Aghhh. Trying to move before school applicaton deadline...

[alittleteapot]

...and not having much luck. Ayone else in similar boat and want to support each other?

This is SO stressful, and I feel it could lead to making a bad decision if I don't get a bit of perspective on things.

So, anyone out there want to chat about this massive life decision?

We are in a flat and trying to buy a house. I am due to apply for a reception place by mid January. Yikes!

It's looking like it can't happen now. And even when promising houses are around I just can't commit _ i'm too wound up after months of hunting.

We're intersted in a lovely house but hte local school though friendly enough really doesn't seem to be doing great. part of me thinks, ah well, just muck in and make it better. Part of me thinks how can we spend this much money and not be guaranteed a school that has a bit more of a dynamic buzz to it?

Anyway, love to share stories if anyone else is going through this or has or has any wisdom to share.

At this rate will be moving after applications so will be at the mercy of waiting lists.

Yep, us too! I won't spin out my entire tale of woe (have done so a few times on here already!) but we have had a catalogue of disasters.

We thought we were giving ourselves so much time - we sold our house in APRIL! We were supposed to exchange this morning - now they're saying Monday. and that's basically how my life has been since the chain was completed in June.

Are you looking to move locally or relocate? We're (hopefully!) moving to the other end of the county (we're in Surrey). I feel like you though in that the area is nice I worry about the school and whether it's worth all the upheaval. It's a nice school but huge so not what we were initially looking for. It is within walking distance of the house though which is really important to me. Have you been round the school near the house you like? What issues does it have?

I think the whole thing is just so huge you have to worry. You never know whether you're doing the right thing!

Sorry for rambling, nice to share!

Hah, I am with you though DS1 is meant to go to school the year after yours so I do feel for you...

We lost a house with a fantastic primary school opposite it because they wanted a REAL premium for being near the school and they obviously got it... :(

And we just turned down an (the only one so far) offer on our house as it's too low. We can technically offer to buy without our house sale as my parents have agreed to help us bridge the money we would have needed from the equity.

We are seeing a fabulous (but expensive!) house in the area we want to buy in but it's not near the primary I want DS1 to get into and I am so half-hearted about it as part of me just thinks 'F**K this, we will stay put and spend the money we would have spend in the new house on private education!'

thank you for replying. yes we've been looking since april and i now think we should have just bought the first house we saw! But you don't know then. ALso with two small children your brain processes things like mud. So we knew we couldn't afford a house round here. then finally clocked that our next best area just doesn't have the right houses for us. they're actually quite cheap for london, but just very small and poky and less than we can afford. (Also near fab school but i can't sacrifice space at home for that.)

the house we like now is perfect in lots of ways. we'd have to offer quite a bit below asking price but things seem to be going for that anyway. we went round local school. it seemed fine - fairly basic but nice enough atmosphere. ofsted is satisfactory and head has been there for two reports. i know someone that moved her daughter to another school which is very middle class and has outstanding ofsted. the owners of hte house we like sent their kids to a primary miles away by waiting on waiting list because they had doubts about the local. I'm struggling because i actually really do believe is supporting local school, but this one seems to have issues...

So now do we just go with whatever options are around right now so we have a chance of dd starting at a school near whereever we move to, or do accept we'll miss the deadline, keep looking and hope she gets in via waiting list for wherever new local school is.

serious wakeful nights over this, as you can imagine. What doesn't help is that we can't commit to a single area we like. Have considered renting too but not much about.

Sorry, I just rambled away there, just good to get it off my chest! I don't think people who aren't in this position quite get the stress.

Anyway, sounds like you got it sorted at hte last min - congrats and good luck with it all. i'm sure we'll all look back at this with a laugh one day!

Oh it's such a difficult one. What's the nearest school to the nice house like angel?

I suppose at least we're all trying to move before they settle somewhere. It would be so hard trying to make this decision PLUS worrying about them changing schools.

Hi Angel, well you're v sensible to have started earlier than us. i feel a fool now to be honest. i actually feel a bit embarrassed that we haven't sorted it by now. good luck! it's hard at the moment. here in london each area seems to have its own property micro-market - esp around sought-after schools.

but i'm worried dd will have to change schools because if we don't get a house in next six weeks basically she'll only get in to schools near our flat and hten we'll have to go on waiting list wherever we move to. nightmare.

I think you should always choose the school first then the house that will get you in to that school. Long story cut short: we didn't get our dd into the school we liked, spent two years on waiting list before moving 800m and renting for six months at school gate - huge cost and upheaval. It's cut-throat in London - save yourself a lot of stress and get the school right first.

I wouldn't worry too much about January deadline though - if you move close enough and the school you like is two-form+ entry then you can just go on waiting list and as soon as someone drops out, your child will get a place. There's (nearly) always a bit of movement over summer. Check the school's admissions policy before doing anything though.

Sorry, for clarification, you can make a "late application" if you miss the deadline and you will then go on waiting list.

Sorry x-posted! I hope you're right and it does all miraculously happen!

Difficult not knowing which area you want. We were in that position for ages, but I'm a teacher so I had to bite the bullet and get a new job by the end of May. Got a job near the house we were supposed to be buying, then that fell through so then we could only look in the area of my new job! Horrendous...and of course now I'm commuting accross the county to get to work because we haven't bloody moved!

If you've got several areas you'd be happy with it does mean that you've probably got a better chance of finding a house though. Not much on at the moment is there?

The nearest school to the very nice house is not a bad one... I think it's mostly satisfactory but someone said it's because it's big. The primary I want DS1 to get into is actually only two streets away but it's small (only one class intake a year hence the need to live practically opposite!). I don't know... I just think if you are spending that sort of money on a house, I want a damn good school near it.

DS1 is also on the wait list for a very good private school because where we are living now, we are near a a) an excellent CoE primary school but you have to be an active member of the church to get in and because it is so popular, even that is NO guarantee now! b) the nearest primary school after that is a really c**p one. No way I would send DS1 or DS2 to it!

We might have started earlier but it's still not looking good... And I am so sick of cleaning up a house (no mean feat with two little ones!) for viewings...

Good advice lalalonglegs, wish my DH would listen! He seems to think we need to get the house right and it's not that bad sending our DSs to the next best school but I want to best for my DSs!!!!!

Urgh, bloody viewings...

yes, doing it with kids is tough. i now wish we'd moved before having kids - and certainly before having ds. trawling round with a toddler and a baby doesn't ease an already difficult job.
thanks lalalonglegs. i've also got back up that dd could stay at her fab nusery a few terms longer as she's not five until June 2012.
i also feel i'm so preoccupied by this at the mo i'm not able to enjoy the children.

angel my advice to you is that if this house doesn't work for you keep looking but give yourself a deadline and then look to rent if you haven't found anything. loads of rentals get snapped up after the summer and so we've missed that boat too. how's the sale of your house going? any interest? we are at least lucky in that we are able to buy and then sell the flat so we can borrow a load of money to avoid being in a chain. perhaps that's why we were relaxed about our timeframe.

ditto angel, my dh much more relaxed about schools. easier for them as less likely to be on the frontline dealing with that end of things.

I don't know, I am on the verge of giving up. I have to say if I had the choice, I would stay put and send DS1 to private school. Our current house is not ideal, it's two-bedder and DS2 (now 1!) is still in with us but I am thinking of biting the bullet in the new year and just move them into the same room. But otherwise, I love the area we are in. It just seems like such a huge move and I am so sick of the pressure of getting it right this time as we want to stay in the next house for a long time to come!

DH is desperate to move into a more 'affluent' area that is easier to commute (fair enough, he is the one who has to commute at the moment!). But honestly, we are not bad where we are and I have lots of good friends in the area. I honestly think deep down, we are luckier than most as we can afford private (if we don't move), go on nice holidays etc and if we DO move, financially, things will get tighter for a little while. Argghhhhhh, talk about stressful!

Angel, maybe you should. Is there an option of doing a loft conversion or similar on your existing home? are you happy with the local school?

I think as you say as well as all the practicalities of it all, which are headache enough, there are all those other things like friends and happiness and this responsibility to make the right decision for everyone's well being. And all that on not much sleep!

This brings back memories of this time last year for us. We sold in June 2009 and thought we had plenty of time to move before the school application deadline. But so many obsticles were put in our way with the purchase. But what I can say is it was 1 year today the chain collapsed for us and it was 1 year on on the 11th December that we actually moved into our perfect house and the right catchment area. Our deadline for schools was the 18th December and that date is forever imprinted in my memory! What we did do to try and reduce the stress was continue with our sale and find a place to rent in the right catchment area even though it was going to cost us a small fortune. We didn't need to use that in the end but it got mighty close. It was the most stressfull thing ever. But it worked out. So for those of you who have sold it is possible, however bleak it currently looks.

we are going through this as well! thought we might move before christmas (yeah right) But if you look at your lea website it often allows you to apply mid feb if you move into the area (and other reasons) and still go into first batch of applications. I am counting on this! Might even just apply to school and send paperwork later!!!!!!

Lovely to hear a happy ending rebl! Do you mean it was a year between the chain collapsing and moving, or 8 days? Sorry I am a bit thick sometimes!

8 days! Honestly, it was so stressfull. The chain collapsed and then 4 days later our solicitor called us out of the blue on the Tuesday afternoon asking us if we were still interested in the house and if so could we complete and move on the Friday (so just 2 full days to get things sorted and packed).

How on earth did you do that??? I am very impressed!

I paid the removal company to pack! I came down ill on the Wednesday and was so ill I couldn't even get out of bed. The removal men were fantastic, they packed around me and on Friday kicked me out of bed at the last minute and when we got to the new house they put our bed back up straight away and I climbed into it! Honestly, I NEVER want to repeat our move. BUT we got into the perfect house and got our dtwins into the school we wanted .

Blimey! That sounds horrendous!

I am just jealous of anyone who actually gets to move atm though! There was a family on the news last night who were packing their removal van in the snow and saying how difficult it had been to find a mover. I was most unsympathetic

alittleteapot No I don't think we can extend. It's a new build (less than 10 years) and it sounds strange but it's a 2-bedroom townhouse. Loft is too low. Also, our living room and garden backs onto other gardens (in a conservation type area) and we think the reason why the living room has a flat roof and there's no windows facing out that way is because it will overlook otherwise and that's a big no no! Also, the garden is tiny (and cannot be extended) and it will be out of proportion for a 3-bedder.

Anyway, like I said, the one good school near here we won't get into and the other school is GRIM and no way I will let my DSs go there. But if we stayed here, we would have plenty of cash to send the kids to private!

rebl You are a shining light of hope on a very grim thread!

Anyway, DH came home tonight and said if we really like the house tomorrow, we will have to call our school of choice and have the conversation about how likely we will get in... Maybe we can bribe them? And consider all options... Wish us luck!

Good luck!