Do you think this house would be big enough for a family of 5?

[Lilacbluewaters]

We are currently renting and looking to move, the rental market is so hard right now and we have been turned down by so many but we may be in with a chance with this property. My only concern was, is it too small? The downstairs is all open plan. I have three children aged 5, 3 and 10 months but my two younger ones still sleep with us and my eldest always ends up bringing her mattress into our room😅
my husband thinks it’s fine but I’m thinking where are we putting everything? 😂
this isn’t the exact house but it is the layout (show home)

Our house is a bit smaller but only has one loo.

I actually think 3 loos in a small house is a bit mad as I'd rather have some storage.

2 loos would be ideal though 😊

The upstairs is definitely enough space but I don't like how the front door opens so quickly into the living room. Are you a shoes on house ? Otherwise where would shoes and coats go?
A tall room divider could be stood between sofa and kitchen units to separate kitchen and living spaces.
A large larder unit in the corner of the kitchen, top half kitchen extras bottom half kids toy baskets.

For me and mine, this would be too small.
It might work for a few years but I'd expect a family your size to outgrow it pretty quickly.

@shams05 highly advise against the room divider! Lived in an open plan flat once and tried this and it just ends up making everything feel even smaller!

It is perfectly liveable for five. Two kids share the biggest room, parents have the second bedroom, one child in the box room.

It isn't large but it is absolutely fine.

think it would be a nightmare personally.... bedroom 2 is tiny for two and would have no storage - the allocated parking would worry me also.....

Renting for a year or two maybe but definitely not one to buy.

Renting as a necessity but no, it's very small for 5 people. 854 sq feet for a 3 bed family home is really tiny.

The answers you get will depend on what other people are used to. I know people with almost mansions and no kids and other people with three kids and two bedrooms!
For me, I'd find it quite tight. I don't like the open plan downstairs - the fact that everyone has to be in the same room or in their bedrooms. Also, when the kids are older, they won't want to share.
The good thing is it has two bathrooms and a downstairs loo! That's a real bonus.
However, if this is what you can afford then I'm sure it'll be fine.

I think that as well - fine for a bit probably not long enough if OP is buying.

Not enough cupboard space.

Thanks everyone for all the advice, I am such an over thinker which can be good and bad. We are leaving our current property due to serious bad black mould and leaking issues in the bedrooms so it would be nice to be in a house with no black mould or rain coming in.
there was an airing cupboard upstairs which also housed the boiler. I do agree the three toilets seems unnecessary, that space could have been used for bigger bedrooms. The way they build new builds are odd imo.
the garden was large and had a shed but would definitely buy another storage container and there was also a driveway for 2 cars. But like some of the commenters I do worry where I would put toy storage and stupid things like a barbie dream house 😂 I plan on going back to measure rooms and see if there is loft access. I will say I’m already on it with decluttering and always throwing things out so we aren’t an overly cluttered house but still we are a family of 5 so it’s not completely minimalist.
there’s a lot of pros and cons as the area is great too, a lot nicer and better schools but worry we wouldn’t be able to afford to move to a bigger house in that area.

I see this is a Redrow house - is this the largest you can afford on the estate?
We have a Letchworth (3-bed semi with 2 kids & 2 adults) - it's getting to be a squeeze but we're making it work, it's about 100 sqft larger than the one you are looking at. I'd say you can make that work & view it as a step on the ladder.
The open plan design downstairs isn't ideal but the bedroom set up is fine. You'll need to be creative with storage, but it's doable.
Have you been in the show home?

Too small , add the foot print of wardrobes etc into the bedrooms and it’ll soon be very cramped

Btw - 3 bathrooms/toilets is a god send in the morning/evening!

Look into ex local authority properties. More cupboards, bigger bedrooms.

We have one bathroom, one WC. Family of 6. We cope fine.

Well it's tight but it's modern and better than nothing!! Would make sure the beds had room for boxes under the bed for toy storeage etc

IKEA Kallax units are great for toy storage - even clothes storage!
Redrow is one of the better builders - we've been in ours for 12 years & it's been fab. Very energy efficient, new appliances etc.
Are you getting any deals from the sales team?

Sounds like it's location over property with this one op as you have given some very strong reasons for picking the estate.and it might be worth compromising on space.

I suppose it depends if you are an optimistic or cautious person, as I dont think this is ideal as a long term home (perfectly doable though if that's what your budget provides) so it depends whether you are overly worried about affording to upsize, or at least switch to a different property with an alternative layout, in the future as your kids grow up. If your income is likely to increase as you progress your careers and childcare costs reduce, and if the property grows or retains it's value in future (and sounds a safe bet given the positives about it's location) then on balance it seems like a contender?

However, if somw.if.your reticence is because you feel you are rushing to buy because of your difficult situation renting then i would be tempted to research the local area a little more and see if you can find something a larger for comparison. Holding out a few more months for the right property might be worth considering

I've lived in equally small with 3 kids until they were adults..... needs must 🤷‍♀️ and with only one bathroom🙈 (90s mortgages up to 17% had to downsize). Eventually had to sleep downstairs so that they could have their own bedrooms. Did have the loft boarded and drop down ladder for storage which helped, was hoping to put one of the kids up there to be honest at the time but they took one look at the 🕷🕸🕷 and decided better to stay sharing with brother🤣
Location and schools will always win out to me than space👌

I think it's too small for my family of 5 however I think if this means getting our of rentals and onto the property ladder I would go for it. In a few years you can sell up and move into something more spacious.

@Lilacbluewaters are you planning on buying or renting this house?

A lot of people are giving you advice based on its value as an investment and moving up the property ladder but I interpreted it as you would still be renting.

Which is it because I think it affects the response!

I'd say that's doable if it's an unfurnished tenancy.

Being stuck with impractical furnishings would make it tricky.

Talk about tone deaf.