Buy the most you can afford?

Mrs36

I am aware that it is not unusual, but I find it baffling that people buy houses that they can barely afford while simultaneously paying debts and car loans (apologies O/P, that is not directed at you personally, just a general concensus of society in general). I would make it a priority to pay off those debts as soon as you can, then you perhaps would be in a better position to afford the 4 bed sooner.

glasgowdan

Agree, I'd trade in the cars for a nice 5 year-old Skoda and enjoy a few hundred extra each month. But that's not relevant to this thread really!

Greyhorse

Thankyou Mrs.

The debts aren't much in the grand scheme of things but we intend to have those paid off in the next few months or so. They are not massive (less than £3000) The car is a lease which I am stuck in for another year and the plan is to get something much much cheaper once it's gone!

The original plan was to buy a next step up house, live there for 5 years while paying off all debt and saving for a bigger deposit and then move to a larger home. With a £700 mortgage we could easily save plus live a little at the same time.

However we were convinced by EA to view the more expensive house, fell in love with it and it has made us think twice about original plan and whether to just bite the bullet and buy the 'forever' home but it will push us to the limit of what we can afford really.

[Deleted User]

Could you make better use of the space in the 3 bed instead?

Perhaps put the children in the master bedroom, you take the next smaller bedroom and then use the smallest one as an office?

Or can you fit an office in the bedroom? Perhaps build in fitted wardrobes along one wall, but have one of the wardrobes as a hidden office, or an office under the stairs maybe?

Mrs36

No chance at all that they would accept a lower offer?

Greyhorse

None st all mrs, they have our offer matched by another two couples who are non procedable. The vendor is moving in with family so are in no hurry at all and will wait for the highest offer to sell.

We are going to look at some 3 beds in the hope that one of them comes even slightly close!

Mrs36

I understand your predicament entirely. Hope one of the three beds comes good for you!

ReadingTim

Greyhorse wrote: »

The original plan was to buy a next step up house, live there for 5 years while paying off all debt and saving for a bigger deposit and then move to a larger home. With a £700 mortgage we could easily save plus live a little at the same time.

That's an admirable idea, but you're only talking three hundred quid a month. That's just over three and a half grand a year, and eighteen thousand over five years. Factor in the costs of moving again, another lot of solicitors fees, stamp duty etc and that amount comes down to the mid-teens, which isn't exactly a life changing amount of money in the housebuying game.

anto164

We looked at the cost of buyig and selling ourselves, and stretched ourselves by gettig a larger house rather than payig less now to borrow more later. Also, our ideal house came up and we got it at a bargain price so it was a no brainer. Worst case, when you come to remortgage, you can alwats reduce the payments if you struggle by extendig the term (reverse MSE thinking!)

allthe7s

We were in a similar position recently when looking for our next home.

We could get a mortgage enough to look at homes up to value of 290k but when we worked out what the mortgage would be with increase in interest it wasnt comfortable.

We are now buying a house for 225k still bigger and better than our current home.

Go see the new build, you might be surprised.