Am I mad????

ellie27

We currently have a variable tracker mortgage with Intelligent Finance - rate is at 0.94% so paying very, very little interest which is great (took our the mortgage 5 years ago, £143,000 and balance of £88,000 now)

We are looking to move house, and increase our mortgage, unfortunately Intelligent Finance no longer do mortgages and we are unable to transfer our current mortgage.

So we would be looking for a mortgage for £200,000 and no doubt an interest rate of around 3-4%, which I know is the norm for folk taking out mortgages, but compared to our rate just now of less than 1% I often think we are mad to move!!!

So the move is simply for a better area for schooling. My daughter is 3.5 yrs old and will go to school next August, son is 18 months.

I need to find out if there is any chance the kids would get in through a placing request, no guarantees of course, which is why we would prefer to move into the catchment area.

So difficult

Brock_and_Roll

No you are not mad at all - making sacrifices to give your children a good start is what us parents do!

Of course aside from the change in interest rates, you need to be sure that you can afford the new mortgage payments on a worst case scenario.

The rate you have at the moment is fantastic - something we are not likely to see again for decades. However, whether the rate is 1% or 4%, rates are still low by historical standards and at some point over the life of the mortgage rates will go back to or above the historical average. So as I said it may be a good idea to check that if push comes to shove you could scrape by if rates were 8% for a period, if if one of you were to be umemployed for a while etc - that is sensible financial planning.

Dasa

ellie27 wrote: »

We currently have a variable tracker mortgage with Intelligent Finance - rate is at 0.94% so paying very, very little interest which is great (took our the mortgage 5 years ago, £143,000 and balance of £88,000 now)

We are looking to move house, and increase our mortgage, unfortunately Intelligent Finance no longer do mortgages and we are unable to transfer our current mortgage.

So we would be looking for a mortgage for £200,000 and no doubt an interest rate of around 3-4%, which I know is the norm for folk taking out mortgages, but compared to our rate just now of less than 1% I often think we are mad to move!!!

So the move is simply for a better area for schooling. My daughter is 3.5 yrs old and will go to school next August, son is 18 months.

I need to find out if there is any chance the kids would get in through a placing request, no guarantees of course, which is why we would prefer to move into the catchment area.

So difficult

Why move then? Couldn't you rent in the catchment area and rent your own house out for the time being?

gerdo

Without knowing your current financial situation it's hard to say if it's a good decision or not.

your monthly mortgage payments will jump by a huge amount, you may think it easily affordable now but you need to consider the long term future, mortgage rates are only going to go one way and that's UP!! In ten years time your mortgage rate could be double what you are considering now.

Also, as kids get older, they become much more expensive, I know, I have 3 teenagers in the house !!

One thing I wish I'd known about when I was starting out with mortgages and families was university fees being introduced. I have two at uni and I pay £700 per month to them, and that's only living costs, it doesn't include tuition fees. If I'd known, I would have set up some sort of Uni fund, I don't like the idea of them coming out of Uni with huge loans to pay off.

Good luck with your decision.

Brallaqueen

Have you considered staying where you are and supplementing the education with tutors or possibly a private education? Mountain coming to mohammad and all that.

happycamel_2

I agree with going for tutors or a private school instead. After all you may spend thousands and then not get a place at the school you want or it may decline.

Our local school is now failing special measures so my kids will be going to a private school. It was an okay school when we moved here but there's been loads of immigration since then and a poor head teacher and the combination has sunk the school.

Private schools have classes of 15 or so, better facilities, teach more subjects and do more with the kids.

zingarina

ellie27 wrote: »

So the move is simply for a better area for schooling. My daughter is 3.5 yrs old and will go to school next August, son is 18 months.

Is it only for schooling or because overall you would like a better area? If both, perhaps now it is a good time to move, kids are still young, haven't entered school, mortgage rates are not that high, property prices are stagnant.

Good luck!

bugbyte_2

happycamel wrote: »

I agree with going for tutors or a private school instead. After all you may spend thousands and then not get a place at the school you want or it may decline.

Our local school is now failing special measures so my kids will be going to a private school. It was an okay school when we moved here but there's been loads of immigration since then and a poor head teacher and the combination has sunk the school.

Private schools have classes of 15 or so, better facilities, teach more subjects and do more with the kids.

I am glad that you are happy to send your child to a private school. I will not take a high leftist stance because I have never been in your position. However, working in Education myself where I liaise with all types of schools I can categorically state that your last line is not correct.

15 in a class is not unusual in state education in practical subjects or subjects at GCSE / A level. Whilst class size is important, it is not as important as the competence of the staff or the behaviour of the kids, both of which cannot be guaranteed in any school. In fact, many primary private schools have lots of kids with behaviour issues as parents of these kids think that private is the better option, or the state pays for them to go there - esp. kids in care or kids with behavioural statements which demand 1 to 2 provision, etc.

Facilities in the private sector range from the appalling with non qualified, very cheap, staff teaching to very good. Fees can be up to £20,000 pa+. State ed is about £6500 - £11,000 per child, so if your private school charges less or the same than that you cannot expect better facilities.

State schools offer a broad and balanced curriculum which from 2014 guarantees students have the choice of pretty much every subject going. Depending on the child, most children take 10+ GCSE subjects. I suppose if you are interested in astrology you may be out of luck. In any case, how many subject can you expect to fit into 25 learning hours?

Private education does not do more with the kids. In an environment where you pay for everything, the 'free' stuff state teachers do off their own back would never happen. DS1 has just been on a Duke of Edinburgh Expo over the weekend supervised for free by his teachers. You can do this type of activity - I am sure you can even go and live with Eskimos for a week - in Private ed, but you will pay.