i need an outsider's opinion on this please.

[IAmBooyhoo]

i had written out a lengthy post only to have been logged out by the time i came to post it so here is the shortened version.

i have to be out of my house by the 30th of june (very happy to be leaving)

i have been house searching for 3 months and haven't found aything within budget that was habitable suitable apart from one. here are the pros and cons of the house. i can't think rationally anymore as i am just so desperate to be out of where i am and i am being force fed my parent's opinions (which aren't mine) on everything which is amking me doubt my own decision making abilities. so i would very much appreciate any advice or opinions about this.

pros:
-great location-back garden shares a wall with dcs' primary school so no school run at all.
-across the road from the access to both the local grammar and secondary school so handy when dses are older
-100 children's footsteps (we counted) from the brand spanking new and fabulous play park with attached green where dogs are permitted off lead (have dog)
-small newsagent/bakery/chip van is about 2 minutes walk away
-very close walking distance to a few different family members and a bit further walking distance to close friends
-about 10 minutes (maybe less) walk to ds2's nursery school
-10/15 minutes walk to centre of town/asda/anywhere i would be needing to go really.
-garden is small but manageable
-house is small but again this is a plus for me as it will be easier to keep clean.
-asking price is too high but estate agent has said that as the house has been empty for months with no interest shown he thinks the owner would negotiate a lower price. he suggested making an offer that i thought sounded more accurate for the house.
-house has double glazing and an open fire but also has an electric fire (also has OFCH)
-there is a back porch that would make a great laundry room! (i've always wanted one of those!)

cons:
-on street parking on a road that has very heavy traffic at school drop off and pick up times (meetings are currently being held to discuss making the road one way) there have been quite a few accidents and road blocks in the last couple of years.
-the bedrooms are very small. small double is fine as it has built in wardrobes so i would have to sell all my bedroom furniture
the other two are very small boxrooms, dimensions 7'X6.5' and 7'X10'. they would be fine for teh dcs now (ages 2 and 6) but im thinking long term and dont know if they would hate those rooms as teens and i really do want to settle and not have to move again at least til after my dcs are grown.
-the house needs work. it's perfectly liveable but if i was staying long term i would want to bring it up to date and make it cosy. it's an old house and it's tired and tatty in parts (upstairs is fine it's really the kitchen and bathroom-expensive!) what worries me is that i would do the work and then be kicked out for the owner to sell. (how likely/possible is that?)
-i like the house and can see myself happy there but it doesn't have me jumping for joy- should i be?
-my parent's are very negative people and i can see this but i dont know if they might have valid points that i am just seeing as their negativity. they have turned their noses up at houses i have gone for in the past (lovely houses in good locations but went to other applicants) for reasons i cant fathom. i think they are a bit deluded about what is available within my budget and their expectations are too high. but maybe mine are too low?

i really dont know what to do. i have been searching for 3 months now and i have to leave here in 7 weeks. i feel like i need to have something sorted pretty soon and tbh am a bit panicky about not having somehwere. i dont want to leave it any longer in the hope that something better will come along and end up losing this house (it would be just my luck that someone else gets in before me after me leaving it so long) but again i dont want to panic and take this one if it really is a bad move as my parents think it is. my mum has said she thinks i am jumping into this one. i really dont think i am. i viewed it 4 weeks ago and have been holding off deciding ever since. i viewed it again today to measure the bedrooms and remind myself of the condition of the house and garden and i told the estate agent that i would not be making any decision straight away, and that i would more than likely wait a couple of weeks to think about it (again). i really am giving it so much thought that my head doesn't know what's what.

sorry for the short version turning into another mammoth post. i'm just trying to order my own thoughts and get everything out in the OP. i really would appreciate honest opinions on this as i dont wnat to make a bad decision and have to uproot my dcs again (we only moved here 10 months ago)

thank you for persevering!

... oh, and as my housing benefit goes down, the agent REDUCES the rent!
Be that valuable tenant :)

Hah. xposted. Well done, Booy!

Do check that they accept housing benefit! Some landlords can't accept those who are on it due to insurance reasons

wow garlic!! i am on housing benefit aswell. how does that work then? do thy just charge you whatever housing benefit rate you are entitled to?

as it is this house would be more than i get in housing benefit and i would need to top it up but if i got it reduced (here's hoping!) to what the agent has suggested i offer (or even a bit higher) then the housing benefit would cover it.

oh yes good point olympia. there are two separate forms with this agent, one for housing benefit tenants and one for non housing benefit tenants and they just hand them all over to the owner so i'll just apply anyway.

Yep, they do. Amazing, I know! I lurve them. This agent is the reason I live in The Town That Time Forgot - the only available city has no benefit-friendly agencies, whereas this lot specialise. They told me I could get free central heating (DLA related, Warm Front) and helped with the application.

I hope yours turn out to be half as good! Crossing my fingers & toes for you :)

oh thank you garlic. i appreciate that. i do love MN for all this stranger love .

going to head to sleep now and dream about colour charts! thank you all again! night!

UPDATE

i applied today for the house and made the offer suggested by the agent. fingers crossed it is accepted! eeeek!!

Oooh! Best of luck! :)

thanks garlic.

Yay!

i know me too!!. trying to stop myself thinking of paint colours.

i love your username BTW. going to make that my motto i think!

Best of luck OP the house sounds great. When our dc's stopped sharing the effect on the family was amazing, you'll realise how much bickering stems from sharing. My dd2 has a tiny bedroom and she and ds both wanted it, it feels like a den so bedroom size doesn't matter as much as you think it might.

My friend moved into a rental recently and asked for the kitchen to be repainted prior to moving in which the landlord agreed to. If its been empty for a while it might be worth asking at this stage.

Fingers crossed you get it if I had seen this yesterday I too would have said do it. Can I make suggestion as somebody who has two Dc's in very similar size rooms please do not get mid sleepers they are useless as too low to put furniture under and too high to hide stuff under we replaced our Dc's beds at Xmas with highsleepers and with dd especially it had made life so much easier as her bedroom is smallest but now
Has a floor as can fit furniture under it not clutter

ooh thanks for the tip notmost. i have a feeling the owener will want to negotiate the price rather than accept what i have offered so i will ask then about having something done. the backdoor of the porch is quite rotted and i asked the agent whether the owner would be replacing it. he said he probably would if he had a tenant moving in so i will have to ask about that too.

ooh xpost. thanks for that lesbian mummy. the picture that was linked to on page 1 are they high sleepers or mid sleepers?

Good Luck!!

Make sure you negotiate well and don't agree to do to much to it. Make sure the LL puts some effort/money into getting it 'done up' - as you say, you never know how long you will be there (if he sells etc) and you don't want to be significantly out of pocket!

If it's only school drop offs and picks ups that the parking is a hassle, that wouldn't be too bad - you soon get used to working around it

The rooms sound quite small, but esp for DS1 having his own room will be a huge bonus. You can put a decent shelf unit on the wall above the bed too - it's surprising how much crap 'treasure' can be kept safe from little brothers up there!

Location is important and this one sounds truely FAB :)

Fingers crossed!!

thanks chipping. the dcs messed for a whole hour this evening before finally settling down to sleep. they were jumping from bed to bed and making a tent out of their duvets, all sorts of shenanigans and i was just thinking how much more peaceful my evenings watching eastenders would be if they were in separate rooms.

Absolutely.

When do you think you will find out?

the agent didn't say (or maybe she did and i didn't listen) but i heard back from the last (unsuccessful) application 3 days after. so hopefully early next week. going to try and keep busy til then.

Hi on I phone so can't add links (at least i don't know how yet) the link from ikea looks like a mid sleeper we got ones from argos catalogue number is 738/0084 they are only slightly higher than a mid sleeper about 5ft 4 to top but most furniture fits under it dd1 has two chests and a chair under hers as well as a scooter ds2 has bigger room so has toyboxes under his as well as a futon for if friends stay over

thanks lesbianmummy that's a great help!

Just to add that my parents have a real thing about on street parking - they think anyone without a drive is mad. They just don't get town / city living where very very few houses have off street parking. But just because it'd be a deal breaker for them, doesn't mean it is for us. So listen to your parents' advice but filter it through what really matters to you.

The house sounds great, fingers crossed you get it.

thanks families. yes my parents live in the country with a yard big enough to turn your car in and a garage space for each of them whereas i have always lived in the town and have been used to compromising/sharing my parking space in one way or another. it isn't an issue for me to have to park on the next street and then move the car back later but for my dad that would ruin his week! he would be ranting about that to everyone he met til something new and bigger upset him! you're right, i just have to filter it and this house has great pros.

The Argos one looks brilliant and is temporarily out of stock.
As my current hobby is imaginary shopping , I've found a few others for you to peruse

Silver metal high sleeper with desk & futon £196

Study Bunk with desk, chair & futon £289

Loads of fab sets from Mrs Flatpack for under £300.

I got a high study sleeper for the spare room at my old flat. I liked working in there so much, it became my office :)