Are we silly to get off the Property Ladder?

[Gravitygirl]

Can not bear the lack of space in our flat, we need a garden and we need some space for office things as we have just recently expanded our business. We simply can not afford to buy the house size needed, so are considering selling our flat and renting the house size we need until a later date that we can afford to buy..
Is this madness?

We are doing this too - but we have our plan and know that we can raise the same amount of equity that we will lose, within 2 years...so we'll be back to where we are now in 2013 IYSWIM?
We need to rid ourselves of expensive debt which is taking up bonuses and spare cash atm. Once the debt has gone we can save quickly and succesfully which means that after the 2 year plan we are in a fantastic situation.
We've consulted 3 independent financial advisors on this who all said the same thing: it's the choice of our generation. The smart people are all doing it. With young children needing more and more expensive care (I just used to wait at my neighbours until Mum finished work - can you see my dc's doing that?!?!!!) and with the pressure to care for our parents, we have to have the space and the security. Back in the day, the house was the security, but we are the only country that does this! Quality of life is more important to us now and we need more space.

We will pay the same in rent that we do for our v. cheap (and about to get a lot more expensive) mortgage, gain a bedroom and better garden, be free of debt thus saving an extra £800 a month. It's a no brainer.
Go for it! (And learn to ignore the older generation who literally sieze up with the fear of getting off 'the ladder'!)

It's fair enough but I would consider keeping the flat and renting that out until you need to sell it to buy another place.

No it is fine to do this. I have done it twice and waited for a lull in the market and then got a bargain.

The housing market is fairly flat and looks to be staying that way for quite a while so I doubt you'd have a problem getting back on the ladder in a few years. Having said that, I'd probably look at the financial implications of hanging onto the flat and renting it out. We kept my DW's flat because it didn't make sense to sell at the time and it's now paying for itself.