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?

You were indeed ‘incredibly lucky’ but think on - if everyone did as you propose to do there will be no ‘council’ properties left - 😐

Having a baby early is a surefire way to limit your career progression opportunities. Sure, some women make it work, but there are far more who don't manage to progress their career while juggling motherhood.

Just because you grew up in an environment where women are expected to become mothers young doesn't mean you have to follow suit. Why put the effort into getting a degree if you don't aspire to more?

There are so many posts on here op about parents struggling financially, often because they have babies first before they have any kind of savings.

I would really advise to do it the other way round.

Get a career established first, get some savings under your belt.

Then baby.

That way round gives you choices.

Oh, and if you weren't looking to make a profit then you wouldn't mind about repaying the discount. Be honest here - you are worried about repaying the discount because it will mean you have to pay full price for your home and make less profit out of it when you move.

You are not old to be having a first baby, average is now 31 and 34 in London

Just wait and have a good time 🤷‍♀️

I’m in Tokyo where floor space per person is a bit lower than London (though by as much as you might think since Tokyo went on a condo-building spree from the early 2000s and never looked back). I know people who’ve done this and have made it work. Work on keeping stuff (your stuff, baby stuff) very minimal, do a bit of decluttering each week, do gift-free parties and be really firm about it.

I follow 'never too small' where loads of architects design small flats around the world. It might give you some ideas to make it work. Although most dont have a baby in the mix.

I didn't know you could still buy social housing. The SNP abolished the right to buy in Scotland nearly 10 years ago because of the shortage.

It was a few years ago when a friend was looking in to it, but I'm sure it was 3 years was in any council property. They lived in a flat for a few years, then as their family grew they went on a waiting list and were eventually moved to a bigger property. After they moved, the time in the previous flat still counted, so they were able to buy the bigger property after a few months.

Depends on the rules and waiting list times where you live, but might something like that be possible?

There doesn’t seem much point asking for advice @shestakingtheurine if you’ve already decided to have a baby at 26 despite no real need to do so and people pointing out it will be better for your career progression and your own living situation to put it off a few years 🤷🏼‍♀️

If you don’t want a profit, then buy somewhere privately at full price.
It’s mental that the right to buy discount payback period is only 5 years - it should be more like 15+ to discourage this kind of thing.

If you ttc soon after graduating, you will really struggle to build a career.

You would be much better to spend the next 5 years working your way up, then have kids when you can afford to go part time.

Also, if you have a child now, changes are you're going to want another in a couple of years.

All possible in a one bed flat (you sleep in the living room and kids share the bed room) but nursery fees will be a killer.

You've said you are incredibly lucky to be housed by the L/A, now you want to take the opportunity away from another person. Sorry, but this does annoy me. I worked as a housing officer for L/As, people complain about waiting ages to be housed and don't get this is exactly why it takes so long.

Problem is people voted for this. It’s peak Torying.

This country is now 65m people putting themselves first. If you don’t do it, you will be left behind.

Therefore I can’t blame OP. I’ve taken the moral high ground when it comes to housing and it’s cost me £100k’s. So I’m still renting aged 35. I know who I’d rather be.

I was on the list for five years before being offered this flat so I am aware of the supply issues and I'm not saying what I am going to do is morally or ethically perfect but Im not willing to sacrifice the opportunity of financial and housing security to live my life on a moral high ground. I'm not proud of it but growing up with a single mother on a council estate I have no hope of ever being given help towards a deposit or any inheritance. I didn't want this to turn into a debate on the ethics of the right to buy scheme I just wanted advice on if I was mad to consider living in a one bedroomed property for many years.

Just do it OP. Hire storage space with the money you are saving. Although, if you have the means, move every 6-months or those companies will just up their prices on you.

Remember to put your savings into a HTB LISA. (£4K per person per financial year). Govt tops up £1k on buying. Also they offer about 3% interest too at the moment.

I've worked since I was sixteen and been to university and worked my way up to competing a masters degree and I've never claimed a penny in benefits in any other way, not that I have to justify myself!

If it's large could you knock walls down and reconfigure to include a 2nd bedroom?

I have considered that as it is 64 square metres so it's not small and the bathroom is way bigger than it needs to be. I'm just not sure how I could do it with the layout of it.

This scheme has caused the shortage. I was working in housing when Thatcher's government brought this in.

My colleagues were very upset when having to deal with applications because they realised what the consequences would be down the line.

The fact that you've worked hard to get your degree just makes it even more important that you don't throw that effort away. The realitt is that if you have a baby before consolidating your career, you will be limiting your progression opportunities. It's not just about whether the entry-level job will be secure - it's about what opportunities there may be for you to progress into from that role.

There are some women who make it work and progress careers while juggling motherhood of very young children, but realistically most don't.

I think the thing that bothers me more than families buying the properties to live in or as as a step on to the market until you can afford a bigger property is that they have got into the hands of buy to let landlords. I now see ex council properties that have probably been bought for peanuts on council estates now renting for 7-800 pounds a month.

Then you are being naive. You don't post something morally dubious on the internet and get every single respondent to validate your views. That's not how the internet works.

Don’t wait to have baby for the sake of a property.

If it’s a large one bed can you turn it into a two bed?

I won't get in to the ethics of right to buy as, ultimately, the option is there and so, while it is, I don't blame people for using it, even though I appreciate the issues it causes to the housing stock as a whole. That is not OPs fault and if she didn't buy the property, someone else would.

Focussing on the practicalities, which is what OP wants to focus on, there are plenty of people that have families in a 1 bed flat. I had a member of staff that lived in a 1 bed flat with two children, though I really don't know how that worked!

If it's fairly large, does your bedroom have enough space for a full size child's bed and a double for you and your partner? If so, I think it's workable until the child is 5. They won't know any different and you can put them to bed and sneak in yourself later. Alternatively, you could turn your living room in to more of a studio with a bed and living room furniture so your DC could have your bedroom.

I definitely think it's feasible OP and agree with a PP about not delaying trying for a baby because of it. You don't realistically know how long it will take to conceive anyway. You may be lucky and get pregnant quickly, but if it takes a bit longer, then you might want to start the clock running.