Moving from a flat to another (bigger) flat- madness?

[mussinboots]

House hunting and struggling to find a house for a family of 4 (twin toddlers) that's within our price range. We're currently in a decent sized flat but have clearly outgrown it and it doesn't seem fit for purpose anymore (no onsite parking or private garden). Since we're struggling to find houses (they tend to sell for way over asking hours/a day or two after coming on the market), I'm wondering if it might be worth buying another flat but with garden and parking? A sideways move if you will and then carrying on saving for a bigger deposit and moving again to a bigger property in a few years time? Is that a good idea? My husband thinks it's madness but it's either that or move out, rent the flat out and rent somewhere bigger and carry on saving for a bigger place. I refuse to move out of the area (I don't drive, live minutes from a tube station and have brilliant links to where I need to go) so that's out of the question.

@Skinnytailedsquirrel

Would you not consider living in a flat long term? I love horizontal living ( have a house now ) but lived in glorious flats before that I would have been happy to have bought and lived a long long time in.

Think Paris, Barcelona, London, Edinburgh...gorgeous gorgeous architecture.

Quite. I don't get the Mumsnet obsession with houses.

I live in a flat (in one of the cities you mentioned) - sure, I could move out to the suburbs and live in a house, but having everything on the doorstep is great and location trumps having a garden, for me.

Flats aren't necessarily smaller, either: I've seen plenty of newbuild box houses with smaller footprints than many flats. Houses in decent locations in my city are either tiny or extremely expensive for the space.

Bigger flat
Flat living is great
I'd never want to live in a house with stairs again.
Gardens aren't worth the work imo. (Have had DC's grow up in a mix of flats and houses)

Hmm, I've nothing against the moving to a bigger flat plan, but those examples you give are a lot more money for very little gain. They're the same number of bedrooms, still one reception. You're paying 100ks more for very little gain in terms of space and lifestyle. I'd expect another bedroom to make the move worthwhile, so your DC don't have to share longer-term. Afraid I wouldn't bother with the cost of moving and paying 200-300k more just for an extra bathroom and access to a garden, which doesn't even sound like it'll be private so could bring as much aggro and benefits. I'd stay put and save until you can properly move up the ladder.

I would go for b

I don't think moving to a bigger, better flat is a sideways move and it could be a long term prospect if you find the right place. A private garden, more space in the location you love doesn't need to mean house. Might struggle with parking in London though. Most flats with parking have no gardens, and bigger garden flats are just on-street parking. May be just our area. But there are lots of flats I'd be happy to live in with our DC long term.

Agree with @Bear2014 I am exclusively looking for flats, and I wouldn't buy another 2 bed flat. It has to be at least 3 bedrooms even if the third bedroom is a single. Esp since you have twins. If you have an extra bedroom, the twins could share a bunk in the single(assuming they are the same gender), and the bigger double room could be their playroom/study room. That would be a genuine upgrade.

@onlychildhamster I wasn't recommending a commute, although a good number of people do that from here. There are good jobs outside of London.

@Zonder really depends on what sector. DH and I work in financial services. The next biggest hub is Edinburgh but i really don't like the prospect of scottish independence.

True but how big a hub do you need? Lots of other cities have a lot of financial services operating there.

I would go for the bigger flat.

@Zonder Dh works in investment banking, I work in asset management, so I am not sure how much there is outside of Edinburgh and London. Anyway I love London! A lot of people in these areas do live in the Home Counties and they prefer it often, but i think its a more expensive decision even if they don't generally admit it...

Yeah pros and cons.