AIBU to double my mortgage to move to a nicer area

It's so hard to go from a relatively small mortgage especially when you're risk adverse but this sounds like a no brainer, honestly, just do it. How much are you currently able to save each month?

It’s funny, because if you live in a nicer area, people raise their eyebrows and assume you are ‘ rich’ whereas in fact, you might have less disposable income than them, and a thin skin which meant you had to move!

We did exactly this in October last year and we haven't looked back. We have a completely different lifestyle and we went from £500 to £1k per month. Our joint income is £3k so after bills and food it leaves us with £800pm. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Total £1000 , not £1500, right?

£1000/month for a 3 bed leaving you with £4600 pay in your wallet afterwards surely isnt a bad deal?

We did something similar a couple of years back, went from a £550 mortgage to just over a grand. Honestly the difference in day-to-day stress was immediate, like within the first week. One thing that helped us decide was actually comparing the deprivation data between postcodes on https://localeiq.co.uk seeing the numbers side by side made it feel less like a gut decision and more like an obvious upgrade. With your income you can clearly afford it, and your kids will 100% notice the difference even if they can't articulate it yet.

Haha, £1000 extra a month ‘not a lot’. It’s like a different world on here sometimes!

I’d suggest you are far, far more likely to regret not moving than staying where you are.

Based on what you’ve posted you can afford it and living in a better location has the potential to be life changing (in a very positive way) for the whole family.

It’s not selfish, it’s an entirely logical decision. Why wouldn’t you choose to let your kids grow up somewhere nicer if you had the option? £1000 per month on a mortgage is not a lot (at least where I live!) and our monthly take home is less than yours combined

go for it!

As peoples behaviour gets more and more scummy because it’s their ‘ right’ to be scummy, I despair of being able to live anywhere without the misery of Entitled low lifers blaring out their crap and dropping litter in a trail around them.

Do it. I just did similar to move to a more rural area with no neighbours. The peace it has given me is immeasurably better

It’s the reverse of selfish. Your kids will benefit hugely from being in a better environment and from you being more chilled. Go for it - the new mortgage is still a much lower than normal percentage of your income.

You can afford it, and the house will be worth more if you ever go to sell it, so it's not like the money will be gone forever.

However it sounds like you aren't moving a million miles away, so how confident are you in the new neighborhood? Maybe that will get messed up (usually by bad landlords that don't care about who they are renting to or about the area).

I advise caution when you actually buy the new house, don't jump into the first thing. Visit it morning, noon and night etc. etc.

Having read your updates re finances - definitely move! Your new place will be an investment- it’s not wasted money.

Sounds like you are absolutely miserable where you are and you can definitely afford it. I'd say it was a no brainer.

We were mortgage free but took out a 100k mortgage to move to a nicer quieter area.
sometimes I think wouldn't it be lovely to have much more money but the reality is what would you spend it on, there is only so much annual leave you can take to go away.
Sitting in my peaceful home or garden listening to the birds not neighbours is so worth it .

The kids will be influenced, impacted and judged on where they brought up. I was scared of a particular neighbouring family growing up and never felt quite safe.

Move, don’t look back

Do it. It will be worth it. We’re so much happier after moving to a detached house in a better area. We had awful neighbours in our last semi-detached. Now we hardly hear anyone! It’s bliss.

I would 100% move.

Doubling your mortgage isn't a big deal. £1000 a month in most areas wouldn't even rent you a 2 bed flat!

I'd happily pay a bigger mortgage if it meant getting rid of a neighbour like that!

Just do your research carefully when you move!

If your jobs as secure as they can be then go for it. But it’s a shit time in general for selling - are you confident you’ll be able to sell at the price you need?

How would anyone know ?

What your earnings are ?
What your job security is like ?
What your health is like ?
How much equity you would have ?
How much disposable income it would leave ?
Whether you are likely to receive inheritance down the line ?
Whether you have family members who would help out in a crisis ?

In general mortgage affordability checks are far more likely to come up with a realistic assessment of whether you can afford a mortgage or not than randoms on here.

You can expand this analysis by adding in some things additional things that mortgage affordability checks may be less detailed on.

If you can afford it then it’s a no brainer.

We did the same, doubled our mortgage payments (taking them up to a third of household income).

While the primary reason was to move closer to a city for transport links for teens, a very strong secondary reason was to get away from a hideous neighbour who was making my life hell.

Look at all the costs though. We were lucky that several aspects of the new house dramatically cut out outgoings (solar, commuting cost, etc) so the net impact was less than we thought.

I also hadn’t realised until after the move that we had been spending money day to day just to get out of the old house (day trips, coffee shops, weekends away), but now that we love the new house (and are home-bodies by nature) we’re not doing that and are saving money.

Agree with this wholeheartedly