To move or not to move...help me decide.

[Clarabumps]

We currently stay in a 2 bedroom ex local authority house. Do and I have three kids. Age ds 9. Ds 7 and dd3. Ds7 has asd and is really close to dd who is three. The kids all current share a room.At the minute they share a triple bunk bed.
Dp started his own business as a kitchen fitter and although he has regular work the cash flow can be intermittent some times. We have some months where we get paid straight away then other when we have to wait a few months. I budget for this obviously but sometimes money is tight.
The reason we have stayed on this house is that Dp needs two years worth of books before he can get another mortgage.
We bought it as a repossession and everything has been replaced in it. Because the intention was always to sell it,I haven't ever really made the maximum use of the space for example shelving certain areas etc.
It's always been a bit tight as the storage hasn't been as good as it could have been.
The other 3 bed houses in the area are perhaps a box room bigger that what we already have and cost the same as what we'd sell this for. So we'd be using up any profit and equity we had made on the house and we'd have to start again from scratch with the new boiler, new windows,full rewire ,new central heating system,full plastered house etc.
DP works a lot. Normally mon-sat midday and we have little family time together.

Now here's the question...would I be totally mad to make a bedroom out of the back of the living room and move out bedroom down there leaving the two upstairs rooms for the kids?
We currently have a Gateleg table that is always up in the area but we could move the to the front of the living room and put up a stud partition wall. Our bedroom currently has enough space to shimmy round the bed and that's it. We have little floor space so there really wouldn't be much difference at all for us.
Or do we take the leap and get a bigger mortgage and take the pressure that goes with it. Am I being too risk averse?I just worry that as dp does a manual job and is self employed.. it's hard to keep afloat in quiet times.
All suggestions are gratefully received.

Thanks

I'm struggling to understand the economics a bit. Are you saying your current house, in its current state, all beautiful and done up, is worth the same as a fixer-upper 3 bed that needs everything doing? If so, given you bought yours for a great price, you shouldn't lose all your equity and profit by moving should you?

I think you're right to be reluctant to take on a big renovation - if you're not keen they can sap the joy out of life. But I wonder if there is a 3 bed house with a different compromise out there for you. Maybe a few streets away, or with a tiny garden, or downstairs bathroom, or an undersized middle or master bedroom. One that needs decorating rather than full renovation. You obviously know your local market and it's different to mine, but here there simply isn't a big jump in price between a house needing decorating and one that's "done".

Other options:
Can you extend at all? Conservatories are cheap. They do involve compromise but they do work well as dining rooms. Or do you use the table every day for eating at? Is a proper extension an option?
You don't have to decide forever now. You can opt to save hard for a few years while sleeping in the dining room, and review in 5 years when DS7 is 12. You'll hopefully have a few k put by by then, to ease you up to the next house.

Yeah that's pretty much the idea. The 3 bed will be the same as ours now. I just know if/when we move then dp will want to replace every bloody socket and light fitting.

No your right we wouldn't 'lose' it as such,it's just the jump from what we've paid for our house to what it's worth is about double. So we'd be doubling our mortgage. Again it's not a massive amount in comparison to other mortgages but it's still a fair hike.
We don't have the ceiling height for loft space and it's an end terrace on a corner so our garden comes to a point and there is little clearance on the side as we need to leave am access route for the neighbour.

I know it sounds really complicated.
I guess I'm just trying to work out is it worth doubling our mortgage for a bigger living space and an extra bedroom.(albeit a small one as they all tend to be box rooms around here)
I'm sure we'd manage but I don't know if it's worth it or if we should just put up a wall and then save save save for a bigger house that'd be more suited to us.
Thanks for your input. I feel like I keep going round in circles. Lol

No you wouldn't be doubling your mortgage! You own whatever your house is worth now. You can sell yours and buy a fixer-upper 3 bed for the cost of just fees and stamp duty. Or you could add a bit to the mortgage (20k?) and get a nicer 3 bed.

Unless I'm missing something.

Or are you saying you'd need to add the fees etc to the mortgage, and that would double your mortgage payments?

If you don't want to move then popping up that stud wall would be an idea. A home is for living in and if it works for your family then go for it.

Seconding what the previous poster said about knowing the market. Surely something would become available that would suit your needs without a massive mortgage hike?

What about doing a loft extension? I know you said you don't have the height, but if the problem is a hip roof then you can have a large box dormer put on which will change the space a lot! It would probably cost less than a move.

Hrrm I don't think a dormer would work. I cant really stand up straight in the loft. I'm 5ft 10. I think we're probably just going to put the house on the market and see what we get for it. If it doesn't look likely then we'll stay where we are. Thanks for all your advice.

Why don't you try sleeping in the living room with maybe just a curtain partition rather than going the whole hog and putting up a stud wall. That way you could see if it works for you at little cost.

We have friends who use the living room as their bedroom and it works well for them, wouldn't work for everyone though.

I think I was perhaps thinking about using one of they storage units from Ikea. Kallax. They have a 5 cube one. That'd add some more storage. we could see and take it from there.