Move to better location or not?

[sadheartmum]

Family of 5, 3 bed semi, 1 bathroom. Could extend here to get 4th bedroom and extend the box room so DD could get dressing table/floor space needed as she gets bigger. Plus en-suite if we also did loft conversion. Niceish road but area not the best. Would love to move to 4 bed as wouldn’t have the distruption of building work as we have no family locally that we could go to to use their bathroom etc while work being carried out, can’t afford a 4 bed where we are.

Have seen another 3 bed semi in a much better location overall and in catchment area for better secondary schools. Was advised by various people to go for it and do building work there rather than in current home (we either need to move or extend as it’s so stressful waiting for the bathroom and getting ready for work/school every morning, plus 2 DS share a tiny room), Anyway, loved the house when we viewed it, it does need modernising which we are/were willing to do BUT the back garden is TINY, more of a courtyard. The front garden is massive. Would you move for the location/school catchment and forsake the garden? I’ve lived in the area 20+ years and have a teenager so know about the schools in the area and have watched the Ofsted reports/GCSE results so don’t think they’ll be much change due to the area I’m in.

Asking for advice really. The house is underpriced for the location but it would appear that it could be due to lack of garden. Other houses on that road have gone for about £125k more than this one which we could never afford. Would you move?

I guess only you know how much you use a garden and would miss it but I suspect making it a 4 bedroom house with no garden will make it even harder to sell on in future. And you've still got to do building work to make it livable for your family so nothing to be gained there on your current house.

Gardens have become more important for obvious reasons so understandable it's cheaper. But ultimately its about you living there which is most important, so if you value house and area over garden, then go for it.
Personally I think immediate area is over rated - you spend most of your time inside the house. And a short journey to the nicer area when you want a meal or drink is not the end of the world, so I prefer the better house.

Id want a garden with 3 children and also no back garden means difficult to extend and often not allowed to extend forwards.

I’d always live in the best immediate area I possibly can. If you have a big front garden, can you secure that somehow with a low fence or something and let the kids potter out there if needed? Obviously have your little chair or whatever out the back in the courtyard. You can do some lovely things with lights/ pergolas etc now to make small spaces very nice.

I’m torn as I want the better area and school catchment but feel guilty the kids wouldn’t be able to play/kick a ball. Think I feel the way I do is because I know we’d never afford that property if it had a big back garden and I’ve loved that road forever. I’m waiting for another viewing (if the house hasn’t already gone as it is a sought after area/road) to take the kids just to see what they think. The area I’m in is bizarre as you’ve got houses from £200k right up to £million + further down the road - I’m more the £200k not the million lol.

I suppose there is the option in the front garden but it’s not ideal as I’d rather they were safe in the back without me necessarily having to watch their every move but I do understand what you’re saying.

How would you create a 4th bedroom / extend if you have no space at the back? Could you extend down the side / convert the loft? I agree with a PP that a 4 bed house with a disproportionately small back garden might mean you'd not increase the value by the amount you spend on an extension and / or make it difficult to sell in the future.

BUT, and its a big BUT, if it was all I could afford in a better area with fab secondary school, on a road I loved, I think I'd be very tempted.

You can make the ground garden safe and add a bench etc

I wouldn’t hesitate as the kids didn’t overly use the garden and now as teens don’t.

The 4th bedroom could go on top of the garage on the side of the property. Other houses have done that and the guy who did our drawings for the extension here knows the road and has done work for people who live in the road. If we moved it would be our forever home unless we had a lottery win if you know what I mean.

You could put a low fence across the front garden, or make zones with small brick walls, so play area, wild flowers, bin store, why not ask a local gardener for some ideas?

This is the photo of the garden from the particulars

If it was me I'd go for it and secure the front garden. School catchment would be the clincher. I wouldn't let the kids have a say - an opinion maybe but not a vote.

Oh that’s a really pretty garden, I was expecting more of a concrete yard!
How old are your kids? As in, how many years might they still be wanting to kick a ball around for?

I’d move to the better catchment area because in a few years your DC may not use a garden much.

How much better is the school catchment? That would be the most important bit for me. If the difference is significant then I'd go for it.

What!! OP that’s a little garden not a yard. It’s fine!! You can put a seat out there and they can put a paddling pool in summer.

8, 13 and 17yrs.

Catchment for schools is much much better. I put my 2 older kids through the 11+ as I didn’t want them to go local. Luckily they passed but it meant a trek to school and friends who live miles away. I don’t want to have to do that with my youngest.

LittleFroggie they’ve used a wide angled lense on the camera lol. It doesn’t look like that size wise in real life lol

Your teens won't be interested in the size of the garden and if the school catchment is very important I would go for that. And agree with pp that kids don't have a vote!

Ok if you had 3 toddlers I’d think differently but the older 2 are going to be past the age of kicking a ball around much longer, one might be away to uni within the next year or two and it sounds like the youngest needs a bedroom more than you need a garden. Now you’ve told us that I would go for it.

So would your older 2 DC stay at their current school!

As kids get older they get less and less interested in the garden. It would be shame to miss out on an otherwise perfect house for something that won’t be an issue in a couple of years. Plus by then you won’t have to supervise them much if they’re out the front.

Yes older 2 will stay with their current school/college as they are settled and happy. My youngest could stay at the current primary but there is one more local that I would probably put their name down for when a space became available.

At age 8 there aren't many more years of garden playing, mine were off to the nearest park/grass to kick a ball about with friends etc.

I'd move for a better area and school for your youngest.

I went for the second viewing with the kids and I’m so glad I did. Yes the garden isn’t huge but it’s not as small as I remember. The kids were expecting it to be the size of a postage stamp the way I’d described it!

It does need work doing but we’d rather do it in that location than our current home purely due to location so we’ve put in an offer. Either way we’ve got building work to do. Just waiting to see if the offer is accepted as they’re were people viewing before and after us. Fingers crossed. Oh and the small matter of selling ours.

Thanks for all of your advice.

Good luck. I hope you get it.