Kind of O/T - what sort of house do you live in?

Hi all

What sort of house do you live in and are you in a town/village/out in the sticks?

We're in a small, oddly planned out 3 bedroom bungalow, a few doors down from a brilliant school, near shops, walk into town etc, everything everyone seems to look for but I'm just not very happy here. It is a nice house and we're surrounded by old lovely people but it's still on an estate. I was brought up on a farm in North Yorkshire so am not used to having people so close to me and although there is nothing wrong with this house as a house, it is the things in it that make me feel home and not the house itself. We've had our niece staying here when she was a baby and a few times while she's a toddler and we've unfortunately seen that the logistics and layout of the house aren't right for children really, so here's our dilemma:

Luckily, we're renting so we can upsticks if something doesn't work out. Our landlord however last year insisted upon a 12 month contract in which if we choose to leave we can but we have to pay the rent on this house until he fills it again, now with a steady rent on this house whether we're here or not I doubt he'd bend over backwards to fill it quickly and as we know it was empty for six months prior to us moving in I'm not sure if he wouldn't take the mickey. 

With the year my Dad's had with his cancer and the small thing (!) of us trying for a baby, I don't want to commit here for 12 months, I'd like to be able to change our circumstances easily and quickly if needed. I don't see any real reason for us to move in the short term but I'm not sure we could last here another 12 months. H is the one who usually deals with our landlord as he is a little bit of a male chauvinist and treats me like the little wifey when he sees me however H hasn't bothered ringing him. If he insists on another 12 months it may be we have to move at the middle of February and although I've looked we have no way prepared for if he says no, there's so much to be done if we need to move.

What would you do?

Mb xx 

It sounds like you know what you want really, it's just how to get there!
I think the main priority is speaking to your H and getting him on the same page as you. I know the stress of moving (just moved and got my self upduffed in the same week!) but that's all doable - and when you're fufilling a dream it's so much easier! However, I rented the 'wrong' house for 7 years, so I really understand. Having my 'dream' home now feels pretty good and was worth the wait.

We have a 4 bed detached house, 3 bathrooms, can easily knock into the garage to add another room(which I plan on doing when we have the cash) it's in the town I've always lived in, 5 mins from my work and 15 for husband. I think this is out forever home. Can't see a reason to move.

How does your H feel about moving, I think it is important to enjoy where you live, I guess it all depends on what your landlord says really.

We sold our house last May, it was a lovely house but I hated it, and we moved into our dream house which we are renting, there isn't a hope in hell of us being able to afford this area at the moment (I don't work) but we are saving really hard and hoping to buy our forever house within the next couple of years in this area.  We have just signed another 6 month contract, we were desperate for 12 months but the owner or agent, Im not sure,  prefered 6 months.  I constantly live in fear that they will ask us to leave in May which would be horrible as my daughter starts school in september and I am desperate to stay here until she has completed the first year at least.

The house is a 1930s 3 bed detached with a huge garden and is very rural, the views are amazing and the area is very quiet and absolutely beautiful.

Hope you get something sorted x

Our house is a 4 bed semi on the outskirts of a fairly large village which is 10 minutes from the town. It was a 3 bed when we moved here nearly 6 years ago but we've just finished a self build extension to make it 4 bed. We love it here - both the house and the village and I can't see us going anywhere until the children are grown up and have moved out. It definitely feels good that we've made the house we want.

would you be looking to stay in the same village? - because it does sound like a lovely place to bring up children.

have you thought about wether you could buy or would you be renting again?

if it was me i would start properly looking for a new place now - i cant see your landlord shortening his contract when the time comes in feb.

but is there anyway of changing things around the house (non-structural of course) to make things easier with children

also if you get pregnant in the next few months (fingers crossed) the baby will only be a few months old when the 12 months is up - so the odd layout might not really matter for the next 12 months - so maybe start looking to move after the next 12 contract.

as for where do i live - i live in a town 7 miles from the city (not a large city) next to a good school and secondary school - (although im just out of the catchment area to the better secondary school) but i'll cross that bridge in a few years time.

my house is ours - its 4 beds and detached with garage attached - north facing garden which i dont like but the countryside view makes up for it i suppose.

i know what you mean about the importance or a good house layout - my downstairs wasnt working out well with me and the kids so i had walls knocked down to make the kitchen open plan and now i find every day things so much easier. would love to extend the house - either with a large conservatory or loft conversion but cant see us being able to afford that for another 20years - but then we wont need to.

We have a 3 bed semi, all good size rooms, our loft has been floored so have the option of converting that or I'd like to extend to the garage. The only thing we don't have which I'd love is a playroom but we do have a big dining room which is being used as a playroom at the mo.

in what way is the bungalow not suitable for a baby? Remember if you do get a bfp then you will have 8 months till baby here, then baby will be in with you and H till 6 months so potentially 14 mo the to find a 'suitable' house xc

We live in a 2 bedroom rented bungalow with a very awkward layout for kids (sarahs room is opposite the kitchen so i have to tiptoe round once she is in bed etc). Its cold, its draughty and basically needs a shed load of work doing on it. However i LOVE its location! We live on top of a hill with a handful of neighbours (there are 7 people in our postcode) but only a 15 min drive to the shops. When it snows we can snowboard in the field behind our house and there are stunning walks in every direction! The decider is the school we are in catchment for is the best in our county. For that reason we are staying put, although if another house comes up in our area which is in better nick we'll take it! 

I'd write to your landlord and see if you can negotiate a more reasonable contract, or even speak to CAB and see if they are even things he is allowed to include.

jade:

also if you get pregnant in the next few months (fingers crossed) the baby will only be a few months old when the 12 months is up - so the odd layout might not really matter for the next 12 months - so maybe start looking to move after the next 12 contract.

WSS

It might not hurt to look around now but don't feel pressured into moving just because it might not be ideal for a baby.

As for my house, it's a 4 bed semi-detached chalet in a small town.  I like our house now we've completely renovated it but it's only 1 bathroom and not that big so I think in 5 years or so we'll look to moving into a bigger 4 bed, but at the moment it's better the devil you know and as we've put in everything new we hope there won't be any nasty surprsies whilst I'm p/t and have childcare as an expense (touch wood!).  We love the area but hate the exact location of it as there are some flats next to us that always seem to be occupied by chavs, but they are due to be knocked down and nicer ones built at some point.

As others have said, don't feel pressurised about having to find somewhere now. If you are to fall pregnant right now, then it wouldn't matter if you were in the same place in a years time.

As for our house, we live in a fairly small 3 bed semi. It's a newish house which always seem to be smaller. The first 2 bedrooms are doubles and the third is a boxroom. Fair sized lounge/diner, small kitchen, tiny bathroom and a downstairs loo. Garden is a fair size too. Even though the size of the house isn't ideal, it's in a nice area and we've paid for that really. The schools are good and good access to motorways for work and near to shops. I still find it incredible that for the money we bought this house for, we could have bought a house up north that is double the size but that's a different matter.

We also rent and currently love the house we're in now!! We've recently moved from a 2 bedroom to a 3 bedroom and it's made such a difference. We're now near my family, excellent schools, town is about a 10 min drive and we have an enclosed garden. It's the village where I grew up and i'm hoping my children will as well. The main draw back was the schools, you really can't go wrong around here.

Don't rush into it, we had to live with the IL's for a few months to wait for this house. We wanted the right place rather than rushing in to the nearly right that happened to be available. It was definitely worth it. Also, you won't have to worry about an awkward laylout whilst a baby is tiny.

Sounds like you live in a lovely part of the world, I think if I were you, I'd stick where you are for a bit and see how things go.  It wouldn't be the end of the world to have a baby where you are now, perhaps you could look out for something in the same area?

We live in a small village, the village which Mr Snowball grew up in.  Our eldest goes to the same school that his daddy did all those years ago!  We live in a four bed detatched house which is stuck in the 70s at the moment but we are in the process of dragging it into the 21st century.  We have a huge lounge, good sized-kitched and the much-wanted dining/playroom off the kitchen.  The house is perfect apart from being very dated.  We moved to this house recently from a cottage a few doors down the road, it's our forever house.

It's so hard knowing what to do for the best sometimes isn't it?

From what you have said, if it was me, I would stay put for another 12 months. In that time, you and H can both make a list of what you want and don't want from your next house and you can do it with kids in mind. As some of the others have said, if you were to fall pregnant soon then 9 of those 12 months won't really be an issue. You could also use the time to drive round your local area more to get a 'feel' for where you could possibly move to.

On the otherhand, I can totally see where you're coming from with the year you've had. My dad had cancer and it completely turns your world upside down and inside out

What would be your main reason for moving when your rental period runs out?

Afm, we've just moved from a 2-bed semi in a nice area of the city to a 4-bed detached house 2 mins up the road. It's on an estate but so was our last house. It over looks a green and we have no passing traffic so is really quiet. We spent ages looking at loads of houses debating whether to stay in the city or move. In the end we decided we liked having everything on our doorstep including lots of nice parks. When we saw this house we knew it was 'the one'. It sounds so cliched but we really do see it as our forever house (fingers crossed). I love my kitchen with the island in the middle and my nice manageable garden and most of all, all the space we've got to grow into. We do have a few empty rooms but we don't intend to move and will hopefully fill it up! We have a shop a short walk away which is next door to a small infant/primary school and a nursery next door to that.

 

We live in apretty small 2 bed semi - not ideal layout for children at all as the downstairs is completly open plan inc the stairs so we can't shut A in or out of any of the rooms - though we do have a stairgate to block off the kitchen.i really like the location as i can walk into town in 15 mins which i do most days with A and have made lots of mummy friends though various groups. The town has v good schools too so i guess we'll stay put.

I do like the house though but its too small esp if we have another baby at any point but we have absolutly no chance of moving.

I agree with Jade, I think I'd stay put for a bit.

We live in a 4 bed bungalow, we are in a rural village, no shop other than my H's farm shop nearby. I do love it and we are in the sticks, but I would like to be able to put E in the buggy and walk to the shops without it taking all afternoon as I have to walk to the next village with no paths on the way!