Buying a house or flat?

[Kiki1993]

Hi, we are debating whether to buy a 2 bedroom flat or a 3 bedroom flat/house... the thing is we only want 2 kids, and if they are the same sex, then we only need a 2 bedroom. 2 bedrooms are a hell of a lot cheaper than 3 and our mortgage payments would be no more than 380 a month for 10 years fixed term, if we got a 3 bedroom it would be 500 min and i would have to go back to work full time as soon a mat leave was over whereas with a 2 bed flat we could afford me to only go back part time, maybe even be a stay at home mum for a while.
If we were to get a 2 bedroom, we would make sure they were double rooms so we could put a wall up if we do have a boy and a girl, or have somewhere we could put an extension up. We would also make sure its got a private garden but the gardens tend to be smaller which would suck because we are use to a big garden where we rent just now.
There are benefits and bad bits to each, like in a flat we have upstair neighbours and would always hear them.
I just don't know which is better, i know its all personal preference and stuff but neither of us can decide which is better, both have pros and cons, i cant stand making financial decisions

 

[TeddysGirl]

I would say get a 2 bedroomed house and then save up for an extension or something. Pretty sure it would work out cheaper than buying a 3 bed (plus all the extra interest from the mortgage). Think about how far in the future it will be before you have 2 kids and how much money you could save. I wish we had gone for a smaller, cheaper house, our mortgage payments are £750 per month over a 35 year term !!!

 

[Kiki1993]

I would say get a 2 bedroomed house and then save up for an extension or something. Pretty sure it would work out cheaper than buying a 3 bed (plus all the extra interest from the mortgage). Think about how far in the future it will be before you have 2 kids and how much money you could save. I wish we had gone for a smaller, cheaper house, our mortgage payments are £750 per month over a 35 year term !!!

Holy crap, that is a lot, my ones are over 25 years for a 2 bed and 30 for a 3 bed, i might go for a nice 2 bed house over 35 years if it meant payments would stay under 450 i didnt realise you could get it over 35, im sure we could get it because we are young and wont be retired in 35 years so thats a good idea, thanks

 

[MindUtopia]

I would say the number of bedrooms doesn't matter for now. Even if you had a 2 bedroom, you could always sell and upgrade to something else later when you need more space. But what I would say is important is outside space. I think it would be hell to be stuck inside with a small child all day. My daughter is literally climbing the walls by 9:30! You can always go out and do things elsewhere, like going to a playground, but I think a garden really is essential. I don't know what we'd do without our garden. So if the 2 bed flat has a garden, I can't see how it would be a bad choice for now, even if you decide to upgrade to something else later.

 

[jtr2803]

I loved our old flat (rented) but would not recommend one as a family home, many do make it work so its not the be all and end all but if you have a choice..

Don't forget flats are usually leasehold with service charges, ground rent and varying lease lengths. It can be a minefield. We almost bought a flat but pulled out due to the possibility of having huge communal repair bills.

Not sure what the market is like where you are but down here, flats do not sell but you'd sell a 2 bed house within a week!

And to make you feel better...our mortgage is just over £1000 a month for 30 years with a 10% deposit...I love the south east!

 

[catty]

iv had both a 2 bed flat and now a 3 bed house. id personally go for the house whether 2 or 3 bed and avoid a flat if possible. my life is soooo much easier now I can park in a driveway rather than circling my flat trying to find a space then taking 2 kids upstairs. having outside space is amazing also. we used to have to go to the parks and long walks everyday. now I just have to open the back door and let them play. we still go to park etc but I find it much more relaxed in the garden

 

[staralfur]

Agree with the other ladies, I think a house is much more comfortable with a baby/child.

We lived in an apartment until my LO was 8 months old and I'm glad we got out when we did. Every time she cried in the night I got even more stressed out than I would have already because I was worried about her waking neighbours up and annoying people since we literally shared walls/ceilings/floors in every direction. It worked the other way, too, in that people would be making noises when she was napping and waking her up.

Our yard is also so nice to have, we spend most of our days outside in the summer, we set up a pool and put a bunch of her big toys out and it really adds on to the living space.

I'm not sure the bedrooms are that big a deal in the long run, I'd still take a 2 bedroom house over a 3 bedroom apartment just for the accessibility and privacy reasons.

 

[vickyandchick]

I'd definitely go for the house.
My lb is 8 months, we live in a 2 bed flat (we're all in one room as we live with MIL) and it is sheer hell. We have the noisiest neighbours who let their kids run up and down the stairs at 10pm, the back garden bit is a tip and there is no space whatsoever; I'd give my left tit for my own house and garden.
I wish house prices were that cheap here, we're looking at about £1000 a month for a 2 bed here 😞

 

[EmmySocks]

we've just bought a house. We'd been looking since September last year but as we were renting we were able to be flexible and had no real rush to move - we used this to our advantage and really kept a look out for good value properties. Although we had a couple fall through and it wasn't an easy journey we have now got a 3 bed for very good value (£130thousand) and our mortgage repayments are less than £500 a month (35year term)!

I'd say the best thing we did was seeing the mortgage advisor early on. They helped us work out the most we could borrow and helped us find some really good mortgage deals. If you can get a mortgage in principle that can really help when you do put an offer in on a house. And the best thing was our mortgage advisor was free for first time buyers

Good luck - it might not be easy but it will definitely be worth it! xxx

 

[Kiki1993]

We have kinda settled on a house now, just means we will need about 3 months more than we thought to save deposit, will take it out over 35 years instead of 30 and i read up on my contract and they can offer large part time contracts which we could manage financially and it would mean im not full time. OH mum said (she wants us to have kids straight after wedding ) that if we have kids and i go back to work for anything between 24 hours and under she will look after LO after nurseries or all day if we needed the money (she is early retirement soon) which is amazing of her and would really help.
Where we are we could get a decent 2 bedroom house for 100 000 or less, yeah its the same here, flats have been up for years, reduced prices etc but houses are up and gone within a week. I'm hoping we can save and move before the wedding if I'm honest, for isntance, someone drove into our bloody car yesterday... yeah, this happens a lot where we rent, people drive like fannys and hit cars and drive away, theres fights outside just not a nice place. We had to borrow his mums car and we can't buy one straight off the bat the now so we are waiting to see how much we need to pay to fix it just now. We might have to get a car on finance or maybe a loan at this point, i dont need a car but other half does, he works a 40 min drive away, and he reallllllly needs a car because his hours vary, he either starts when buses dont run (4am), or finishes when buses don't run (1am) .. so really a car is essential for his work... at least his mum is letting him use the car for this week (we are on holiday next week for 2 weeks so will sort soemthing out hopefully!) .... At least we only need one car, my work is only a twenty minute walk.
Because we have only just started saving we don't really have much, only a grand in our rainy day fund which is for bills we don't expect, and a grand in the savings for the house, and then 800 in the wedding savings put aside... there was more but we had to pay a shit load of vet bills... insurance is shit... it didn't cover her (we pay 35 a month for her insurance) but because she had to stay in overnight for a few nights on drips and stuff this isnt covered in insurance.. but thankfully she is okay now