1 bed flat with baby or 2 bed 'rent to buy?'

[Mumoflil1]

Hi all.

I'm new to Mumsnet and am desperately seeking some advice / thoughts.

I currently live in London in a privately rented 1 bed flat with my partner and 3 month old. It's very cheap, it has a garden, it's pretty spacious and in a good location for shops, (good) nurseries, transport links and a decent park. At the moment I am looking into 2 bed 'rent to buy' properties a bit further out (15mins) in the Romford area. The average rent under this scheme would be just under £200 pcm per month more than I currently pay however, if I was successful in my application for such a property, I would have the option to buy it at a later date.
My dilemma is this, do we stay where we are for as long as possible for as long as it takes to save a deposit for a conventional mortgage or, do we act now on the basis that the housing shortage in London could become a lot worse in the next few years?

My view of advantages and disadvantages..

On the plus side
1)my son would have his own bedroom
2)we wouldn't need to think about moving for a long time (I'm not planning anymore children)
3) if we settled well in the area we would have the option to buy
4) if we really didn't like the area or property whilst renting we could move quite easily.

On the negative side

1. the additional cost of rent coupled with our nursery fees would mean quite an increase in our outgoings when I return to work although we could manage this through v.careful and disciplined budgeting.
2. Our commute would be 10mins longer each way (currently an hour each way)
3. Our preferred nursery is 5 mins walk from where we currently live but would be a 10 mins train ride away.

Any thoughts or views would be much appreciated.

Thanks very much :)

stay put and save

Yeah i would stay put and save too! I know the place you are talking about well.. I know its tempting but, i think you should stay put!

I'd stay put and save like mad. The negatives of moving would be enough to put me off.

Currently living in a big one bed flat with DP and 18 month Dd. It's been really tough but definitely doable. We're soon moving to 5 bed barn, not going to know what to do with all the extra space!

Stay put. I live with 2 kids in a 2 bed flat and our 18 month old sleeps in our bed. Wasn't planned like that but works fine. If I was only going to have one kid, I would just room / bed share. Most efficient way of living.

what us rent to buy?

is it like shared ownership?

i meant "what is rent to buy" grr

Thanks all for your responses, the verdict is unanimous :)

I guess we just need to be more patient and as you say Jammybean, keep saving "like mad".

@ MoodyDitIt - the rent to buy scheme is where you rent a new place via a housing association who let it to you at apprx 20% below estimated market rate. The idea being that you save throughout the duration of your tenancy until you have enough of a deposit to buy at least "a share" of the property within 5 years. You don't have to buy the property however, at the end of the 5 years but you'd have to vacate.

In my case however, the rents(+ service charge!) aren't anywhere near as cheap as my rent so as you all say it makes sense for me in my position to stay put and save whilst for others it may be a better option.

Thanks again all :)

I don't understand how everyone is recommending remaining in the one-bed without knowing how long it would take Mumoflilto save up the money to move to a two-bed.

A one-bed is doable for 12 months, 18 months... but what if it would take 4 years? I take any form of shared ownership/renting arrangement over having a one-bed place with a toddler and older.

well, if op is clever with the space she can stay in a smaller space for longer than that I would say. which means more time to save compared to moving now.