Should I stay..or aim for a bigger home ?

[DizzyBeeme]

Hello,

I'm hoping for.some advice from you lovely people..I currently live in a lovely end of terrace that i bought back in 2002. It was my first home and I now am married with 4 young children 8,7 4 and 2. We have three bedrooms a lounge a dining room and a tiny kitchen. I have a lovely large garden that I had redesigned last year so the children had a great play area. My question is...as there are now 6 of us the house just doesn't seem sufficient for our needs anymore. My neighbourhood is lovely we have great neighbours...wecan walk to local shops, parks , the gp and pharmacy, and everything is nearby...but I keep dreaming of a bigger house for my ever growing collection of 'stuff 'and more room for the kids. What's holding.me back is that I only have a teeny mortgage of 27k and we are looking to pay this off in a couple of years so could be mortgage free. Im 42 amd hubby is 35...do you think perhaps I should just make do and learn to.manage the space better...and be grateful for having such a small mortgage...or do you think we would all benefit from moving to a larger 4/5 bed property which would suit our needs better and are still young enough to deal with a larger mortgage.

If i sell this house I'll have equity of nearly 100k so that's a huge deposit towards a bigger house...

Also...im.bipolar and a sahm mum. I have 2 sister's who live 5 mins walk away and a lovely supportive family that live 10 mims drive away. Over the years when I've really struggled with debilitating depression or a difficult manic episode they have really been there for me..a part of me is terrified of how id.cope if I had another episode and I was further away....

Sorry for the long post but any advice would be greatly appreciated.

If it's an end of terrace is there any way to extend instead?

extend the tiny kitchen, make it a big kitchen.

you'll lose some garden but you sound very happy where you are.

Yes I have lots of spaces to extend - so I could improve the downstairs I.think and perhaps even.convert the loft if necessary. I've been wandering around some gorgeous show homes.recently and love the look and feel of.some of the larger.homes..and.gorgeous open plan kitchens..but I guess I have so many positives where I am...i should.look into extending.

Sounds like you definitely have more reasons to stay OP. There is a lot to be said for having a tiny mortgage too. If you can extend I would definitely do that rather than move.

Extending costs money too though, would you be extending the mortgage or do you have savings?

Also if you decide to stay then make sure that rooms can have various uses over the years to suit your growing family's lifestyle eg a downstairs bedroom that can become a study or extra lounge or dining room.

I would extend upwards outwards however you can, get in the relevant people to suggest what you could do.

I would make a wishlist/budget of what you could get in your area 4/5 bedroom wise.

It might be that this makes your decision for you.

I think I'd only move at the moment if there was nothing I could do to extend my own property, and especially if I wanted to stay close by for health reasons and family support.

I'm moving soon (hopefully)to a house that is bigger, and nearer family. My current home can't really be extended and I would like more space, but the real reason we're moving to be nearer family. Location is always the deal breaker for me.

I.don't have much savings at the moment - so we would either have to remortgage or be patient and save. The upstairs rooms are quite small we have one tiny bathroom and a slim landing. One box room and 2 average bedrooms..if we did extend I would have to spend quite a lot to ensure it suits our needs for the future. If i purchased another house for example - here in Yorkshire I could get quite a decent size property if i were to spend say 200-250 k. My youngest will be at full time school next year so I am hoping to look for a job to raise our income. Hubby is currently in a low paid job but is looking to retrain as a maths teacher...so I have lots to think about.

Stay for now. Consider moving when you and dh have secure jobs. Don't overspend on it in the meantime :)

Thank you all for your great advice x

Single storey extension - extend kitchen and add downstairs shower room. Maybe even an extra bedroom?

If a 2 storey extension is possible then extend kitchen to include a utility / shower room anyway - and add a bedroom and bathroom upstairs.

Adding a porch can create extra room too if it will look good...

Meant to say that you have too much to keep you in the existing house. Family & community wise it sounds wonderful!

Bear in mind that to move you will waste far more than the cost of the architect to design an extension in moving costs (estate agents, surveyorts, solicitors, possible stamp duty aside from removal firm costs). Plus you have everything to hand locally - location location location is what they say.

I'd take time to look around other end of terraces-with-extension in your area - and other areas - search for 'end of terrace two storey extension'
bound to throw something up, & see how they've been extended.
While you are saving I'd look at what frustrates you about your house and how important each thing is - I can tell the small kitchen is annoying, as is the tiny bathroom and slim landing and small upstairs - so look at how you could rearrange with a side extension going to the first floor, while enlarging the kitchen and adding a downstairs loo.
Between you, your earning potential will increase considerably in the next few years. If your hubby retrains as a teacher he'll mostly have the same holidays as the kids so childcare won't be at great cost, so for now I'd look to saving a sum and later when new jobs are secure and you have a load of teenagers queuing for the bathroom you'll find a mortgage to extend is easily affordable.

I reckon it would work out a lot cheaper to extend.

In your situation I would not take on a massive mortgage and move. Your support network and good financial position is important given MH.

What about extending the mortgage so that you can go into the loft? If you go out over the 3rd bed you would be able to get 2 extra bedrooms and a shower room which would 'future' proof you whilst not devastating you financially.

Xcxxcx and ariela and all who have commented thank you so much. I will look at other extensions in our area and also focus on increasing our earnings. The children are still relatively young so we can get away with leaving things as they are till we have more income and then I can make an informed decision.

I don't think I'd extend. Doing a loft conversion + kitchen extension will cost £££ and the house will still have smaller rooms and just generally be a smaller property by design. Also, such massive projects are disruptive, stressful, take months and can run over budget.

If it's worth 127k and a good size house could be had for 200k and you have 100k equity, then taking a mortgage of 100k out over 25 years would be about 400-450 per month. If that adds up with your monthly budget, then go for it. If it seems a bit tight then just wait till your H has retrained and is in a teaching job and you're working part-time.

I'd probably be reluctant to make do for more than another 3 years as it'll get very cramped with 4older children/teens, little living space and only one bathroom.

Also, your family will benefit from living Ina larger property but in terms of the mortgage repayments think of it as investing in your future. When you retire and downsize, you'll be able to release equity to either fund fun things in retirement or help your children etc.

We are in a fairly similar situation but the kids are slightly older and as they grow our lounge and kitchen suddenly seem really small!

We’ve just had a quote for converting the loft and cellar and it would be almost £100k all in. It’s a no brainer for us to look to move to a bigger property round the corner for a similar amount of money.

I kind of see this as a long term investment in the kids future, who knows when they’ll be able to buy their own houses, and this ensures that as you do adults they’ll always have a place to live.

*you do = young adults

Jojo and fish legs thank you that's a good point. I do want a home where the children will be able to stay with me if need be when they are adults. And yes as they are growing the living room definately seems smaller lol. Thinking about all this with all your perspectives has made me realise its a confidence thing as well...i used to be a high flyer and loved nothing more than going to work...but since my illness and having children - my confidence has taken a huge knocking. I've convinced myself that I'll never be able to have a meaningful career again or the confidence to move slightly further from family. I think once I get that back - it will be a no brainer. The truth is id love a fresh start in a bigger property...id just convince.myself it's easier and safer to stay. I could get a much larger property still near to family for 200 - 250k. So thinking about this...my ds will start school next year and I will also have to think about where I want to send my eldest daughter to secondary school...i think i need to start looking at what I can do work wise. It will help build.my confidence to the point where hopefully I feel ok but moving slightly further .

The house may be okay now but you need to think what it will be like when the dc are bigger. Four teenagers and you two with one tiny bathroom, dc not having their own space ever and always sharing a room. One lounge for everyone (taken over by the playstation so you are hiding in your bedroom). You may find your dc are always at friends houses.

I would plan for a bit more space - either with an extension or moving - you need Kirsty & Phil love it or list it!!

I'd look into extending.