Moving 'up' experiences
Discussion
Hi all
Lots of experience and knowledge seemingly floating around here, so I thought I'd pose the question on whether people have regretted moving 'up' in the market.
My wife and I are mulling the idea over, and our level of property and move is certainly lower than many here, but the gist of it is....
I'm 30, she is 27. We live in a 2 bed semi in the west midlands on a quiet housing estate and we're happy here, but have said we'd like to move somewhere village-y and more rural sometime in the future. Shropshire/Shrewsbury-ish.
Recent pay rises and the equity in the house means that we could realistically move 'up' into the sort of house we'd discussed, though it would mean the mortgage payment would be a touch under double what we currently pay, however the recent/upcoming pay rises will mean we've the same amount left over each month and we wouldn't struggle to pay the bills etc.
I suppose I'm just a little apprehensive on taking on a chunk more debt, even if we can afford the payments and the leftover each month remains the same, give or take.
It's not a huge jump in the scheme of things, I think I'm just looking at it in terms of figures while ignoring the house we'd move to
This is our first house so no experience with moving etc.
For context our house is probably worth £220k. £140K remaining on the mortgage.
Potential new house would be £350k max. No kids (or plans), no debt other than the mortgage
Cheers
Lots of experience and knowledge seemingly floating around here, so I thought I'd pose the question on whether people have regretted moving 'up' in the market.
My wife and I are mulling the idea over, and our level of property and move is certainly lower than many here, but the gist of it is....
I'm 30, she is 27. We live in a 2 bed semi in the west midlands on a quiet housing estate and we're happy here, but have said we'd like to move somewhere village-y and more rural sometime in the future. Shropshire/Shrewsbury-ish.
Recent pay rises and the equity in the house means that we could realistically move 'up' into the sort of house we'd discussed, though it would mean the mortgage payment would be a touch under double what we currently pay, however the recent/upcoming pay rises will mean we've the same amount left over each month and we wouldn't struggle to pay the bills etc.
I suppose I'm just a little apprehensive on taking on a chunk more debt, even if we can afford the payments and the leftover each month remains the same, give or take.
It's not a huge jump in the scheme of things, I think I'm just looking at it in terms of figures while ignoring the house we'd move to
This is our first house so no experience with moving etc. For context our house is probably worth £220k. £140K remaining on the mortgage.
Potential new house would be £350k max. No kids (or plans), no debt other than the mortgage
Cheers
I'd say do it. My rough plan was to get to the "forever" home in as few moves as possible - We did it in 3 going up in by roughly 3X each jump.
I wouldn't be too worried about the size of the mortgage - get one over as long a period as they will let you if you want to minimise the monthly payments - it "costs" the same in terms of annual interest and gives you the flexibility to overpay on the way. We've had a few 35 years mortgages and have benefited from being bold when others are cautious. I'd be happy to take a bigger mortgage over a longer period if it results in fewer moves.
Housing is a long game imho and inflation is the real big piece that people ignore - i.e. The real goal is to get into the house that you expect to live in for the next 70 years and inflation will guarantee that when you look back from there, that it was super cheap even if it feels expensive at the time! .
I wouldn't be too worried about the size of the mortgage - get one over as long a period as they will let you if you want to minimise the monthly payments - it "costs" the same in terms of annual interest and gives you the flexibility to overpay on the way. We've had a few 35 years mortgages and have benefited from being bold when others are cautious. I'd be happy to take a bigger mortgage over a longer period if it results in fewer moves.
Housing is a long game imho and inflation is the real big piece that people ignore - i.e. The real goal is to get into the house that you expect to live in for the next 70 years and inflation will guarantee that when you look back from there, that it was super cheap even if it feels expensive at the time! .
I'd echo what Fat8ob says. It is unlikely to ever be cheaper to move into a bigger/better house than now. If you can get into your "forever" home as young as possible then wage increases and inflation over the year will eat away at your mortgage as well as whatever you can afford to repay.
As context, We bought our "forever home" in 2002. Moved out of a 2 bed terrace worth £90k and paid £150k for a four bed detached wreck, which we then did a lot of work on. If it had been in decent nick it would probably have been worth about £200k at the time. I had a very stressful time wondering whether we could afford it, as going from having a £30k mortgage on the old house, we went to £120k IO mortgage, so quadruple the monthly cost! And that seems almost laughable now, doesn't it?
As context, We bought our "forever home" in 2002. Moved out of a 2 bed terrace worth £90k and paid £150k for a four bed detached wreck, which we then did a lot of work on. If it had been in decent nick it would probably have been worth about £200k at the time. I had a very stressful time wondering whether we could afford it, as going from having a £30k mortgage on the old house, we went to £120k IO mortgage, so quadruple the monthly cost! And that seems almost laughable now, doesn't it?
Do the moves in as fewer moves as possible, really minimises the SDLT and gives longer to pay down any debt - your age is exactly where you should be taking risk and levering up.
We went from a 1 bed flat to a 4 bed detached house with room to extend at 31 despite it being just my wife and I, reasoning being that we never "had" to move again.
We went from a 1 bed flat to a 4 bed detached house with room to extend at 31 despite it being just my wife and I, reasoning being that we never "had" to move again.
I'd go for it at your age. As a 51 year old, I wish I'd put more away into the markets a lot earlier to aid retirement but you also need to enjoy life and get to a lifestyle you're happy with. Technically, you could just stay as is and shove any excess money into your pension and ISA but I think you may regret not following your aspirations and moving up now.
We got into our "forever" home at the age of 35 (2 previous houses). With 3 kids, moving from a small Victorian terrace to a 5 bed detached, was more of a "need" than a "want". We also ummed and arred for ages over the move, as we couldn't really afford it at the time (well, we could afford the purchase and running costs, but not the major refurb costs required). We did it anyway, and spent the next 10 years renovating and extending it as and when funds allowed.
We have loved having the space and wonderful rural location; for us, the better lifestyle outweighed the financial stress, which has eased with the passage of time. No regrets at all. Do it!
We have loved having the space and wonderful rural location; for us, the better lifestyle outweighed the financial stress, which has eased with the passage of time. No regrets at all. Do it!
Thanks for the range of responses all - General consensus is to go for it. Some thinking to do.
It's an odd one as the ~£350k area we've been looking at would buy us a nicer 3-bed detached on the same estate we're on now compared to our 2-bed semi. Or it buys you a detached property with some character, with a bit of land, that needs a bit of work, further out towards the countryside. I know which way I would go.
Good points on kids. We've always said it's not the plan, but that could of course change. I'd factor that in and get somewhere with the extra space anyhow. My wife earns a touch above minimum as a carer, so while it'd be a stretch we could still get by on my wage should the situation change.
We rented a flat, rented this semi detached house, bought this house (for very cheap...) from the landlords, and now considering the next step.
Cheers
It's an odd one as the ~£350k area we've been looking at would buy us a nicer 3-bed detached on the same estate we're on now compared to our 2-bed semi. Or it buys you a detached property with some character, with a bit of land, that needs a bit of work, further out towards the countryside. I know which way I would go.
Good points on kids. We've always said it's not the plan, but that could of course change. I'd factor that in and get somewhere with the extra space anyhow. My wife earns a touch above minimum as a carer, so while it'd be a stretch we could still get by on my wage should the situation change.
We rented a flat, rented this semi detached house, bought this house (for very cheap...) from the landlords, and now considering the next step.
Cheers
I'm 10 years older than you, and did similar, from a semi-detached to a detached on a decent sized plot, would never go back to a semi. We've got way more space than we had previously, double garage, big drive etc, it all adds up to make a big difference.
Bills are higher, (council tax is the one that really stings) but there are not many other negatives.
I was fortunate that it wasn't an insomnia inducing stretch of my finances to upsize, everyone has different risk levels they're comfortable with, but it has proven great value overall, so it was worth taking the pain for.
Bills are higher, (council tax is the one that really stings) but there are not many other negatives.
I was fortunate that it wasn't an insomnia inducing stretch of my finances to upsize, everyone has different risk levels they're comfortable with, but it has proven great value overall, so it was worth taking the pain for.
Edited by Gary29 on Tuesday 16th September 13:19
Sycamore said:
Thanks for the range of responses all - General consensus is to go for it. Some thinking to do.
It's an odd one as the ~£350k area we've been looking at would buy us a nicer 3-bed detached on the same estate we're on now compared to our 2-bed semi. Or it buys you a detached property with some character, with a bit of land, that needs a bit of work, further out towards the countryside. I know which way I would go.
Good points on kids. We've always said it's not the plan, but that could of course change. I'd factor that in and get somewhere with the extra space anyhow. My wife earns a touch above minimum as a carer, so while it'd be a stretch we could still get by on my wage should the situation change.
We rented a flat, rented this semi detached house, bought this house (for very cheap...) from the landlords, and now considering the next step.
Cheers
Can tell you are west mids, cannot even get a two bed flat here for that money. It's an odd one as the ~£350k area we've been looking at would buy us a nicer 3-bed detached on the same estate we're on now compared to our 2-bed semi. Or it buys you a detached property with some character, with a bit of land, that needs a bit of work, further out towards the countryside. I know which way I would go.
Good points on kids. We've always said it's not the plan, but that could of course change. I'd factor that in and get somewhere with the extra space anyhow. My wife earns a touch above minimum as a carer, so while it'd be a stretch we could still get by on my wage should the situation change.
We rented a flat, rented this semi detached house, bought this house (for very cheap...) from the landlords, and now considering the next step.
Cheers
Ry.Clarke said:
I think for me, if it is only a want, and not a need, and you are happy where you are then it is not worth doing.
This country is only going one way. Housing goals outside of needs should start and end at getting it paid off as soon as possible.
This is of course merely opinion.
Probably an unpopular opinion but I agree with this. I was fortunate to get to a house that we can see ourselves staying in for as long as we choose after only 2 moves, but it’s a house some on here would frown at from what I’ve seen posted. This country is only going one way. Housing goals outside of needs should start and end at getting it paid off as soon as possible.
This is of course merely opinion.
The upside is I will retire at 55 if not before which is now 10 years away and I will be mortgage free before I do it. Different life goals for different people but I plan to get out and enjoy life while I’m young enough to make the most of it.
The only one thing to consider is once you get into rural areas and larger properties the pool of buyers becomes less, so in the future it might be harder to sell than say a smaller property close to town. Just for example.
But like what others have said - just do it because it never gets any cheaper.
I would just clarify the mortgage situation as it does not matter what you pay now vs what you pay then - its all about income multiples and debt. In the past before the regulations changed it was a bit less complex.
I think as a result affordability has gone down a touch in a lot of cases.
But like what others have said - just do it because it never gets any cheaper.
I would just clarify the mortgage situation as it does not matter what you pay now vs what you pay then - its all about income multiples and debt. In the past before the regulations changed it was a bit less complex.
I think as a result affordability has gone down a touch in a lot of cases.
Jamescrs said:
Probably an unpopular opinion but I agree with this. I was fortunate to get to a house that we can see ourselves staying in for as long as we choose after only 2 moves, but it s a house some on here would frown at from what I ve seen posted.
The upside is I will retire at 55 if not before which is now 10 years away and I will be mortgage free before I do it. Different life goals for different people but I plan to get out and enjoy life while I m young enough to make the most of it.
Horses for courses I guess - We have the same goal (to retire at 55) but have taken a different approach to get there - We've overstretched and opted for the big house as the kids are growing up, but can exit into the smaller property if and when we need to. The upside is I will retire at 55 if not before which is now 10 years away and I will be mortgage free before I do it. Different life goals for different people but I plan to get out and enjoy life while I m young enough to make the most of it.
This way, if house prices increase proportionally (i.e. one that costs double sees double the increase as they have done so far), then we've essentially got 2X leverage on the house growth compared to starting off in the lower cost house.
Sycamore said:
My wife and I are mulling the idea over, and our level of property and move is certainly lower than many here, but the gist of it is....
I'm 30, she is 27. We live in a 2 bed semi in the west midlands on a quiet housing estate and we're happy here, but have said we'd like to move somewhere village-y and more rural sometime in the future. Shropshire/Shrewsbury-ish.
Recent pay rises and the equity in the house means that we could realistically move 'up' into the sort of house we'd discussed, though it would mean the mortgage payment would be a touch under double what we currently pay, however the recent/upcoming pay rises will mean we've the same amount left over each month and we wouldn't struggle to pay the bills etc.
I suppose I'm just a little apprehensive on taking on a chunk more debt, even if we can afford the payments and the leftover each month remains the same, give or take.
It's not a huge jump in the scheme of things, I think I'm just looking at it in terms of figures while ignoring the house we'd move to This is our first house so no experience with moving etc.
For context our house is probably worth £220k. £140K remaining on the mortgage.
Potential new house would be £350k max. No kids (or plans), no debt other than the mortgage
Cheers
I did something similar at the start of 2023.I'm 30, she is 27. We live in a 2 bed semi in the west midlands on a quiet housing estate and we're happy here, but have said we'd like to move somewhere village-y and more rural sometime in the future. Shropshire/Shrewsbury-ish.
Recent pay rises and the equity in the house means that we could realistically move 'up' into the sort of house we'd discussed, though it would mean the mortgage payment would be a touch under double what we currently pay, however the recent/upcoming pay rises will mean we've the same amount left over each month and we wouldn't struggle to pay the bills etc.
I suppose I'm just a little apprehensive on taking on a chunk more debt, even if we can afford the payments and the leftover each month remains the same, give or take.
It's not a huge jump in the scheme of things, I think I'm just looking at it in terms of figures while ignoring the house we'd move to
This is our first house so no experience with moving etc. For context our house is probably worth £220k. £140K remaining on the mortgage.
Potential new house would be £350k max. No kids (or plans), no debt other than the mortgage
Cheers
I could have cleared my old mortgage, but would have still been living in a relatively small 3 bed semi.
So, we invested the money into a larger 4 bed detached in a nice area, rationalising that spending the disposable income on a Porsche would probably not be financially prudent.
Best move we made. It's now our forever home.
OP - you're young. If you're confident in your work position and/or the ability to get another job if the worst happens, don't hesitate.
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