Best decision for long term

PlumLuck

Hi everyone - looking for advice on our house hunt!

Me & my partner are FTB, and we're unsure which approach is better financially in the long run, or whether it matters at all, and I'm struggling to get my head around it:
1) Buy a house around the 260-270 range with a 15% deposit, mortgage rate around 2.5%. Pay no stamp duty as under the 300k FTB threshold. For now the houses we are looking at in this range we feel are just about comfortable for us, but we both work from home full time and will continue to do so for most of the time when offices re-open, so we feel we will grow out of the house we can get in this budget in maybe 2-4 years time.
2) Go straight into buying something around the 320-340 range, with a 10% deposit, mortgage rate around 3.1%. Take advantage of no stamp duty up to the 300k as FTB and pay 1-2k stamp duty. This would be a house we'd be sure we can grow into in years to come, not taking into account that we may wish to move for work etc. in the future.

Either way would choose to pay the same monthly payments.
Any advice appreciated, thanks

Irishpearce26

Its a good idea to think of these things especially if you have a decent 10-15% deposit and good salary. Its looking likely that the stamp duty holiday will be extended which would mean no SDLT up to £500k. If it was my decision I would stretch myself at the beginning to have the space. There are some key things to think about, is the house in an area you can see yourself staying for 10-15 years? Do you have enough space internally for growth (family wise)? Whats the gardens & parking like? Could you extend the house and not impact the space around too much?

Good luck.

dimbo61

This depends on so many things.
Local market and what you can buy for your budget.
3 bed semi with room for permitted development so side or rear extension or both !
Maybe if you stretch to £320/340K you can get a bigger 3/4 bed detached home with bigger reception rooms and bedrooms.
Think about Must haves.
Downstairs WC, Ensuite to master, Bath in the bathroom, parking, garden, office space etc

Location, transport links and good schools 
A small village location or busy town centre ?

Rachlou_25

I would say go for the more expensive one of it ticks all the boxes and you can see yourself being there for a long time.  If you can afford to stretch now and get all the space you need for the next 20 years vs save a bit now and get the space you need for 2-4 years, you’ll save yourself a lot of cash and stress in the long run.  

ouraggie

When we bought our first home together we thought we would not be there more than 3 or 4 years,so we bought a 2 bedroom, so as not to overstretch ourselves. It soon proved to be too small. However, prices had shot up and we couldn't afford to move for another 6 years so we're stuck there .
My best friend decided to go large for their first house together, as they figured they were future proofing and wouldn't ever need to move. They had a list of  exactly what they wanted from a house and then found it. After living there for a couple of years they had totally changed their perception of what was the ideal house and the ideal location. 

zagubov

Why go through the stress and hassle of a house purchase if you'll quickly find it's too small for you and you need to move again. Buying bigger at the start would avoid that -you've a lot to gain if you future-proof yourself from the start.