Would you make plans to move or not?

[moveorno]

Really boring dilemma!

We bought our first house six years ago with help from my mother who had downsized her home. She has since passed away. We sold her house and spent the small inheritance on fixing up our house (very small 3bed terrace). So we have newish bathroom, kitchen etc, rooms painted and new floors and carpet. We restored the original fireplace and things like that. But we were still on a budget so it's not everything we wanted, just what we could do at the time. Some things I wish I'd done differently.
DH now on bigger salary so we can afford to save and also change some things like paint colours or replace cheaper items like bathroom units which are now looking worn. I like the house but it's small. We have living room, dining kitchen, bedroom, box room (his office) and attic (my office and guest room combined).

Things I like:
The street and area. Wouldn't want to move far outside. Nice neighbours.
How we've improved the house.

Dislikes:
No parking (only on street)
Frontage not attractive, have improved with new front door and bin storage but nothing else can be done. No room for plants.
Tiny back garden, north facing in full shadow of house. We got a new patio and have plants out there so it looks nice but never sit out because it's freezing. I also hate sitting out because it's a right of way for the neighbours and delivery men so not private, people can just walk in (we added a gate but the issue is the same).
The bathroom is miniscule! Just a large shower because we got rid of the bath as it took up so much space.
Lack of storage, we don't actually own a lot but it's just a very small house.

Things we could do:

Move to another terrace in the area and decorate from scratch (less daunting now we have all our nice new furniture). Other terraces often have private gardens but there was little on the market when we bought initiative. Won't get parking but might get an extra reception room and/or converted cellar.

Move to a bigger house in the area, more budget and bigger mortgage but technically possible. Would be a 30s semi probably with big garden and parking. Though the ones we could afford would be fixer uppers. We have no savings left for renovation so would have to do it slowly.

Stay in this house and eventually convert the cellar for extra space.

It's only two of us (and two cats) but we lived in very tiny flats for many years. We are not having children and both work from home.

It sounds like you feel cramped in ways that sorting the basement/cellar can't actually fix. (north facing garden, no drive)

You like the area, so maybe take your time and look in a specific postcode. Keep the house as-is, people will want to change things when they buy anyway. It sounds like you've done a lot of work to it already. Save up for moving costs (stamp duty, conveyancing, removers), declutter ruthlessly (and then declutter some more), and start planning to put your house on the market.

There's a lot to be said for having enough space, whatever that looks like for you. And I'm sure the cats would enjoy a sunny garden!

Interesting. I have always done this,a list of positives and negatives. Do you actually like gardening? Realistically,do you need a 3 bedroom house, for office space? In your situation, I would look at ground floor flats.... cheaper than a house, usually big rooms, somewhere sunny to sit with a coffee. Is the WFH going to be a permanent thing? Trust me,in a house joined to another, good neighbours are like hensteeth! We've only ever had one lot and that was 40 years ago!