Are you in your forever home and if so how old were you when you bought it?

[ytee]

I feel like I should be in our forever home by this stage in my life ( early 40s dc7) but I'm not

Tell me there is still hope!

I have a nice 3 bed semi but it's not what I dreamed of a 4 bed detached with a big garden

Maybe I'll never get that! Who knows!

I want to move a couple of times before we eventually retire to a cosy bungalow. We bought our house 10yrs ago pre kids, it's a small 3 bed semi and feels smaller with growing children. Our hesitation to move is the large garden and ideal location not overlooked, we are in perfect walking distance to both kids schools, 1mile from DH work and 3 miles from mine. A 4 bed detached in our village would be 150k more and we would have to sacrifice garden space and a bit more commute time for us all, it doesn't seem worth it, we'll probably still be here for another 10yrs until we move again. I'd love to inherit my Mums bungalow eventually, it's 3 streets away in a quiet culdesac with a large corner garden.

Another who agrees with what @Velveteenfruitbowl said.
I think the idea of a 'forever home' is odd.

I don't want to be looking after 5 bedrooms, two bathrooms and a large garden when I'm in my 80s!

We bought our current house when I was 38. It is the only home my dc really remember, although they were all born when we were living elsewhere. So we've been here over 17 years and probably won't move until all the dc are settled in their own homes, but at that point, I certainly aim to move somewhere smaller.
I've loved it here, but it's not my "ideal home" by any means...... never had the money for that.

I hate the term too, usually banded around when justifying over stretching.

This is our second house, I lived in the first house 16 years and was never truly happy. Current house, ticked none of the boxes pretty much but I love it. It's the right house for now.

Not at all! Dh and I both in our 40's.

Current home is far too small for a family of 4 (under 700 sqft). We do not have enough equity or capital to move to a 3 bed with three decent sized bedrooms. Our dd has the dreaded box room.

My ideal family home would have;
Downstairs WC
Two good sized reception rooms
A decent sized 3rd bedroom
Large hallway
Large back garden
A drive

We bought our forever home when I was 32, lived there for 14 years, put our heart and soul into it but then had to move due to shitty neighbours. We moved a short distance into what is really a much nicer house, but my heart is still in the other place. I feel I am living in someone else's home, even though we've now been here for 7.5 years.

Don't believe in them. No home is forever.

I think attitudes are really shifting on this, maybe now our generation is seeing the impact of elderly parents refusing to downsize or move into more appropriate housing. We live overseas at the moment but I think our uk house will see us out. Big enough for us and the dc in the short term and convenient for teens in terms of getting around and stuff to do. But also it’s a manageable size with walled garden mainly laid to gravel with big tubs, easy to get a taxi/ bus, everywhere delivers there, flat terrain, one downstairs bedroom. Sorted.

I thought I was but am in the middle of a separation so we will need to find something else. I am trying hard not to think about it because I do love this house. I am trying to focus on the fact that I can move somewhere that will be to my taste.

I'm hoping so, unless circumstances change. Im 46, we relocated after debating for about 5 years. Been here 3 years

Probably not forever but certainly for the foreseeable. We have a lovely 4 bed detached with a manageable garden in the SE.

We managed it because DH bought a flat for tuppence in the mid nineties just before prices went completely loco. We bought our first home together in 2008 (standard 3 bed semi) and sold it for 100k more and bought this six years ago. I was 34, DH 39.

More luck than anything, really.

'Forever home' is a term many people have heard about.

But considering it as an actual need, something you have to have, that's only upheld within a niche group. (One that in America the 'soccer mom' belongs in.)

That's were 'forever home' is a house that the owners think is perfect for them in the Ideal Home sense. Most people like their houses but there's often things that aren't 'perfect'.

If you mean the house that a person will live in for a very long time then a lot more people have that!! Lots of people don't strive onto find the 'perfect' house as the one they are in suits their needs and they can't move. Or simply don't want to (the though to have a wine cellar or aga or whatever, is just a daydream nor a ambitious).

We are mid 40s and currently looking for our forever home. To us a forever home is the last house we will buy to live in. Our children are 20 and 19 and our current house has been a wonderful house for them to grow up in, large and easy access in to the city . With DC1 in last year at Uni and DC2 about to go to Uni we are no longer tied to this area for schools and friends. We love it here so it is hard trying to find something we love more but this is not the house we want to be in for the rest of our lives. We want a house the same size, plenty of space for returning DC and later on with their own families to stay. However with a more rural location than we have now. We will stay here until we find the perfect place but I hope that will be in the next 12 -18 months. I think mid 40s is a good time to move, our children are grown and the house is about our needs and wishes but also hopefully we are still young enough to enjoy many years there.

I agree that a "forever" home is probably not a thing but we were 30 when we scraped money together to buy what we see as being our most-of-our-life home. However, if we were ever to get in to financial difficulty and had to get rid of it then whilst I would be sad I would rather my family weren't in danger financially. It's really far too big for us but we host a lot.

I'm not sure. I love our three bed terrace and we have put a lot of work into getting it how we want.

We are debating whether to extend and create a larger kitchen or move.

We could do with a new kitchen but it's pointless until we decide if we are extending or not.

Currently in our forever home. Built it mid 30's. 4 bed, pool, complete dream home - everything I wanted, theatre, study, den, butlers pantry, walk in robes. But fuck it was hard to get to that point. Mortgage + renting for 12 months while we built. Not fun. But 100% worth it.

Yes, we've been here 4 years so I was 31 and DH was 35 when we bought it. It's our third house, we lost a lot of money on our first house but luckily DH is a tight arse good at budgeting so we managed to save a
lot too and over paid on the mortgage wherever possible. We bought our second house as a repo and borrowed money to do it up. First house was aged 23 and 27, second house aged 27 and 31. I wasn't sure at first with this house but now we've been here a while I definitely don't want to move. It's four bed, detached, in a lovely village. Plus we have the best neighbours who are also in their forever home.

Just going through the motions on our next move. This will hopefully see us through the next 25 years.

It’s a big house with annex. Perfect for adult children to rent until they want a family of there own or move away. We can even get a lodger if we need help with bills.

The rest of the house is plenty big enough with a tonne of character.

I am hoping all goes well. Building surveyor goes tomorrow!!

We are currently searching for our forever home! We are both 36.

Looks like we are staying put in first home. It's not my dream home as I realised I can't afford that!

Had we wanted to stay in London it would have been 32. But I desperately wanted to move to the countryside and made a sideways move priceways which we did when I was 40.

Still here and the next move will be to downsize probably in around 10 years when we’ll be mid 60’s, and youngest of our children will be late 20’s.

I like the term forever home.

No such thing - ages and stages for us.
City centre with all the amenities as young professionals and with a small baby 👍🏻
Further out, garden and school with school age kids 👍🏻 (Where we are now)
Probably back into town later in life again 👍🏻

We love our house so much. I suppose we should downsize eventually but I can’t face dealing with the accumulation of junk caused by dh’s hoarder disorder.

Our first home that we are still in now, is our forever home. We bought when I was 29, DH was 26. It's only a two bed bungalow, but is detached & has a massive garden and detached garage. We're in a very quiet area, elderly neighbours & have green belt land surrounding the cul-de-sac. We bought it with planning permission to extend up & out to make it a 4 bed. We only have 1 DS, who will be 3 in April, so the space is manageable for now. We will however be extending in the near future. We live where we live, so have no intention of moving.

The idea of a 'forever home' repulses me. (Unless we are talking about animals in a rescue shelter.) You live in what you can at the time, and life can throw all sorts of things at us. I'm in a rented bungalow with 2 children and it is the last place I want to be 'forever'. I'd like my eventual home to be a 1 bedroom flat.

Not sure there is a forever home. Ours will be the family home that our future grandchildren come to it probably won’t be suitable for after one of us dies or if we become frail. I suspect in our late 70s we might move but who knows the future?