Would you sell your house to halve your mortgage?

[tigerbear]

... if you were really happy in the house you currently live in?

I’m in a bit of a predicament - I put my house on the market in January (I know, worst ever time to do it, both season and Brexit etc), with the intention of moving in order to release equity so that I could then retrain in a different sector, pay for the training, have a chunk of money to fall back on, and have a tiny mortgage (fin relation to the area - I’m zone 2 London).

I’d be moving only a short distance away (10 min on bus to my DD school), but the houses there are massively cheaper than where we are now.
My house was on for £690k, then reduced quickly to £650k as we found a house we loved and wanted a quick sale. This didn’t happen, so now on for offers in excess of £635k. We’re getting offers of between £600k and £620k, and I’m wondering if it’s going to be worth it now.
If I sell at £620k, I’d have a deposit of £315k once stamp duty, fees etc are deducted.
This would be to buy a house at around £450k, so mortgage would be £135k, half of what it is now.

We love our current house, love the location, etc, so I’m wondering if all the hassle of selling is worth it?
Anyone else been in a similar situation?

Nah, I wouldn’t. Our mortgage is massive but we only moved here three years ago. Sounds like a lot of upheaval to me for you too.

I’m the worst person to comment on this but I’m gonna anyway....

I would do it in your circumstances. In mine, a house half the price would be a shed so probably not

I would, if the area was ok and you could live comfortably in the new house. I'd hate a big mortgage.

@Fantasia that’s the thing, I’ve only been here 2 years, and to through the whole process again of mortgage applications, survey etc is making me go 😬😩
I think if we’d originally had offers around the £690/670 mark, it would have been a no brainier, and I could have saved some of the money left over to train and have a nest egg.
At the current offers, I wouldn’t be able to do that, we’d just be reducing the mortgage, albeit by a lot.

Honeyroar - some of the houses we are seeing are slightly bigger and have bigger gardens, but generally need new kitchens, new bathrooms etc. The more done up places are smaller. We’ve seen a 2 bed which looks amazing, but wondering if we can really go from a 3 bed to 2. Technically it’s doable as there’s just DP and I and DD, so a third bedroom is only for when guests stay. But we would need to get rid of loads of stuff. In the current house we have a lot of storage and a garage. In most of the other places, space would be more limited.

Can you retrain if you stay? If yes, then stay, it's a no brainer. If not it is a much harder decision. It's the hassle of moving plus the costs, given you only just moved. Plus the usual benefits of leveraging to buy a house over a long term at low interest rate.

I hate moving and I hate renovations. It is no longer a no brainer because you can’t get the price you wanted. Find a new plan!

Starface - no, I wouldn’t be able to retrain if we stay. The other problem, however, is that I don’t really know what I want to retrain in, but many of the options I’ve looked at are in lower paying sectors than what I already do (I already have my own business but am finding it v stressful).

Fantasisa - yup, I’m thinking it might be best to just park the idea for now and wait a year or two or until the market is better (if ever??).

I would explore some ideas about what it is you might like to do in the future, before making any decisions about moving.

It sounds as though you’re fed up with running your own business, but not anything else. Stay put and research what you really might do as an alternative career and then work out how to fund it and whether to move.

Foxy - I think I’ll do that, might do a few short courses to get a taster of what other jobs could be like.

If your own business is making a profit and paying you a good wage, I would stick with it and find ways to reduce stress. Working for somebody else, after you've been your own boss is really hard and will bring a new set of stress.

If your own business is making a profit and paying you a good wage, I would stick with it and find ways to reduce stress. Working for somebody else, after you've been your own boss is really hard and will bring a new set of stress.

If your own business is making a profit and paying you a good wage, I would stick with it and find ways to reduce stress. Working for somebody else, after you've been your own boss is really hard and will bring a new set of stress.

Hmm, is maybe some way to have a mortgage break instead, or other ways if funding the training, as sounds stressful and like you like the first house. Would explore that first..

No, stay where you are.

Yes, I have to sell and move to a cheaper area as my post divorce mortgage is killing me.
I love this house, the house and the area on a national park is my spiritual home and I feel distraught at the thought of leaving.
I have to downsize. I have applied for a job in the isle of Wight so I can buy a house outright with no mortgage as I'm currently being crippled.
I feel so upset that when I move I'll have to get several cats to compensate.
I keep telling myself its just a house but it isn't, it was the place I hoped to stay in for the rest of my life.

It does sound a lot of hassle, and I'm not one for hassle.

But one of the things that I am happiest with in my life is that our modest house in a 'just OK' area means that we always had low mortgage / outgoings. DH has been made redundant a few times through our marriage but it's never been a total panic as we've been able to cut back quite easily (meals out etc) as our baseline costs are low. We are able to holiday a couple of times each year and do other nice things which we wouldn't be able to do with a larger mortgage (neither of us are high earners).

We were also able to increase required payments and are now mortgage free.

We also have 2 bed house for 3 of us ; the lack of guest room hasn't been an issue for us, but, we live in our home town so other family members visiting stay at our parents home.

I think managing with fewer possessions / decluttering can be quite liberating.

Personally I'd choose life over large debt. You are then more free to pursue the things you want to do whatever that is.

I once moved to a cheaper but very good area [ironically it has since soared in value] when I was made redundant, had 2 teenage sons to bring up and a lack of suitable jobs in the area. I moved from a 3 bedroomed house to a 2 bed and the boys had to share a room [which I divided off to some extent]. But I paid off the mortgage and haven't had a mortgage since. It was so liberating, such a relief to not owe a penny and own my own place outright. I haven't looked back.

Human beings are very adaptable, or should be, and with imagination can make the best of a situation. Life isn't about money, clutter/stuff, big houses, big cars etc. but learning, experiences, passions, following ideas and dreams. Money in the pocket helps us to do those things.

So many interesting and thought provoking opinions, thank you.
@DianaT - whatever I do next, I’ll def continue working for myself in some capacity, I could never work for someone else again. It’s just a question of what to do next.

To those who have done it, and moved to a 2 bed, that’s exactly what I’m thinking - that hopefully it’ll be liberating, both in clearing a huge chunk of the mortgage, and clearing out ‘stuff’ we don’t really need. It’s only the thought of other people’s views that might put me off. My mum, for instance, would see doing this as a huge step back, I don’t think she’d view this as a ‘proper’ grown up home, if that makes sense? I know other people’s opnions shouldn’t matter, but still, I know she will say something if this is what we choose.

@Madcatladyforever sorry you’re in this predicament. Having to sell must be really tough