Is it weird to want a 3 bedroom flat in East Finchley/Muswell Hill as a 'forever home'

[Desiringonlychild]

DH and I just bought a two bed flat in East Finchley and we hope to have a baby in a few years. We have already decided we would only have 1 child.

Everyone is telling me that I need to get a house with a garden and to climb the property ladder. Firstly I come from Singapore where its the norm to live in a flat. Secondly, I am planning to send my child to private school and so spending a £1 million on a house in London doesn't appeal. Thirdly, it doesn't seem necessary because of the only child factor. Lastly, moving further out for a cheaper house doesn't appeal as DH and I are very much city people (neither of us drive), and spending so much time and money on commuting just makes me wince (I worked out that 2 rail season tickets actually makes home county living more expensive than London living).

However it might be nice to have a guest room when we can afford it so sometimes I look at 3 bed flats that we can potentially upsize to. But they are quite a bit more expensive (and we don't want to leave the area because l like having good state schools as a backup plan). Is paying all that stamp duty and additional mortgage worth it for a guest room?

Note: I tend to go to Singapore to visit my family and DH's mum lives a 15 minute bus ride from us with two empty bedrooms.

I think the reasons people would say a house is preferable to a flat is that generally with a house you can make your own decisions, whereas with a flat you might have to pay out for expenses you have less control over. I am familiar with Singapore (my home-from-home ) and I don’t know but would imagine that here in the UK, especially given the variety of different types of flats in London, there is more potential for running into disagreements with neighbours who own parts of the same building.
I completely understand your reasons for wanting to stay in the area you like though so that makes a lot of sense. Location is hugely important and Muswell Hill is lovely.

I think as long as it's a long lease and you're comfortable with things like service charge etc etc then go for it. The environment you live in matters a lot. I moved into a cheaper but less nice area and I miss having nice amenities on hand.

In Singapore, leases on flats can't generally be extended even for luxury condos (Singapore has finite land). My relatives are jealous I can extend my lease, I am jealous their flat is the same price or cheaper but twice the size (Singapore flats are built for the extended family).

I agree, paying tens of thousands of pounds just for a guest room is ludicrous. You could pay your guests' hotel bills for decades probably, before you spent as much as the cost of moving, plus stamp duty, plus higher mortgage. Plus, location location location, especially as non-drivers.

Also, I don't believe in the "forever home" thing. I think it was invented by property porn TV programmes. There is a lot to be said for just being happy with what you've got, and getting on with enjoying your life.

Buy the forever home you want, nosey people can bugger off.

I’m sat in mine, a lovely two bed flat in Shoreditch.

My beautiful flat in London is my forever home. I don’t currently live in it but I will return one day. I think your plan makes sense.

I think I'd live there for a while before you make forever decisions,,

@HoHoHolly another consideration I had to upgrade to 3 bedrooms is because I think that as I live in London, my child might stay with me for a long time (DH and I stayed with my mother in law for 3 years). Would 3 bedrooms make it more comfortable for him/her to live in long term, possibly with a romantic partner.

Possibly overthinking this. For all I know, future DC might be completely bored of London and move far far away.

You seem to have a great plan sorted and it works for you. Go for it, it sounds reasonable.

If in the future, things change (it could, regardless of where you end up), then you re-evaluate.

Lived in East Finchley/Muswell Hill for years some time ago. Lovely area. Things change and you might feel different later.

Hampstead Garden Suburbs have very affordable terraced houses.

@RitaHayworthHair my flat was £392k and the terraced house in HGS I saw were all a million. It's quite a big jump!ok you might get a teeny one with a second box room for £800k but that's not saying much.

Other people might want different things but you have a clear idea of what you want so just do that.

www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/53020455?search_identifier=ab6683beed088a2733dbe5df091e8941

These come up all the time.

@RitaHayworthHair space wise it's not much bigger than my flat. So yes while freehold is attractive, I am not sure an extra £200k makes it worth it, given that it's not much more usable floor space.and I am not a big believer in 'leaving a legacy'

I guess I could extend it, but that means more £££.

I was an only child and brought up in a flat in London. No problems at all. Do what you want and ignore people telling you what you 'should do'!
My current 2 bed flat has as much internal space as my previous 3 bed (2 kids) Victorian cottage had. Best of luck.

RitaHayworthHair HGS houses haven't been affordable since exh and I tried to buy a small one when we got married in 1979!

I suppose it's all relative. In my experience those who lived in East Finchley and were earners often viewed HGS as the next stage on the ladder for a house.

We are talking about a different strata of society quite often.

You can live wherever you like! You can get share of freehold flats, for those who worry about leases, and AirB&B now means you can find places for relatives to stay within a close walk wherever you live in London. Also, you don't need to decide now! See what happens once the baby arrives, you might find you use your home differently, so would choose differently if you moved. I'd say there's no need for private school either, but that's up to you too!

I think a bigger space for a potential future partner of a not-yet-born DC is getting a tad ahead of yourselves. Paying off your mortgage instead would place you better to help DC set themselves up financially, I'd have thought.

@HoHoHolly I don't want to give money to my child. But I do acknowledge having parents to live with while you save is a big asset. That's what DH and I did. I wish I could live with my mother in law and I would buy a bigger house for her to live in and we could all live together as a 3 generation family but sadly being western, she isn't onboard with that idea at all.

“ ut sadly being western, she isn't onboard with that idea at all.”

My mother isn’t western and she’d hate the idea too.

Do what you’re happy with.