the area isn't tenant friendly, how sure are you that future purchasers of your property will be attracted?

p00hsticks

F37A said:

Now council tax going to be more for this compared to property with just two bed rooms.

Have you confirmed that ?

Council tax bands are quite wide, so it's perfectly possible that e.g. a three bedroom terrace house could be in the same band (or lower) than a two bed semi-detached.