Box room for a child?

[orangeredpink]

I am a single parent with one DC (7). Having to move and looking for new properties to either rent or buy, I have the deposit to buy but due to the average property prices for a 2 bedroom flat in my area being ridiculously high I can't get a mortgage big enough. I can't move out of the area due to work/school/transport.

What I've found I can afford are big 1 bedroom flats (same size as my current 2 bed) where I could add a (temp?) wall/divider to the living room or bedroom to make a small boxroom, or 1 bed flats that already have a box room/study with the view of moving again to somewhere bigger in 2-3 years with a bigger deposit/salary.

I've spoken to DC and shown them how small their room would be compared to their current room, and they don't mind, esp as other than sleeping/getting dressed they are never in there. However, my mum thinks I'm bat shit crazy and massively unreasonable.

Alternatively, I could continue to rent, but would be paying £4-500 p/m extra in rent that what I'd be paying on a mortgage.

The flat sounds like a great option. Don't listen to your mum - forking out lots more on rent (down the drain) isn't sensible at all.

Unless your mum can offer practical or financial advice as to how to resolve this I'd ignore her. Your dc will be fine in the box room as long as your mum doesn't keep saying poor baby orange stuck in a poky Boxroom

It's fine, especially if there is good light (natural or daylight light bulbs) in the room

I'd definitely buy and go for the box room with savings. Your DC probably has approx. another 11 years at home, in which time you could save about 50k paying a mortgage rather than rent. If you feel guilty (which you shouldn't) you could put some of the savings to one side for DC's future.

I grew up in a box room, one of my DC had a box room sliced off another bedroom using a dividing wall. It would be a no brainer for me!

I lived in a box room until I left home at 23. The single bed filled half the room, a narrow chest of drawers was up against the door and you couldn't open the child's wardrobe door properly. You had to shimmy into the room sidewise.

I survived.

A small child is absolutely fine with a box room. So long as the house is in good condition, cosy and safe, and she has a comfy bed, that's all that matters. Her stuff can live elsewhere, or you can think creatively with the space once you're in and settled so that she has a cabin bed/draw-down for extra space.

Box room is fine.

When they are older you can get them a high sleeper with desk and stuff underneath.

Box room is fine. We have a 4 bedroom house and the fourth bedroom is a box room. A bit unfair for dc3 but we can't afford a bigger house. She has a high sleeper and loves it.

Box room is fine! I had one as a child and was perfectly happy with it.

Buy. A room is a room. DC will be fine in there. A lot can be done with a small space.

my brother had a box room growing up - my dad made a custom captains bed with drawers and wardrobe underneath. he loved it, and i used it for a while as a teenager too. even ikea sells that cheap bed you can use as a bunk with space under for drawers/desk, and a tent thing that goes over top and curtains around bottom if you're thinking about privacy.

anyone who has two children who lives in a 1930s 3 bedroom has a child in a boxroom so I think its fine

Go for a 1 bedroom with a box room, ignore your mum! Get your foot on the ladder with your money, not paying off someone else's mortgage. I had a box room with a wee window & a bunk bed and I felt like Heidi, in her loft, I loved it!

My parents converted the master bedroom of their two bed house into two smaller rooms, so my brother and I could have a room each. Mine was definitely a boxroom. They had it done properly by an architect, and the house was later sold as a three bedroom, but where I'd be careful is with access to the small room. I had to walk through my brother's room to get to my bedroom, which wasn't ideal - creating a proper corridor would have shaved off too much space.

My son has a cabin bed. There is room for that and not much else (nothing furniture wise). We have a bed that has drawers and wardrobe underneath,with a bit of space for his "den" underneath". He loves it!!

Given my child is in a box room that literally will only fit a 80cm small single bed - and no chest of drawers - your 'box' room sounds quite big!

Don't see the issue!

Go for it!

I don't think you are mad at all. My suggestion though would also be to look for somewhere where, when you have more money, you could expand it more, so e.g. somewhere which hasn't converted its attic (the easiest one to do), or somewhere with a garden that you could expand into, or somewhere at least with the potential to dig out a basement (but be warned that is very, very expensive). I have a friend who did this with a 1 bed ground floor flat, and created a 3 bed, digging out 2 bedrooms. Good luck.

My lad has a box room. We got a fitted bed with storage under and shelves and drawers.

Go for it, no problem!

Plenty of parents bed down on a sofa bed in the living room so it's not too unusual to have 2+ living in a one bedroom flat.

When I was little I had a box room. Had a bunk bed with a desk underneath. Tbh I loved it! Loved my bunk bed.

My 7yo still sleeps in the same bedroom as me.
It's fine.
People make do. What's your Mum's problem?

I spent 23 years in the box room at my mum's which is 6ft by 8ft - it was perfectly acceptable and was actually very cosy even though I could stand in the middle and touch both walls (cos I'm 6ft tall!

Don't let your mum bully you into anything!

It's fine, op.

Have you considered giving your child the bedroom and takng the boxroom for yourself? Most of your things will be furnishing the entire flat, so maybe you could have dc's things in the bedroom and your personal things in the bathroom?

My son loved his box room, even when given the option to move to a bigger bedroom he didn't want to when younger. He finally moved at age 11 as he needed a desk space for homework.

I'd be careful buying right now. I think prices are going to drop (London has already started to fall and where I am in NYC is dropping at the high end) and if you can wait until September it will be clearer what is going to happen. It normally takes 9-18 months for the drop at the top end to reach the regular market.

It's extremely difficult being a single parent and buying a home and the maintenance is expensive because it's all on you.

Just really really do your numbers, make sure that you don't need HB and can survive a drop in value of 15-20%.

Of course your DC is fine in a box room. I have 3 kids stacked in a bunk bed and my father is appalled. Told him to put up or shut up and he actually got his cheque book out because he knew we have the money but that I'm being cautious! We are buying a second home here in the NYC area, having waited for these price drops. We are still overpaying but have a fixed rate mortgage for the entire 30 years of the mortgage so we are ok with overpaying now to get the space we need for a family of 5 with visiting relatives (who never leave!).