Need sensible advise

josie444

ok here is the situation, honestly interested in options and advice. 

Currently 3.5 yrs left until we’ve paid our current mortgage and own our own home, however, we live in a 3 bed semi- deatached and are going out of our minds with 3 teenagers at logger heads about bedrooms. 

So do we 
a) live in a war zone - they’ll move out anyway
b) sell and move to a bigger property, but with current house prices soaring and not set to drop, the leap from 3-4 bed that’s decent is around 150k more than we would sell ours for. Meaning another mortgage for 15-20 yrs ( not bad news as I’m 43 but still a bit depressing)

princeofpounds

Most people would still be prepared to have another mortgage at 43. Particularly given the real terms cost of debt is negative at the moment.15-20 years is more than long enough to amortise the cost of moving and stamp duty over. 

a couple and three teenagers in a 3 bed is overcrowded, so it's not a luxury purchase.

ReadingTim

I paid off the mortgage on my old place early, and whilst it was nice to say I owned my own home outright, I can't say my life was any different.  Yes, it was nice to have more disposable income every month, but I saved most of it, and bought a bigger house anyway.  

Unless you're dead-set on early retirement, you've got a decent 20 years worth of work in you yet, a decent chunk of equity in the current place, pretty low costs of borrowing, and increasing property prices, making it seem almost mad to stick where you are. 

It also seems a little selfish to prioritise being mortgage free yourself at the expense of the happiness of the kids, 2 of whom I assume are still having to share a bedroom...?  

comeandgo

I’d go for the bigger house. You have no guarantee that the children will leave home and to me harmony in the household is priceless.

Rosa_Damascena

Bigger house, no contest. I have no doubt that you will clear this mortgage fast too.

The only thing I would insist on though is your kids taking out government loans for university as they have a preferential interest rate whilst you concentrate on clearing the mortgage. You can help them out afterwards if you'd like to.

caprikid1

I was in theory mortgage free at 45, got divorced still managed to be mortgage free. When we decided to live together we decided with 4 children between us neither of liked the others house / felt it was suitable. 

We went for it with a massive mortgage, leaving our existing houses behind, lots of space, house in the country, a dream during lockdown. No fighting kids etc etc.

Worse case scenario you down size again but its a long time till you will need to do this. Your kids could be with you till 25, if you buy a nice bigger house they almost certainly will !!

lincroft1710

caprikid1 said:

Your kids could be with you till 25, if you buy a nice bigger house they almost certainly will !!

One of my friends never left home. Now in his mid 70s, he inherited the house from his parents who died a few years ago

TripleH

Another for upgrading.  You can always downsize at a later date.

Thus is on the assumption extending the current house is not an option?

Not a guarantee of peace, but if you throw in the promise of decorating bedrooms to taste if they put up with disruption?

thegreenone

Loft conversion with ensuite for you and hubby.  

If eldest is planning on university soon, they get the smallest room.

ripplyuk

That depends. Do you want the kids to move out when they become adults or are you happy for them to stay until they’re 30yo? (Possibly longer). The more comfortable they are, the less likely they are to want independence. Sharing a room with a sibling is not unusual or ‘overcrowded’. 

A bigger house will have higher running costs and then you’ll want to downsize later anyway. If you like where you are, I’d stay. You could always use the money saved from being mortgage-free to help the kids get their own places eventually. 

lookstraightahead

1. Depends how old the teens are and whether you think they will be independent as young adults or stay at home.

2. can you afford interest rate rises and the possibility of the market changing (which it will at some point).

if your teens are young teens maybe, but if they're 16 then they won't be at home if they want to be independent.