What Would You Do--big House Big Mortgage,or Smaller House And Small Mrtge?

Triker

Hi, your post has really made me think as I have aspirations to buy a bigger property but is it really all that, I'm not so sure now.

I have been trying to realistically work out what would be a sensible and managable amount to pay out monthly on a mortgage and I'm getting a bit stuck with it all.

I own a house that I am currently in the process of putting on the market and my oh has a house which we live in. Therefore we are carrying two mortgages. The original plan was to sell both and buy one together, obviously. But with house prices being as they are we have to be realistic. Meaning that will we only be able to buy a comparable property to the one we're in because of the cost. I was hoping to get something a little bigger with a garden to keep chickens in as I'm rather partial to my chickens.:D

I don't know if it's wise to do up the house we live in and possible get an extension or to take the plunge and buy a property which hits a few of the boxes but which will lengthen the repayment time.

It's a real quandry, but thanks for your original post because it's definitely relevant to the MSE philosophy.:T

JonathanA

Probably of no help to you given your post, but we went for the bigger house / bigger mortgage for several reasons. Big garden which the kids love playing out in - despite the weather. Walking distance to a good primary school which feeds into a good secondary school. Yes, things are tighter financially, but they're affordable and we don't regret it for a minute. The place felt very homely when we looked round so we just went for it. Not one regret, despite it needing rewiring and a new boiler. They can be done in the future when we have the money - the kids only grow up once so worked on the basis that we wanted somewhere they could enjoy.

If things went wrong, we could always move, it wouldn't be the end of the world. Go with your gut instinct, things have a habit of working out for the best. If the vendors where you want to buy aren't keen to move out, maybe it's not meant to be, especially if you like the other, smaller house just as much.

advent1122

£1300/month on a mortgage <shudder>....

I like my £180/month mortgage.

lilyann1

Just offered on the smaller 4 bed house and it was turned down flat as they want the asking price.
We said it needs flooring in the en suite as they had leak and it had gone down thru kitchen ceiling, so theres also a big hold there that needs mending.
We would need about 3 skips to clear the garden and all the carpets need ripping out,so we won't be paying the asking price.
The house is not immaculate or in good condition by any means.http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-13219397.rsp?pa_n=1&tr_t=buy
The kitchen needs ripping out as it is horrid too,but thats our choice.
Any advice??

advent1122

Personally, I hate the kitchen, the garden, the exterior, the interior and the location.
It seems very closed in for a detached house going for £370k.
I would look elsewhere.

mooncat

shess id move to some where else in the country. get the same house for 200 grand and youll be very well off

lilyann1

This is the one we were originally going for,which we love,ina private road of only 12 houses,with all very large plots.
They are looking into moving into something now so we are hoping it goes thru this time.
What do you think?
http://www.findaproperty.com/displayprop.aspx?edid=00&salerent=0&pid=159175&agentid=00872

freebo_2

The bigger one looks more than 16% better than the smaller one IMHO, which is the rough difference in asking price.

Good luck!

silvercar

They don't compare: go for the bigger one. Otherwise you'll live in the smaller one and regret it from Day 1.

[Now I said that, at post #9 on this thread, before I saw the pictures!]

elona

The bigger house looks so much better. The smaller house looks as if the bedrooms are really small and the garden is horrible!!!