..to take a 4 bedroom house?

[WillWorkForMoney]

Next month I qualify for excellence customer status, and because I have been on the housing register since 2005, I will basically have 1st choice of houses. I have 3 dds.

I realise atm I will only need a 3 bedroom house, but my nan is getting on a bit (82) and might need more support soon and I was thinking if I was to get a 4 bed, theres a dining room I can make into a bedroom for her so she will not need to go into a home (she would really hate that) But then I'm thinking that I should leave the 4 beds for someone who has more kids, who need the extra bedrooms. (theres no 3 beds round here with dining rooms big enough to convert into a bedroom) I realise I'd have to pay the "bedroom tax" btw.
I haven't decided either way yet, but I'd love to be able to support my nan if I can.

Going out for a bit so might not reply for a while or at all if I'm flamed

Where we are the houses with 3 or more bedrooms are MASSIVELY oversubscribed. There is very little difference between two and three bedrooms though. Do you know what the situation is there?

Do you really get to choose how many bedrooms and which house? Is this a housing association or council?

Go for the 4 bed, you won't get the chance again

Surely you would have first choice of house you are eligible for, with three children doesn't sound like you would be eligible for four bedrooms.

Go for the 4 bed, you won't get the chance again

Why start a thread and then go out?

It's more helpful if an OP at least sticks around for 10 minutes to answer a couple of questions about the opening post.

Is the four bed actually an option? Will you be eligible for it? If you are then go for it, for the very reason you have stated in your OP. Have you spoken to your Nan about the possibility of her coming to live with you, if she is in agreement could you put that on your application to strengthen it? Or would it mean she would have to live with you from the outset?

If you want then yes.

Yes, I would be eligible for it. They usually say minimum occupancy 4 max 5. There are 5 of us. Its a housing association. As long as you meet the criteria then you can apply. It goes on,
1)meet the criteria
2) excellence status
3) how long you've been on the list.

And sorry but I posted before I forgot to, because I have a bad memory.

At the minute I've jokingly said it to my nan, but she is very independent so would not consider it until she absolutely has to. I reckon she would definitely move in with us rather than a home.

Sorry they say minimum occupancy 5, maximum 7.

What's 'excellence status' ?

I would take the 3 bed. You do not currently need the 4 bed and may never. Your nan could need care you could not give her. She may not want to live with 3 children. She may die before leaving her own home.

I work for a housing association and have never heard of excellence status. Also our rules won't allow you to bid for properties that are bigger than you need on the basis of some future event that may happen, because of the severe shortage of housing here and now.

I don't know where you are geographically, but I'm down south, not sure if that has any bearing.

If you can get the 4 bed and can afford it, I'd definitely go for it because it offers you the flexibility you need.

Round here with 3 children of the same sex you would only qualify for a 2 bedroom

YANBU. 3 DC and you're willing to pay. Seems fair.

But what on earth is 'excellence status'?

If your nan is living with you won't she be assumed to be occupying one of the bedrooms for HB purposes? Also does the 4 bed have a downstairs bathroom and 3 beds don't?

How old are your DDs?

4 beds have a loo downstairs, but bathroom upstairs.

Excellence is where you have to have your rent account clear for a year and your house/garden inspected to make sure you look after it.

We had a break from house hunting for a while due to various reasons, but really want to get moved this year.

Dds are 4, 6 and 10.

I'm in the north-east.

When I ramg up to query, the lady said if I apply for (and got)excellence, I would have 1st refusal on any house I bid on due to the long registration date.

Depending on how mobile my nan was then of course she'd have a bedroom.

When I was little my other nan had a 4 bedroom house. She looked after her mam who lived in the dining room (its more like a sitting room, it is bigger than my current sitting room) so I guess I'm thinking I could do the same.

Saying that, 4 beds are not on very often so it might come about that the perfect 3 bed comes on, in which case we will take that and sort out nans living arrangements later as needed. We have waited all this time to move, we want a house that ticks all the boxes on what we need/want.

yabu, there are people stuck in over crowded houses who will wait years for a bigger house, my neighbours have 5 kids in a 2 bed flat and are likely to be stuck here for a while yet as 4 bed houses are rarer than hens teeth round here and they can't bid on 3 beds because they don't meet the criteria (over the max occupancy) similarly my mum's been on the waiting list for a bigger place since 2001 with 4 boys and 2 girls in a 3 bed house. It's not fair to take a bigger HA property than you actually need for something that may never happen.

I think you are a little naive about how the care of the elderly system works.

Your nan would only be recommended to move into a home if she got to the point of needing almost 24/7 care or needing 2 people to help her with tasks such as toilet ing.

If your ban does not have dementia or any particular mobility problems now then unless she has a fall and breaks her hip or similar then it is unlikely that she will go into a home anytime soon. Only 1 in 7 older people ever enter care.

Also if she did require care, would you be able to provide this yourself? Often potential carers underestimate how challenging this is eg incontinance and night waking. A high needs older person is a lot harder to care for than a newborn!

Have you spoken to your nan about moving in? Does she want to? Is her current property suitable?

I think you should go for the 4 bed regardless. I think it will help when your girls are in high school that they each have their own quiet study space.

my neighbours have 5 kids in a 2 bed flat

maybe they should have thought about that before having 5 kids. irrelevant to the OP.

I'm not sure how it works. Would a family of 7 get priority over you?

Leave the four bed for someone who needs it for sure.