How much better is life in a bigger home?

[Silverdrainpipe]

We are considering moving. We currently rent a one bedroom apartment. It’s not very big. Maybe 500 sq ft. No outdoor space.

We have seen a two bedroom maisonette that’s just within budget. It’s just shy of 1000 sq ft. It has a tiny terrace but enough space to eat dinner in the sun.

The extra cost is a lot. It’s at the top end of our budget. We’ve recently had a salary increase and this would eat all of the increase.

So how much does a bigger house improve your quality of life? We are a professional couple, who often need to work in the evenings or one day a week at home. No kids.

It’s the usual pros and cons thing- I loved our tiny apartment (pre kids!!)- we had no issues with neighbours, it was quick and easy to tidy and clean. I didn’t care about the garden as there were lovely walks around and a lovely view.

Adored the garden when we got it but cleaning wise got an awful shock at how much more cleaning (yes I know, duh!!) had to be done. I sometimes miss the apartment

It's nice to have extra space but it would make no financial sense to me to put a pay rise towards a bigger rental - I'd want to be squirreling it into savings to buy somewhere. In face we only rented a room in shared flats until we bought our first home, because we wanted to afford a decent size home a central location. And before we had dcs we were out working or socialising all the time so no point having a bigger space just to sleep in.

It is much better but in your situation I wouldn’t it’s a rental not owned…

you’d be better off spending the pay rise on doing nice things or saving it

Thank you for the responses! We aren’t interested in buying in the location as we’ll be living in another country in a couple of years.

A mortgage & service charge is far far more expensive in this area. The only people who own are those who bought 15+ years ago or are happy to pay that much in interest to the bank in exchange of security. Anyone who bought since around 2015 have lost money on property.

Aware this sounds bonkers compared to most markets!

I think the most relevant question is; how much do you desire more space?

If you're a minimalist couple who spend a lot of time out of the house, you probably don't prioritise space and may be better staying put.

If you're a homey couple who spend a lot of time in doors and regularly curse at not having enough space to put your stuff, move around or cook etc then sounds like you'd benefit from moving.

FWIW, I see buying property as an investment. Yes, you pay interest, but you're saving money each month towards something that will undoubtedly be worth a whole load more in decades time. Unless you're saving every unspent penny, I would upgrade your house with the view that when you both retire, you can down size and release a lot of equity to enjoy your retirement! (That's how I see it anyway, and to have more inheritance to leave my children hopefully!).

A two-bed means you have an extra room in which you can work, have a mate to stay, store things you don't want to have to look at all the time etc. It just gives you a lot more flexibility. Nice to have a terrace, even a tiny one, too - there's a lot to be said for having a little outside spot where you can at least have a drink or eat dinner on a summer evening, or sit and read in a deckchair at the weekend.

I disagree with most people in this thread: I don't think bigger is always better. Our house is 1000sqft and it was way too big for us when we didn't have a child. Ours is a townhouse, so each floor is about 340sqft. We could have cut out an entire floor and still had enough space to live happily day to day.

Our previous home was a three-bed terrace. We moved into a 5-bed detached which is about four times bigger than our old house. The garden is about eight times as big.

It's a lovely home, but my gawd - it takes a long time to clean. I can barely stay on top of the garden. I used to think gardeners were a bit of a decadent luxury but now I fully understand.

We've also got two living rooms - one of which we never use.

Heating is also a lot more.

But yes, it is better - wouldn't go back to a smaller house!

And yes - expansion brings more stuff. We've somehow ended up with two pianos.

We have extended a lot and also as our stuff went into storage we massively decluttered everywhere. Being able to organise in a larger house is much easier I think and given the huge task of packing up and decluttering we aren't just filling it again as we know what we have and need more than ever. I do spend time at home and agree that is relevant. Larger houses take more organising/ tidying and furnishing etc but I have realised that you do need a certain scale of storage before organising is possible. Finally just because a house is large does not mean it automatically has adequate storage or is using the space well, that takes work to and is not a given. But if you get the organising right in a large home it feels beautifully spacious and can be easier to keep tidy, if you put the work in.

Even if buying doesn't make much financial sense for your current location, I'd be thinking about what else you could be doing with the money if you didn't spend it on higher rent. A bigger deposit for when you do eventually buy, a savings cushion for when you move abroad or have dcs, money to travel or other expensive leisure activities, or simply investing to make gains for later in life. For me I'd rather have that extra money for something else when I was child-free, and only appreciated the value of a bigger home with dcs.

Massively; of course it depends on your lifestyle and how much time you spend at home but for someone who works from home with 2 kids we moved 3 years ago and the extra space has meant we can entertain friends and family which we never could. The kids get more space. It’s little things that have made our life so much better.

I downsized from a rented 3 bed to buying a 2 bed

Whilst it was a downsize the bedrooms are a lot bigger (I didn’t need 3 beds either)

the plus for me was downsizing actually meant I could put in fitted wardrobes into the much bigger bedrooms, again this was buying so I was prepared to spend a lot of money on making the space work for me

My 2 bed house is easier to clean as well
i defo wouldn’t go for bigger if you are not planning on staying there and don’t actually need the extra space otherwise the spare room that your paying extra for, in reality will be the room were you keep washing, wardrobes, ironing boards and general junk etc

I thought you were going to say 4 bed to 5 or similar and would say NO: too any en suites to clean!

I think quality of life will improve enormously as you'll have a separate room to work from etc.

However do be aware if you'll not stay long it gets costly on selling fees and stamp duty to move again quickly

Buying improves quality of life.

I would never spend on rent that wasn't essential. Live in the smallest/cheapest place you can tolerate and save to buy.

Tonnes!

Quality of life doesn't depend on the size of your home.

For a lot of us it does. Being in cramped conditions, can be very difficult.

I wouldn't for renting, it depends on a couple of things- 1. Are you currently struggling, as in, you're arguing over space, you've not enough storage, it's always a mess, you feel you can't invite people over, you want a baby or a pet but there's no room... 2. Can you afford not just the rent but higher council tax, utilities, furnishings etc as well as the inevitable year on year rent increases.

If you don't feel the need to move and your budget won't stretch to the additional bills it'd be a no from me. Could you save some of the difference to put towards a house deposit?

I would go as big as I could, I like space and a lot of outdoor space and I also work mostly from home. I like to entertain and have room for guests and I have a lot of stuff, plus I grew up in a large house with a garden. I think its what youre used to and likem i am willing to move to the middle of nowhere for the space and max out my budget, foregoing in other luxuries because space at home is a top priority for me. I would think about what you need the space for and if its worth it for you.

Personally I wouldn’t if you are looking to pay more in rent, if you were having kids yes, just for you probably not (although yes of course it would be nice).
id save for a deposit and buy, but your choice.

Completely depends on your lifestyle, when DH and I first married we lived in a tiny one bed flat, absolutely loved it and genuinely one of the happiest times of my life. However not sure I would still love it now with 2 kids in tow!

My friend bought a 4 bed house with en-suites and regretted it as she just said there were extra bathrooms to clean. Extra rooms to heat and decorate etc. depends on your needs. 2 bed with terrace sounds nice and I think that’s when a little extra space is good. Vast kitchen you have to walk more than a few steps between appliances, no.

We have a 3 bed house with 3 reception rooms, two landings and two bathrooms.

I really miss the days when all I had to clean was a one bed apartment with two adults who worked all day! Bliss!

I love having space ... we are two adults in a five bed house , one adult DC who visits occasionally. We each have our own bedroom and bathroom - and clean our own spaces. One bedroom is a dedicated study. We have a guest room.

But we fortunate in that we can afford it .. if it was a financial struggle we would obviously downsize.

IME I think it makes a big difference.. mainly in storage! Everything has its place, no cupboard is crammed full. It means that you can find that one cake pan you wanted without emptying the whole kitchen out.. you can leave the house calmly because you can put your hand to that coat easily… seems silly really but my life is hugely less stressful and cleaning is much easier although I have more space to clean!

I don’t however think you need 6 bedrooms when there’s only 4 of you in the house.. no point having a big house just to show off the number of (unused) bedrooms!