Living in a one bedroom flat for the next seven years

[shestakingtheurine]

I was incredibly lucky to be given large one bedroom council flat last year. Under the right to buy scheme I will be eligible to buy it for a 50% discount off market value after I have lived here for three years. I then have to live in it for another five years before I can sell it without paying money back to the council. I have just finished university this year so hopefully by this time I will be able to afford something bigger. The thing is I am 26 and me and my partner wanted to try for a baby next year but if we were successful the baby would be five before I could move somewhere bigger. I think I would be stupid to miss out on this opportunity but am I also mad to think I could have a family whilst living in a one bedroom flat for five years?

Love there for now, see where life goes. Move when you need to. Repay the council if needed.

Well the % reduces every year doesn’t it? So just pay the council if you have to move within 5 years.

What’s the approximate value of the flat?

As PP said - you’ve got the flat now, so just review at the three year mark. I personally wouldn’t want to have a baby un a 1-bed but your decision, and no rush with your ages so you could wait

Zoopla says that it is currently worth 110 thousand. A two bedroomed house on the same street sold this week which was advertised at 170 thousand. It is in a popular location near to two major hospitals and good public transport networks. It is on a nice quiet culdesac and has a driveway. If it was a two bedroomed it would be a no brainer! I think I'm going to look into how much I would have to pay back if I sold before the five years was up.

If you're only 26 having just graduated why are you planning a baby next year? Don't you want to start a career? Your biological clock isn't exactly ticking.

The rules are that you have to pay back a percentage of the discount if you sell within 5 years, not that you have to live there for 5 years. So it could be an option to rent out the 1 bed and rent a bigger place if the one bed feels too cramped, although you'd have to compare the cost of being a landlord and renting somewhere vs how much discount you'd lose.

I have family who rented a 1 bed with 2 young dc and it was stressful but doable (dcs shared the bedroom and parents slept in living room). Generally council flats have decent size rooms so adapting the space is easier than in house conversion flats.

I bought my council flat under rtb and it's definitely financially worth it (I'm in London so it was far cheaper than anything I'd have been able to buy). Just make sure you understand all the regulations and requirements for financial evidence, and don't be afraid to appeal the initial valuation as the councils are often lazy with their valuations (I got a £30k cut in price after appealing mine).

I’d probably just see how things go, and not plan my life around getting £50k over 8 years.

1. You are very young, so there is no urgent need for you to have a child. Want doesn't equal need.

1. Living with one or even two small children in a 1 bedroom flat is totally doable. We have done it. Parents sleep in the living room.

1. Paring down belongings helps, as does living close to a park, playgroundand/or leisure centre. Children need very little in terms of clothingand toys.

1. Take the long view. Everything doesn't need to happen now and small sacrifices now can pay off 10+ years from now.

If you are a graduate with a partner also earning would you not be able to buy your own place. You might find with saving on rent and house prices going up that this option works out even more financially lucrative.

Establish your career first and make sure you having savings put away. Remember child care is expensive so I'd be saving to off set this in the future. Personally, I wouldn't get pregnant before marriage for my own personal security.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/family/living-together-marriage-and-civil-partnership/living-together-and-marriage-legal-differences/#:~:text=Your%20legal%20rights%20as%20a,than%20if%20you're%20married.

if you think you're not ready for marriage then I'd say you're not ready to start a family either. Having a baby ties you to a person forever so I'd make sure my relationship was solid first.

They can have this council house for 3 years. Save up a serious deposit (Say £15k) to buy it at 50% discount (£55k). £40k mortgage. Even if rates are still 6% in 3 years, that’s £700/month for 5 years until they can sell it for full value.

So in 8 years they’ve got £110k (plus any appreciation years 3 to 8) equity to buy their next place, plus presumably some savings accrued in those 5 years. Pretty sweet position aged 34. From £15k deposit.

*full disclosure, no idea if you can get such a small mortgage these days or such a short term.

There was a family of 5 living above me in a one bed flat. They obviously managed as lived there for 3 years

All I can read is "I'm going to take yet another social housing property away so I can make a profit"
I know lots of people do it and it's perfectly legal but it doesn't make it right, does it?

I would delay my baby plans until you're 30 so you can happily live there as a couple for a few more years. Establish your career first, it will be so much easier to do this before having a baby to restrict you. You are inching towards financial security by getting a degree and a council house with right to buy. So don't undermine those things by having a baby at a relatively early age (by the standards of graduates anyway, most want to establish a good career first).

It's fine to have a baby in a one bed, many people do it. It will get harder as the baby becomes a toddler but probably worth it from a financial point of view.

Yes I agree, it's not right. Having said that though - getting your own home has become so difficult because values have become so inflated - that I don't blame them for taking the opportunity.

This could potentially set you up and on the housing ladder for life

Do it, if it really doesn't work out then pay the council back.

It could take a year or more to conceive, then 9 months pregnancy, so your baby could be 3 by the time you look to have paid it all off, you could do this in a 1 bed.

This! What's the rush, if you want a career?

I thought the same thing!

And also this. You're essentially complaining that making a profit for yourself out of a council property will take a little while and delay your other plans.

I blame the game rather than the player, but moaning that the council isn't facilitating your additional wishes when you know you are planning to sell this place ASAP to make a profit is a bit.... hmm.

I'm not here to debate the ethics of the right to buy scheme, I'm sure if most people had the opportunity they would take it. I'm not complaining I'm just trying to figure out how I can make it work in a one bedroomed property. If it was a two bed I wouldn't even be planning on selling it. I don't want a profit of it I will just need something bigger.

I just can’t understand how this is allowed to happen when there is such a shortage of council homes.

I'd definitely delay the baby. Get 4-5 years of solid work under your belt first. It is much easier to get flexible arrangements etc when you go back if you are a well established team member.

A baby now will just blow a hole in your plans for security.

My partner is a bit older than me which is why we have decided to have a baby sooner rather than later. I am already relatively old to be having a first baby where I am from! I am worried about leaving it too late and having issues. I have qualified in a vocational public sector role so I will have fairly secure employment.