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

todayisagreatday

Doozergirl wrote: »

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

Yes, exactly this! We have a £20k 'contingency' and I'm debating whether this is enough! We are just at the 'find an architect' stage so it's quite exciting. If you can't account for the unpredictable nature of renovations and extending don't start!

TamsinC

A slightly different point of view - my hubby is military and so we live in military accommodation (17 of them in 25 years). It is adequate. It serves it's need and is reasonably cheap to rent. It's a reasonable layout, plain (magnolia) decor, reasonable garden in the main, good enough neighbours etc. God I LONG to leave these houses behind me.

We are in the process of taking on a reasonably large mortgage and move to a gorgeous house where I doubt a single wall will remain magnolia. When I even think about living in the new house I can feel myself relaxing. We will overpay as much as we can and try to finish the mortgage early. So we won't afford expensive holidays - so what? This is about quality of life, not money in the bank.

You can change the layout of your house, but you can't change the shared drive, nor the neighbourhood. I'd leave and accept the debt.

need_an_answer

And following on just a little bit more,the debt you take on now will not seem quite so large in 5 or even 10 years time.

Posters have warned about job security and could you afford the mortgage if you lost your job,but theres always the flip side of a promotion where suddenly repayments do indeed become more manageable.
Children come into your life yes,but they don't need to cost you a fortune and to be honest if we all waited for the optimum time to do things rather than just taking the risk I suspect a lot of people would be living rather static lives.

I'm all for the move.....

steph2901

I would rather live somewhere I was happy, as long as I could afford it though.

Gwendo40

Doozergirl wrote: »

So your life is so unique and wonderful? Why then do you feel the need to insult people, for no reason at all, to try and feel better about yourself?

Grow up. You don't make your candle burn any brighter by trying to blow other people's out.

Not attempting to insult or belittle anyone, just don't appreciate people coming on here with their ''impartial'' advice when they're clearly coming from a position of vested interest.

Doozergirl

Gwendo40 wrote: »

Not attempting to insult or belittle anyone, just don't appreciate people coming on here with their ''impartial'' advice when they're clearly coming from a position of vested interest.

No one has offered impartial advice. Everyone has offered their own personal opinion. Who has a vested interest? I don't think anyone genuinely really cares what the OP does given that no one knows who they are, we're likely never to find out and no one here stands to gain from what they do.

I'd think about altering your tone if you don't think what you said was belittling or insulting. It was downright rude.

Red-Squirrel_2

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.....;)

The OP seems to think a big renovation spend is inevitable though, there are loads of houses where you don't need to spend anything unless you really want to.

ReadingTim

Gwendo40 wrote: »

Not attempting to insult or belittle anyone, just don't appreciate people coming on here with their ''impartial'' advice when they're clearly coming from a position of vested interest.

Whereas I can only assume your position comes from envy, as you're clearly jealous to the point of hostile towards those who have something you don't.

Davesnave

Red-Squirrel wrote: »

The OP seems to think a big renovation spend is inevitable though, there are loads of houses where you don't need to spend anything unless you really want to.

A big renovation spend may seem inevitable if a house that ticks all their boxes, apart from finish, is at the limit of affordability for the size and location.


This is particularly likely as the OP sees it as a 'forever home.'


Personally, I don't think one's 30s is the time to choose anything more than a long term house. We were fine in ours chosen at that time, but by our 50s, with the kids waving bye-bye, we had a desire to try something more adventurous. The great environment for family had lost some of its charms... it's not only people who change!

Marvel1

TamsinC wrote: »

You can change the layout of your house, but you can't change the shared drive, nor the neighbourhood. I'd leave and accept the debt.

Im the opposite, new kitchen and bathroom as outdated, feel no different still meh, done nothing for me.