Small house for a family

[sillygoose111]

Went to look at a house today as we are looking for something bigger to rent (currently in one bed). It’s a nice location, close to school for my soon to be 4 year old and it’s a cute little house. I’m just wondering if it’s not too small and if I’m not being unreasonable thinking we can do it?

Ideally we would love to buy in couple of years or so, so it would be temporary. I know it on us to decide and know what’s best for us but I just want so me opinions 😅

How big is the family ?

I lived in a very similar house with two children while we we saving to buy. It was absolutely fine. Super cheap to heat and very low bills. We had to be super tidy and clever with storage but I loved that little house.
Does it have a garden?

Our house is similar to that but the stairs are in the hallway and we have a tiny toilet downstairs too. It's fine for us and two kids. I'm sure people would say they cant cope with it but we've managed.

@Dinosaursdontgrowontrees yes it does, it’s a tiny one but would be amazing for my little one in summer! As we haven’t got a garden/balcony at the moment.

@Growsomeballswoman 2 adults and a toddler (3,5 yrs)

I would go for it. Sounds perfect to me!

Looks fine to me.

Does it have a loft?

It looks so cute and a huge step up from a 1 bed apartment. And a little garden for the little one also, couldn't be better! If the area suits you, and the rent is within your budget, go for it! Best of luck.

It looks plenty big enough. Enjoy your new home

Looks lovely - you’ve got a nice size lounge / living space which should serve you well!
id go for it
No point in going huge for rental if you’re saving for buying
Sometimes a smaller place can have benefits - eg easy to keep an eye on little one, cheap to heat and easy to clean!

I'm sure for 3 of you with a view to buy you'll make it work for a few years! When I saw the 4 I thought you meant 4 of you which I think would be verging on stressful, but 3 I'm sure you'll be fine.

I think you'll be fine and can make it work.

There is no storage nor any places to shove any junk.

Are you fairly minimalist? Are you very efficient at shovelling outgrown clothes/discarded toys out of your living space?

That would be my downfall. I'm not. They tend to hang around for months (even years 😬!). I have a small loft that I shove stuff into, until I can get round to sorting/binning/taking to the charity shop.

If you're good at keeping stuff to a minimum, it could work for you (and will certainly be better than a 1-bed flat!).

We live in a 2 bed. It was perfectly doable for a while, and allowed us to save money to now hopefully buy a bigger place (fingers crossed, as offer accepted). And a garden is so brilliant to have with little ones.

My one issue with the house above is that you can't keep an eye on your child if DC plays in the living room and you are in the kitchen, where there is not a lot of space for them to do so. My unusually energetic child would not be able to remain unsupervised for even the briefest moments, but I know many others of their age are a lot less tricky, and yours is a bit older.

Well it’s certainly a lot bigger than the one bedroom flat you currently have so it will definitely be an improvement. If you are hoping to buy then it doesn’t make sense to spend any more on rent than you absolutely need to so looks like a good option

You have one child, what exactly is small about this house?

Jeeeezo.

It’s very narrow, is it one of those London infill/garage conversions? Would be fine for 3 though. Like others have said you just need to be on clutter alert.

Looks perfect and with a good location and a garden, I would snap it up.

And if you’re not good at this, a small house will force you to improve!

@Monkeysatonthewall I mean it IS a small house, there’s no point in pretending otherwise. It is smaller than the house I share with just my DH which I mention to point out that we will be looking for a bigger house in a few years as we feel the need for more space despite having an extra bedroom and toilet, and the reception room and kitchen being larger than on this floorplan. The OP is being sensible in considering the limitations on space, ability to host, ability to keep tidy etc. which are always present in a smaller house.

That is not the same as it not being doable, and not the same as it not being an improvement on what they currently have, which it obviously is.

Well, she's managed in a single bed with no garden so not sure why she needs strangers' validation for spending couple years in this house.

Or maybe it's the effect if all those threads where unless you have three bathrooms, a spade bedroom, a study and a playroom, your life sucks.

It'll be fine with three of you. My old house was almost exactly this floor plan and we only moved out because we wanted another child.

Loft storage, a shed and/or waterproof storage in the garden will all help. You will need to be a ruthless declutterer. But it's totally doable long term.

It's fine for 3 - we live like that but have a bigger garden which we use a lot in the summer.

I think personally that location is very important. If it’s good for school, work and local amenities go for it.
Do you have a garden and a shed or garage? You can buy storage shed did the garden for bulky items it will help , make place tidy and will add resale value.
Tidying up the loft for storage is another option for things like Xmas decorations and summer chairs.