Should I move out of my flat and buy a house?

El_Torro

First of all I'd like to say that I appreciate that choosing where to live is very much a personal choice (finances allowing) and ultimately only I know the answer to my question. Still I'm creating this thread to see outside perspectives on my thoughts.

I currently live in a 1 bedroom flat which I own as a leasehold. It's served me well for the last few years. I was always very much a minimalist as I moved around from shared house to shared house but over the years in this property I have accumulated a fair bit of "stuff", whether it's essential to keep it or not is a matter of opinion. Part of the reason I am looking to upsize is to live in a place where I can accumulate even more unnecessary stuff. 

Financially I'm doing OK, some would say a lot better than OK. As well as the 1 bedroom flat I live in I also own a 2 bedroom flat in another part of the country which I rent out. If I do move the idea would be to keep both properties and rent them both out. This would give me some additional income from the place I currently live in. I've had a look at where I would like to live and 3 bedroom houses (mostly terrace houses) come to about the region of £400k to £500k in today's prices. I could give a lot more details about my financial situation but long story short I reckon I can afford it without too much issue. Not having a partner or dependents helps. I am 42, so retirement is some way off, though part of  me thinks that a sizeable mortgage would be a big noose around my neck for the next couple of decades. My job is about as secure as any job is these days, though who knows what the future will bring? Also upsizing would mean a lot less money would go into my Stocks & Shares ISA and a lot more into mortgage repayments.

So knowing that I can afford it and knowing that I can definitely see the upsides of living in a bigger property I would like to know people's thoughts on this, especially from people who have either considered doing something similar, or actually done it. My two mortgages don't finish their terms until a couple of years from now, so I am in no rush to decide, would be good to get views though. 

Thanks.




For those who are actually interested I realise I haven't given a lot of detail in this post. Feel free to ask questions if that helps. I might even answer some of them

GDB2222

We are thinking of downsizing, and I can tell you that we have too much stuff. Much too much stuff! 

I think that stuff accumulates to fill the space available, and getting rid of it is much harder than accumulating it, even though it’s perfectly clear that we don’t need most of it. As an example, we have two bread makers! 

We have three kettles. There’s the kettle we use. There’s the kettle we used to use, and which still works, except that it leaks a bit. And, there’s the kettle we have never used, but I bought it as a spare. 

So, there’s a lot to be said for a minimalist existence, which your present accommodation forces on you.

El_Torro

GDB2222 said:

We are thinking of downsizing, and I can tell you that we have too much stuff. Much too much stuff! 

I think that stuff accumulates to fill the space available, and getting rid of it is much harder than accumulating it, even though it’s perfectly clear that we don’t need most of it. As an example, we have two bread makers! 

We have three kettles. There’s the kettle we use. There’s the kettle we used to use, and which still works, except that it leaks a bit. And, there’s the kettle we have never used, but I bought it as a spare. 

So, there’s a lot to be said for a minimalist existence, which your present accommodation forces on you.

Nature abhors a vacuum.

You make a very valid point. The grass is always greener, right now I want to be able to find space for all the stuff I don't need, though if I were to upsize I might be thinking the opposite...

Thank you for your comment.

gwynlas

There are a nuber of considerations such as service charges that you have littke control over. Neighbours above and below you and the ceiling price for flats athat you can do little to as oppossed to a house that you can improve and extend. i lived in flats for over 30 years but know live in a detached property and would think long and hard before living in one again.

El_Torro

gwynlas said:

There are a nuber of considerations such as service charges that you have littke control over. Neighbours above and below you and the ceiling price for flats athat you can do little to as oppossed to a house that you can improve and extend. i lived in flats for over 30 years but know live in a detached property and would think long and hard before living in one again.

Pros and cons to both really. Yes, service charges (and lease extensions) aren’t cheap, though maintaining a house and being solely responsible for the infrastructure of the property isn’t cheap either. 

I’m looking at terraced houses at the moment. I think semi detached or detached houses are out of my price range in areas that I actually want to live in. Bearing that in mind noisy / annoying neighbours would be an issue regardless. I think who my neighbours are is a gamble whether I am in a flat or a terraced house. 

Having said that you’re not the first person who I hear say has lived in both and wouldn’t move back to a flat. Another factor for me to consider. 

onylon

A bigger place will cost alot more in council tax, heating and general maintenance as well as the inevitable accumulation of stuff to fill it.

Ultimately I think it comes down to the kind of lifestyle you want.

TBagpuss

I think in your situation I would probably move - it's nice to have a bit more space. It will of course be more expensive but to some extent you offset that with the rental income from the property you currently live in, and of course if you wanted to you could sell one of the flats and invest the funds, so it would depend somewhat on what balance of investments you want. And of course you don't need to decide that immediately, there would be nothing to prevent you selling one of the flats in a couple of years time, if you wanted to, whether your did so to pay a chunk off the mortgage and reduce the mortgage term, or to invest funds into stocks.

I would however look at doing a fairly detailed budget, with as accurate an estimate as you an of your likely outgoings if you move - for instance, council tax will be higher on a house and depending on the age and condition of the houses you may well pay more in other utilities.

It's also worth bearing in mind that if you end up with either two or three properties then having a mortgage needn't be a 'noose' as you do have the option to sell one or more property and to downsize, if your financial circumstances change or you find he mortgage too much of a committment.

Racky_Roo

The big change I noticed when I moved to a house after being in flats is how much I hadn't appreciated having a management co to sort things out for me. Now if the fence blows down, I need to fix it etc. They were also useful in helping you get trades if you wanted something doing in your flat.

There's also more day to day jobs in a house. Looking after a garden takes work, more space inside means more cleaning and so on. 

Having said that, I felt ready for a house and wanted my own outside space but I'd say don't move unless you feel ready. Plenty of posts on here from people who have regretted moving and it's stressful and expensive

Norman_Castle

GDB2222 said:

We have three kettles. There’s the kettle we use. There’s the kettle we used to use, and which still works, except that it leaks a bit. And, there’s the kettle we have never used, but I bought it as a spare.

When clearing my dads house I bought home a lot of stuff which I then had to find space to store. Over the years I've tried using various items only to find they were like your leaky kettle and should have gone years ago.

I've got a large loft with many items which are there only because there's room for them but I know 50% of it could easily be binned. I judge items on whether I would be happy to move them or pay someone to move them to another property then find somewhere to store them. If not its not difficult getting rid of them.