Declining townhouse layout?

[notintowoo]

Hello,

I have been on the council register list for about 12 years. It is just DD and I (12). Over the course of those years, we have viewed four properties. I declined two properties due to price and unsuitability and the other two properties I was outbid.

I recently received a call from the council to view a property, which was declined by the first person. I went to view the property and although the location is great (for work and DD travelling to school and not far from my parent's house) and the rent is quite decent. The townhouse layout is what is putting me off. It's a terrace conversion flat. I am on the first floor (a neighbour below but no one above me) but it has a townhouse sort of layout. I have my own entrance door, the hallway/entrance is on the ground floor, the bathroom is on the first floor. The kitchen and living room is on the second floor and the bedrooms are on the third floor.

Also, a friend recently told me that if I was to consider buying the property (which I wouldn't), it would be very difficult to sell as townhouses are unpopular.

I feel a bit disheartened to consider turning this down but I wanted to gather all of your thoughts before I speak to the council. What should I do?

The good thing about the stairs is that there’s privacy on every floor which will be important for your 12 year old daughter.

You will always have to compromise on some aspects even if you have millions of pounds.

So it has stairs? I use mine daily, I'm alive, so are my kids, husband and cats. I have definitely fallen up them, one or both kids have fallen down them but nobody was seriously injured.

More cleaning? Not much and you don't need a show home. I manage to keep my 3 bed looking reasonable and not likely to make one of us ill.

Small second bedroom? Better than just one bedroom. One of my kids has a single bedroom, I only had a single bedroom as a child and I survived.

My friend has just been accepted on a council house and it needs a fair bit of updating but she snapped it up and she hasn't been waiting anywhere near as long as you. Much better than private renting.

I could totally understand your position if it was a high rise flat or in a dodgy area but it seems ideal. Resale doesn't matter unless you are planning on selling and it's never guaranteed, you don't even know if you can buy it anyway.

Just take it.

Don’t think it comes from OP. It’s her friend who put those ideas in her head!

I'd take it. New tenancies often don't have right to buy now in the way they used to so you may not be better off buying that house compared to a different house if you get a chance.

You will have your own bedroom in the new property even if your child has to compromise a little. You soon get used to where you live and will decorate it how you want to make it home.

You could take the smaller bedroom? You're sleeping in the living room at the mo, so you have that space too.

You can make it into a lovely home, don't get cold feet now, I think your possibly just worried about the move. Take the leap and take it.

Cabin style bed. Job done.

Quit whinging and finding excuses and bite their hand off!

If its cheaper than £300 a week you are laughing.

DH comes from a seriously upper middle class family and grew up in a notable listed house. The second bedroom in the townhouse sounds similar to his childhood bedroom. He was fine.

He and I both had single beds in our parents’ houses until we married. No 12 year old or teenager needs a double bed, but if you think it is important for DD you can give her the larger bedroom.

Or you can admit that you are making excuses, because I am normally very patient and I am finding this thread ridiculous.

Leave it to him. He will probably get caught and fined quite a bit but it will serve him right. I'm a bit surprised at all the people suggesting you could get a criminal record for it though! Where I live, you just pay a fine if the ticket inspector asks to see you ticket and you haven't got one. I'm not saying there are no train companies that prosecute but I've never heard of it nowadays.

Even when you buy your own place you usually make compromises.

Go for it! I am delighted when families move into properties that are more suitable.

This will be fine. It will be a bit weird at first. You might even hate it for a few days. You will then grow to love it and make it a great home for you and huge daughter. You will get used to the layout in a week or so. Please don’t reject this.

A 12 year old child does not need a double bed, most of us survived childhood with a single bed in a small bedroom until we got out own places. You really seem to be trying to think up the most feeble of excuses not to take this flat and you know what I don't think you should take it, just say no to the flat. There are dozen of people on the council's list who deserve it much more than you. I think you should just stay in your small 1 bed flat and continue sleeping on a sofa bed.

Also, you may find the second bedroom is not that small- just seems very small compared to the other one. And all those stairs and landings give you extra storage space.

I think so too, OP is far too uncomfortable about the move.

I think she should stay put and then her DD will at least have a decent sized room and bed when she inevitably is unable to ever afford to move out to her own place.

Also it will mean OP does not need to worry about whether or not it would be hard to sell a townhouse. Or about potentially falling down the stairs. Or the extra cleaning. All problems solved!

What an utterly bonkers thread. Reminds me of the choosy beggars subreddit.

Wow, talk about entitlement! Not the preferred lay out to sell on, only 1 double bedroom and no doubt another list of excuses. Hopefully, if you do turn it down due to it not being perfect, the LA will realise they will never reach your standards and take you off the list. After all, anyone who refuses 3 properties clearly isn’t in desperate need to move!

RE the layout, you'll be fine. I worried myself when I moved into a townhouse after living in a house that was actually built as an extension.
The house seemed so big. You get used to your surroundings, noises will become sort of usual or unusual.

I'm not sure you get to turn down any more than 3 properties before most councils put you right back at the bottom of the list.

I'd jump at it, cheap rent, stability. The tenancy agreements councils offer are far more stable than most private landlords will offer.

You'll get over the concerns you have.

Can you explain what the issues with the stairs are?

Just wondering - the bathroom must be a bloody great space if it takes up one floor of the three (or is it four?) in the house.

Ground floor - entry
First floor Bathroom
Second Floor living/kitchen
Third Floor bedrooms.

Just trying to visualise it.

I would snap it up. Sounds like it would be great as your living space or bedrooms aren’t over the underneath flat so you don’t have to worry about the noise. It works location wise and is within budget.

I currently live in a town house and with 3 children over 2 floors it works for us and everyone has their own space. My parents also live in a town house so maybe it’s just normal to us.

Town houses are very desirable where I live.

I’ll repeat what I posted earlier, though OP hasn’t confirmed it.

I think I’ve got the layout now. I’m thinking 3/4 flight of stairs to back landing with bathroom over downstairs flat’s kitchen 1/4 flight to your kitchen and living room and another full flight to bedrooms.

The bathroom will be quite large, though not so large it will cover an entire floor!

OP, is part of the problem that this is not what you want to live in for, say, 20 years? Whereas if you stay in your current flat, you keep the dream alive of somewhere very nice which would be your forever house?

I'm sorry to repeat myself, but if you are not in a council flat or housing association property at the moment, you have very little security. You should take this offer for the security as well as the extra space.

The ridiculousness of this is actually frustrating. So many people are on the brink of homelessness right now, forced to move because of landlords selling, unable to find private rentals and you're moaning that the second bedroom in the heavily subsidised secure tenancy you're being offered is not a double?

Check yourself!

Remember that you can always look to swap in future if you don't get used to the multi level layout but you will be much better placed to swap than you are now if your current place is a council/HA property.

If you are currently in private rented then the security alone is such a huge positive that you should absolutely accept this place even if it isn't quite right. How would you feel if you turn this down then your landlord gives you notice on your current place?

The stairs will keep you fit and supple.

I'm older now, so I got a downstairs loo fitted. On a subsequent visit to the GP I told him it would be great as I now won't have to go up and down the stairs for a wee. He cautioned me about Bungalow stiff joints, meaning it is very good for me to go up and down multiple times a day to keep the bones in good nick! So I try to do that as often as possible, and only use the downstairs loo when settled on the sofa for the night.

Just a thought, although I am sure you are many years younger than me!

It reminds me of someone I went to school with many years ago, kept rejecting council properties as they didn't have bay windows 🫤