Would you move, if you were us?

[GreeboIsMySpiritAnimal]

Our wee terrace was meant to be our starter home when we bought 9 years ago. It was 750 sq ft, 3 bedrooms, though two aren't much bigger than box rooms. No parking, tiny courtyard garden (which is an absolute sun trap!), fantastic central location in the conservation area.

We're still here, we've had two DC, one of each, and we've extended a bit - knocked through and into the side return to make a large kitchen diner instead of a galley kitchen, and put in a downstairs loo.

We genuinely love it, it feels like home. We've been on the market twice in the last nine years, but never went through with the sale. We love the location - it's so handy for everything (school, transport, city centre, shops, entertainment, countryside - it really couldn't be better situated).

We'd always assumed we'd have to move as the DC got older as they'd need more space - but do we really have to? They do have a room each, albeit small. As they get towards adolescence, they'll be walking distance to school and town and the train to London. Would that compensate for a bedroom you can't swing a cat in?

We're in our mid 40s, and I'm not thrilled about the thought of starting a new 25 year mortgage. We've got £175k to pay on our current house, and we've been able to make regular overpayments. In the current climate I'm just not sure taking on a bigger mortgage is a great idea - not to mention rising fuel costs and having to heat a bigger house. Our current house is a mid-terrace, and we could definitely make it more energy efficient.

We could possibly extend a bit further, into the loft, though it's not big enough to make a dramatic difference.

If you've got this far, well done, and what do you think? Would we be doing a disservice to the DC to not get them more space as they grow? Or are we best staying in our little home and making the best of it?

Sound lovely! I'd stay. Could you make a teen den in the loft maybe? Xbox, homework desk, bean bags, stereo etc? Doesn't have to be huge, just separate IYKWIM and somewhere they could bring a mate or two.

@trulyconfuseddotcom

Sound lovely! I'd stay. Could you make a teen den in the loft maybe? Xbox, homework desk, bean bags, stereo etc? Doesn't have to be huge, just separate IYKWIM and somewhere they could bring a mate or two.

We probably could! I'd been thinking of the loft in terms of its (limited) potential as a 4th bedroom, but a teen den makes more sense.

@Rotherweird - we have the nicest neighbours! It's such a lovely, supportive community.

stay. having a good location & a walk to school & good transport links is the most important thing for teens - much more than a big room.

mine have rooms of a similar size (age 14 and 11) and as they spend all day on phones / ipads, they don't need more space anyway.

Stay. It sounds the perfect place for your DCs to develop independent lives with everything so accessible and for you as you age being so close to everything. Your home sounds lovely.

Teenage den with an easy use ladder rather than lose space for a staircase, we have up out airing cupboard and put a paddle staircase starting there and putting a slant in a bedroom.

See how things are in three years or so and perhaps look at renting out yours and renting somewhere bigger?

Honestly your home sounds compact but location etc make it perfect.

We have a similar dilemma with our house, though ours is a bit bigger than yours. We have a 7 and 4 year old and are looking to move because although our house suits us now, I assume in the future it will be too small. However, the next size up house would be another £300-£350k .

Teen den sounds like a great idea.

It does make a big difference to be able to invite your friends round as a teen.

Is only one bathroom a major issue once you've got 2 adults + 2 nearly adults in the house?

You have a separate downstairs loo as well as a bathroom it's fine, more than many 4 person households!

You don’t move house to host potential friends of your dc. 100% stay

@GreeboIsMySpiritAnimal

Is only one bathroom a major issue once you've got 2 adults + 2 nearly adults in the house?

No it’s fine. I had a tiny box room until I moved out. And one tiny bathroom between 4 of us

@DogsAndGin

You don’t move house to host potential friends of your dc. 100% stay

I mean, when you put it like that, that's a excellent point!

I suppose I've always felt I "should" be able to host people. The lack of a spare room means MIL and FIL always have to stay in a hotel when they visit - although MIL is now in poor health, so unlikely to be doing much visiting in the near future, at least.

My DM is local, but single, and I would like, for example, to have somewhere for her stay if unwell or recovering from an operation or whatever. But I suppose if I convert the loft into a den and stick a sofa bed in it, it could be used as an occasional bedroom...

An excellent point, I mean.

Having an unwell mother in the loft isn’t ideal!

I have a bigger house and the teens live in their rooms with phones and tv’s - the mess they make is unbelievable- less is defiantly more!!

Move because you want to and fancy a change - or want a bigger garden or parking etc don’t move to house others you don’t live with.

Why not scope out the local market and do some sums and see if it’s really worth the hassle?

All the associated costs of moving ( legal fees , tax etc) could probably pay for the teenage den in the loft that sounds brilliant . And going forward you’ll have more money for other things teenagers appreciate- holidays , theatre trips etc rather than just bigger bedrooms which they might not really need

@BluebellsGreenbells

Having an unwell mother in the loft isn’t ideal!

I have a bigger house and the teens live in their rooms with phones and tv’s - the mess they make is unbelievable- less is defiantly more!!

Move because you want to and fancy a change - or want a bigger garden or parking etc don’t move to house others you don’t live with.

Why not scope out the local market and do some sums and see if it’s really worth the hassle?

No, I didn't mean I'd put DM in the loft, I meant we or one of the DC could sleep there on a short term basis whilst she recovered in one of our rooms! Her moving in long-term is not something any of us would want, including DM. Though I suppose once the DC have left home permanently it could be an option.

Yes to turning loft into a den. Throw some bean bags and a screen up there and they’ll
be happy. My brother has done this. No stairs, just a good loft ladder. Boarded out, painted and carpeted, put some electrics up there, velux window for light. Mirror ball and neon light on the wall It’s a nice chill out/hobby space but doesn’t pretend to be a full extra bedroom in terms of if they were to sell. Can still use the eaves for storage.

If you love it, you stay. Your typed words are dripping with the honey of their sweetness! You really love this house and community. The very fact you listed it twice but didn’t move means you just don’t want to.

I can’t wait to feel as you do, home is where the heart is.

Could you move to the outskirts of the town and get more space for similar price? No harm at looking at a couple. Only costs would be stamp duty etc

But - when the kids are at uni suddenly you will wonder why you are not in the centre?

It feels like you could do with more space for age 12-18 and then won’t need it after that.

Stay - why go through the hassle and cost if you love it still and it's central. I don't think now is the time to be taking on more financial liabilities if you really don't need to - everything is so unknown at the moment.

The other thing I’ve seen round here is a yurt type thing in the garden for summer teen get togethers. They put up a screen and the kids loved that

Teens have much less 'stuff' in their rooms than small children. I'd only consider moving if there was a house with more room, in the same area, that you fell in love with, and that would still give easy access to school, train, town etc.

Did you see George Clarke's programme where he created a sleeping platform into the loft, leaving the floor space of a small bedroom for the child. No need for a staircase, just a safe ladder. It was a great solution.

Well I'm going against the grain here but if you can afford to move somewhere bigger without too much of an impact on lifestyle I'd do that. I've got two teens and I would prioritise a second shower and another reception room. When they have friends over where will they go? Where will your teens hang out?

Stay somewhere small where they don't have much space and I think they will end up never being home. They won't care now but it will matter when they're at secondary school.