should I stretch myself for higher value house?

Doozergirl

It will cost you money to trade up, eventually. Consider how much that will cost you.

If you can comfortably afford the 3 bed in terms of mortgage repayments - perhaps not the cold hard cash to do the work - then it is certainly worth considering if you will stay there longer. If prices did fall back, then ideally you'd want to be somewhere that suited your circumstances for any wait for things to settle again. If you're planning to have children for example?

even if prices did fall by 50%, you'd have only lost £10,000 on the purchase price compared to the smaller property and you'll have saved something in the region of £5000 for the eventual move up to a three bed, iyswim. So you either wait the wait for somethign that may or may not happen or you buy as sensibly as you can for your circumstances at the moment.

carolt

I'd agree with Doozergirl - if prices do fall or the market stagnates, you may find it harder to sell at all or without a loss, if you need to move in future - you don't say what your circumstances are but if there's any chance that over the next 5-10 years you might want to start a family/work from home etc (or just have a bit more space) 3 beds is definitely better than 2. If there is a downturn, 3 beds will be easier to shift and lose less value - there's always a need for family homes (check - is it in a reasonable school catchment area - you might not care now, but a potential buyer might...) and if there isn't, a 3 bed will escalate in price quicker than a 2 bed.

Doesn't sound like the 3 bed NEEDS that much work - believe me, I've seen plenty of dumps over the last few years we've been looking to buy with effectively no kitchen worth speaking of... - just you'd LIKE to do it.

Agree with suggestions to offer lower and try to get some more money off it - if you don't ask you don't get... That might fund your decoration...

Wish 3 beds cost £140K round my way (dreams.....;)).

Doc_N

Although I have no doubt whatever that prices are going to fall, and by quite a lot, it would still make sense for you to buy 3 bedrooms . 3 bedrooms are usually much more saleable than 2 (more buyers want them).

If you were ever to need that extra bedroom it would cost you far more in moving costs/legals etc than you'd lose on the additional purchase price in a property crash.

regularsaver1

Hmm one you have to pay stamp duty one and one you don't. one you have to do work on bathroom and kitchen and one you don't. one had one more bedroom that the other. You have to love the property to buy, its got to feel right.

PasturesNew

Which house is in the best location?
Buy that one.
I'd say buy the 2-bed, the 3-bed will cost you more in mortgage repayments + all the work + more council tax + more insurance + more on things to put into the rooms + more to heat.

Buy the £120k one. Overpay the mortgage by reducing the term ... and you won't have to worry about what went up/down anyway. You'll be mortgage free quicker.

loonybirdy

lol, my brain aches...

to be honest i love the feel of both properties, and both locations are nice although i know the 2 bed area better than the 3 bed area...the 3 bed also has a garage and driveway, which the 2 bed doesn't...

but then i like Pasturesnew idea of being mortgage free quicker...just will be living in a smaller house...!!!
but keep sending me advice folks, its great to read your opinions :T

PasturesNew

loonybirdy wrote: »

i like Pasturesnew idea of being mortgage free quicker...just will be living in a smaller house...!!!

And the problem with that is???

I've just sold a house. 6 !!!!in' bedrooms. 12 total rooms.
How many did I use? 1
How many could I afford to heat? 1 if I were lucky
How many needed pricey maintenance? 12!!
Was my Council Tax way too much? Yes!

I am now living in a studio flatlet/bedsit. BRILL!!!

When I buy my next house, I'd like a 1-bedroomed one... if I could get a 1-bed detached with conservatory, garage and drive. But I will probably get a 2-bed semi (more common than what I want!). And I will be annoyed that there is one room I never go in: the 2nd bedroom.

You don't need a big house. You need a house you can enjoy. A house that doesn't suck your money out of your bank before the ink is even dry on the paying in slip!

Houses are homes. You should enjoy them. And you can enjoy it better if it's smaller as it's "finished/perfect" quicker, requires less money to get it to that stage.... and a lot less to keep it that way!

beautifulgorgeous_2

You could get the three bed and rent out the third bedroom for a short while perhaps to someone who needs a base mon to fri and use the income to do the improvements

carolt

Sounds like the answers you're going to get will reflect the wishes/aspirations of those posting them - hence I recommend the 3 bed house....but then I have got 3 kids! Likewise, PasturesNew recommends the smaller house because that is their ideal. Only you know your current circumstances and future plans/wishes/dreams - so go on then - which one are you going to go for?... I'm wishing the 3 bed on you as it's the closest I'm going to get to buying a family-sized home at the moment.......

loonybirdy

Thanks guys for all your wonderful advice...I finally plumped for the 3 bed, so wish me luck with my purchase! :-)