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Original poster

3 bed or 4 bed??

21 replies

Em1503 · 04/01/2015 07:48

Hi I posted recently about whether me and DH should stay in the house which we love or move to be in the location which is better. I got some brilliant advice and we have made the decision to move.

This now poses another dilemma though!! Smile our current house is a 4 bed even though we only have DD who is 5 months old. If we move we will have the option of buying another 4 bed, but be at the maximum we can afford (as we are now) with larger mortgage repayments etc, or we could use this an an opportunity to downsize to a 3 bed and save money every month for better holidays etc.

I don't want to move again and make another mistake buying the wrong house but genuinely don't know if we're better off getting a 4 bed which will be big enough long term as a family house as we plan on having more children OR buying the 3 bed, having more money every month but then possibly find ourselves needing to move again in 10 or so years. Which is better???!?! GrinGrin

OP posts:
TheOnlyWayIsLindt · 04/01/2015 08:05

I'd go for the 4 bed. As children get older they have so much stuff, and make so much noise (or is that just mine?!) that the more rooms the better!

Do you spend much time at home, have people to stay, have a partner who snores etc? 4th bedroom can be really useful. Also a 4 bed house is likely to give you more downstairs space. Do you spend a lot of time at home or are you out all day?

Obviously people can and do live happily in 3 bed houses with 2+ children, but we found that once the Dcs got to about 4years old that we outgrew our 3 bed house.

cheapandcheerful · 04/01/2015 08:41

4-bed! No contest!

Tzibeleh · 04/01/2015 08:51

Does the 3-bed have scope for extending? Does it have large bedrooms?

I have a friend with 4dc, who deliberately chose to buy a 4-bed 1-reception flat, instead of the 5-bed 2-reception house that they could afford, because they wanted to have a disposable income lifestyle. They go on long-haul holidays every year and have the latest tech etc.

We have less income than them, but a bigger house. Different priorities.

(She slightly envies my house, I slightly envy her lifestyle. Grin)

ContentedSidewinder · 04/01/2015 09:54

I would say have a 4 bed, even if you have 2 children a spare room as a playroom/guest bedroom/ill partner room/storage room is a bonus.

10 years ago we wanted a 4 bed house but settled for a 3 bed when we only had ds1 as a toddler. We moved to a 4 bed 5 years ago and this house is big enough for our needs now and future needs ie when the boys are teenagers we won't all be on top of each other.

It isn't just about bedrooms but about space and whether a house will grow with you. The boys have their own playroom so when they have friends here Dh and I can still watch the tv as they are in the playroom.

We moved the first time for a primary school, and then again for a secondary school (Ds1 just started year 7 in September) but we moved to a cheaper area so got a lot more house for our money but also closer to local amenities.

DaphneMoonCrane · 04/01/2015 09:57

4-bed if you can afford it now. Moving is so expensive and a monumental pain in the arse.

lotsofcheese · 04/01/2015 10:02

I agree - 4 bedrooms. We now have 2DC & it means we have a spare room for our elderly parents to use, so they can come & stay. It is also used as a laundry drying area & spare tv room - a multipurpose room!

HittingABrickWall · 04/01/2015 10:31

Only buy a 3-bed if it has scope for extension to a 4-bed.

We bought a 3-bed in 2002 and one of the 'must haves' was the scope to extend (when funds permitted). We finally got round to extending in 2014, but it has been a lot easier (and cheaper) than moving again.

mandy214 · 04/01/2015 10:57

Agree, 4 bed if you can afford it but bearing in mind that you may have more children, therefore more childcare in the future, other expenses? Don't max yourself out with a mortgage so that you don't have enough disposable income to enjoy your life. If you do need to look at a 3 bed, as everyone has said, make sure there is potential to extend if and when you can afford it.

Original poster
Em1503 · 04/01/2015 14:01

The 3 bed doesn't have scope to extend so we would have to move again. On one hand I think the 4 bed would be better but on the other hand with the money we'd save with the smaller one would mean we would be able to make some overpayments as well as having more disposable income. DH is leaning towards the 3 bed as he likes the idea of having a smaller mortgage, not sure he realises how much we'll need the extra space. The 4 bed has a room that could also be used as a study/playroom as well...hmmmm.

OP posts:
Kitsmummy · 04/01/2015 14:14

How many more children do you plan on having? If only 1 more then 3 beds will be fine, unless you're often having people to stay?

PinkOboe · 04/01/2015 14:16

Are the rooms of similar sizes? I'd much prefer 3 good sized bedrooms over smaller ones. Have you worked out the cost per sqm? It's often a revelation

Original poster
Em1503 · 04/01/2015 16:37

We plan on having one more in a couple of years so after that there'd be no guest room/ spare room. We've just been taking about it and the idea of buying the smaller one and paying the mortgage off/ getting it down quicker as well as having more disposable income does sound appealing, less space wouldn't be great but would it be doable for those reasons? It's such a big decision.

OP posts:
BikeRunSki · 04/01/2015 16:39

I live in a 3 bed with 2 children.
I'd definitely go for a 4 bed.

ThinkIveBeenHacked · 04/01/2015 16:41

The fourth bedroom wouldnt swing it for me personally, but the playroom would Grin

Wellieswithaholein · 04/01/2015 16:50

Some of the newer 4 beds are smaller than the slightly older 3 beds around here. We have an older 4 bed and 3 of the bedrooms are really big, one with a walk in wardrobe, none of the 4 bed new builds we looked at were built like that, there were always two single rooms and the doubles quite small.
Downstairs the new houses that we viewed only had two proper rooms- living room and kitchen/diner. Our slightly older house has loads extra space for example-family room, study, conservatory.
I'm not averse to new houses btw, just really noticed the size difference when we looked a couple of years ago.

YoullLikeItNotaLot · 04/01/2015 16:55

Personally, I'd like 4 bedrooms but having once had a mortgage at the maximum edge of our affordability, I can tell you it was bloody horrible. It almost prevented us having DC 2 as we just wanted to get out of the maternity pay/childcare fees hell and be able to breathe again. If it would be really tight for you to go for the 4 bed on paper, in reality it will be even tighter. Think carefully.

On the other hand, if you KNOW you will want or need 4 beds in the future then going for a 3 bed now is just throwing money away.

jellyandsoup · 04/01/2015 16:57

I would say depends on the space in the 3 bed, it's not all about bedrooms. We could have stitched a bit further and got a 4 bed but it was smaller than the 3 bed we bought. The bedrooms in ours are a decent size but it has been extended downstairs so we have 2 good size living rooms and a kitchen diner, so should have plenty of space as they get older, we wouldn't have had this in the 4 bed. We are local to family tho so spare room not so important.

SaucyMare · 04/01/2015 17:13

It all depends on room sizes, 3 big rooms are better than 4 small rooms.

If you buy the 3 i would recommend over paying, it is lovely being in my 40s and almost being mortgage free, over holidays.

shabbycaddy · 05/01/2015 08:52

Probably worth thinking if you want to move again after this house, as if you go for a large 4 bed you will most likely want to move and downsize when your older which could be a hassle. If you stay with a modest 3 bed you could stay longer possible

SASASI · 05/01/2015 10:02

4 bed defo.
We are moving from a 3 bed 1 reception to a 3 bed 3 reception & it's the only thing keeping my sane through the Christmas clutter.

going to have a reception room as a toy room but it can equally be turned I to a bedroom once DC is teenage years

TheLeftovermonster · 05/01/2015 11:52

3 bed with potential to extend if needed.

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