To move or not?

[Justeatmorecake]

Looking for some wise advice please!

We’re currently living in a 4 bed detached new build and want to move back to the town where I work and the children go to school, it’s ten miles away. However the town is more expensive so we get less for our money.

We have been looking at similar sized properties but it will mean borrowing more and they all need work. Not sure I want to borrow any more money in these current times!

Do we consider a 1930s 3 bed semi and extend into the loft to gain another bedroom/s? No room to do a downstairs extension however.

Cons: much smaller, semi, needs work
Pros: walking distance to everything, could pay off half the mortgage now and overpay the rest, close to oldest DC’s father and friends so makes their lives easier, would have enough in the budget to make everything v nice and have holidays

Children are all pre teens but 3 of them are 50/50 with exdh.

Or do I stay and suck up the relentless commute and running the children around. At least 2 hours per day on average once I’ve done all the drop offs. But a much nicer house.

I’m going round in circles! There is nothing available in the middle at the moment.

Thanks in anticipation 🙂

The pros outweigh the cons, although I wouldn’t go back to living in a semi if I could help it. There have been several videos on TikTok recently of 1930’s semis and the problems people have had. Are they single brick? A lot of comments about them being cold.
It is worth having a viewing and seeing if your family could actually fit into the space though because your running around sounds awful, your fuel costs must be huge! Could the dining room be used as an extra bedroom whilst waiting for the loft conversion?

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/property/4622300-are-1930s-semis-cold

Impossible to answer really - what it boils down to is what matters more to YOU.

Moving is a total pita. You have to feel a bit excited about the new place to see it through imo. I dont think I could move if the house woukd never be as loved as the one I was in.

Thank you both, really appreciate having some other opinions!

I think location is everything and I'd personally compromise on the house to be in a more convenient place. Especially as the kids get older. I'd definitely move in your situation.

I would chose location every time but agree with a pp that you need to really like the house you are moving to and feel positive about the move even if you can see the compromises.
I wouldn’t have a problem with a semi. They don’t all have paper thin walls and noisy neighbours. However I have only ever lived in a flat or a terrace so have built up tolerance, plus I’ve never had unreasonably noisy neighbours 🤞.

I can't tell how many DC you have, but it sounds like more than three? If so, I wouldn't move to a 3-bed unless you can definitely afford the extension asap. Loft conversions cost a lot more than they used to, so it may be false economy to buy a 3-bed and add a room. What's the price difference you're looking at versus the cost of doing loft?

Hard to say without knowing the sums involved and the kids situation, but a 10mile drive doesn't seem that bad to me, to stick with the big house. Not that I'm fussed for big houses but sounds like you've got a lot of people to house so gotta be practical. Two hour commute, as in 2x1hr commute also doesn't sound too awful, and it's handy that your work is close to the kids' schools.

So I'd either stay put or borrow more and get a big enough house. The cheaper smaller house plus the cost and hassle of extending would have to be significantly more affordable to make it the frontrunner in this scenario.