Naturally, upsizing can be difficult for growing families. Alongside homeownership being one of life’s greatest expenses, parents of school-aged children also need to factor in school fees, costs associated with extracurricular activities, and, in some cases, maybe even consider having their kids move to a different school or sports team altogether to make the move more feasible.
For single parents, these considerations become even more complex, with upsizing on a single income coming with its own unique challenges. Parents who are managing coparenting arrangements also need to make sure the address of their new property won’t be detrimental to the second caregiver, complicating weekly pickup and dropoff schedules and potentially even resulting in more consultations or mediation sessions with the family lawyers.
Below, we’ve outlined some of the key considerations you should make before you think about buying a larger home for you and your family to grow into.
Upsizing tip #1: Account for all costs – not just mortgage repayments
Upsizing as a single parent typically requires careful financial planning. But it’s important to keep in mind that you’re budgeting for more than just an estimated increase to your mortgage repayments. For instance, a bigger house with more rooms means more lights on every evening, which equates to higher utility bills.
Similarly, upsizing to a larger home means you can also expect to upgrade your home and contents insurance. Here, it may even be worthwhile getting in touch with your insurance provider to see if they can prep an estimate if you were to upsize. That way, you can proceed with your upsizing plans with a more realistic expectation of the total financial impact you can anticipate both during and following your move.
Upsizing tip #2: Consider access to schools and other local amenities
Moving home as a single parent who’s involved in a coparenting arrangement naturally means considering your partner’s address as well. If you’re planning to move further away from their fixed address, you may even need to secure their approval to move through mediation with your family law team.
Even if you do have full custody, however, you will still need to think about how your move will affect your children’s access to other family members like aunts, uncles, and grandparents. In most cases, your plans to upsize may even include making space arrangements to accommodate extended family like grandparents moving into the family home with you, however.
Outside of family considerations, parents must also keep in mind that a house move may also affect their daily school run and other routines. If you’re planning to move further away from your children’s school, GP clinic, or their extracurricular activities (i.e. local sports teams, swimming squads, theatre groups, etc.), then you will need to do a little research to see what your new commutes are likely to look like.
If some of the journeys may be unfeasible, then consider looking for alternative properties, or perhaps even asking your children if they may be open to joining a new local team or attending a new school. Yes, this is never ideal, but in some cases (like interstate moves, for instance) it may be unavoidable.
Upsizing tip #3: Prioritise lifestyle expenses prior to your move
Upsizing means not only budgeting for a bigger mortgage, but also budgeting for more furniture, homewares, and home appliances. But it’s hard enough to put together a 20% deposit for your mortgage, so you can all but expect that some of these big purchases will have to be budgeted for once your move is already complete.
Here, it helps to make a list of priority expenses so you know what you’ll need to prioritise buying first as soon as you have the funds to do so. For instance, making sure kids all have adequate bedding and bedroom furniture is likely going to be a higher priority than buying a flatscreen TV or a slushie machine.
That being said, you may also look to prioritise affordable appliances just to improve the lifestyle factors for your new property and help the family settle in a little easier. If the kids are still feeling a little unsettled, splurging a little on a new jaffle maker may help them see the upsides to the new house.
Upsizing tip #4: Leave ample time for settling in
Moving day is always guaranteed to be difficult – and with young kids in tow, ‘moving day’ can easily turn into ‘moving week’, or heaven forbid, ‘moving month’? At any rate, it can be tempting to try and speedrun your move and get everything out of the way in just a weekend. For working parents, this may also feel like a necessity, because you can only take so much leave to accommodate your moving plans.
But it’s important to keep in mind that house moves can be stressful for kids in many different ways. On top of being physically unsettling and requiring kids to adapt to a ‘new normal’ very quickly, house moves can also be emotional for kids who’ve grown attached to their old bedrooms or their old neighbourhoods. So if you do have time to stagger your move, it may give kids plenty of opportunities to say ‘goodbye’ to the old house and enjoy some extra time between their old and new neighbourhoods.
Staggering your move can also be ideal for single parents moving from rental properties. You don’t want to rush through your condition report assessment and do final run-throughs before you hand over the keys back to your property manager.
Pro tip: Check out our moving day tips specifically for single mums looking to maximise their efficiency and get the very best value from their moving truck rental.
Final tip: Chart your upsizing course with greater confidence
Granted, this is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to upsizing considerations. Single parents must also make sure their new home accommodates both the current and anticipated future needs of their family – that is, if you’re not planning on moving again for a long time.
Thankfully, with some careful financial planning and due diligence, you should be able to find the perfect home in the right location to accommodate your family as your kids continue to grow older. Just be sure to use the essential considerations we’ve outlined above as a jumping-off point for your own strategic househunting and property planning.
