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Would you loose a bedroom and garage to be detached?

24 replies

Mumtum88 · 22/05/2025 10:58

We brought a 4 bed semi detached in December, the layout is living room/ kitchen GF, 3 beds/ bath 1st floor and master/ en-suite on top floor. Garage set back from the house . The house is lovely, it’s about 5 years old, great neighbourhood etc the problem I’ve got is the downstairs space just doesn’t match the upstairs, it doesnt have a hallway so everyone has to walk through the living room to get to the kitchen and garden and there is no utility which we had in our old house and I massively miss. On top of this our neighbours can be quite noisy, not all the time but they have their children every other weekend and you can tell when they are there as the noise increases, mainly just the front door slamming but they are in and out a lot.

We have a garage which we have considered converting into a garden room to give us a bit more space, our eldest is about to go to high school so we thought it would be a good space to keep them out the house and hopefully cut down on the foot fall through the house, the garden would also need some work to do this so we’d be looking at about £10k but I’m hesitant as I still don’t know if it’s going to solve the problem.

Ive looked at part exchanging and I found a house that was close to where we live now, the layout was better, had the utility I was missing and the rooms were all separated by the entrance hall. The only problem it was only a 3 bed and it also didn’t have a garage. The development was also quite new so it’s likely to be a building site for probably the next 2 years. They did offer us a really good part exchange offer which was about £20k over what we brought for in December but even with this it was still £40k extra on the mortgage.

Am I mad for considering spending more to get less or would you sacrifice the space for being detached?

My ideal would just be to spend a bit more and get the 4 bed detached but as that’s more toward £70k more my OH is just not on board.

OP posts:
ThirstyFruit · 22/05/2025 11:01

I think you’d be completely mad.

BarnacleBeasley · 22/05/2025 11:02

I wouldn't; at this point I would only move for a bigger house than the one I have now. And you are already considering converting your garage because you don't have enough space, so you definitely shouldn't move to a smaller house.

ZiggyZowie · 22/05/2025 11:02

You bought. not. brought

And it's lose. not. loose

Chewbecca · 22/05/2025 11:03

Do you use all 4 beds fully currently or is one under used?
Better to have space you use than don't IMO.

ThirstyFruit · 22/05/2025 11:39

Chewbecca · 22/05/2025 11:03

Do you use all 4 beds fully currently or is one under used?
Better to have space you use than don't IMO.

That’s also a fair point.

BigRenoLittleBudget · 22/05/2025 11:42

It’s not just the extra cost of the house but the cost of moving too.

why did you buy your current house? What was it you liked about it?

Hedgingmybetching · 22/05/2025 11:45

I also think you'd be mad, you've only had your house 6 months, and moving house is hell plus all that wasted stamp duty. Can you not just save up a bit for a 4 bed detatched move? Give the house a couple of years at least, every other weekend of a bit of child noise is nothing. I think I'd have a heart attack if I was your OH at the prospect of moving again... 😅

Onedayiwillsomething · 22/05/2025 11:49

I thought for a part ex they capped how much your current property could contribute towards the new one at about 70%, so how is it only costing you £20k more? Genuinely interested as I’ve been looking to do the same

S0j0urn4r · 22/05/2025 11:53

If you're on an estate being detached won't protect you from noise in the street.

andtheworldrollson · 22/05/2025 12:06

The noise from external doors shutting is too much so you want to move to a building site ….

Mumtum88 · 22/05/2025 12:07

Chewbecca · 22/05/2025 11:03

Do you use all 4 beds fully currently or is one under used?
Better to have space you use than don't IMO.

We currently use the 4th bedroom as an office and a bit of dumping ground but I’m going back to the office full time in September so I won’t necessarily need this space then. The other house is the same footage but just used in other areas if that makes sense.

OP posts:
Mumtum88 · 22/05/2025 12:09

BigRenoLittleBudget · 22/05/2025 11:42

It’s not just the extra cost of the house but the cost of moving too.

why did you buy your current house? What was it you liked about it?

I liked the fact the master had the top floor and was completely separate which is good but I can’t lie, we also moved from a house we’d done up for 7 years so it was nice this was new and done

OP posts:
Mumtum88 · 22/05/2025 12:10

Onedayiwillsomething · 22/05/2025 11:49

I thought for a part ex they capped how much your current property could contribute towards the new one at about 70%, so how is it only costing you £20k more? Genuinely interested as I’ve been looking to do the same

It’s costing us £40k more but they’ve offered us £20k more than what we paid for it in December. They did say the max price they could offer would be around what we paid but David Wilson are offering 105% part ex so it’s pushed it up to nearly £20k more.

OP posts:
Mumtum88 · 22/05/2025 12:11

andtheworldrollson · 22/05/2025 12:06

The noise from external doors shutting is too much so you want to move to a building site ….

Haha that’s a good point!

OP posts:
TooExtraImmatureCheddar · 22/05/2025 12:14

How many kids have you got? Assuming 2, then if you drop back to 3 bedrooms then there's no extra bedroom space. I have 2 kids in a 3 bed and it's a pain whenever we have guests - DD moans about having to vacate her bedroom. DH has to wfh in our bedroom because there's nowhere else, and I wfh in the front room. Given that you only moved in Dec, I think you'd be crazy to move anywhere else just now, and definitely definitely not for a 3 bed. Why don't you scope out/price up a downstairs extension as an option?

flyinghen · 22/05/2025 12:16

If you have enough space in the new house for everything you need then I would do it personally if it’s right for you and you can do part exchange.

user1476613140 · 22/05/2025 12:22

Why not use money to modify your current home to a layout that suits you? Add in a hallway and utility room if it's the same square footage as your other home?

OopsyDaisly · 22/05/2025 12:25

We moved to a house of a similar size to our old one 5 years ago, but different layout (and different town, and during Covid so we were being cautious and didn’t choose anything bigger).

I’m now itching to move again because what we lost still bugs me. The problems are a bit like yours - smaller living space, tiny hall. I don’t miss the utility though. And I wouldn’t miss the garage if we had room for a big bike shed, and if we had loft storage.

I would move for detached. I wouldn’t move for a house that was same size or only slightly bigger (that was our error). My kids have grown massively in the last 5 years, we needed more space not less.

I think you have to move for enough difference in size or location, not for just a tiny bit. In your case I’d hang on until I could afford a 4 bed detached.

blubbyblub · 22/05/2025 13:07

Why are you unsure of the renovations would solve the problems? Surely that can be figured out

Chewbecca · 22/05/2025 14:11

Presumably because the extra sq footage in the current house is loft space and the proposed house has more square footage on the ground floor. Quite different usage.
(We live in a detached 3 bed with lots of GF space & it works well for us).

Feelingstrange2 · 22/05/2025 14:17

ZiggyZowie · 22/05/2025 11:02

You bought. not. brought

And it's lose. not. loose

And it's Property/DIY.

Not pendants' corner.

ZiggyZowie · 22/05/2025 20:45

Feelingstrange2 · 22/05/2025 14:17

And it's Property/DIY.

Not pendants' corner.

Edited

I think you'll find a pendant is a type of necklace😌

Apksbdv · 22/05/2025 20:54

I wouldn’t; I’d make the 4th bedroom into a play room/space for kids and friends then you’ll feel there’s more living space. You’ve not been there long so take time to settle in. Also the incorporate in all the costs of moving which are not small

RainbowLife · 22/05/2025 21:04

ZiggyZowie · 22/05/2025 20:45

I think you'll find a pendant is a type of necklace😌

In Property/DIY I think you'll find it's a light fitting. 😉

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