Help,location location but want to be mortgage free!!!

elle37

Hi People

Please help

Question for those who are on the journey to Mortgage free or already mortgage free, currently selling or buying.

I am deciding where to move, this is part of a bigger picture to become mortgage free but i'm struggling to make decisions about the right next step.

I have three approaches as I see it:

1) sell then buy around the same price thus not increasing my debt- probably a small ish property but freehold which is what I want to move to as im currently leasehold.
2) buy in a more desirable area but will have to increase my debt- have two locations that i'm thinking of, more space and pleasant area close to transport.
3)buy in a less desirable area and be significantly closer to my mortgage free target - two areas i'm thinking of, decent size properties but location has not great reputations, transportation not great either.

Have visited and researched the locations above and obviously to me option two is sooo appealing but on paper my mortgage free dream is far far far away

I need some objective things to think about. What would a MFW's approach to this be? any thoughts welcome

Elle

motherofstudents

I would not consider option 3.
I'm wondering why you are so keen to be mortgage free. Is there a reason other than to have more disposable income ? Not many people can buy a house outright and so a mortgage is really a necessity. i would go for option 2 and try to overpay on the mortgage. That is what I've done and will make the final payment on the mortgage in November.

bouicca21

It all depends on information you haven't given? Do you have an assured income? How big is the mortgage debt compared to value of property? Are you a spring chicken or an old boiler? Why do you want to move? What do you want out of life?

Sedge123

We are moving from a house in a less desirable area with only 7 years left on our mortgage to a nicer house in a nicer area and extending our mortgage to 25 years again. We decided that if we don't do it now then we never will and I don't want to be trapped in this area when I retire.
I understand your desire to be mortgage free but you also need to think of your happiness in the future.

Kynthia

I could be mortgage free if I bought a 2 bed flat in a rough town where I had a difficult commute to work. Where's the achievement in that? Surely the point is to buy a property you like/love, that's in an area you are happy with, that meets your needs and that you can afford. Then if it's important to you, work to become mortgage free.

Why do you want to become mortgage free? Is it some symbol you think you can show off, as what's the point if you aren't in the home you would have chosen without that goal? If it's for security reasons then choose a home you can easily afford should your income reduce and work towards being mortgage free, but unless you know there's a good chance that in the future you will lose most of your income I can't see why you would let that goal dictate your choice of home.

Bossypants

I totally agree with the above, try for 2 if you can and whatever you do don't do 3.


I was in the same position as you this time last year. I was looking for a place that would be my forever home, and I want to be MF as soon as possible. I had the same three options as you, and when I considered 1 and 3, they looked 'fine', but any time I thought about spending the whole rest of my life in those places, all I could come up with was 'meh', whereas when I would visit the option 2 area, I immediately had a sense of 'yeah, I could be very comfortable here'. When I thought about it like that, there was really no contest, I don't want to feel 'meh' about my home for the rest of my life!

Hoploz

We could have stayed in our last house, been mortgage free at 40, in a perfectly fine house.

But what's the point in being mortgage free? We couldn't be retiring and enjoying ourselves on cruises half the year as we have kids in primary school!

So we decided to make one last jump up the ladder.

densol_2

Last year for some reason I really felt the need to be mortgage free and downsize. I have about £400k equity and I looked around at what I could get. I then realised none of these properties would make me happy and I would rather pay my [ big] mortgage and live in my lovely house till I die - mortgage will just about be paid off then ! Lol I know if I wasn't paying a mortgage I'd just waste it on buying crap

I'd pick option 2 in your case - you only live once

elle37

guys thank you, really helpful to hear your views. I've been round and round this for a while.

I should have given more detail, I actually have another thread with more info about me but in short, I'm a single mum, 37 with a son going on 18 who is hoping to go to uni next year.

I have some health issues which is what has prompted me to look to reduce my mortgage as soon as possible, it's not life threatening or anything but has made me really think more about quality of life etc. My job is as secure as any nowadays but i'm in a position where when I move i'd like it to be for some time and can afford to go up one more rung of the ladder.

Totally agree with not wanting to feel my home is 'meh'

Lord_Baltimore

Don't underestimate the health benefit of being mortgage free! My first step in your circumstances would be to move to freehold; leasehold is archaic and feudal.

You certainly don't want an even bigger millstone around your neck.

bluesnake

CobaltBlue, No, I'm definitely the minority here

elle37, just for thought, serious consideration, and to shake the tree a bit :eek:

Option 4) Take out as much equity from house1, use it as a deposit for house2. Live in house2 and rent house1.

Option 5) find a deposit for house2 buy it and rent it out, while making do with house1 for a number of years.

Option 6) If you can take out lots of equity, find deposits for house2 and house3, buy them and rent them out, while making do with house1 (or swap houses, but there may be tax implications) for a number of years.

Option 7) son is going to uni for 3 years. buy a house in the uni town. It gives your son free rent for 2+ years, mortgage is paid by mates renting other rooms. You save all his rent, gain a property which is also being paid off for at least 2 years and still make make a few quid extra. Not a case of making much, but rather losing less. Providing stamp, agent, solicitor and other fees are greater than his rental and the potential increase or loss over two years. Plus he is going to do it up and decorate while he is there

Option 8) start a small business from home - often much more effort than the other options.

There is option 9) which involves your son not being able to get a job because he qualified in Geography or Philosophy, or Archaeology, Paleontology, Anthropology and there are a whole load of useless qualifications out there, or bind people to dead end jobs. The gist is buy a shell in a great location and get and help your son to fix it up, over 3 years and sell.

option 6), then option 5) are my choices.
Because you want to live mortgage free, often the only easy way to realistically gain money in real terms is buy house2 (and house3 house4...), then sell in 25 years time which will give you a huge nestegg.

If you are mortgage free and have no burdens, although it is mentally fulfilling, your savings will keep loosing real value every year, and usually makes a slave to McJob, have to work to pay bills, food, clothes, no time for anything, and you may not be able to even help your son get onto the market either.

Within 10 years it could well be possible depending on location, to say 'F..k McJob' and live off house2 (and hopefully3 and 4....) earnings, giving even greater freedom. At the end, sell all, or keep one, or move somewhere sunny and have a mega income , and you may find they have all tripled in price. All about extra revenue streams.

Why all this? Well if it hard to do now, it will definitely get even harder as one gets older. 37 still offers loads of opportunities, at 57 many are gone and choices are limited. Yes, it is about quality of life, a bit like the child experiment "instant gratification test" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yo4WF3cSd9Q, "have one sweet now, or wait and get two", just we have a longer time period and with limitations one has to choose, quality today, with an uncertain tomorrow; or a prudent but uncertain today, time to make it go right even if it goes a bit off, and a quality tomorrow. All encapsulated on TV in "Britains Spending Secrets – Episode 2" or the more adult version of "instant gratification test" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voF8B-Jr0mA

Option 2) This is my favorite of your choices, but not the one I would make:D