Would you move from a 3 bed house to a 2 bed flat?

[tigerbear]

Situation is that we need to move to be closer to decent secondary schools for DD (we’re not near any decent state schools).
Lots of private schools, however I can’t afford it right now.

Our house is on the market, however all of the houses right next to the good state schools are too expensive.
We’re considering flats (think large Georgian/Victorian conversions) and have seen one we really like.
It’s the same square footage as our current house, ideally placed for all three schools we’d like (2 good state options and a great private option)
However it’s a 2 bed flat with a shared garden. At the moment we have a 3 bed house, private garden, garage, plus massive communal gardens.

But here’s the other draw - if we bought the flat, we’d have £140k left over, as have a lot of equity.
That cash could pay for private school (if by some fluke she didn’t get into the states), or have savings for DD to go to uni, deposit for her first property, or just a good ‘cushion’ for me to have saved.
I’m self employed, and things are looking a little rocky, so would be great to have that cash in the bank.

What would you do - stay in the house (technically, DD could potentially get into the decent state school from her dad’s address, as we have 50/50 custody), or move to the flat and have the £140k left?

Unless you have a private garden completely to yourselves stay in a house. As someone who has gone through lockdown with only communal space that one selfish cunt of a neighbour hogged from morning to night it is hell on earth. To not be able to go and sit and relax in your own garden or for kids to play it is just so depressing. I was on the verge of a breakdown over lockdown with it all.

Yes if it meant she'd get into the school you wanted for her and you like the property.

I think only you can answer that question, because it depends what your lifestyle is: eg do you have pets, do you like gardening/being in your garden. Would you miss the privacy etc etc?

I can see it looks a good plan on the face of it - but a house is much more flexible.
Could you get a lodger to help with the bills or rent out your garage?

@ramblingsonthego that’s exactly what I’m afraid of 😬The flat has direct access to the garden, and it’s own patio area, but the general garden is shared with 3 other flats (it’s a massive old Georgian place)

How much do you use your current garden / garage etc? Obviously if you currently barely use your private garden then moving to the flat would be an easier transition, but if you are in your garden all the time you will probably really miss it.

You have to remember neighbour disputes are more likely in flats too as you tend to hear each other and overall have less distance from your neighbours, with more communal areas etc? Plus you usually have maintenance fees and not owning the freehold to bear in mind. If I'm totally honest I'm not sure it's a move I would make.

To be honest since you would have 140k left over if you bought the flat is a small house really out of the question completely budget wise? Maybe get a small terrace or something as a compromise?

Stay in the house.

Flat yes. Shared garden, no chance. In your situation I'd use her dad's address to get into school.

A house not only has a garden but is also freehold.
Flats are almost always leasehold which means you become involved with the other flatowners for insurance, maintenance etc and there are often disputes .Is the flat in a small or larger block (in which case it is likely to be run by a management agent).
You need to look carefully at any charges payable and likely future work and how long the lease has left to run
Once you have done your homework you are in a better position
to make a decision

If DD technically can go to a decent state school from her dad's address I'd stay in the house. It's difficult if you are freelance but as you have a lot of equity if needs must you can use that to borrow against should you need it in the future.

Personally I'm happy in a flat despite issues that PPs refer to (currently neighbour downstairs is out on his balcony with friends and has been making a racket most of the day) but a shared garden would normally put me off depending how large it is and how it is divided up so you have your ownprivate space. Large old houses that are converted into flats cn be more of a problem than purpose built older flats (which mine is) because of lack of soundproofing. If the flat has share of freehold that is better than leasehold.

I think it would be v hard to go to a flat from a house

I’d wait until your DD is older to downsize to release equity: certainly after Covid situation is over

Thanks for the replies everyone.
I’m so conflicted, especially as we all love our current house and the location.

The thing I’m concerned about regarding using EXDH address, is that she still might not get into the decent school from there. He’s only 0.8 miles from it and the catchment is large, but he’s closer to two dire schools too...

If I didn’t move now to release the £140k to give the option of private, DD would have to go to the rubbish schools..,

@KitKat1985 the smallest/cheapest houses in the area are smaller than the flat. Eg there’s a small 1930’s three bed on for £535k and is 849 sq ft and the flat is 970 sq ft.
A decent 3 bed would be over £600k/700k
Whilst we’re selling our current place for £650k, I don’t think I’d now get a mortgage for somewhere comparable, due to my freelance earnings.

I would stay put

If you love your current house I'd say stay there. And try and get in to the good school with your ex's address. If things don't work out then think about selling. It's not ideal. If you didn't love your current house then go for the flat.

I moved from a house to flat (cheaper rent to save for a deposit) and I hate every second. I'm deliberately scrimping by every month just to save more money to move out quicker. Don't do it

@DespairingHomeowner we can’t wait until DD is older - the only reason for moving is to be closer/in catchment for secondary schools, as we’d need to apply next year, plus we don’t want to miss out on the reduction in stamp duty if we do move.

@wedidntstartthefires we don’t have room for a lodger in our current house, nor would we want/need one. There’s no problem paying bills - DH’s work is very buoyant, and although mine is a bit quiet right now, I think it’ll pick up. Having the £140k spare isn’t a necessity, it’s more of a ‘nice to have’ and give options to pay for private school if required.

@optimisticpessimist01 sorry to hear that 😔

I’d much rather get that I extended 3-bed 30’s house over a flat. If your daughter gets into the right state school, you can spend your pot of money on extending and adding value. You can then downsize to release equity to help her with a deposit etc.

As a first time buyer, I lived in a flat. However, having now lived in a house I’d be worried about any possible issues with the freeholder, maintenance, transient neighbours or young renters etc so would much rather stick to a freehold property in a family area.

I extended = unextended

@JoJoSM2 good point. The 1930’s semi that we’ve seen does have a massive garden we could either extend into, or have a garden studio.

No! We moved from a flat with a shared garden to our current 3-bed semi and no way in hell would I give up our lovely private garden to share again. Even though we got on well with our neighbours, it still used to be really awkward when we were out in the garden and they were out too and if either of us had guests. There's zero privacy. Plus with a flat there might noise above or below you as well as from the sides.

That said, I would consider renting a flat for the sake of a school place. So maybe sell up, bank the equity and find a place in the right catchment to get the place, then look again to buy once she's in?

@Longwhiskers14 that’s what I’m afraid of, the awkwardness of being out in the garden at the same time as the neighbours.
We aren’t actually out in our current garden all that much, but we do like to have people over for BBQ’s etc, so that would be a bit weird.

I don’t think renting would be an option for us - rent likely to be way higher than our current mortgage, storage costs, plus missing out on the reduction in stamp duty, which would be around £18k

Thanks for all the suggestions, I do appreciate them.
At this point in time I’m erring on the side of staying put, using EXDH address, and hoping for the best 😬😬

We moved from a flat to a house and it was the best thing we ever did.

I don't think I could ever go back to a flat.

Definitely not. Having lived in a flat for years before I bought my house I could never go back to a flat. I couldn't stand not having my own garden, even more so now that I think we're going to be in and out lockdown for the foreseeable future

Stay in the house and have her apply from her dad's house. Keep the equity. You never know what the future is going to hold. Don't even think of paying for private school unless the cost means nothing to you.