To give up a rent-free flat for a more baby-friendly home?

You’d be amazed how little you need for a baby if you don’t have the space to fill. My husband and I had a baby in a one bed flat (mortgaged) - we wanted a family but weren’t ready to move and knew it we could make it work. Changing table in the lounge, pram lived in the car, bouncer was a folding one, crib in our room, playmat on the lounge floor, ikea storage for toys.
Was absolutely fine - in fact it was brilliant not having to look after a larger house with a small baby! She slept in with our room (didn’t sleep through till she was 4 so was easier to have her in with us anyway. Moved into her own room as soon as we moved with no problems). It made us savvy with making sure her toys, clothing and bits were the essentials and we had a lot less pointless stuff. People also bought us a lot less pointless stuff as they knew we didn’t have the room! It also encouraged me to go out more and we spent lots of time outdoors which was great for us both. Covid hit when she was 6 months old and we managed okay.

We moved when she was 15 months old. It all worked out perfectly. If I was in your position I absolutely would stay put until baby is at least a year!

Depends whether the house price inflation in the area you are looking in is outstripping the rate at which you can save for a property. Some areas of London are always buoyant.

I would stay where you are for a couple of years and save as much as you can. Store the buggy in the car. It’s a slight faff getting baby up and down stairs but totally do-able (get a sling to give you hands free for bags). Living in a flat with a toddler is actually much easier than a house in many ways (I have done both). All on one level, easy to keep an eye on. Less baby proofing needed once baby is on the move. Worth the minor faff of getting up and down stairs imo.

Too many unknowns just now to make decisions.

Stay and put by the amount of money you’d need to put into a mortgage and see if you can really afford it.

Can you rent a space in a shared office/hub and free up some space in the flat for now?

Madness. Stay rent free as long as you can every penny you would have paid in rent can go in your savings.

I was in a similar situation, we stayed for a year after the baby was born - we moved to our new home as I returned to work.

There were a couple of things made a difference for us in terms of timing. I am not in the uk however, so these may not apply for you.

Firstly, I was not able to draw down a mortgage while on the unpaid part of my maternity leave, so could only purchase our home once I was back on full pay (but on annual leave for 2 months at the end). Secondly, because of the high cost of childcare where I am, our mortgage amount was restricted, they reduced our income amount to be considered by at least 1k a month.

While it sounds like the obvious choice is to stay and save as long as possible, it may be worth checking with a broker that having the baby in any paid care will not impact on the amount you can borrow, and therefore make the extra savings redundant.

I'd stay in the flat for as long as you can whilst being semi-comfortable.

We never had any free housing (apart from living with our parents before going to uni) but our main moves were: living in a 1 bed as a couple > 2 bed when 7 months pregnant with our first child > moved to a house when we had a 3 and 1 year old.

I love having space but if I had an option to stay at a 2 bed for free I'd definitely consider downsizing even with 2 children for a year or 2!

Save now for a huge deposit

you could save for 2yrs while preg and first year then move

In your situation I would stay put as long as possible, for me that would be untill DC 2 was on his way 😊 but I would use that time well and look around for a larger place. You're in no hurry so can watch and listen and read announcements, probably learn a lot from other parents in mother&baby clubs too! A good social network is important when you're house-hunting، Sometimes all you need is the right information on the right moment!

Stay. We didn’t, we succumbed to pressure from family that we’d need more room… we didn’t. DS didn’t need his own room until he was nearly two, and we’d have been fine even in our small flat. And we had a one bed! We rushed buying a house instead and it’s a big regret.

You’re in an even better position because you’re not paying for your current flat! 100% stay and save up.

It makes sense to stay and keep saving for now. Baby will be in with you for at least 6 months. You can store the pushchair in the car boot (assuming you can park near your flat? Obv not very practical otherwise). Get an Ergobaby or similar carrier for safely carrying baby up and down the stairs to the flat.

However, do consider mortgage affordability criteria. At the moment, you have (presumably) 2 full-time salaries and minimal outgoings. But after having a baby, even if you return to work full time, you'll have huge childcare costs. I expect it's still worth waiting as long as possible to increase your savings and deposit. But it's something to bear in mind.

Baby needs to be in with you for at east the first 6 months anyway ideally a year ! The nursery would be a wasted space and unnecessary expense just to say you have one ! I'd stay where you are and save ,moving now would be a silly thing to do and would add alot of financial pressure when you go on mat leave .
I lived in a 1st floor 1 bed flat when I had my 1st child it really wasn't a big deal I moved to a house when she was 1.5

No. Save as much as possible while you can - baby doesn’t need much space for the first few years and childcare is expensive. Just keep the buggy in the boot of the car and get one with a removable top you can swing off to bring baby inside.

Massively upping your outgoings just before mat leave and childcare is a bad decision.

You say you’re living in an expensive area then rent for two bedroom flat would be two or £3000 a month. You need to put that away for the next two years. That’ll give you closer to 70,000 to add to your deposit.

When you’re nesting, it can feel like you need to make all the changes to make your set up perfect for a baby, but honestly free housing on SW London is ridiculously fortunate and gives you so much security and opportunity. Instead, invest all the money saved each month and save up to buy a house in a few years when you’re both back at work. The economy and job market is so tough right now so that kind of security is incredible

I’m also SW London and had a baby in both a flat and house. The flat is a weirdly easier as you don’t have to keep on top of so much stuff, and babies sort of are safest in one safe living room for the first 0-1.5 years. We barely even used the nursery before DC was one year old.

second what PP have said about a detachable bassinet, very helpful. And try to buy a small buggy that you can fold to keep in downstairs hallway (ask neighbours nicely/ buy them a gift/install a wall bike hook to get it off the floor?) If you need to keep the pram in the car boot, get a second hand one as they get stolen from car boots around here and it will hurt less.

if you think you could stay there 2-3 years then get some financial advice as to whether it’s worth getting onto the property ladder now somewhere less nice. Prob not due to stamp duty, but look into it.

I would not recommend moving somewhere less nice right now - friends and nice local area are super important when you are on mat leave and your baby is young. I think in London the nicer area matters more than having the space of an extra bedroom (and at these prices there is usually a compromise!)

Eh I never had a nursery. It’s not a must. Baby’s crib is always in my room for the first year. So I don’t get the need.
and I don’t get why you would need “minimal outgoings”. I’ve lived on the second floor with a baby. You’ll figure out what works easiest for you on how to get in and out. I used a lightweight buggy that I could carry on my shoulder or bumped up my big pram. Never remember it being a huge deal.

haven't read all the replies, but another one saying stay. Definitely.

We lived in a small 2-bed flat in central London when DC1 was born. It was fantastic - I could walk everywhere, get public transport anywhere (even to Paris, one time when DC was a teeny baby). We split the 2nd bedroom between a work space for me and 'nursery' for DC, but I didn't really bother doing it up or kitting it out in any way - just made sure we had what we needed (cot, chest of drawers, etc). All those nurseries you see on Insta are ineveitably impractical. Changing tables, for example, are a complete waste of space. After a few days you end up whacking down the changing mat wherever you/ the baby are and doing it there.

Anyway - we stayed there until DC1 was 2.5 and DC2 was born, at which point it became properly too small. But until then, the lack of space wasn't an issue.

Stay for as long as you can and save as much as you can.

It depends. Would it benefit you massively to stay and have the extra cash through maternity leave? If so, I'd probably stay and save. If the extra money isn't a big thing for you then I'd move. Moving is usually pretty stressful so might not be ideal later down the line with potentially a toddler and another on the way (if you are planning on having them close together). Being able to leave a pram in the garden or easily take into the house is a huge plus, and I think the extra space would also be better as having a small baby can amplify things and you and your partner will not want to feel on top of each other at this time e.g. when you have the baby and he is working in the living room.

Baby can sleep in your bedroom for more than first year if room for a cot for them in there. If you are planning to have a second DC you could possibly stay where you are until heavily pregnant with second DC.

We lived in a large one bed flat albeit with a lift until dd1 was around 2 and a half. Lots of Europeans live in flats without lifts. It’s a pain but you find ways around most things. In your shoes I’d stay put for as long as possible and consider moving once you’re thinking of having dc2.

This is what I'd do as well. You must be saving £20k a year with no rent or mortgage. Save that for a couple of years towards a decent deposit.

Babies don't need their own room or a 'nursery' they don't need much stuff. WE just want it, WE want to decorate a nursery WE want loads of baby 'stuff'.

if you get your head around that, you'll soon see that living where you are is perfectly do able.

IMO you'd be utterly mad to move.

save hard (sounds like you have saved a lot) but start/keep being disciplined and SAVE. You gave the brilliant opportunity to set yourselves up for life. There's plenty of time for the 'family home* when the 'children' are older & really benefit from having more space.

the small inconveniences of things like having to carry the baby up to the flat are so small compared to the amount you can save.