Rent again or wait till next year to buy with growing family???

[Genesis2000]

We currently live in a 2 bed rented house with my husband and two children. My two kids aged daughter aged 14 and son aged 5 share. They have always shared since son was born so that's what they know and my teenage daughter doesn't moan at all about it. As a mother I obviously know of course it would be nice for her to have her own space.

We pay £700 rent which is below market value as we have lived here for 8 years without an increase. On open market now it will be about £800+.

Our financial situation has greatly improved and we now have to make a choice and not sure which way to go so I appreciate your input.

We need to buy but we would like to have a bigger deposit so that means we can move in about a year's time. In the meantime I really want to move but wonder if we should.

1. move now and buy house with a smaller deposit.
2. rent for about £1800+ monthly and buy in a year with bigger deposit with potential to buy outright if business continues flourishing.

I want to move though, it makes sense to stay put financially but we have been hard pressed for a long time and just think we need to enjoy a bit more space now. Ridiculous thinking I know, but I hope you get my gist.

Your opinions welcome please!

I think you need to look carefully in your area. The market is fairly buoyant in quite a lot of areas so you need to take care that the market doesn't grow faster than your deposit will. This is very area specific.
In my area 7% growth is the prediction for the next year.

I think if your planning on buying outright you must have a fairly large deposit so go for it and buy now. Perhaps look carefully at mortgages you can over pay/have a smaller fee if you pay off early. It also means you can start looking to buy now but be fussy and wait for your perfect house?

Move now with a smaller deposit as otherwise you will blow over 20k in a year if the rent really would be £1800/month. I would say it is most important to get your daughter her own room sooner rather than later.

I heard house prices will be heading upwards soon so if you are going to do it I'd do it sooner rather than later.

I would stay put and use the money you would spend on moving and the higher rent to increase your deposit and when you feel its getting on top of you think of the savings and use some of the £ to eat out go to the cinema etc. Prices will rise with Osbornes cock and bull scheme for at least 18 months I would think. I work in property and everyone waiting until next year to cash in!

Noddy - does that mean that all those people "waiting to cash in" are down-sizing - cos that's the only way they'll ever benefit from rising house prices? Otherwise they don't help anyone. Fecking Osborne.

I am in mid Kent and the market has been stable. The area isn't glamorous and schools are so-so with middle of the road grammar schools that no one would really move here for. They prefer the ones in the upmarket West Kent. In fact there hasn't been much movement in the last 5 years and everyone keeps saying prices are on the up. I wonder if it's just in the interest of lenders to keep pushing us into their expensive mortgages.

We have started house viewing and it's really depressing to see what's available. We will probably keep looking and if we haven't found something we like by the end of this year, we will move into a rental.

Thank you by the way for your thoughts. Just more for us to chew on.

I would move now if I were you. House prices are set to rise and the market in my area is steaming at the moment.

I would start actively looking and a great house might make your decision for you

Noddy did you post that assuming she had a property to sell?