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It is better to buy one big house or two smaller ones?
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Horasio
Posts: 6,676 Forumite
We are wanting to sell our house.
We have the choice of buying a large house or two smaller ones, which will mean we can have another house anywhere we like in the UK.
Which would you suggest is the best course of action?
We have the choice of buying a large house or two smaller ones, which will mean we can have another house anywhere we like in the UK.
Which would you suggest is the best course of action?
An average day in my life:hello: :eek::mad: :coffee::coffee::coffee::T 
:rotfl: :rotfl: 
:eek::mad: :beer:
I am no expert in property but have lived in many types of homes, in many locations and can only talk from experience.
:rotfl: :rotfl: :eek::mad: :beer:I am no expert in property but have lived in many types of homes, in many locations and can only talk from experience.
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Alright alright don't rub it in!
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Do you mean in terms of investment or your lifestyle?
Kinda vague question!Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery0 -
CCStar wrote:We are wanting to sell our house.
We have the choice of buying a large house or two smaller ones, which will mean we can have another house anywhere we like in the UK.
Which would you suggest is the best course of action?
Do you REALLY have so much you could afford to buy a place big enough to keep you happy, and a nice house in a nice place? Gulp.....
Depends on what you want second house for..... if holiday home for self you may find it is a lot more hassle than you thought.... 2 lots of bills - but also 2 lots of repairs - how do find tradesman in unfamiliar place who can come out at short notice. etc. 2 gardens to keep etc. And if you want to rent out some time have you strong nerves as can be a lot of hassle....A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort
Mortgage Balance = £0
"Do what others won't early in life so you can do what others can't later in life"0 -
CCStar wrote:We are wanting to sell our house.
We have the choice of buying a large house or two smaller ones, which will mean we can have another house anywhere we like in the UK.
Which would you suggest is the best course of action?
What would the second house be for?
A holiday home, or a buy-to-let investment?
I don't really see the point of holiday homes, but I guess if you want to take a holiday in the same place every year they are ok.
Buy-to-let is a very bad idea at the moment, as yields are below even what you would get by leaving the money in the bank in many cases, and the only way to get a reasonably yield is by running it as a bedsit, which is a lot of hassle.
Personally, I think you should get a smaller house, as house prices are generally overvalued at the moment, so a smaller one will have less to lose. And with the left-over cash invest in the stockmarket, as it has consistently outperformed the property market over the longterm. And even more so now in all likelihood, as property is ripe for a correction.My policies are based not on some economics theory, but on things I and millions like me were brought up with: an honest day's work for an honest day's pay; live within your means; put by a nest egg for a rainy day; pay your bills on time; support the police - Margaret Thatcher.0 -
I do find it difficult to believe that someone doesn't know whether he wants one big house or two smaller ones. Unless the OP comes back with some additional details of exactly what they mean, I can't see how anyone can answer.0
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Don't be bitter, I'm not talking in millions here. I am asking is it better to have two properties of a similar value of one bigger one?Manchester_Lucy wrote:Alright alright don't rub it in!
We had nothing many moons ago and had to borrow to the hilt, so know what it is like.An average day in my life:hello: :eek::mad: :coffee::coffee::coffee::T :rotfl: :rotfl: :eek::mad: :beer:
I am no expert in property but have lived in many types of homes, in many locations and can only talk from experience.0 -
RHemmings wrote:I do find it difficult to believe that someone doesn't know whether he wants one big house or two smaller ones. Unless the OP comes back with some additional details of exactly what they mean, I can't see how anyone can answer.
It is for investment and personal reasons.
We are finding it hard to find the 'one' house that we like where we are, and like other parts of the UK, so thought of buying two properties of similar value, for variety and hopefully make some money out of it too.An average day in my life:hello: :eek::mad: :coffee::coffee::coffee::T :rotfl: :rotfl: :eek::mad: :beer:
I am no expert in property but have lived in many types of homes, in many locations and can only talk from experience.0 -
whambamboo wrote:What would the second house be for?
A holiday home, or a buy-to-let investment?
I don't really see the point of holiday homes, but I guess if you want to take a holiday in the same place every year they are ok.
Buy-to-let is a very bad idea at the moment, as yields are below even what you would get by leaving the money in the bank in many cases, and the only way to get a reasonably yield is by running it as a bedsit, which is a lot of hassle.
Personally, I think you should get a smaller house, as house prices are generally overvalued at the moment, so a smaller one will have less to lose. And with the left-over cash invest in the stockmarket, as it has consistently outperformed the property market over the longterm. And even more so now in all likelihood, as property is ripe for a correction.
We were thinking of buying a home in a place where we are considering retiring. We don't go on holiday very often, as we are not keen on hotels and it is money lost forever, whereas a home is an asset and a base for somewhere else.
We can always sell and buy another, a home isn't forever.An average day in my life:hello: :eek::mad: :coffee::coffee::coffee::T :rotfl: :rotfl: :eek::mad: :beer:
I am no expert in property but have lived in many types of homes, in many locations and can only talk from experience.0 -
CCStar wrote:We were thinking of buying a home in a place where we are considering retiring. We don't go on holiday very often, as we are not keen on hotels and it is money lost forever, whereas a home is an asset and a base for somewhere else.
This is a bit of a myth. A hotel is money lost forever, but if you have a house worth £200,000, then it is costing you money as well, as you are losing the interest on £200,000. Of course you can rent it out: but you have to do the maths, work out how much time it would take to manage it, and then decide whether the sums stack up. If the house is not making about 8% net (after costs, voids, maintenance, etc.), then it's not a very good investment.
You need to do the sums. Otherwise you could be throwing away tens of thousands of pounds.
Personally if I can buy a holiday home for £200,000 and get £10,000 a year in rent, for instance, I'd rather invest the £200,000 elsewhere and use the cash generated to pay for my holidays.My policies are based not on some economics theory, but on things I and millions like me were brought up with: an honest day's work for an honest day's pay; live within your means; put by a nest egg for a rainy day; pay your bills on time; support the police - Margaret Thatcher.0 -
whambamboo wrote:This is a bit of a myth. A hotel is money lost forever, but if you have a house worth £200,000, then it is costing you money as well, as you are losing the interest on £200,000. Of course you can rent it out: but you have to do the maths, work out how much time it would take to manage it, and then decide whether the sums stack up. If the house is not making about 8% net (after costs, voids, maintenance, etc.), then it's not a very good investment.
You need to do the sums. Otherwise you could be throwing away tens of thousands of pounds.
Personally if I can buy a holiday home for £200,000 and get £10,000 a year in rent, for instance, I'd rather invest the £200,000 elsewhere and use the cash generated to pay for my holidays.
People seem to have no trouble doing the sums between owning your own car versus using public transport. And nobody claims that a bus ticket is "dead money". But many people seem much less likely to calculate the costs of home ownership. Including mortgage interest, and lost opportunity cost of the equity in the home.0
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