Should I buy bigger and better?

I_have_spoken

Neighbours in a posher area might be snooty

clockworks_2

I_have_spoken wrote: »

Neighbours in a posher area might be snooty

What a stupid generalisation.

clockworks_2

I would personally move to a better area. It's great your mortgage free at 35 , but I would rather be in a nicer area and mortgage free a little later.

dimbo61

We moved 9 years ago from a nice 3 bed detached house with 2 bathrooms to a bigger 4 bed house with 3 bathrooms and double garage.
Happy that we moved to a better area and bigger house with 2 en-suites bathrooms and kids could walk to school.
Only a mile from town centre and local pubs/nightlife.
You would have a good deposit if you moved now and looking for a better home.
Now is a good time to find a long term fix to protect you from rate rises.
You can still overpay by 10% each year

Mojisola

What is the local school like? Would your daughter do better if you moved to a different catchment area?

There would have to be really good reasons for me to move from a mortgage-free house to somewhere that had me paying a mortgage again.

jaylee3

I would stay put! From bitter experience, I can tell you that not ALL private estates are full of lovely friendly people who look after their house and garden. They used to be pretty much full of middle classes/upper working classes who had worked hard for many years and bought their own (often) newly built homes in a little cul de sac, where communities formed, and they stayed for years. Not any more.

For a start, some of the private estates and cul de sacs etc, have about 1 in 5 that are owned by a private landlord, and some have been bought up by councils/housing associations..and they invariably stick their tenants there. I have heard tales before of people paying 250 grand for a 'posh' 4 bed detached in a smart 'private' cul de sac - only to end up next to a single mum on benefits with 6 kids, living in the 4 bed 'posh' detached next to them.

I am not badmouthing people from these kind of environments; - but imagine working that hard and struggling to pay for and maintain your 4 bed detached home that you worked so hard to get, and someone is living next door to you - for free. And I am just saying that you are mistaken if you think that a 'private estate' is somehow going to be better; think again. I know of many a person/couple who gave up their large well-maintained RTB that they bought in the 90s, for 20 grand, and were mortgage free by around 2007.

And then they sold it for 100 grand in 2009, and took out a 75 grand mortgage (to add to the 100 grand,) to have a 'posher' house on a private estate, and HATED it. And in addition to that, they were stuck with a 75 grand mortgage, for a smaller property, that they had to do up, and in a place they disliked.

Be VERY careful. Don't move unless you HAVE to.

AlexMac

I'm with the minority who say you should positively consider trading up. Assuming your job prospects are reasonable, and you don't need the spare cash that you are currently putting into a mortgage, I'd take out another loan.

- Rates are at a historic low (which you can look at two ways- buy now-ish to snap up a mortgage bargain, or fear rising interst rates; I was paying well over 10% in the 1980s! That could triple or quadruple repayments. But in reality, I don't predict a return to high inflation).

- A house is, in effect, a tax-efficient saving scheme. Prices have consistently risen over time (even taking account of the two house price crashes of the late 1980s and 2007-8). There's no tax on the gain, and, even if you stretch yourself on the price, the threat of re-possesion will force you to invest in the house by paying for the mortgage first rather than other consumer stuff.

- Your generation could face a pensions crisis; unlike my greedy 'baby boomer' generation. Useful if you have a valuable house you can trade down from in later years (yes I know that sounds weirdly far off, but when I was 35 I didn't think about the next 35 years either! And you'll probably make it to 90 unless you're a junk-food couch potato, lol).

The downsides are of course the risk of unemployment or a wage cut, and I read the other day that while my generation's earnings peaked at 58, your's is closer to your current age, on average

... and the disruption. What does your daughter think? 14 will be a tricky age to uproot from school and friends...?

But what a nice dilemma; best of luck

Solsol

You wouldn't necessarily have to move to a "private estate" we're currently moving from a 3 bed mid terrace to a 4 bed semi because there were things we wanted in a house that we didn't have (driveway, extra bedroom, bigger garden etc)

We could have stayed where we are and had the mortgage paid off in a few years time (we're both 31) but for me it was more about the benefits to my 2 year old and also us. We are moving to a nicer area and closer to better schools so it's all about what's important in your life and whether you'll look back in 30 years and regret not moving or regret not staying put and benefitting from the extra cash.

Although I would agree with what was said earlier - we would consider downsizing when we are close to retirement age and having a bit of cash to put towards the pension!

jules888

We paid our mortgage off at 40,then saved up to move to a bigger house last year.So used cash from sale and our savings.
Do that if you can,without taking another mortgage out.

gallygirl

I wouldn't move to a bigger house if you don't need one - all you'll do is fill it with 'stuff'. But I would consider paying more to live in a 'better' location. As others have said, save for a year and then see.