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Original poster

HELP! To sell up or not to sell up??!

35 replies

GreeboIsMySpiritAnimal · 12/04/2021 19:25

I just typed out a really long post with all of the backstory and issues and emotions involved, and Mumsnet bloody are it before I could post it! Angry

This is the short version - we love our tiny Victorian terrace, which is in a fabulous, central location and a friendly community, but the DC have only tiny bedrooms, which is going to become more of an issue as they get older (they're 9 and 7); and it's just generally too small, and we're in a bit of a black hole as far as secondary schools are concerned. Our best bet would be the two local single sex schools - we have a DD and a DS - but they're not guaranteed and we're not sure we want them at single sex schools.

Moving out to the suburbs would get us a bigger house, more space, and would put us closer to the excellent co-Ed schools. But we'd have to run a second car (and pay for extortionate station parking), DH's commute would get even longer, and instead of living in the bustling, pretty city centre, which we love, we'd be on a fairly soulless estate with nothing much around us.

Over Easter we decided to bite the billet, and have appointed an Estate Agent, but I'm having massive second thoughts. I love our little house, I'm more worried at the thought it might sell than it might not!

We can't extend it any further than we already have, and as well as the kids' tiny bedrooms there's no study or quiet area for DH and he's going to be WFH more often in the future, so that may become an issue.

It feels like a head over heart issue, and I really don't know what to do. Please advise, wise Mumsnetters!

OP posts:
GettingItOutThere · 12/04/2021 19:45

is there no in between compromise on place wise to move? Loft conversion ?

personally i would move. Space is a key thing, especially a garden as kids grow. As long as there are good transport links you wil be fine!

Original poster
GreeboIsMySpiritAnimal · 12/04/2021 19:51

Loft conversion wouldn't gain us much space, and would lose us the only really storage space we have.

A big garden would be nice, but I'd rather assumed that the DC wouldn't be interested in playing in one for much longer (they're not very outdoorsy even now!)

Transport links are shocking round here, the buses are so rare they're practically mythological.

OP posts:
Original poster
GreeboIsMySpiritAnimal · 12/04/2021 19:53

I suppose the third option would be to sell up and try and buy a bigger place in this area, but on our budget we wouldn't get much bigger round here, and we'd still have the school issue.

OP posts:
CityDweller · 12/04/2021 19:54

Is there no other option that the soleless estate? Something else closer to the centre but a bit bigger or with the potential to extend. It feels like you’re going from one extreme to the other. But there must be something in between?

CityDweller · 12/04/2021 19:54

Cross posts!

Original poster
GreeboIsMySpiritAnimal · 12/04/2021 20:03

The city centre is a real black spot for co -ed schools. There's a boys comp, a girls comp, a private girls school and a private girls school.

The co-ed schools are all on the outskirts of the city. There is one area which is in a sort of "sweet spot" in that you're just about still walking distance to the train station, and just about in the catchment for one of the schools (in a good year), but understandably houses don't come on the market there very often and when they do they sell very quickly. And it's just not as nice as where we are now. We are in the conservation area, near the cathedral and museum, and a couple of lovely parks and lots of independent shops and cafes. This area has a Morrison's and a lot of take aways.

It's sounding like we really do have to bite the bullet and sell. Sad

OP posts:
Saltyslug · 12/04/2021 20:26

I wouldn’t move. I’d declutter big time and reorganise the house so it’s stream lined. I’d send to a local co Ed school and pay for maths English and science tutors. Or send to the single sex schools and do lots of mixed sex clubs (tennis, scouts?)

Saltyslug · 12/04/2021 20:28

What do your DC need the extra space for? Toys get smaller, they get bigger but are less under grownups feet

Original poster
GreeboIsMySpiritAnimal · 12/04/2021 20:29

@Saltyslug

What do your DC need the extra space for? Toys get smaller, they get bigger but are less under grownups feet
To have friends over? And I just assumed as they got older they'd want to spend more time in their rooms.
OP posts:
Original poster
GreeboIsMySpiritAnimal · 12/04/2021 20:30

@Saltyslug

I wouldn’t move. I’d declutter big time and reorganise the house so it’s stream lined. I’d send to a local co Ed school and pay for maths English and science tutors. Or send to the single sex schools and do lots of mixed sex clubs (tennis, scouts?)
We can't get them into a co-ed school unless we move.
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TwoBlueFish · 12/04/2021 20:35

If the single sex schools are good then I’d be tempted to stay where you are and as another person said just do some mixed clubs out of school.

Original poster
GreeboIsMySpiritAnimal · 12/04/2021 20:37

The girls' school is excellent. The boys school is pretty good, but has a reputation for being quite a tough environment if your boys are not robust and sporty (mine is definitely not, although he's only in Y2, so I suppose that could change).

OP posts:
Changingwiththetimes · 12/04/2021 21:01

Wait it out. By the time your kids need secondary your circumstances may change.
Kids grow up in tiny rooms all the time. People make sacrifices for location. I'm moving to a house half the size of my current one for location.

bootlebum · 12/04/2021 21:04

I would always prioritise location over space. Why not wait and see what schools your DC get offers for before moving. Longer commute, dull suburbia, more cars just doesn't sound appealing to me.

Ikeameatballs · 12/04/2021 21:09

How big is tiny and how old are your dc now?

Andthenanothercupoftea · 12/04/2021 21:13

You've got a little bit of time still before school decisions, why not focus this year on having a massive declutter and also focus on saving and see where you stand then?

With the additional savings you might be able to make some changes to your house to make the most of the space e.g. invest in bespoke furniture for the kids rooms or knock a wall down.

A loft conversion with a dormer might provide enough space for a den/snug type room for the kids to have friends over and there are all sorts of space saving fitted storage units etc (particularly if you have that massive declutter!)

Original poster
GreeboIsMySpiritAnimal · 12/04/2021 21:39

@Ikeameatballs

How big is tiny and how old are your dc now?
DD is 9, and her room is about 10ft by 6ft. DS is coming up to 7, and his about 6x6ft.
OP posts:
Saltyslug · 12/04/2021 21:44

The room sizes wouldn’t bother me or my kids. How the room is done is more important then the size.

Ikeameatballs · 12/04/2021 22:08

The smaller room is small, looking ahead it will be hard for your ds to have space to do homework etc when he gets to secondary school age. That, combined with the wfh issue for your DH makes me think that perhaps you are right and have outgrown your house.

What is your local market like now? Where I am there has not been much coming up for sale. I wonder if you might be best waiting rather than trying to sell now? You still have time before you need to apply for secondary school for your dd.

You could also consider selling and moving to rented so that you are in a good position to get something when it comes up? Or selling, renting and then targeting your preferred streets with leaflets expressing interest in buying?

Fleurchamp · 12/04/2021 22:36

Let to rent?
Let your house out and rent a house in the suburbs... try before you buy or get the DC into the preferred schools before returning to the house you love?
I have friends doing the same, they rented a house literally next door to the school they wanted their eldest to get into. They then drove back to their old primary school to keep them there for a a year/ two.
They eventually grew to love their new area, sold their old house and bought a new one in their new area but they said the fact they had the choice made it easier for them.

Whitney168 · 12/04/2021 23:22

How big is your current garden - room for a proper garden room/log cabin type thing as a kids’ space?

Saltyslug · 12/04/2021 23:43

Might be cheaper to build a garden room for the teens?

cherry425 · 13/04/2021 00:12

@GreeboIsMySpiritAnimal
if it makes you feel any better, your dc rooms are the size of my children's room, they are 6 and 8. i used to be a little hung up on them but I've made them cosy and dc couldn't actually care less as they don't know any difference.

feimineach · 13/04/2021 00:32

The girls' school is excellent. The boys school is pretty good, but has a reputation for being quite a tough environment if your boys are not robust and sporty (mine is definitely not, although he's only in Y2, so I suppose that could change).

An excellent girls’ school wouldn’t be something I’d sacrifice lightly. If I were you I’d stay where you are for long enough to get DD into the girls school, then potentially move ready for sending DS to one of the mixed schools if you still don’t think the boys school will suit him.

In the meantime I’d save so your options are as wide as possible when you need to move.

SciFiScream · 13/04/2021 10:52

Stay where you are and look into tiny house hacks.

There are loads of ideas on Pinterest and Insta about how to make the most out of a small space.

Do you have any outside space?

Could you convert a small section of the loft into a WFH space (homework space at weekends?) so you have a bit more space to stretch but aren't losing the storage.

The single sex schools sound like an asset to me.

I think the 10ft by 6ft bedroom is bigger than our biggest bedroom! Or maybe the same size? if ours is bigger there isn't much in it. We can't fit our double bed the short distance

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