Adult Children Living at Home

Adult Children Living at Home

How Do You Cope When Your Adult Children Need to Move Back Home?

Eight years since the start of the Global financial crisis, seven years of austerity and now Brexit-induced inflation have done little to moderate either soaring house purchase prices or rents.

Add to this an acute shortage of affordable homes and the difficulties young people face in finding a home of their own are considerable.

Saving up for a mortgage while paying high rents is compounding the problem, especially for those who are also paying back a student loan. In Suffolk, the average rent for a one-bedroom flat in the private sector ranges between £500 and £650 per calendar month.

For those young people who cannot rely on “the bank of mum and dad” for a deposit the popular solution is to either move back into the family home or to stay there for longer before moving out.

Another option has also been to take time out on a gap year on the grounds that they can put their redundancy money to some productive use, add something positive to their CV and hope that by the time they return the competition for jobs may have eased somewhat.

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In Suffolk, the average rent for a one-bedroom flat in the private sector ranges between £500 and £650 per calendar month.

What to do with Accumulated “Stuff”?

Whatever the situation there will be the question of what to do with accumulated “stuff”.

While surely no parent would refuse to help in such difficult circumstances, an adult child moving back home or even taking a year out to travel is likely to be someone who has collected at least some possessions beyond the basics of food, music and perhaps a computer or lap top.

Finding room for a quantity of extra furniture as well may be more than most family homes nowadays can accommodate.

In recent years the numbers of self-store facilities on the edges of most towns throughout the country have mushroomed.

They offer an affordable solution for the storage of possessions for periods of as little as a couple of weeks to more than a year.

Many also offer discounts for the longer periods of storage. They are flexible about the space that can be rented so that customers need only take the amount they actually need.

They are worry-free as they are secure, well lit, clean and dry and they will advise customers about the possible insurance cover options available, whether it is extending the household cover to include a secure storage unit, or offering the option of being added to the storage company’s insurance.

Many also supply storage and packaging materials and can advise on the most economical and safe way to pack to minimise the space needed while also protecting belongings from breakage.

Self-store units, therefore, offer an affordable solution, that will save some of the potential friction and stress of an overcrowded home in difficult times.