To not buy a bigger house?

[Onekissisallittakes]

So just not to drip feed, me and DH have 3 children aged 12, 9 and 3 (girl,boy,girl). We purchased our first house which was a 3 bedroom semi detached, it wasn't the dream house more of an investment, do it up, sell it and then buy our dream home. We've now been here 3.5 years and it's coming along nicely.
So the issue is, is bedrooms for our children. I fell unexpectedly pregnant with our youngest a month after we moved in, and she is still in our room as it's quite a large bedroom but ideally needs to go in with her sister soon (12 year old also has a fairly large room whereas our son has the box room). It doesn't feel right to put a 12 and 3 year old in the same room but it's tough luck at the moment. We hope to move in 2 years time as scheduled, but looking at rightmove currently all the 4 bed houses are absolutely horrible, all very small or in horrible areas or the nicer ones are just far too expensive, but the larger 3 bed houses with big gardens and ideal location and within our budget are perfect and what we always wanted.

So my AIBU question is, has anyone purchased a house that technically wasn't big enough I.e not enough rooms for each child, but did a sort of extension/granny flat? This is what me and DH are thinking, save the thousands on a crappy 4 bed, buy a nicer 3 bed but spend the money saved and create a space for the oldest child. It wouldn't be like an extra house, more of an outhouse that has an ensuite so she has a toilet in the night etc. it's also somewhere she can stay for for a very long time and not rush to move out when she hits her 20's. Is this a great idea or a terrible idea? I'm aware of the annoyance of her having to walk outside to get into the actual house for food etc but I'm trying to think of every option here, it would be much appreciated to hear from people that have actually done this and if it worked well for everyone.

What is your upstairs layout like? Could you steal some space from the 2 bigger rooms to make another for 3yo or if you room is big enough could you put up a temporary wall to spilt the room? A friend has done that for her 2 girls

Or look for 3 beds with a car port/garage and convert that into a downstairs bedroom?

I think it might feel a bit like ousting eldest to “the shed” if you do it too soon. I think I’d opt for a spacious 3 bed, turn dining room or second reception into your room or divide the biggest bedroom in 2 for the DDs. You could always create a garden room as a spare living space and let things evolve naturally, maybe DD would decide later that she’d like to live in it. I have a 13 yo ds and he wouldnt be ready to live (even just slightly) apart from the main home I don’t think for a while yet.

You could also convert a garage if you bought a 3 bed with one. someone I know did that and had a lovely en suite in there too, not too expensive although means you lose garage space.

You still probably could do a loft conversion, just that it would be more costly to get the roof raised. Definitely something worth discussing with an architect.

Thank you all so much for your ideas and suggestions they have absolutely helped and given me and DH some ideas to discuss!

Surely you would yourselves in the outhouse extension rather than the 12 year old?

The 12 year old would be 15 by then, but that would mean leaving the (then) 12 year old son and 6 year old youngest in the house at night by themselves with the 15 year old

How would that make sense?

If you can’t afford an extra £50,000 for a 4 bed you like, how are you going to pay for either an outbuilding or a loft or garage conversion?

A decent, properly heated / insulated, plumbed in garden room won’t be much short of that and a loft conversion definitely won’t be. I don’t know about a garage conversion but I suspect it’s about the same.

I agree with the PPs who suggested dividing the biggest bedroom into 2 small rooms. Alternatively, if you can move to a bigger 3 bed with 2 reception rooms, using one as a bedroom might be the answer.

In the meantime can you change into your 12 year olds room and give her and younger DD your big room and divide it up?

I f 4 bedrooms are too dear go for the three bedroom, split the biggest bedroom into two, use one reception as a bedroom, convert the garage or loft, build an extension or garden room come teenage pad. Lots of options, choose the house to include at least a couple of them, ie, one really big bedroom that could be split, at least two reception rooms, an attached garage, a garden big enough for an extension or substantial garden room.

Have you priced up what you propose to do? Because I’d be surprised if it cost less than the price difference between the 3 and 4 beds.

I would try and find an architectural designer and give them your brief: current home, need more bedroom space, and see if they can come up with anything smart. It might mean moving internal walls or boilers etc but could be a way to do it.

Do you know for sure that you can’t have a loft conversion? Mine required a roof raise, whilst a friend who couldn’t do that because of local planning rules just dropped her first floor ceilings - apparently it added about 5 thousand to the overall costs

Oh yeah great idea to give a child a separate house… that’ll be great when she’s a teen sneaking her mates and boyfriend inside or sneaking out at night.

If your room is big enough to have a double bed and bed for 3yr then it’s big enough to split

you move to smaller room and not have box room

and the larger bedroom you split inton2 small singles with stud wall or cubes

If your room is big enough to have a double bed and bed for 3yr then it’s big enough to split

you move to smaller room and not have box room

and the larger bedroom you split inton2 small singles with stud wall or cubes

It’s a terrible idea and would likely need planning permission which wouldn’t be granted. Can you not extend the main house, e.g. over the garage, into the roof?

Yes don’t do this. We are converting our garage into a den and utility not a separate room - it will be liable for council tax, think of a fire, think of security and think of family . Most 3 beds are not designed to be 3 beds but 2 and a box / study.

you need a 4 bed house in the same area so her school can continue