2 bed vs 3 bed

[callmedan]

right now me and my bf are looking at buying our first house together! all very exciting but we really cant decide whether to get a 2 bed or 3 bed!

we have a reasonable deposit saved (which will be more by the time we will realistically look at closing a deal - around april) we are both 22 and plan to have hopefully 5 children by the time we are mid 30s (fingers crossed although i know plans often go awry!) but my thinking is by the time we finish having babies we will need at least a 4 bed house
so its like do we but a decent 2 bed with the money we have and only own it for 5 or a couple more years then buy a 4 bed or buy an on the cheaper side 3 bed and live in it for a little longer...

just not sure what to do although a 2 bed is looking more likely due to cheaper mortgage payments - a 3 bed would be a lot more spacious...

decisions decisions!

 

[Tanikins]

Id go 3 bed because realistically how easy is it to sell a house

 

[Kitteh_Kat]

I say go with the 2 Bed if you're just buying a starter house and don't need the extra bedroom. That way you can put aside the money you save not getting the extra bedroom and put it toward your dream house when you do buy it.

 

[callmedan]

thanks for your opinions girls, its just such a big decision! we really need to start looking at houses and decide what is best for us although that just feels like it will lengthen the process and after nearly 5 years together we are so ready to move in with each other!

 

[curlykate]

That's a tough one.
On one hand, the smaller house would be more affordable, and in a few years you can flip it and get a bigger one.
On the other hand, it might not be easy to sell it in a few years, and the extra bedroom would come in handy in the mean time.
Personally I would go for the 3 bedroom. That's what we started out with. I really liked the fact that LO had his room, and we still had a spare bedroom for when someone stayed over.

 

[Yo_Yo]

I'd buy a house that has room to extend, so it can grow with your family.

 

[lozzy21]

3 bed, houses are just not selling so it would be better to have a house that's going to last you the longest.

 

[DocMcStuffins]

I'd personally go with a 3 bed house if you can. Even if you have to buy one that perhaps needs a bit of work. Doing a bit if work to a house is in my opinion far less stressful than going through the whole selling a house, buying a new house process.

A 3 bed will last you longer and in the meantime an extra bedroom will come in great for storage etc.

I would say to try and get as high up the property ladder you can at the start (obviously without pushing yourselves beyond what is financially comfortable). So if you can afford a 3 bed and find one you like then go for it!

I was 21 and my oh 24 when we bought our first house (a 2 bed) but we had no intentions of trying for babies and lived there for 4 years before we got married and moved to a 3 bed house. We didn't go through the stress of selling our 2 bed though, we rent it out. We still didn't try for a baby for another 3 years after we moved to our 3 bed. We've just (2 months ago) moved for the last time to a big 4 bed house.

X

 

[xcharx]

Id go for a 3 bed then saves the hassle of selling the 2 bed & looking for a 3 bed

 

[callmedan]

Good points!! We probably would have to move into a 3 if we bought a 2 before getting a 4 and even typing it like that makes it sound a lot of work!
Going to start looking at the 3 beds and if nothing good in our price range comes up maybe start looking at big 2s...
It's such a big decision! I'm so scared of making the wrong one

 

[callmedan]

there are some lovely looking 3 bed new build houses kind of near where i live now within budget! cant wait to go look round them!

 

[lucy_smith]

Just a thought.... my mum n dad had a 2 bed house when they had there first. Then converted the loft in to 2 extra bedrooms. Maybe look at something which you could have the option of converting a loft?

It will also add value to a property !

 

[callmedan]

thats a good point although i dont know the first thing about DIY never mind loft conversion! oh likes stuff like that though, ill talk to him about that option

 

[lucy_smith]

My mum and dad didn't have a clue either, but after 1 lift conversion, then an extension and they are now building a house! So anyone can learn! Or you can get a price for a builder and see how much it will be .

 

[Yo_Yo]

Oh another thing to look at when buying-check the schools in the area. You ideally want to buy near good schools

 

[twiggy56]

Honestly...the solicitor/conveyancing costs, structural surveys, stamp duty, removal costs etc go into the thousands when buying/selling houses.

And short term at each address can look bad on your credit rating too as credit applications typically require 3 years worth or previous addresses. Its not a huge deal if you're settled for a good few years at a time though.

If you *can* stretch to a 3 bed then id recommend it!

 

[Rachie004]

I would personally aim for a 3 bedroom house and perhaps consider a loft conversion for extra space too. When looking at houses, have a look at the pitch of the roof - ours is too low to convert the loft.

Buying and selling houses is very expensive, as someone else mentioned. We paid a five figure sum just in stamp duty, plus there were solicitors fees, surveys, removal costs then the silly things like amendment fees on car insurance policies - it all adds up!

One thing I would advise is to avoid new builds. IMO they're awfully overpriced and generally have FAR less space and land compared to an older house. We looked at a new build, more out of curiousity than anything else, when we were buying our house; I think it was priced £150k more than our house and it had less land, space, was massively overlooked by other plots etc.