Live mortgage free but unhappy with house or buy dream home and have debt?

moneyistooshorttomention

There are different viewpoints on that one - ie "compliant mortgage drone".

Having a mortgage and particularly a hefty one does give a "hostage to fortune" in a way. I know that - and I had a mortgage for years.

But OP is planning on having children anyway and imo children are THE biggest "hostage to fortune" one can have. Other people (employers, etc) have you "by the short and curlies" as there is always the implied message of "You're not free to do what you decide/blow the British "freedom of speech" - what about the children?"

Obviously correct that a parent has to take full responsibility for their children and doing their best to be a good parent to them - but being more subject to other people's wishes (eg employers) is a price to pay that comes with that territory and a bigger "restrictor of freedom" by far than a mortgage.

After all - mortgages can always be paid off early if one has the chance to - and you get your Freedom back. It doesn't work that way with children...:cool:

If OP decides that "price to pay" is worth it - then that's their business.

Sedge123

Move. We were in exactly the same position and moved- best thing we ever did. So much happier in our new home..... despite the mortgage.

Davesnave

You need to move, but there's never just two options.


Children will change you and your priorities, so don't push yourself to the limits, and don't think for a moment that this will be your 'last move.' You will indeed be truly fortunate if it is!

Lioness_Twinkletoes

Go for Option C - move to another home that is of similar value. You get a lovely new home and very little additional debt - maybe up your budget to £380k or thereabouts and take a small £50k mortgage.

PasturesNew

You're young, there are two of you - it's worth taking a punt on moving. Yes it's money, but if you can borrow/repay those amounts then why not.

There's no point being unhappy in your home if you do have a reasonable chance of moving elsewhere and being happier. Of course, no house will ever be "perfect" or "the one" - even with £1million on house relocation programmes there are "problems" with the houses they look at...

If you don't go for it now, then in 10 years' time you might not be in a position to make such a move/do the work - and you'll regret it as the "difference" in cost between what you have and the new house will be greater/out of reach.

Go for it now. Do it once and try to do it properly (you'll still find new problems with the new house though).... hopefully not awful problems, just minor niggles.

todayisagreatday

We are in our mid 30's and have just moved. We were mortgage free for two months before completing on our new home. We don't, nor do we plan on having kids. We now have a mortgage of around £250k but accounting for significant £100-£120k remodelling of the bungalow (funded in the majority by the sale of our previous home), we are still hoping to be mortgage free before 50. We have done some hard, hard saving, two jobs each and it continues, we are living in a house with donations from friends and family, nothing new, with things that don't work and generally spend very little each month, aside from our holidays.

As others have said, have you actually saved? We had done over two years of saving whilst looking for the perfect home and definitely try and save some £ before buying. There will undoubtedly be things that need urgent attention, even if you don't plan for it.

It sounds like it's not just a house move, but it will be a different lifestyle too so look at the bigger picture. We went from a bungalow in a cul-de-sac to a bungalow on the canal with half an acre rural property so it wasn't just a bigger property, it's our future with things like Airbnb etc and fit with our long term aim.. We sat down and worked out things like our jobs, stability, income, when we would 'like' to retire, cost of living in a bigger property etc, etc. You have mentioned family so I'd look at this too, your plan and budget for the next 15-20 years. Look at things like income, eg with the addition of family would one of you not be working for example.

Some others have mentioned renovation costs, £50k actually isn't a lot, it depends on what you are doing. Our £100k isn't going far when you allow for heating renewal (currently on oil), septic tank renewal, electrics rewiring, windows and doors n and that's without anything structural and extending. I mean are new builds an option if you don't want renovation costs?

Good luck with your decision.

Davesnave

todayisagreatday wrote: »

Some others have mentioned renovation costs, £50k actually isn't a lot, it depends on what you are doing.

I had a quiet chuckle at the post that suggested under £40k for the complete refurb of a 60s bungalow.


It will be, till they get started.....;)

moneyistooshorttomention

Davesnave wrote: »

I had a quiet chuckle at the post that suggested under £40k for the complete refurb of a 60s bungalow.


It will be, till they get started.....;)

I was grinning ruefully today at that statement of level of cost. That is a LARGE amount - but I bought a 2 bedroom 1970s bungalow and I've not dared to count the amount spent to date, but I've got a very strong feeling I've gone over that...:(

....and I've not finished yet. I've done a LOT with the garden - but it's still basically a "concrete garden" (copyright of term with Davesnave for that:)) and I'm talking a 5 figure amount of money to rip all that out at some point and replace it with more "garden" and nicer "hard landscaping".

If I had to hazard a (very rough) guesstimate of the whole total of money spent to date and money still to spend - I wouldn't be surprised if it comes in at around £80,000:eek::eek::eek: That's with leaving concrete tile roof (rather than replacing it with slate), leaving concrete floors (rather than replacing them with wood planks), leaving the outside concrete block walls (rather than replacing them with brick) - as those things are all perfectly adequate, but just not "My style" and I've not knocked the house about structurally (ie putting down and taking up walls). Nearly forgot - and I've decided the house isn't really a suitable one to add a conservatory (so that money will be saved).

Tiglet2

In your position I would definitely move. The shared drive alone would be enough reason for me, but you say you're not happy with the area or the layout of the property.

We were mortgage free in our last property but like you we were unhappy with the layout, the inconsiderate parking (no shared drive though!) and the noise from a particular neighbour who like to party at the weekend! So, at the grand old age of 50 we moved to a run-down bungalow with more space around it and took out a mortgage of £180,000 (20 year term due to age). 5 years on from that, we have halved the mortgage and will continue to overpay in order that we can retire in the next few years. It was a risk and yet we've coped with redundancy and kids leaving home (no more housekeeping money), I have never regretted it - the happiness I feel in this house is worth so much to me. We still manage to have holidays but we don't waste money on trivial things. Once the mortgage is paid off, we will have a large amount of disposable income to go travelling the world (providing we're still well enough to enjoy it, of course!).

You're so young, you have too many years ahead of you to be contemplating staying in a house you're not happy in. Do your research and choose something (doesn't have to £500k) which will work better for you. Make a list of pros and cons and don't compromise on something you know will eventually be a deal breaker.

Doozergirl

Davesnave wrote: »

I had a quiet chuckle at the post that suggested under £40k for the complete refurb of a 60s bungalow.


It will be, till they get started.....;)

I raised my eyebrows. Full of the experience of the uninitiated. One can scoff, until one discovers the reality.