Where to Live Dilemma - Does This Sound Sensible? (Grab A Cuppa - Tis An Epic)

I'm constantly in a "where to live" dilemma but I think I have come up with a good solution - let me know what you think.

We (DP, DSD, DD and I) currently live in a 3-bedroom place and are TTC. Last time I suffered from a medical condition called SPD or unstable pelvis in the later stages of the pregnancy and quite severely for six months after DD was born. That makes it excruciating to bend, stand or walk - particularly walking up hills. Now, 19 months later it is still not right so the idea of having another baby is very scary. In addition, our current house has four big steps at the front and we are sort of in the middle of a hill. So not very easy to get out and about with a pram. I spent a lot of time when DD was little trying to figure out where I could walk to avoid hills and there's not a lot of options. I can't tell you how frustrating this was. So imagine my dread at the thought of struggling up my front steps with a double pram and having to negotiate hills if my condition recurs, which it is likely to.

I don't drive but loading a pram into a car would also be almost impossible with my dodgy pelvis anyway but it does mean I'm reliant on my own two little feet to get me around.

It has seriously been doing my head in. DP is reluctant to move because we are in a great area and we are very close to trains and trams. He has, however, come to realise how important it is for me to be able to get out of the house without having to negotiate steps and hills.

We could also do with a 4br place (for extra DS or DD) but we don't know how long we will need 4brs for as DSD is almost 16 and she likes the idea of moving out of home when she hits 18 so we may only need 4brs for a couple of years.

So ... basically, I don't think we can afford to buy a 4br house around here in the non-hilly bit of the suburb but DP and I both love this area. We currently have a very small mortgage (about 14% of our income) but we would need to double it to buy a bigger place once you take into account stamp duty which would take us up to nearly 30% of our income. I'm not comfortable with doubling our mortgage when I only want to work part-time for the forseeable future AND when I would want to stay home full-time again for at least six months for our second child.

However, we could rent out this house and rent a bigger house for only $100 extra per week and still make payments on our existing mortgage.

That would mean that we could rent somewhere without front steps in a non-hilly area for a couple of years, still be paying off our mortgage and then we could reassess down the track and figure out whether we still need a 4br place or if DSD will be leaving home.

Does that sound sensible? Sorry for the novel!

Yup I'd definitely do the second idea.

I htink it sounds like a great idea Fiona. Where you are is a great area (I lived there for 6 years) and if you don't want to move out permanently then what you are thinking is a good option. Also you may try a couple of different areas over the couple of years to see if you prefer another area to where you are now. That way you also get to try before you buy and move out of an area that you know you love.

YEP. I think that's a good solution! Cuts out all the stress really.

However I just wanted to point out that it is highly likely that SDD won't move out the minute after she turns 18. Or she could come and go a little bit iykwim? I imagine you would always want to have a spare bedroom available to her JIC, and its not like a 4 bdrm house will ever feel too big.

Also, I think you need a bit of a break from the house tbh.

I agree with Mel. I would do the second option. But again its a decision only you can make :)

You know what, we did the same thing that you have just suggested, rent out our home and we rented a bigger place. We did this years ago and it all worked out just super.
Best of luck.

We are in a completely different position now though as all 6 of our kids, cept Bella of course, have buggered off to their other parents to live and we have since bought and sold quite a few places and have now, fingers crossed, settled into our new house for the long haul. That is til DF decides to put the house on the market - AGAIN, need I say more

Thanks guys - it's always good to hear that you haven't come up with a dumb idea.

Lulu - you're very wise, this house has been doing my head in BUT we have almost finished our renovations which is also why it will feel a little silly to move. But I did those on the basis that they needed doing for my sanity and would only add value to the house's rental or selling price anyway. Plus, we wouldn't be moving until I was up the duff and who knows how long that will take. You're right about DSD too - she may decide not to move out but by that stage I may be back at work full-time and if so, we'd be in a position to buy.

It's hard because a trusted friend reckons we should just bite the bullet and buy somewhere and DP is a bit averse to the renting idea. I've told him that I'll consider buying somewhere only if we do a dry run financially and manage to pump into our current mortgage for the next six months what we'd need to pay on an increased mortgage. And if we do that without having constant arguments over who's put what on the credit card and why we can't afford to go out for dinner, then he may have a deal. I think that's fair but I still think that I'm more comfortable with renting and having almost no money worries.

I think that idea is very sensible Fiona, then you can really see how it would be financially.