Rent a bigger place or stay put?

I'm looking for some advice we recently moved home from the UK back to our two bed apt which we own and had rented out. The plan was to stay here for a few months buy a house and then rent the apt out. However with house prices the way they are my other half thinks we shouldn't buy for 12 months or so. Decision now is that we want more space, hopefully we'll start a family next year and will definitely need more space right now it's not essential but it would be good.

We're considering renting a house for 12 months and renting out our apartment. The rent on the apartment will more than cover the mortgage but it will probably cost us about €2000 a month to rent a house. We're both on good money but should we just put up with the cramped living conditions and reassess if and when a baby comes along?

All opinions welcomed!

shaking said:

We're considering renting a house for 12 months and renting out our apartment. The rent on the apartment will more than cover the mortgage

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After all taxes and expenses are accounted for?

Yep we'll have a couple of hundred left

any chance you could do a de clutter and also would there be a possibility that you could put some items in storage, I'd be inclined to stay put and save so as to put you in a better position when moving. I'd also be looking at houses and areas, get mortgage approval etc so you can move on buying if the tide were to turn again.

we're in a small one bed apt with a baby! We are possibly mad though and moving soon. Do you have a nice relative/friend who would give you somewhere to store what you don't need on a regular basis?

I'd stay put if I was you. Babies have a funny habit of not materialising exactly when you think they will and vice versa. If needs be you can be moved into a bigger place in a month, so why incur extra expense until you have good reason. Save your money for the time being. Something else might happen in the meantime, like a job move etc which might influence your decision further.

When you see the "blue lines on a stick" then look to move.

Stay put, don't have the hassle of becoming a landlord and a tenant at the same time, save any extra money you can, to put towards the new house and/or baby arrival. As soon as you move anyway your stuff expands to fill the new extra space. Reassess your situation in a year or when you know a baby is on the way and by then the market might have stabilised. Don't put unnecessary stress on yourselves.

sadie said:

I'd stay put if I was you. Babies have a funny habit of not materialising exactly when you think they will and vice versa. If needs be you can be moved into a bigger place in a month, so why incur extra expense until you have good reason. Save your money for the time being. Something else might happen in the meantime, like a job move etc which might influence your decision further.

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totally agreed with all points above. Even if you get pregnant straight away, you still have 9 months to find a bigger place to rent, and you could find that by the time the 9 months pass, you are in a position to go with your original plan of buying a house instead of renting one. Why waste money in the interim on something you don't actually need?

A slight heads up though - planning to have a baby may not mean having a baby when you plan, as I found to our dismay. 2 years on and lots of medical investigation later there's still no sign of our "planned" pregnancy, so hold off until you actually get a positive pregnancy test and reassess then! You may find circumstances will have changed allowing you to perhaps buy a house you thought was out of your reach or suchlike.

FWIW, I found that up to six months babies don't need a lot of space, so a two bed appartment should be fine. And you have 8 months of pregnancy to plan anyway. I wouldn't move, unless there is a compelling reason to do so.

Thanks for all the replies I guess it does make sense to stay put!