AIBU to go to the top of our budget for a bigger house?

Well, you could wait until you’re back at work. Would the children be in school then?
More room sounds great, a bigger house you could stay in for years, more equity when you eventually sell etc. But, if this mortgage is dependent on one income, there’s not much wriggle room for unexpected issues, either with the house, or job.

I’d wait, save as much as you can and then buy something that is in good repair, so you’re not having to throw money at it.

Is your partner happy to take on the responsibility for paying a mortgage? How stable is his work?

Exactly! We saved a lot over the last 5 ish years but that money has been dormant basically, we would be much better off if we had stretched to a bigger property earlier. The reason we had so much in savings was because it had taken us so long to find a house but in that time just sitting on savings was a useless use of our money and a poor investment.

You say you’re sacrificing financial security for a bigger house, I think it’s the opposite, you’re sacrificing financial security buying staying in a small house you’ve already paid off!

If I had found a house a liked earlier I would have jumped at it and you should too.

35 years is a long time and yes it won’t be as comfortable but you can shorten that as your financial situation gets easier.

Also don’t forget during the few months that it takes for the purchase to go through you can be saving! During that time (4mibths ish) we looked after every little penny (and I mean every penny) and that saved a fair bit which we can now put towards doing bits in the new house.

Historically, property has gone up in price longterm, outpacing inflation by a long way. This depends on your particular location though. So assuming you would look to downsize again at some point, it could work well albeit things will be financially tough for some years.

Then again, there's lots of questions. How old are the dc? Could you live indefinitely in your current property or is it not viable at all? Could you find a bigger but cheaper property in a new location?

I'm worried about your lack of income as a sahm. If you split with your partner, you would be in a very vulnerable situation with that mortgage, as neither of you could afford to leave without selling the home.

If your priority is to be a sahm and then work only pt - fair enough - but this ambition is maybe more suited to being mortgage free. It's a lot of pressure on your partner and his employment.

I’d buy the bigger place.

we have a 30 yr mortgage and I’d be 65 before it’s paid off.

Butttttt we will well sell before then. The way I see it, it’s not forever…
We went big on the basis we’ve got 20 years to raise the kids in a spacious house with nice garden and we can downsize later.

in the interim we get the benefit of price rises and nice living environment.

the whole I must pay off the mortgage thing is a very British preoccupation…

Yes absolutely. You can sell when they are 18 or move out and get rid of the mortgage again.

If you're planning to go back to work in a few years then move at that point when you can reduce the mortgage term and not have money be so tight, I wouldn't move now.

When I was starting on the property ladder, I did my sums, and worked out that I could just about survive on what was left, as long as I had a pay rise very year. My dad asked me what would happen if mortgage rates went up 50% in the next 6 months. I realised I had to re-evaluate my thinking. It took me longer to get my bigger home, but I didn't compromise myself financially.

We did almost exactly the same. Early 40s moved to a bigger house and borrowed 270k on a 28 year mortgage

At first we had a similar amount of spare cash, and it was quite tight, however over the last 5 years our income has increased significantly and we are now very comfortable.

You don't know what life will throw at you. If you do make this stretch my only advice would be to ensure you have life and critical illness insurance, just in case

Otherwise, go for it. The difference in our quality of life now in our larger house is immense.

£500 doesnt sound like much spare money
a car needs fixing
a new boiler
new furniture?

I wouldn’t do that to be honest. £500 left a month wouldn’t be enough for me.

Maybe if you get a mortgage where you are not penalised for over payments, then when you start to work, your wage can go directly into paying off the mortgage and you will get it paid off much sooner.

We moved to a bigger house 2 years ago and it was exactly that much more expensive a house. Things are definitely tighter for us now although in theory we have more than £500 a month left over. Are we massively happier? No. More maintenance and cleaning with a bigger house. I'm working more and don't get to enjoy the bigger garden we paid for as much. And I am thinking about maybe downsizing again in a few more years. Based on what you have said, I wouldn't. See what you can get that's cheaper.

Can you explain your current situation and what you are aiming for?

It is difficult to understand how needing an extra couple of rooms (for example) would require £250k input. Even in London.

I am single with empty nest and I would feel uneasy with £500 disposable income to cover savings, holidays, life’s unpredictable expenses. I could manage, and have managed on far less, but it’s not clear why you would put yourself in this situation.

Is there any scope for adding space and value to your current property?

Mortgages don't scare me and I've never felt the crippling need to pay it off asap like some people do, it's just a monthly payment for my dream home and will eventually stop one day....

But, to go from mortgage free to £275,000 mortgage is quite the leap, especially on one income, is there really no compromise between your house and the one you're looking at?

The main thing that would scare me with what you've written is £500 left over a month, that sounds very little (to me, when you're in the desirable position of having cheap housing), that must be a huge lifestyle change?

I’ve never heard of an older person regretting buying too big or too expensive a house in their younger years. Why? Because their house has increased in value (probably by way more than they could have saved in the time) and this means they have more financial security and have set themselves up for retirement because they have the option of downsizing and releasing capital. And of course they’ve enjoyed a bigger house.

We we’re mortgage free and now have moved and have a similar size mortgage to what your talking about (also in late 30s).

It was nice to have more disposable income and it felt more comfortable each month, but saving up our money in ISAs with low interest rates rather than putting it towards property was a really bad use of our money and a poor investment for the future. I felt our savings were doing nothing for us. I feel much more financially secure for the future now! In fact we wish we had upsized years ago because we’d be in a better financial position now and we wouldn’t have missed that extra disposable income each month.

My sister is at the point where she may pay her mortgage off soon, she doesn’t need a bigger place but she knows she ought to buy a bigger one for a good investment for the future and setting herself up for when she does need more space.

I’d go for it if I were you!

I'm mortgage free and nothing would make me go back now. Especially at the terms you've stated, with a 35 year term. Would you both be happy working until 75 for a house your kids left 20 years previously?

What are the current living arrangements?

They'd have to be extreme to warrant such a shift. Is the 35 year term to make the payments manageable? The total amount repaid would put me off too.

Agree with all the cautious words from previous posters.

Have you considered adding more space to your current house? Loft conversion, side return extension, garden room etc

I'm in a very similar position and our plan is to stay where we are until circumstances allow us to make a big move north where we'll get more house for our money with either no mortgage or max 50k mortgage

In what way is the house getting too small? Do the dc have their own rooms?

I'd rather live in a small house than have a mortgage hanging over me.

I wouldn't move, in fact I sold a larger house to downsize in my 40s with two big teenagers.

Is it all or nothing?

So could you move to a different place that isn't as much (I'm assuming you would get the money from your current property)?

Most of life you will be out of the house, school and work, plus older kids go out a lot too. The big toys soon make way for expensive hobbies and smaller electronics. What feels squished with toddlers becomes more manageable later.

It depends on your priorities too.

I think a bedroom each for kids is a lovely luxury, but we're happy with small rooms and a shared bathroom in a house with a 70s bathroom and kitchen. If you like en suite and everything insta ready then that's a different budget.