Can you take a mortgage that's 'too low'?

Stoke

OK, so I'm looking at buying my first house. We've been told we can afford a mortgage up to 210k, however that realistically speaking, we should aim for 180k, to preserve some quality of life.

We've found a house that we both seem to like and it's on at 150k, so naturally we're being advised to lowball them at 135k with flexibility up to 145k. The problem is, I'm being told that I could be taking on a mortgage that's too low? Basically, because the house is small (only 3 bed semi), there will be a temptation to move again if I decide to start a family.

So, I'm being told I should aim to buy a house which is 180k, bigger, detached etc, and then I won't need to get another mortgage a few years down the line when mortgages are more expensive?

Help....

saverbuyer

Who's "telling" you?


I'd be "telling" them to mind their own.

pollyanna24

saverbuyer wrote: »

Who's "telling" you?


I'd be "telling" them to mind their own.

When you say "only 3 bed semi," isn't this what most people aim to have?

Of course, we would all love a mansion, but I would that is plenty enough for you to live in and have a couple of kids.

Like the previous poster said, "who" is telling you?

Mrs_Soup

Surely a three bed semi is ideal for a family unless you plan on having a lot of children. I have had two houses and both times we went nowhere near the maximum mortgage we could have had. This suits me and we hope to pay off our current mortgage ten years early which will be a huge weight off the shoulders.

elverson

There are more interesting things to spend money on than a mortgage so why pay more than you need to?

chelseablue

A 3 bed semi is fine for a couple and 2 children, or even 3 if 2 shared the bigger room.


I live in a 3 bed semi and it is a good size for now but I do want to move once more.


Not many people get their ideal house straight away, most people move up in stages

dimbo61

However moving home is expensive.
So Consider if this is the right house you are buying.
Garage, car parking, driveway, storage, room sizes, location, neighbourhood, transport links, layout, etc
They all need to be considered.
You will spend the next 2/3/5 years living there at least.

Stoke

Thanks everyone for their responses. Friends, family, have been suggesting that we aim for a higher mortgage now, to avoid moving again in the near future. I think the received wisdom being that while mortgage prices are low, we might be able to ensure a better house at a cheaper price. I can see the logic, to a degree, but there's an element of not even knowing how the future will go.

dimbo61 wrote: »

However moving home is expensive.
So Consider if this is the right house you are buying.
Garage, car parking, driveway, storage, room sizes, location, neighbourhood, transport links, layout, etc
They all need to be considered.
You will spend the next 2/3/5 years living there at least.

Big garage, decent car parking (big drive and street), i would say the room sizes are slightly on the small side, but not tiny. I guess most would consider these a small family starter home, as opposed to say a home you would aim to live in for the rest of your life. Location is nice, neighbourhood is nice (apparently) and the transport links are fine.

Stoke

Any further advice?

HiToAll

when you say, 'a few years down the line' , how long do you mean. If you mean 3 or 4, I would tend to go with the bigger house now as moving is expensive, but if you mean 10 years then maybe not such an issue.

Stoke

HiToAll wrote: »

when you say, 'a few years down the line' , how long do you mean. If you mean 3 or 4, I would tend to go with the bigger house now as moving is expensive, but if you mean 10 years then maybe not such an issue.

I guess that's part of the problem, who knows what the future will bring? If we did have a child, I think the house we're looking at would be big enough. I think a second child and we may see problems, but we're talking massive hypotheticals.

Having done a lot of googling over the last 2 days and looking at mortgage prices, I can see the point that is being made, I just don't know if it is right for us. I'm very confused ha.