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Okay, here's the thing. I love my house. It's big, it's nicely decorated and beautifully furnished. It's in a great area for the kids.
So why have I just agreed to sell it, and shell out even more dosh on another, equally nice (but slightly smaller) house, further from the kids school, which means I will have to drive them there every day!
The main reason that I have agreed to do this is, as far as I can work out, that it has a proper man cave. An enormous, secure garage that will be big enough for my car, my bikes and anything else that I can get my mitts on. Previously, my numerous road and mountain bikes have been stuffed into an inadequate wooden shed while I lie wide awake at night fearing that some thieving tw4t is going to get their grubby little hands on them.
I'm already planning just how I'm going to lay out the "cave". Is it really worth the hassle / extra dosh?
mad
Yes you are mad, but we're starting to look at moving for pretty much the same reason. SWMBO is starting to get fed up of bikes in the house, so need somewhere with a proper garage & not for the car.
Doesn't matter how nice your house is if it doesn't fit your needs, I say go for it if you can afford it and it's a better fit for what you need.
further from the kids school, which means I will have to drive them there every day!
thats the bit that proves you are mad!
As someone lucky enough to have a nice man-cave, I say it's totally worth it 🙂
That's exactly what I said to the Fun Prevention Officer (Mrs B) when I put her in her place.
(well, it was more like - pleeeeeeease. It's got a south facing garden - I think)
We're the same as goldenwonder.
Sounds like a perfectly good reason to me. Currently looking for a bigger house with secure outhouse/garage for toys and bikes. As you say, better then worrying about them being nicked.
Up until, today it's been all very pie-in-the-sky "we'll put it on the market and see what happens" but we got a good offer within 10 days and saw a house that I convinced my wife she liked and bingo. Done in two weeks (subject to contract /wife reading this thread)
I feel you on the mancave but more money on a smaller house?
Was the last one too big?
More driving?
Are the trails closer at least?
I need a little more convincing I'm afraid.
It's 35k more than what I've been offered for mine and when I say further away, It's about a mile further away from school but still unfeasible to walk AND get to work on time. By smaller, it's 180 sq ft smaller (1350 sq ft compared to 1530 sq ft)
am I convincing you bh?
Seems a bit backwards to me,insuring the kit would probably cost less than running them to school all the time.
aah but now I will have somewhere to work on them
Hmmm, is it in a nicer area (and by that I mean nicer pubs)?
Trails?
Bigger/nicer garden?
Modelling agency for women of dubious morals nearby?
£35k is a good whack IMO.
Seriously whatever suits you mate.
I hope you enjoy it!
defo bigger garden.
area no better, no worse.
no trails within 30 minutes drive of me anyway.
don't drink
Well, when we moved 2 years ago, I basically chose our house on the whacking great big garage it came with and the quiet-ish location.
I see nothing wrong with it, but there's no reason to drive to school for an extra mile you know!!!
there is when you're pretty much late getting the two monsters to school on time as it is!
Bit mad IMO.
£35k extra for new house + £5k cost of moving = £40k.
Your bikes must be worth a lot to make that worthwhile.
I see your man cave and raise you...
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As the current occipier of an enormous man cave I can tell you it's totally worth it. Just dont pick up a copy of machine mart and start thinking how you really need a lathe.
Just buy a shipping container. bit of an eyesore but you'd be hardpushed to break into one discretely.
in all seriousness, that one pictured doesn't look a whole lot bigger than the one at the new place. guy who lives there now parks two cars in it and it has a home gym ( but he's taking that with him 😥 )
in all seriousness, that one pictured doesn't look a whole lot bigger than the one at the new place. guy who lives there now parks two cars in it and it has a home gym ( but he's taking that with him )
You can get a truck in this one 🙂 But, you see how the bricks on the left are a different colour at the bottom? That's where the river gets to. So, it's actually no use 🙁
Go on, go on, go on.... You know you want to!
The more space outside the house, the better. You wouldn't want all the bike, car, camping, garden, skateboard, sledge, DIY stuff in the house would you?
spend £5-10k on building a man-cave extension?
despite longing for a man-cave for myself, if its gonna stop your kids walking to school then its a daft idea i reckon. do you want fat kids who get used to being taxied around just so you can have a bit extra space for your bikes (while owning a smaller property and getting in £30k odd of debt?)
Wot he said ^^^^^^^^^^^^ plus spend another £10k on a loft conversion plus another £6k on a conservatory . Still leaves you a few thou to have the garden done really nicely. Or build an extension with garage underneath and 1 or 2 bedrooms upstairs .
Hey for £40K you could get garage + conservatory + loft conversion + hot tub in decking, if you know some Polish workers
Your reason is sound enough but you're paying over the odds. Plus don't forget the stamp duty.
I'd look elsewhere.
Do you have room for garage to be built?
Big shed in garden?
Crazy. 5 days of the week your kids go to school, 2 days of the week you get to tinker (if you're lucky). You will quickly resent the extra distance to school. Friends won't visit you as much either 😉
As others have said, can you build a garage where you are, or even a brick shed in the garden (not sure about the planning regulations, but if you attach it to the house, does it fall within that 10% rule like a conservatory does?
If you do move, you'll need a man cave to hide in away from the hassle you will get from the wife and kids for making their lives more difficult.
We moved out of our previous are to a house with a massive garden, woods bordering and a stream at the bottom of the garden. I used to walk my kids to school and my son would ride his bike there (I'd ride it home which made me look like a clown as he's only 7). We now have to drive the kids to school, which takes 20 minutes longer than we expected due to school traffic. My kids now crave suburbia again, have grown tired of the garden and want to be nearer school and their friends - as do we. We're moving back!
Crazy! If you are having to drive to school you will now be stuck in the school run so will probably be late to work getting through all the other school run type people. Mental!
spend £5-10k on building a man-cave extension?
no outside space to reasonably do it at the current house.
spend another £10k on a loft conversion
got that already.
Friends won't visit you as much either
being an antisocial bar steward, this is one of the advantages
Is it a nicer house (the house, not the garage)? It's as simple as that. If it's not then crazy move.
Daft, I'd spend the smaller sum on building myself a man-cave in my current location...
OK the new house is smaller, but is more money, so I am guessing though its not quite as suitable for the kids school etc, its actually in a better area? But as they say when buying a house there are 3 important things. Location, location location... however budgets and family requirments mean this is usually a lot less important, but it is still very true in regard house prices.
I dont think the man cave would have been my sole requirment, in fact I know it wouldnt have been, as I bought a house with perfect everything for my familys needs except man cave, and built that for myself after 🙂 .
Depends if you have space to build and can get planning permission doesn't it really.
I just blew £15.5k on a lock up behind the house (small hard standing that I park on, and then a single garage in which my motorbike lives... and my tools and stuff). Next job is to sort out my large stone shed so it is both dry and tidy for the mountain bikes!
But then I have just accidentally blown my budget on a new motorbike. Hey ho!
Dig. Build a real cave under the garden. Also useful in case of zombie attack etc. Moving is likely to cost 10 - 20K by the time you've paid all the fees let alone the extra 35K for the house.
Can't you build a decent man cave in your current garden ?35k for a garage is shed loads of money + all the other fees I think you are mad
it has a proper man cave.
sold.