Not sure whether to move, opinions sought please

spirit

Ok so I had my house valued in June at £250.000. The EA who I used to sell my last house and who I trust (as much as you can with EAs) emailed today to ask if I'm further forward with my plans to move.

She sent some property details of an almost identical house round the corner that they have just sold for £262,000

I would like to downsize to get rid of the mortgage. Just looked and my remaining mortgage is £30,162.

There are houses round here for about £225k or thereabouts.

I'm 57 now and want shot of the mortgage and a slightly smaller house (in 3 bed semi with massive garden)

I don't really have people I can or want to talk this over with and value people's opinions whether to stay here longer or downsize now?

bouicca21

Moving will cost you estate agent fees, stamp duty, conveyancing costs, removal costs, plus possible costs of redecoration, new furniture and any unforeseen maintenance costs.

If it is the mortgage that is the problem, could you not put that money towards reducing the mortgage?

What is so bad about your existing property? Is it the house itself? Does it need lots of work? Is it just too big? Is it the garden? Is it the location?

If the house is sound, then I'd suggest better the devil you know. I won't comment on too big as I'm a single older person who definitely wants three bedrooms - one for me, one for guests, and one for my books. If cleaning the house and maintaining the big garden is a problem/pain then consider paying someone to do it for you. you may even have a neighbour who would look after the garden in return for the veg (s)he could produce ...

Arguments for moving - maybe more modern, easier to maintain property. How much is that worth to you? Better location?

It's a swings and roundabouts decision. You need to think it through very carefully, and that involves thinking about why you think moving is a good idea. Is it a financial issue? Or an emotional one?

Propertyauthor

It depends really - is this a 'last' move ie you will stay as long as you like in the property? How much money do you want to release?
Bouicca21
makes some good points. #

A £30k mortgage isn't much considering the costs of trading down, which will, by the time you have spent money etc be around £10k and may end up selling to a buyer who pulls out so you have to start again.

What you don't want to do is move now and then move again in a few years time, so it's important to really think about what you need over the next 20 years - warmer house, somewhere smaller, but how much smaller? Where location wise, what happens if you can't drive in the future or need hospital.

It might be worth chatting to in Independent financial advisor to help you work out what best to do financially and this will help you work out what you want to do personally.

Hope that helps.

spirit

Thank you bouicca21 and propertyauthor, you both make good points.

My thinking has been a bit haphazard of late. I bought this house in 2011 as a downsize (mortgage wise). I had been planning to move to Cornwall with my sister. That all went belly up (sister left her husband) so plans to run a restaurant/b&b together went by the wayside. By that point I already had a buyer of the other house and wanted to move anyway. I found this house at the last minute. I love the large garden and have cultivated lots of it. However I've never emotionally moved in here iykwim?

It's near to work and is an ok area. My motivation was to get rid of the mortgage. I don't have a problem paying it. I've been sitting on Nationwide's SVR since 2009 so the payments are low and I don't forsee a problem paying it.

Money wise it was a good buy. It doesn't need anything doing I'd like a new bathroom, but this one is ok for now.

This wouldn't be my last move. Ideally I'd move back to Winchester where I moved from 4 years ago. To do that now, I'd need work to make me redundant. I've been there 16 years so would get a fairly decent package - going on what other people have been given recently. I also have mortgage protection insurance, that would buy me a year's thinking/selling time.

To move back to Winchester now would mean driving up and down the A34 every day, with the costs that go with that. At present, my car sits in the driveway all week and haven't put petrol in it for a month.

I guess, I'm feeling unsettled and although not unhappy here, don't feel like it's home either.

Lord_Baltimore

I would downsize to get shot of that mortgage; it's a weight you can do without and you can still have a comfortable home. Being debt-free is priceless for your state of well-being.

If you don't move it will be a wrench you might not be able to face in your 60's. Yes, a move is a big deal and a new place will take some getting used to but it will be better than paying for a mortgage right up until you peg out

Besides, once you get itchy feet, they don't go away.

bouicca21

As someone who has just moved in her 60s, I can assure Lord Baltimore that it is perfectly feasible, it isn't a wrench, and being 60 doesn't make you a pathetic hasbeen.

But it seems that for OP the question of moving is emotional rather than financial. In which case I think (s)he has to be very sure that moving back to Winchester does mean that (s)he can genuinely pick up the threads of the old life again. The worst thing would be to move back and find that everyone else has moved on. I'm not sure that going back is a good idea but if op has kept up connections then maybe it will work. Equally, I think OP needs to reflect on what made the idea of moving to Cornwall seem attractive in the first place. Was it really the prospect of starting a new business with the sister or was it an escape from whatever situation (s)he found his/her self in? Is both the original move and the prospect of moving again all part of some sort of life crisis in which moving seems to offer a solution? Because if it is, moving is most definitely not the solution.

spirit

bouicca21 wrote: »

As someone who has just moved in her 60s, I can assure Lord Baltimore that it is perfectly feasible, it isn't a wrench, and being 60 doesn't make you a pathetic hasbeen.

But it seems that for OP the question of moving is emotional rather than financial. In which case I think (s)he has to be very sure that moving back to Winchester does mean that (s)he can genuinely pick up the threads of the old life again. The worst thing would be to move back and find that everyone else has moved on. I'm not sure that going back is a good idea but if op has kept up connections then maybe it will work. Equally, I think OP needs to reflect on what made the idea of moving to Cornwall seem attractive in the first place. Was it really the prospect of starting a new business with the sister or was it an escape from whatever situation (s)he found his/her self in? Is both the original move and the prospect of moving again all part of some sort of life crisis in which moving seems to offer a solution? Because if it is, moving is most definitely not the solution.

Yes I am a 'she' too bouicca21. I regularly pop back to Winchester (only a 25 minute drive) to see my ex neighbours. I always look longingly at my old house! When I lived there, I used to go to salsa dance classes and much of my social life revolved around that. There aren't any nearby classes here.

What stopped my going to Cornwall in addition to the thing with my sister was that I feel I would be cut off down there. My sister doesn't have children and I do (aged 27 and 28). My son lives in Leeds now after finishing uni, and my daughter, who has been staying with me for 6 months, is about to move to the Manchester area. My son and his fiance would love me to move up there, but I don't want to especially. I'd love to be nearer them, but don't want to move North.

The company I work for is well known for making people redundant. Just sitting here in the office now, there are empty desks all around and people I knew really well have long since gone. When they closed the last office and made everyone else redundant, we thought that our little dept would follow. However, 5 years on and they havent. I wouldn't wish redundancy on anyone, but it wouldn't bother me now.

Edit to add, that I am very healthy and moving in my 60s doesn't bother me. I do all my own decorating, gardening and minor DIY.

densol_2

I want to downsize in three years and be mortgage free but I have a mortgage of £250K against a £550k house ......that's a big mortgage ! I too was made redundant ( voluntary) in April - so have some thinking time with my pay off and have enough hopefully to keep going for three years when the kids go to Uni and Im rattling around on my own even more in this big house. Sometimes I love my house ( was built from new to my spec) and sometimes I hate it cause I get worn out cleaning and maintaining it. So I've done a lot of thinking about downsizing recently and looking at cheaper houses.

Regarding your scenario - no the £30k would not make me downsize just yet. I would be nagging my employer to release me on redundancy and then make the converted move to Winchester. Two moves in a short period of time will just eat into that £30k and make an " interim" move pointless - with no saving made. Why not try and overpay the mortgage to reduce it if you can ?

Good luck with what ever you decide

spirit

densol wrote: »

I want to downsize in three years and be mortgage free but I have a mortgage of £250K against a £550k house ......that's a big mortgage ! I too was made redundant ( voluntary) in April - so have some thinking time with my pay off and have enough hopefully to keep going for three years when the kids go to Uni and Im rattling around on my own even more in this big house. Sometimes I love my house ( was built from new to my spec) and sometimes I hate it cause I get worn out cleaning and maintaining it. So I've done a lot of thinking about downsizing recently and looking at cheaper houses.

Regarding your scenario - no the £30k would not make me downsize just yet. I would be nagging my employer to release me on redundancy and then make the converted move to Winchester. Two moves in a short period of time will just eat into that £30k and make an " interim" move pointless - with no saving made. Why not try and overpay the mortgage to reduce it if you can ?

Good luck with what ever you decide

Thanks densol,

I'm sorry you were made redundant, but sounds like it is going to work out for you. The reason I won't take voluntary redundancy or ask for a Compromise Agreement is that the mortgage protection insurance won't pay out on those.

I agree that the moving costs now don't make a move financially worthwhile.

Lord_Baltimore

bouicca21 wrote: »

I can assure Lord Baltimore that it is perfectly feasible, it isn't a wrench, and being 60 doesn't make you a pathetic hasbeen.

Did I say that? No.

The OP asked for comments and has thanked me for mine and therefore my contribution is of value.

That makes your opinion of my comments irrelevant.

Incidentally, whilst diverse views will assist the OP to reach a balanced decision, your posts pose more questions than answers and simply add to the confusion imho.

kyana

would you consider a lodger? could help you pay off the mortgage a little faster or you could put money towards visiting friends.