What should we do?!!!

[HaveAGoodDay]

We currently private rent 3 bed mid terrace. Paved back yard, not too small, the front door is 'on the street' iykwim - not necessarily a problem, been here several years. It's quite busy road but not a main one.

Anyway we've been saving very very hard & are now in a position to get a mortgage. So we'd be FTB. We live in a nice, quite village. House prices are somewhat overpriced. We have 2 kids a boy & a girl. Dd will turn 10 soon so will need her own room, is by law?

We kind of realise that we won't be able to afford a 3 bed in this village. Kids have said there is no way they wish too move schools. I don't drive so distance limits us. We viewed a house, a 2 bed semi. Granted it needs work - a bath for starters & it will need another bedroom - somewhere somehow. Hubby loves it, spot on location, garden to front & rear, quiet cul de sac, just lovely. More potential than what we are in now - which is another option. Even the one we are in would need a new bathroom & kitchen & the backyard digging out & laying grass.

We put in an offer for this other house, taking into consideration the work that needed doing - but not the 3 rd bedroom as that is our problem. It's been declined. We increased it but vendor isn't budging she wants full whack. If we went full whack we wouldn't have anything left in pot to do work (there is artex all over walls downstairs!)

What do we do, would we be foolish to pursue a 2 bed house when we ideally need a 3? I was thinking of a stud wall in the biggest bedroom which is big. But to go full asking price for a 2 bed, kinda doesn't ring right, although we know for a 3 bed property, we'd just never be able to afford it!

[LadyMaryLikesCake]

Can you get a 2 bed and convert the attic?

[TheTerribleBaroness]

You can always do up a house whilst you're living in it, a bit at a time. Artex is not nice but it is liveable. I do think you need three bedrooms though. How realistic is it too extend the two bed? Would it be possible in a few years? If you bought this house will you still be able to keep saving hard or will you be stretched?

[Dillydollydaydream]

Is there a joined garage you can convert it attic?
It might be useful to check planning permissions in the area to see what other houses have already done?

It's not the law a 10yr old cannot share with a different sex sibling but it may be preferable at that age.

We have a similar dilemma. We're renting a house at the moment. Have saved quite a good sized deposit but still cannot afford a 4bed in this village. We have 4 dc, One starting high school in sept so really cannot move areas. We've seen a huge 3 bed ex la which we hope to divide the largest room. Not ideal but it would be ours, we cannot paint or hang pictures here which I hate, doesn't feel like home.

[HaveAGoodDay]

Thanks for replying, keep them coming!

I don't think there's scope for extending, due to the cost, that would be around £20k I'm just taking a wild guess! A loft conversion would be a first thought after the stud wall. It just all depends on what you mentioned TheTerribleBaroness whether we'd actually be stretching ourselves by paying the asking price & not leaving ourselves enough coin to do the jobs we'd need to do or actually saving at the same time.

I think if it put a financial strain on us it's not worth it is it as it still hasn't got what we need. However if we can do it & still manage, it may be worth it in the long run. Talk about two minds!

[ihategeorgeosborne]

Have you got a mortgage in principle yet, do you know what you will be paying each month for the repayments? We are in a similar situation to you and are having to move out of our current rental. We are buying our first house in the same village. We are the same, in that it is very expensive here and not much comes up, but we need to stay as dc at school, etc. The house we are buying has a lot of potential. I know we won't have the money to do what we want to it for a few years, but we know that we can over time. For you I guess it depends on whether you could live in the house and make it work, until you are in a position to afford to extend. Is there an integral garage that you could convert into another room. That wouldn't be as expensive as an extension and could give you an extra bedroom. Alternatively, you could stay where you are for now (unless you have to move) and keep saving until something better comes up. I do know what you mean though. It is why we are buying now, although we have to move anyway, as landlord wants his house back.

[HaveAGoodDay]

Yes we have a mortgage in principle. And on going by that, we can afford the asking price & a little over BUT that would be stretching ourselves and I wouldn't feel secure iykwim.

Not many properties come up around here either, not at this price anyway. There's no garage with the property but plenty of space for a conservatory.

We aren't in a rush to move, landlord is happy for us to stay forever! At last resort we could buy this house, we're guessing the price. We know it has everything we need, it's just not ideal, location is right off -although we've managed for the last several years because we've had to. There's still improvements to be done here, but then we have the all important 3rd bedroom already done.

Hubby said the other house felt right. I guess whatever will be will be. Perhaps hanging on for a while & maybe something else will turn up....

[ihategeorgeosborne]

Yep, something will turn up for you. I never imagined we'd buy a house where we are, but it's amazing what happens when you least expect it. The mortgage for us is more than our rent, but the increase is offset by what we were saving previously for the deposit. If you really love the house and think you can make it work for you, perhaps you should go for it. Have you thought about approaching the seller with regards to a private sale? This is what we are doing. The sellers are selling to us for less than they would have done on the open market as they don't have to pay estate agent fees. Maybe that's something you could consider in the future. Find out who's thinking about selling in your area and ask if they'd be interested in a private sale. If they can save 10k in estate agent fees, they might be happy to sell to you for slightly less, particularly if they don't have the hassle of potential buyers messing them around. Good luck

[HauntedNoddyCar]

I was also going to suggest playing the local card and putting a note through the door of suitable houses. It might be enough to persuade someone to consider selling.

[figgieroll]

I would leave the original bathroom and kitchen in place for 5 years and instead create an attic room even if as a temporary measure DS has a ladder and not stairs to the attic. All the electrics, flooring, heating, laster boarding, vulux window can be put in ASAP.

What have you offered and what do they want price wise?

[HaveAGoodDay]

figgieroll they want £120k - we went up to £115k as there's work that needs doing - skimming walls of the lounge & hallway & up stairs & carpets replacing & a bath putting in.

A loft conversion would be the way to go to create another bedroom - but we wouldn't know if that can be done until we were actually in the house I assume (can they be done in almost any house?) - and cost wise, I haven't a clue how much!

Hubby & I have, for now decided to stop thing about houses for a while It's just getting silly in our heads & making us miserable & getting us both down. We'll just stay where we are, renting for a while longer.

[Mandy21]

No, not all houses can have a loft conversion. We would need to lower the ceilings to get a proper bedroom up there because there is insufficient head height.

I thought when i read your OP that there was a big difference between your offer and the asking price, but its only £5k. I dont think the fact tha you dont like artex etc is a reason for vendor to drop the price.

[SquirtedPerfumeUpNoseInBoots]

Do you know if there have been many other viewings on the house you want? From a seller point of view £5k on a mortgage isn't much difference.

It might be worth telling the estate agent you are prepared to stick with your offer open, but you are continuing to view other properties, if the sellers need a quick sale with no other interested parties they may accept.

Don't be rushed into a property, there's always something!

[HaveAGoodDay]

mandy21 the fact that we don't like the artex isn't the only reason we went in with a lower offer, although it does contribute to the fact the property does warrant work that needs to be done, like having a bathroom installed as there is only a wet room as present. Amongst other things like new carpets etc etc.

We have been in touch with the estate agent just to let them know our offer still stands. We do like the house but it's just one of those things I guess. With any luck on our part, there won't be any higher offers & the vendor will accept ours! But apparently they're very stubborn...

[Mandy21]

Sorry, I just meant that if you want to do work (like changing carpets, going over artex etc and even changing a wet room to a bathroom) then you obviously want to build that cost into your offer but its not work that is 'needed' - its just your taste.