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Do you prioritise bigger house or more disposable income?

92 replies

Pepperwand · 29/06/2020 13:33

Firstly, I know we're very lucky to be in a position where this is even a choice but I seem to change my mind on this matter weekly so would appreciate other thoughts and perspectives.

Live with DH and two young DC (preschooler and baby) in a small 3 bed. Love the area and house in general but have niggles which are mainly no hallway....front door opens into living room, no downstairs loo and no option to put one in and small children's bedrooms....one is a very small box room. No easy way to extend either because of the plot we're on.

We could afford a bigger mortgage as manage to save a few hundred a month and won't have nursery fees in a few years so part of me feels that it's a no brainer and we should just move somewhere bigger and accept bigger debt. Other half of me thinks that if we like the area and have a house we can easily afford then we should just Marie Kondo the heck out of it and enjoy less "stuff" and more flexibility in terms of disposable income, options to pay off the mortgage early/save for children's future etc.

Did anyone have similar circumstances? What did you do?

OP posts:
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user1493413286 · 29/06/2020 13:38

We went for a bigger house; we also have a 3 year old and baby and figured that we’d enjoy the space more than the income; during the past few weeks I’m really glad we made that decision.
It’s also meant that before Covid people came to us rather than us having to travel for Christmas etc and friends can come and stay with their kids

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sunlightflower · 29/06/2020 13:40

We had a similar dilemma a couple of years ago and went for the house. Have never regretted it, not once.

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IagoWithABlackberry · 29/06/2020 13:43

I went for a small house in a cheap area and haven't regretted it. I could have got somewhere bigger but I'd be paying the mortgage off for years to come and I really don't want that. We don't have masses of income as I'm the sole earner with three young children but it allows us to live well.

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Pascha · 29/06/2020 13:45

When your preschooler and baby are both older than about six you'll want as much space as you can afford. I'd make the jump now in your position.

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DanniArthur · 29/06/2020 13:45

I would also go for the bigger house as it's easy to squander disposable incomes but a bigger house is an investment as well as making life a bit easier for you.

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AgeLikeWine · 29/06/2020 13:48

We prioritised living in a nicer area, then disposable income. It’s just the two of us, so our modest three bedroom barn conversion is big enough for us.

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byvirtue · 29/06/2020 13:49

Another way of looking at it is are you a family of introverts or extroverts?

Introverts will typically enjoy more space so they aren’t on top of one another and can get some alone time. Extroverts would probably not care so much about the space and would probably appreciate the extra income so they can go out do things and socialise!

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stairgates · 29/06/2020 13:49

I would go bigger house, the mental relief that came when we went bigger I can still feel, priceless!

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JaggedlittlePhil · 29/06/2020 13:59

My dcs are similar ages. I rent but our house sounds very similar to yours. I'm hoping to buy next year but I can only afford a two bed flat here so will move away for a house, and one bigger than I rent (or at least a better configuration--I hate the front door opening into the living room). Is moving away an option so you can have a bigger house but similar/smaller mortgage? I have a limit of how much I want to spend on a mortgage each month as it is important to me to overpay/save so I can only do that by moving away.

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RockingMyFiftiesNot · 29/06/2020 14:09

Pros and cons of both. We didn't move to a bigger house as we'd experienced a redundancy not long after we moved in, luckily we could use savings to cover repayments in the interim. Shocked us out of moving up. Downside was not having spare room for visitors but would put them up in a nearby hotel (way cheaper than additional mortgage repayments) . Biggest plus was being able to retire early with enough money to enjoy ourselves

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JustaScratch · 29/06/2020 14:10

As long as you can afford house maintenance, space for sure.

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ExpletiveDelighted · 29/06/2020 14:17

We stayed small and haven't regretted it, we all like going out and have lots of hobbies outside the home, it has meant less worry when our business has had bad patches, I've been able to work part time and the mortgage was paid off around the time the DCs hit their teens. We love our house and the location it's in.

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Gremlinpoop · 29/06/2020 14:19

Bigger house! We moved end of last year. I am sooo glad we did. Homeschooling 3 children and 2 stressed out parents working from home, we need this space and as can no longer go out or do anything ( although I'm hoping this changes over time) it has really been worth it.
Also interestingly I am a massive introvert and quiet space mattered to me.
So many factors come into it , for us it was the right decision maybe you are good where you are.

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PineappleUpsideDownCake · 29/06/2020 14:20

Weve stayed small and really relieved as we have had money for the children's sports and will have for driving lessons etc. I would have ideally liked more space but not at the cost of living

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Immigrantsong · 29/06/2020 14:20

More disposable income. From experience, most people think they don't have enough space, but they own far too much crap.

Apply minimalism and de clutter ruthlessly. It usually makes a massive difference.

Also avoid brand new properties and go with ex council houses. They tend to be big, sturdy and have good sized gardens.

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rosegoldwatcher · 29/06/2020 14:20

We bought a three bedroom house in a good area, in 1988. I always assumed that we would, like our friends, move on up the housing ladder with our salaries/increase in family size.
But we never did! We briefly considered moving about 15 years ago but were surprised by what would have been a huge jump in mortgage for one more (not large) bedroom and a piddly study downstairs.
So 32 years later here we still are. The area is still lovely, our neighbours are great and we belong to the community.
Mortgage was paid off year ago and as a result we were both able to retire at 57! Yay!

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Immigrantsong · 29/06/2020 14:24

OP it's also worth considering if you could still afford the bigger mortgage for a bigger house if one of you lost their job.

With Covid and Brexshit economy is as you know unpredictable and job losses may occur. So factor this in for good measure just in case a job loss will drive you to the point of no return.

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Stompythedinosaur · 29/06/2020 14:25

We prioritised disposable income - holidays and extracurricular activities are really important to us. I don't regret it.

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Bargebill19 · 29/06/2020 14:26

Personally I would stay where I could afford on one income - recession will hit, and I would prefer to know I can afford a roof over my head and naked beans on toast rather than trying to scrabble to downsize or worse go bankrupt.
But I don’t have kids........ and that makes a huge difference - how much of one is up to you!

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Zenithbear · 29/06/2020 14:45

Bigger house gives you so many options. It was great when dc were growing up but we still could afford lots of holidays and days out as well. When we split up the dc grew up so fast and left home early and I ended up divorced in a big house with so much more equity in it, which then enabled me to sell it to buy a home and holiday cottage with dp and a rental property for income.

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rosegoldwatcher · 29/06/2020 14:53

I should add that, for us, some of the benefits of not being overstretched by a huge mortgage were me being able to take a couple of years career break when the children were tiny, work part-time off and on, not feel guilty about my shoe habit (and his golf habit) and latterly being able to pay for DS2's university accommodation.

A downstairs loo, though, is almost a necessity with little ones OP?

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Beatrixpotterspencil · 29/06/2020 15:09

My modest 10 bedroom chateau is enough for me. It allows me to free up expenses for my coach and four.
DH’s colossal inheritance keeps me well stocked in luxury goods.
Several holidays per year.

What’s not to love? 😁

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EddieVeddersfoxymop · 29/06/2020 15:13

We went for smaller house, better lifestyle. 2 new cars every 2 years, camper van, 2 holidays, expensive hobbies for all 3 of us. Out house is adequate in that we have a spare room, built an extension, massive garage etc. Sometinms it does feel a little cramped and we think of selling up but would find the lifestyle hard to give up to be honest.
It really depends on your priorities, OP. Lifestyle over bigger house won for us!

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EddieVeddersfoxymop · 29/06/2020 15:14

Oh, and ditto the above poster......I was able to be a SAHM for 9 years!

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Waxonwaxoff0 · 29/06/2020 15:15

More disposable income over a bigger house every time for me but my situation is different as I have only got one DC so only need 2 bedrooms.

I don't like big houses anyway, too much cleaning and there are only 2 of us so we don't need all that space.

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