14/02 : It's a done deal! :) Thank you ozbargain: you've been wonderful, as always.
Hello again ,
So, we had a family meeting last night and we all agreed that our current house is too big for us. We have received a really good offer on our place from a lovely couple with an endless stream of kids ( I counted 4 but there could have been more upstairs). The sale proceed would have been enough to pay off our mortgage AND buy a 3-bedroom unit within walking distance to our kids' school. However there are 5 of us and even though our 2 year old has altruistically offered to give up his room and sleep in Mama and Dadda's room…foreverš± , in the end, my wife had to agree with those who commented on my other post and accept that it wouldn't work.
We're now looking at another place which a mate is currently renovating. It is a double storey house , on its own land title. However it is at the back of another house. The driveway is private. This is roughly what the ground floor looks like. Upstairs, there's a full bathroom , 2 good size bedrooms and a 2.8m x 3 m study. The study is nice and bright and could easily be converted into a toddler's room. The landing is wide enough to be turned into a rumpus area for the 3 kiddos.
Pros:
By selling our place and buying this one, we will significantly reduce our mortgage.If all goes as planned, our new mortgage will only be about $200- 250k.
we'll still be close to the beach , kids' school , day care, train station …etc
Smaller house = less heating and cooling costs.
I get a proper workshop .
Kids have enough space to run around outside but it is still pretty low maintenance.
Might be easier to rent out this smaller place when we move overseas in a couple of years.
Cons:
everything associated with buying and selling houses and moving.
No office for my wife who works 2-3 days from home.
Stairs! The little one will be sleeping upstairs with his pre-teen siblings. Child safety gates at top and bottom of the stairs and baby monitor could be a solution.
The living room is smaller than we are used to. Will need to buy new couch.
Masterbedroom has sliding doors which faces east. This could be closed off to leave only a small window opening or I guess , a little covered patio area could be built outside, so that it doesn't get the full brunt of the summer sun.
So what are your thoughts? Would you buy this one? Would you trust pre-teens to remember to close the child safety gate behind them so that their little brother doesn't tumble down the stairs?
Cheers,
JJB
Edit: First floor will be similar to this.
Sounds like you want the new house, and with the financial freedom it provides why not.
I guess the real question is does your family want to move/live in the new place?
On the baby gate: you only need to live with that for another year, once the little one is 3 they should be fine getting up and downstairs, although those middle of the night missions that the little one will make who knows if they'll make a wrong turn and head for the stairs! I'd be checking that gate before bed every night.