Geriatricmum vs inner voice: A monologue

lucielle

Can you change the dining room into a bedroom?  L

Geriatricmum

lucielle said:

Can you change the dining room into a bedroom?  L

No, it's open plan to the kitchen. 

Geriatricmum

Made £13 worth of sales on vinted today:) 

greenbee

I've worked from home for 15 years now, and when I first started it was fairly unusual - it's a lot more normal now to find families looking for one or two office spaces as well as the normal living space and bedrooms. Working in your bedroom is tough as it means you're spending most of the day in the same space. 

While moving is expensive, and upsizing is a big investment, the chances are that you or your OH will need some home office space before your youngest has left home - so think of it as a long-term strategic move. But try to think about long-term needs - if you can avoid another move later then you are saving money by future-proofing 

Geriatricmum

DH and I have talked extensively about this and we have to move. We love our current home and spent alot of time and money making it ours but have outgrown this house and with the arrival of DS1.

I think we're being sensible in that we have spoken to a mortgage advisor and can afford the likely mortgage repayments for a 4 bed property with potential to extend in our area (once CCs are paid down and two loans are paid off which is achievable by the end of the year) We're looking for our next home to be a long term home as we don't want to move the kids out of schools etc.

@greenbee you're correct, we need at home working space for 3 adults: 2 full time and 1 part time, not to mention homework space for the two youngest (I'm on the dining room table just now). 

greenbee

I have two rooms given over to work - my office isn’t suitable for video work so I have a recording studio set up in what the vendors had as a nursery. My office has 2 desks, 4 monitors, 2 laptops. Given how much time we all spend working, looking for somewhere that will allow all three adults to work from home effectively is important. We’re currently adding a LOT of sockets and Ethernet cabling. Knowing what you are looking for is certainly good motivation for making changes and sorting out the debt.

enthusiasticsaver

Geriatricmum said:

I want to be out of this house by the end of the year, I think by 2yo DS1 will need to be out of our room. 

I want the Barclaycard cleared by May, then half the other cards by the end of the year.

Our mortgage advisor suggested we pay off our cards with the profit from the sale of the house. 

That will presumably mean a bigger mortgage on your next house. What is the plan re selling/purchase costs? 

Spendless

I think it's quite difficult when you're trying to second- guess when a 20-something will leave home. Our (almost) 24yo never returned after Uni (in fact he barely returned in hols after the first 18 months) because he met his now wife there. My friend's sons who went into the world of work from sixth form are still with her at 23 and 21 with no sign of going. It is very dependant on their own circs. 

We have a summer house in our garden. It has wifi connection and electricity. Built initially as a playhouse and occasional workspace, it became  a Godsend during the pandemic. I know you've ruled out converting the garage into a bedroom as not cost effective, is making it into a work space feasible to give you all a little extra space even if it doesn't solve the bedroom requirements? 

KeepOnKnitting

Fair enough about not wanting to move her into the small room if it can't even fit an actual bed. I can see my thoughts definitely do not work as a solution.

I appreciate she helps out at home and is saving up for her own place. You absolutely don't have to answer, but does she pay board? I know it isn't fashionable these days to expect kids to contribute, but if it means you all get to upsize to a more comfortable property sooner, maybe it is worth broaching?

Geriatricmum

KeepOnKnitting said:

Fair enough about not wanting to move her into the small room if it can't even fit an actual bed. I can see my thoughts definitely do not work as a solution.

I appreciate she helps out at home and is saving up for her own place. You absolutely don't have to answer, but does she pay board? I know it isn't fashionable these days to expect kids to contribute, but if it means you all get to upsize to a more comfortable property sooner, maybe it is worth broaching?

Yup, she pays £150 a month. When we move we've all agreed she'll contribute more.

The bed is starting to become a issue for DD7, she's currently in one of those extendable ikea beds and we cannot extend it to the third fullest length so she'll soon be squashed in there.