Too small housing association or private rent

[user1461609321]

Hi everyone

Just wanted to canvass views on whether it would be better to privately rent a 2 bed flat in a slightly nicer area for £1200 per month or to stay in 1 bed housing association flat which costs £720 a month but in a busier and not as nice but close to work and school area?

I earn ok but the cheaper option obviously allows me to be less stressed about money so can afford yearly holiday etc and have no landlord stress

Trying to save for a shared ownership property but saving seems to be a slow and long term thing

I have 2 children of opposite gender , married but currently sleeping on fold out bed, or occasionally co sleeping with kids who are primarily age

Scared of losing security of housing association place, but also feel current flat is too small and as though life is 'on hold' as I know that this is not our forever home eg can't seem to muster desire to buy or replace new furniture etc

So question is what would you do?

I'd absolutely keep the HA property and register for Home swapper and any others that operate in the area. It will probably be a while but a lot of people find their new homes via swapping. After a few years in Homeswapper I found a 3 way swap that enabled us to move from our 3 bed to our now 5 bed house.

Keep the security of the HA property and save, save, save

If you've only managed to save £1130 definitely don't move somewhere nearly £500pm more expensive! That would be you trapped in private rental, scraping by, indefinitely. Imagine your rent is £1200 and automatically transfer the difference into your savings, you'll get there in no time.

Homeswapper is not a waste of time. I have used it to swap properties, and it worked very well. Not everyone will find swaps on there, obviously.

But yes, save your money - have it direct debited out of your income just like rent as if you were staying in the more expensive property, so that £500 just goes immediately into savings without you seeing it.

Good idea

Have you registered to bid for a bigger property? You are eligible and you will get one eventually, but obviously you'll have to join the queue with everyone else for the moment.

Agree homeswapper is a waste of time if you live in a flat. No one wants to give up their garden to save £12 a week IME.

Its crap here- people nosy at the houses on homeswapper but noone wants to move to a 1 bed flat. Not being harsh, just realistic. You cant even upsize from a 2 bed here. Everyone wants 3+.

I've worked in social housing for over a decade and what you've been told over the phone re: overcrowding sounds very wrong. Sorry as haven't read whole thread but was it your housing officer who advised this? I've never come across a case like yours where people have been told to stay put.

Deffo don't private rent!

No brainer!!! Housing Association all the way. You have the security, the cheaper rent, and better repairs.

And you can always do a transfer or a direct exchange...

Where do you live by the way, that is almost £720 a month for a one bed flat that is social housing??? That is very high!

Even in London, social housing is not that much. Not for a flat!

Look on homeswapper but most people want to trade up as I understand it

If you've only managed to save £1130 definitely don't move somewhere nearly £500pm more expensive!
Agree with this too

£480 per month saving gets you £5k in a year!!

If you've only saved £1300 how can you afford £480 a month more in rent? If you can you need to save seriously, put the £480 you would spend on the extra rent aside every month religiously, no holiday, no treats for a while, you'll have your £5000 in less than a year with what you have already. If you can't afford to save £480 a month you can't afford to move anyway.

Weve been squashed in a HA flat for the past three years 5 of us in a two bed with big age gaps in children too. The difference on rent was about 600pm which we've saved (and skrimped and saved everywhere else tpo!) and have just bought a big 3 bed house. It's been worth the wait although it didn't feel it at the time.

User that is inspirational, I guess I just have to knuckle down

Is poor credit going to really lower chance of shared ownership property if I have no debt and the deposit to hand?

It depends on your circumstances. Ccjs and debt plans can cause a problem of they're recent. If you get a decent mortgage advisor they'll know which lenders will be able to help you. Save solidly for a few years and get your credit back on track whilst doing it and you 'll be in a great position when you have a deposit ready.

You still need to qualify for a mortgage OP

If you haven't already, make an appointment with a mortgage broker to discuss your options. You don't have to pay to have a consultation with a broker.

Could you not house swap within your HA?
We had a 2 bed but as we wanted another child it was too small so we went in the HA swap site and within 6 months we found a lovely lady who wanted to downsize due to bedroom tax so we swapped houses.

Depending on the age of your children - you may well not be "statutory" overcrowded. You are correct- living rooms can be counted as sleeping spaces in social housing. You need to look at the HA's allocations policy as sometimes they are more generous than what statute says.

Overcrowding is "allowed" in certain circumstances- natural growth of the family or a child reaching a certain age.

If you are able to mutually exchange to a bigger property then that would be a good solution.If not- its a really difficult choice!

I swapped 5 times thru homeswapper and gumtree trying to get to brighton, from 1 bed council in nice area in Surrey, to 2 bed ha 'up and coming' in Brixton, to a 1 bed ha in Wimbledon, to a 2 bed ha flat that was a total dump in Brighton that the ha allocated lots of money for renovation, to a 2 bed house in Central Brighton to finally another but huge 2 bed council house in Brighton. After getting a loan from family we managed to buy the last place. It took me 14 years but now I have my own house.
I would never have been able to do that renting privately and would be in private rentals for my whole life.
Don't give up the ha, and don't give up hope! You will get there x

The only way i got my mortgage was with a broker.
Theres no other way id have got one.

Thank you everyone, I have now saved £1450, so getting closer to my target! Was slightly (ok very) tempted over the weekend to blow my savings in IKEA thinking that if I decorated my current property I would want to stay long term however, I realise that this would be a 'decorating my prison cell' type of thing eg giving up and making the best of my situation rather than moving to where I really want to be!

Well done OP. That's a really good decision.
Perhaps it's worth home swapper or indeed contacting the HA.
Round here though I've not heard of anyone who got anywhere except those downsizing from 3 beds. You get a few making noises about not being able to afford bedroom tax but they tend to do just that, and not follow through.
It is by small steps you will get to buy. Just keep the prize in mind.

You sound VERY over-crowded to me. 4 people in a one-bedroomed flat. There are national guidelines on that. I would pursue that before ANYTHING else!

HA and save save save

Please do
No other options !