Stay (and invest) or go!

[Ilikepepper]

I don't know whether to stay in 2 bed flat (2 young kids of different sexes who in an ideal world wouldn't share a room in say 2-3 years) or put absolutely all savings in to 3 bed. I had saw a cheaper-than-usual one recently but I missed the boat as someone snapped it up ridiculously quickly!! The other 3 beds available are more expensive. Current flat arguably needs a whole bunch of work (for instance kitchen/windows). Should I stick there for a couple of years and invest in these things or sell and put savings in 3 bed house? I don't think I can leave flat as it is, it almost makes me feel embarrassed these days when visitors come and see it so I don't think I can do & spend nothing.

We had exactly the same dilemma and stayed and invested in the flat. A house would have cost £60k more for the cheapest and would need all the work doing to it. So we put that money into the flat. Moved walls and added a third bedroom, new kitchen and bathroom, boarded loft, decorated throughout. It took time and money but we have a show home now, whereas if we bought the house we would be living in a wreck with no money left over.

Depends on the area. In a very cheap area, you might not see back the money you invest in a refurb unless you DIY it a bit.

In terms of buying, aren’t there cheaper nice areas around so that can afford a big enough property?

We had this dilemma. In the end we part exchanged on a new build which meant we didn't even have to smarten the old house up. I still cringe when I drive past it though, I hate diy and we were short of money for a long time. Bonce we had a bit of money we both begrudged spending it on the house!! Though we did do important things like new windows and doors, boiler repairs etc.

Thank you for the advice so far!

I'm probably being quite close-minded in terms of area I'd consider as the current flat is in a lovely place and ticks all the boxes except lacking a third bedroom and needing spruced up. It's also got a good school catchment area which unfortunately some of the more reasonably priced further afield 3beds do not.

Well, if you’re set on a small area, is it likely that a 3-bed flat might come up? Those tend to be cheaper than 3-bed houses and you’d get the extra space without going to the complete max budget.

Could you get your flat valued, maybe the agent could advise if it's worth doing the kitchen and windows? We wanted to do our kitchen but quotes were way more than we could afford and we wouldn't get a return on the investment because of the are we live in; n the end we moved some of the cupboards we had, painted them all, changed door handles, swapped the sink and tap, replaced worktops and put down some new vinyl flooring- it cost just under £1000 but has transformed the kitchen completely. We are trying to move and it's hard when your current place meets your needs and feels like home. It sounds like your family will outgrow the flat so maybe it's worth moving to a bigger house, particularly while your children are young enough to enjoy playing in the garden.